The Grand Californian is a gorgeous property and with the location being next to (and partly inside) Disney's California Adventure park it's hard to complain.
We arrived a bit early and our room was not ready, but the staff sent me a text message when it was which was about 30 minutes. We left our bags at the bell desk and headed to the park.
The hotel has a great lobby reminiscent of a grand lodge. There is a fireplace that you can warm up next to, and televisions playing Disney movies for the kids.
The staff is so awesome here! Disney service can't be beat and the hotel staff at the Grand Californian represent the best of Disney customer service. They are all so friendly and accommodating.
The rooms are just average. They are very quiet though. I didn't hear kids running up and down the halls or anything while we were there. The beds are pretty comfortable also. The rooms are nice but not any better than the Hilton or Marriott. I do feel that this hotel is overpriced because of this. If you don't plan on being in you're room much just stay across the street at Disney's Paradise Pier hotel. It's much cheaper and you still get to use the Grand Californian park entrance.
We were celebrating a birthday so I ordered a cake from room service to arrive while we were out. It was just as I had requested and delivered on time.
We ate at Napa Rose. The food there is delicious! If you are a wine drinker they have the best selection I've ever seen. It's not a place for kids though. There are other places on property to eat, such as Storyteller's Cafe. They have a character breakfast buffet that looks fun for kids. There are also places in Downtown Disney that you could eat. Downtown Disney is just steps from the hotel.
Didn't use the pool because it was January and pretty cold, but it looked beautiful.
Overall, this is a really nice hotel for a special occasion. It is very expensive, but well worth every penny.

Let me start by saying that I have stayed here over 40 times with my family since the hotel opened. I think I have a pretty good idea of how the resort operates.

Not once, in 40+ stays, did a hotel employee at the front desk acknowledge that we had EVER stayed there. Every single time we checked in, they asked "Is this your first time visiting us?"
This is customer service 101.
Every other resort that I have ever visited acknowledges that you are a returning customer.
Is this crazy? I even wrote it on the survey about 30 times. Never heard back from Disney.

The rooms are clean, but extremely cheap for what they charge. Awful pillows and sheets, Motel 6 bathrooms for four star prices. The single worst shower head ever created.

If this resort charged a decent rate, I would not have one complaint...

EXCEPT THE BREAKFAST.

You know those fake, dry "scrambled eggs" that some really cheap places serve?
Check.
Do you love everything sitting out for hours in warming trays?
Check.
"Orange juice" that is really artificial tasting, like Tang?
Check.
Fruit that is either VERY under-ripe or VERY over-ripe?
Check.

And all for exorbitant prices!

We stayed here out of necessity, not because we loved it. The kids loved Disneyland and California Adventure.

When it first opened, they actually had some very good deals for locals in the off-season.

Not anymore...

Having stayed at the Grand multiple times over the last few years and almost always experiencing fantastic service, it takes a lot to wow me at this point but the staff at the Grand Californian most definitely did it this time. Because of an unfortunate incident in the lobby during my last stay involving someone throwing a beverage off a balcony and nearly hitting me, the staff made sure that my stay this time was completely perfect. From the moment we checked in - which was late in the evening, due to a significant plane delay (thanks again, United!) - everything was taken care of and nothing left to chance. I wasn't feeling well after a nearly 12-hour trip across the country so one of the staff members escorted us to our room (which was an upgrade to a theme-park view) and checked us in while we were in the room, instead of having to take care of things at the front desk. She also made sure there were chocolate chip cookies and a carafe of cold milk waiting for us in the room and a lovely welcome note from the general manager of the hotel.

Any time I needed any help during the week - like a late check out on our day of departure or help getting a dining reservation - everyone stepped right up to assist. Special thanks to Randy and Rudy at the front desk and Angel at bell services for making sure our comings and goings were seamless and worry-free and an extra special thank you to Brian, the front desk manager, for working his magic to make this trip great.

The bedding is very comfortable, the room is a good-sized, the toiletries are plentiful, housekeeping is attentive, the lobby is spectacular with a piano player every day entertaining the crowds and the food choices range from relatively inexpensive (by Disney standards) at White Water Care (and thank you to Lalani for always being so helpful there) to crazy expensive and - in my opinion - not worth the price at Napa Rose. The parks were not terribly crowded and I'm sure that some of that is due to the time of year - early January - when I traveled but I suspect that the unusually cold weather when I was there (30s-40s every day) probably kept the locals at home and thus kept the crowd levels down.

Yes, this is an expensive place to stay but the convenience, the ambiance, the level of staff attention and the proximity to the parks is beyond compare. If you can treat yourself, go for it. You won't regret it.

Pack the kids and watch how Disney employees lay on the sparkle. We traveled with our 2 infants and some friends and stayed for 5 nights.

Resort is clean, staff spectacular and location perfect. If you have the money to do Disney, this is the way to do it. You are allowed to enter the parks before anyone else and get all your photos, great added feature.

This is the best of Disney, so be prepared to spend. This is not a place for bargain hunters. We loved every bit. The rooms are as large as any hotel, pending you have a suite somewhere. The pool is phenomenal. Huge and plenty of space to splash and relax.

Get to the pool early to get you a seat, it gets busy.

I would say, the pool needed more servers taking orders or a better menu. I get that it is kid friendly but there should be an upgraded menu for adults.