DLH/fly or cheaper hotel/drive/VIPtour

[amazonfamily]

We have to go to Disneyland in the summer because my husband is a teacher. We are from Seattle.

I had originally wanted to fly and stay at the DLH. We wanted to take it easy and spend at least 5 days at the parks to get to do everything with the 7 and 2 yo.

If we drive and stay at somewhere like the Candy Cane Inn we spend way less, enough for a VIP tour even after accounting for the cost of driving/hotel. This is our first vacation in 6 years I want to make it special.

What would you do if it were you?i have no idea what to ask for on a tour, it seems like people have a lot of fun on them.

 

[sherilaine]

I would stay onsite, especially during the summer with their great pools, with more park days over a VIP tour and staying offsite. The VIP tours sound great but I think for a family of 4, especially with younger kids, it might not be worth the convenience you are given up otherwise.

 

[SMD]

Have you ever done a road trip with the kids? That's a long drive for a first time trip... Have you considered how many stops you'd make if you drive? In each direction? How long would the total trip be flying vs. driving? Have you priced flights to other places in CA and then priced a rental car? I wouldn't even worry about where to stay in DL until I had a timeline for the whole trip.

 

[Angrose]

I agree with @sherilaine , fly and stay onsite, you won't regret it. And with five park days, that's more than enough time to do what you want to do in the parks and enjoy the resort. There is no way you could pay me to drive from Seattle if flying is an option! Save the VIP experience for when the kids are older and can appreciate it more.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Having done a VIP tour...which is the greatest thing ever...I agree with those above. You will get much more value out of an on site stay vs a VIP tour for one day.

The value in the VIP tour is access to most of the major rides, which you would not be able to fully enjoy with the young ones.

By all means do a VIP tour if you can even with young ones but in an either/or choice...stay on site and fly. The proximity of the parks and staying in the Disney Bubble makes the trip even that much more special plus you will get more time in the parks vs driving.

 

[mom2rtk]

Stay onsite and make full use of your early entry every day. Take a break in the heat of the day to swim.

 

[VandVsmama]

Or you could go for option #3:
Drive and stay at the DLH.

 

[amazonfamily]

We are veteran road trippers, two cross country USA drives under our belts. The drive would take a lot longer, but flying would cost us about 2000 more.

DLH is 500 a night for the time we want to go. We wanted to stay 6 nights at least. I remember 2 hour lines as a kid in Disneyland so I wanted a long enough time to do everything. All I really need in a hotel is beds and a bathroom. It's about 300 more a night than the hotels across the street.

Staying in the DLH would keep us in a nice Disney bubble. I'm just excited that we get to go after years of not being able to afford trips.

 

[Geemo]

We have to go to Disneyland in the summer because my husband is a teacher. We are from Seattle.

I had originally wanted to fly and stay at the DLH. We wanted to take it easy and spend at least 5 days at the parks to get to do everything with the 7 and 2 yo.

If we drive and stay at somewhere like the Candy Cane Inn we spend way less, enough for a VIP tour even after accounting for the cost of driving/hotel. This is our first vacation in 6 years I want to make it special.

What would you do if it were you?i have no idea what to ask for on a tour, it seems like people have a lot of fun on them.

For a vacation after 6 long years....... FLY and stay where the budget allows. With the kid's ages, I'd also skip the VIP tour.

For big rides the 7 year old will want to do and 2 year old can't, use the Rider- Swap. Each adult will get to ride with the 7 year old.

Enjoy your time at DLR

Geemo

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Unless I was looking for a road trip experience with other stops and goals along the way, which it sounds like you are not, I would fly down from Seattle, especially with kids those ages. I have only stayed onsite twice, once at the PPH and once at the DLH. We enjoyed the DLH much more and since we knew it was something we weren't likely to do again, we made sure to spend time at the pools and slides and enjoying the grounds. We also got a downtown Disney view room and took advantage of magic morning each day. We were pretty tired after that trip since we packed so much in, but it was a fun experience. I would choose that over a VIP experience which I admit I haven't done personally.

All that being said, I will point out that you can have a great Disneyland vacation even without staying onsite or having a VIP tour. My preferred hotel is the Howard Johnson Anaheim which is on Harbor Boulevard pretty much across the street from the Matterhorn. You lose the feeling of "Disney immersion" but the walk isn't any longer than the farthest point to the DLH even if it feels that way sometimes. The rooms are spacious which is nice for a family of 4. I particularly like the kid suites because they are two rooms and two bathrooms so a great way for parents and kids to have a little space from each other. A kid suite at Hojo is going to be cheaper than a standard room at DLH. If you want something newer and maybe more upscale so a little more expensive, then there is a new Courtyard Marriott right across the street from the Hojo that I have been reading and hearing good things about. Both of these hotels have pools and water play areas for the kids. Both of these choices should be cheaper than the DLH. You won't save enough money for a VIP tour, but that saved money could certainly be put toward other ways to enhance your vacation experience.

 

[Malcon10t]

INitially, I was saying VIP tour, hands down. But with the 2yo, I dunno. It could still work. If the 2yo is a tall 2yo (41 inches) then you would still love it. We love VIP tours. With the 2yo, a lot of the rides would exclude them if they aren't tall enough.

 

[5forMickey]

Driving doesn't bother us either so we drive. Going that time of the year you can not put a price tag on the advantages of early mornings. You can get so much more done in the first few hours of the day and then enjoy all the Hotel has to offer when the park is crazy crowded. If you can stay on site I would do that as a first priority.

 

[sherilaine]

I particularly like the kid suites because they are two rooms and two bathrooms so a great way for parents and kids to have a little space from each other. A kid suite at Hojo is going to be cheaper than a standard room at DLH. If you want something newer and maybe more upscale so a little more expensive, then there is a new Courtyard Marriott right across the street from the Hojo that I have been reading and hearing good things about. Both of these hotels have pools and water play areas for the kids. Both of these choices should be cheaper than the DLH. You won't save enough money for a VIP tour, but that saved money could certainly be put toward other ways to enhance your vacation experience.

We love the Kids Suites as well and they should be MUCH cheaper than the DLH if the OP is stating they are looking at $500 per night. However, they book up fast and may already be unavailable. It also sounds like the OP is looking for fairly basic accommodation though which might make the PPH more of an onsite choice if they want to save some money?

 

[amazonfamily]

Son is really big. I'm thinking I need to bring a birth certificate to prove he's not older than 2.

I am enjoying the discussion. I haven't been to Disneyland in 20 years so I don't know much about what it's like there today.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We love the Kids Suites as well and they should be MUCH cheaper than the DLH if the OP is stating they are looking at $500 per night. However, they book up fast and may already be unavailable. It also sounds like the OP is looking for fairly basic accommodation though which might make the PPH more of an onsite choice if they want to save some money?

Yeah, PPH is a good suggestion for those who really want to be onsite and save money. For me though, if the goal is to save money then I may as well not bother with the PPH either. Lol. Just doesn't feel worth the Disney premium when it seems like such an ordinary hotel experience overall. I too was looking at the comment that all they need is beds and a bathroom and thinking, well, that's the place to cut costs then. If OP is considering Candy Cane Inn, then a standard room at Hojo would also suffice and have more space, not that I've got anything against the Candy Cane Inn. I've stayed there too and had fine experiences there. Can be a bit noisy at times and parking can be a bit of a pain but the included breakfast and shuttle offset those inconveniences. Our family just prefers Hojo.

I personally question the value of the VIP tour for a family with a two year old, but maybe that's just me. I would want to be having the family experience, going at the pacing of my little ones. The VIP experience sounds better for getting rides and experiences that a 2-year old wouldn't care about or be ready for, so maybe that's a dream for the future? With five days, the family should have plenty of time to get a lot of rides and shows in, especially if using the many tips from this board and other sites like it. It just sounds me to like a VIP tour for one day wouldn't add enough bang for the buck in this case.

 

[amazonfamily]

I was looking at the Candy Cane inn actually. My Dad stayed there in the 60s when it looked a bit different.

 

[sherilaine]

I was looking at the Candy Cane inn actually. My Dad stayed there in the 60s when it looked a bit different.

If you are really considering the offsite option, then I'd not base hotel choice on somewhere someone stayed 50 years ago - I'd check out Tripadvisor - and I'd pull up Google maps to see what the real walking distances are to the Main DLR entrance on Harbor as walking back after a long day can be very tiring for younger kids. There are many options straight across the cross walk that will meet your requirements of beds and a bathroom and will likely save you even more $ than the Candy Cane Inn.

For me Tripadvisor and Google Maps are life savers when planning vacations!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The Candy Cane Inn is a fine motel. We have stayed there 4 times, the last time in 2012. There are many fans of that location on these boards. It's a two story motel with exterior corridors and nicely kept grounds. The rooms run to the small side but are adequate and are clean. We have had both noisy and quiet rooms there. There is a small pool in the parking lot, and you can eat breakfast near the pool if you like since the pool is located just off the breakfast room. They have a decent continental breakfast that my kids used to love when they were young. There is a dedicated shuttle that goes back and forth to the park throughout the day, and the parking at the motel, while a bit tight, is free if you do end up driving and need to park a car. Like most places near Disney, it costs more than it's worth if you take out the prime consideration of being within walking distance to Disneyland. With respect to distance, it is no worse a walk than that from PPH, DLH, or Hojo. Comparing the Candy Cane Inn experience to the DLH experience is like comparing apples and oranges but it definitely satisfies the requirements of beds and a bathroom.

 

[Angrose]

I think comparing CCI to DLH is like comparing apples to chocolate-dipped strawberries! Apples are perfectly fine, but the strawberries, now that's something special!
If staying offsite, I would very much suggest Hojo's or the Courtyard Marriott. I took my DS last June (he was 7 at the time) and we absolutely loved Hojo’s. We are booked there again for Memorial Day weekend. The Deluxe Queen is about $179/nt vs. the Courtyard Marriott which is usually $279 for a standard 2 queen, bunkbed room. The CM is brand new, less than 6 months old I think, and the waterpark looks super fun. We really enjoyed Hojo’s waterpark even though it’s smaller. Oh, and Hojo has free parking, but CM is $20/day valet only.

Here are their websites: http://www.hojoanaheim.com/ and http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/snadt-courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance/

 

[amazonfamily]

I'm pretty obsessive when it comes to planning. I guess I should have said that I've already familiar with off property hotels. I'm just deciding what to splurge on.