UPDATE - Changes to the Grand Canyon

This was the other part of the trip that was playing on my mind... The hotel that was booked was a great location and I was happy with this until there was talk on the LP forum that it would be much better for us as a family to try and get lodgings in the actual park (same situation like it was with Yosemite)

The booked hotel was the closest that there was at Booking.com and I did not know that they actually had lodgings in the park... this I checked out via some links from the forum and found that there was a village on the rim of the south side of the canyon... This was run by the actual park itself and it looks great :)

The village is right on the rim with the hotels both at the rim and set a little back...
You also get shops / restaurants / info. center / shuttle buses / a train into the village...

Perfect :)

Then I read that you have to book 6-9 months in advance to secure a room...

We have 5 months...

Made the search and crossed my fingers...

Hotel after hotel came onto the screen as "Booked"

Then I remembered from the LP forum that someone named that they always keep some ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) rooms free... and I found a button on the search page to look for these rooms...

I thought that I would give it a go...

1 hotel came back with a room available for the 2 nights :)

I booked it wondering if it was actually ok to book.. I know our daughter has special needs and has a ID card etc... but would that be enough to qualify for the room ?
She is always tried and cant walk too far or do too much due to her needs - so for me to be so close to the rim was needed... I continued to book...

Then a question pops up that you have to accept to complete your booking... the question was asking if you need this type of room for someone in your group... I was in doubt again if I could book...
Then it says "or if no other room is available for your stay" :) this confirmed it for me and it is now booked :)

Could not be happier with this upgrade...

Bonus: Pizza Pub :)
The difference between a hotel on its own where you have to drive to see anything compared to a village where we can step out of the door and walk around with the kids is a huge difference to us.

Also the fact that many have told me that we NEED to see the sunrise at the rim looking over the canyon... from the old hotel it was a 15-20 minute drive and that early in the morning with the kids could be a problem... now we have just 400 meters - this is now possible...