We have stayed at the Grand Californian about 10 times since it opened in 2001. It definitely has it benefits., at a cost of course.

We have a 3 year old who needs a nap everyday. We have stayed offsite and had to use the Anaheim Rapid transit (ART) bus but the 20 minute schedule is not dependable. We have waited over an hour. This doesn't work with a 3 year old.

We have stayed at the Disneyland hotel and the distance from the park entrance or using the monorail can take a while. Also we had serious noise issues everynight at 1am from the DtD foot traffic.

Summary: We will continue staying the GCH and use the AP discounts (when they are available) until my daughter is older and then we might try Embassy suits south..

We stayed three nights at the Grand Californian with our two boys - one is 3 years old, the other is 5 months old. Overall, we were impressed by the hotel; gorgeous lobby, quiet mezzanine areas, great pool area with kiddie pool, kiddie slide, and a big slide. Room was good, and well appointed; two sinks in bathroom, cozy balcony with view of Downtown Disney (DD), beds were comfortable. Downsides are nighttime noise from DD is pretty loud, long walk from elevator, and housekeeping didn't clean out the fridge from prior guest. Key aspect of course is location of hotel, this can't be beat. And the hotel isn't cheap. More details below....

ROOM - Our room had 2 queen beds; I believe this is bigger than the bunk bed rooms, but we kind of wish we had one; I think our 3 year old would have enjoyed it more (he did sleep on the big bed, though). All rooms come with a pack and play (not sure if they provide fitted linens on request). As above, the fridge wasn't cleaned when we got there; room was otherwise clean (except for some dust on the top of the dresser drawer when they were opened). Room Service was prompt and food was good (breakfast). The noise level in the room was quite loud at night - between the music blaring from DD and the fireworks later. While 10p doesn't seem late, it is when you've got 2 kids who are tired and want to sleep. However, we had a good view of the fireworks, so that was nice. Finally, the location was awesome - after a long hot trek around either park, it's pretty easy to get back to the hotel, especially from DCA.

DINING - Be sure to reserve a character breakfast in advance at Storyteller's Cafe. Our sons loved eating with all of the characters - this was a real treat. We ate at Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel as we wanted a more traditional steak dinner for our "date night". Bad idea; the food tasted fine, but service was agonizingly slow, and both my wife and I felt slightly queasy after dinner. Don't do this one. Go with Napa Rose. Also, Blue Bayou restaurant actually overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Food is really good, atmosphere is very cool - it feels like an open air restaurant. Make reservations.

POOL - pool area is great, the service was very prompt and courteous. Dad went on the big slide about 30 times, and 3 year old enjoyed the little slide and the 1 foot deep kiddie pool. Great place to cool off and relax. Wasn't too crowded either.

PARKS - one thing to remember - it's HOT HOT HOT during the summer. We are L.A. residents and took a trip mid week to attempt to avoid weekend summer crowds. Disneyland was absolutely jammed, though, so best bet is to get up early and hit the rides you want to hit. By the afternoon, the lines are unmanageable, and surprising to us, the park was wall to wall people after dark on a Wednesday. Don't forget to use your Magic Morning. Get to ToonTown EARLY, it gets mobbed. We thought the Nemo ride is overrated, actually, although our son seemed to like it well enough. The best time we had was on the Mark Twain steamboat - shady, breezy, easy ride - all four of us loved it. Go to the parades - the Pixar Play Parade and Disney Electrical Parade at DCA are must-sees. We also enjoyed Paradise Pier at DCA. One other item - there's a nice booklet that comes with booking through a Disney authorized travel agent - you get into ToonTown earlier without burning a Magic Morning on it, and you can get priority seating for some of the shows (Aladdin, etc.)

BABYSITTING - we used Sitters Unlimited. They were prompt, and our sitter seemed trustworthy, and hit it off with our older son - but she did seem a bit oblivious to crib safety (i.e. we found a blanket and other stuff in the crib....), and she got both kids to sleep. $15/hr with a 4 hour minimum. So - just be sure to communicate any specific needs or safety issues you think are important. My wife says to remind nursing moms to pump ahead or bring formula, we could have stayed out much later!

Overall - the hotel itself is very nice; it could be worthy of five stars if it just cleaned up a couple of items (dust, don't forget to clean out the fridge, etc.) Service was impeccable and extraordinarily friendly. We would consider saving some money next trip by staying at one of the other hotels when our kids are older and it's relatively easier to transport them around. But if you've got young kids, the comfort and convenience of the Grand Californian is worth the extra money.

We just got back from 5 days at Disneyland. We took our little girl for her 5th birthday and our 6 month old son. We stayed at the Disneyland Grand California Hotel and loved it!! It is a great hotel for families. It is quiet, Very clean , an adult atmosphere but very kid friendly. There is a baby swimming pool and a kid pool with waterslide. There is also an adult pool and water slide as well ,with pool side bar. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The morning of our daughters birthday the hotel gave her balloons and a signed picture of the Disney Princesses. My only complaint is that check in is slow, it took about 40 min to check in. But the great thing about Disney is that even while you are waiting they keep you happy. Check out, however was very fast and they even stored our bags after we checked out so we could go enjoy Disneyland in the morning before our evening flight back home. I highly recomment eating at the hotel restaurant the Napa Rose at least once. It had the best food, service, wine list I have ever had at a restaurant and I am from Seattle and have been to some amazing restaurants. The best part was it was ment for adults to enjoy, but still very kid friendly. The bathrooms had kid sinks, cute mickey highchairs and boosters and the BEST kid menu I have ever seen!! I also recommend eating at the storytellers cafe at the hotel for the character breakfast. It is also a great place for lunch or dinner.

Now for a few Disneyland tips to make our trip the very best!!
If you are traveling with young children, your stay will be much more enjoyable if you do stay on site at Disneyland. It is so important to prevent melt downs. When you get up in the morning have breakfast, go enjoy the park and then around 2 or 3 go back to the hotel, enjoy the pool, take a nap and then get ready for dinner. After dinner put the kids to bed, so they don't get over tired. If your kids are older go back to the park and enjoy the fireworks and parade, but if you have young kids I think it is more important that they are well rested for the next day, then to stay up late for the fireworks. Your last night would be a good time for the fireworks. If you have a young child and an older one who can go on rides like Splash mountain, take advantage of baby swap. Before you get in line go to one of the attendants at the ride and ask for a baby swap. You get a little card, then dad and the older child get in line, while mom waits with baby. When Dad and older child get off ride, Dad waits with baby, hands Mom the card and Mom and older child go back to the attendant with the card and then they get to get on the ride wihtout having to wait in line. It is great for the older child because they get to go on twice with out waiting, and the parents get to enjoy the ride as well.
Also, if you plan on eating at a restaurant in downtown disney, make sure you get the number for priority seating to make reservations or you will have a two hour wait for dinner.

I also think you should have breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn at least once.

Don't be afraid to go to Disneyland with a baby. We had a great time and so did our baby, He loved the rides he could go on (pirrates, winnie the pooh, peter pan, alice and wonderland, dunbo, rockets(baby needs socks for rockets), buzz light year, and many more) and he loved meeting all the charecters. he slept great in the stroller. Make sure to bring our own infant stroller that lays all the way back for naps, the strollers to rent at Disney are ment for older kids. Our daugher loved the baby swap and going on twice!! Just make sure not to over do it and take a break in the afternoon. Well rested kids make for happy kids and in turn happy parents.

We were use to the amazing experience at Disney World hotels in Florida and this was not at all at the same level. Additionally, the easy location of surrounding (and CHEAPER) off-property hotels really made this expense unnecessary with little benefit. Couldn't believe the Resort Charge added on at the end for the "FREE PARKING"?!? Additionally we have also been use to outstanding food options at the Florida resort and in this particular area this hotel was most disappointing. Pool was okay but nothing to write home about again for the cost. Overall a disappointment! Find a nice, friendly and reasonable off-property hotel instead.