Can DLH guests use the GCH entrance to DCA?

[jwblane]

We are staying at the DLH in May and want to get an early breakfast before going into the parks. Since breakfast offerings are slim at the DLH, and we like the breakfast offerings at the Craftsman Bar & Grill, we want to go by there for breakfast, but are wondering if we can use the GCH entrance into DCA even though we are staying at the DLH? Just hate to have to go all the way back to the DTD entrance too go into DCA.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Unless there's some kind of COVID weirdness I'm not aware of, yes. DLH and PP guests can use the Grand Cal entrance any time, and everyone can use the entrance after 11am I believe.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

We stayed at the GCH last summer and used the GCH entrance for rope drop on two of our mornings and then various other times throughout the day over the course of our four day trip. We were not once asked for room keys or any other proof that we were staying at the GCH.

 

[Geoff_M]

When we used the entrance last week, no one asked for proof that we were staying at GCH.

 

[longboard55]

If you walk the cross walk, they will ask at the auto entry for your room key, since you do not have one tell them you have a reservation at Craftsman, they might ask for a phone verification. Once past that point you can enter the park at the GC entrance. Or if you enter from DTD I do not see any location where they would ask.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Whether you can or not will depend on the day. If it gets ultra busy, they will make it Grand Californian only. A few years ago, this happened when I tried to go in on the day of CHOK walk. Most often, they will allow any Disney hotel guest through in the first few hours and then open it to everyone at some point. So for your case, most likely, you will be allowed to but there is a very small chance you may not.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Whether you can or not will depend on the day. If it gets ultra busy, they will make it Grand Californian only. A few years ago, this happened when I tried to go in on the day of CHOK walk. Most often, they will allow any Disney hotel guest through in the first few hours and then open it to everyone at some point. So for your case, most likely, you will be allowed to but there is a very small chance you may not.

It's an officially stated policy that anyone staying in a Disney hotel can use that entrance. It's not just informally applied here and there.

 

[Malcon10t]

Yes. To enter the front gate, you will need an active hotel key to one of the 3 hotels. Once inside the hotel, after 11am, anyone can use the entrance to DCA. Prior to 11, it can be restricted to hotel guests only (any of the 3 hotels.)

 

[Geoff_M]

While only allowing on-site hotel guests access to the GCH DCA gate may still be policy, from what we saw last week it doesn't seem to be enforced (and this was during heavy Spring Break crowds) And quite frankly there's no real need to under the current environment. On-site guests are no longer allowed early entry into the parks, Disney encourages people to use their phones for room access and doesn't automatically issue room keys when you check-in on-line, and there's no real advantage to a use the GCH DCA entrance if you're someone coming from the parking garages or elsewhere. So, I can understand why they aren't enforcing the policy currently.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

While only allowing on-site hotel guests access to the GCH DCA gate may still be policy, from what we saw last week it doesn't seem to be enforced. And quite frankly there's no real need to under the current environment. On-site guests are no longer allowed early entry into the parks, Disney encourages people to use their phones for room access and doesn't automatically issue room keys when you check-in on-line, and there's no real advantage to a use the GCH DCA entrance if you're someone coming from the parking garages or elsewhere.

It's not so much the park entrance, it's the Grand Cal itself. Before the policy was put in place, the GCH lobby was like Grand Central Station for people cutting through every morning.

 

[gelatoni fan]

It's an officially stated policy that anyone staying in a Disney hotel can use that entrance. It's not just informally applied here and there.

What is in the policy and what is actually enforced are not always the same.

For example, the policy for park hopping states: "After entering that first park, Guests will be able to visit the next park starting at 1:00 PM and go between the parks until each park's regularly scheduled closure." This is not exactly true. If you entered your first park at 1PM, you would not be able to enter the other park at 1:01PM because the system will not allow the same ticket to enter the parks twice within too short of a time frame. Generally a CM will call over a manager who will approve the entry but the exact way they handle situations like this will vary.

In the vast majority of cases, all Disney hotel guests CAN enter the parks through the Grand Californian entrance but there are occasional rare situations when they cannot.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What is in the policy and what is actually enforced are not always the same.

For example, the policy for park hopping states: "After entering that first park, Guests will be able to visit the next park starting at 1:00 PM and go between the parks until each park's regularly scheduled closure." This is not exactly true. If you entered your first park at 1PM, you would not be able to enter the other park at 1:01PM because the system will not allow the same ticket to enter the parks twice within too short of a time frame. Generally a CM will call over a manager who will approve the entry but the exact way they handle situations like this will vary.

In the vast majority of cases, all Disney hotel guests CAN enter the parks through the Grand Californian entrance but there are occasional rare situations when they cannot.

You're referring to an IT glitch, not a policy exception.