Fairfield or Residence?

[jmmdls]

I thought I had our trip all figured out..but now I'm wondering. We have a 1 year old and 4 year old. We are booked at the Residence Inn Garden Grove in a 2 bedroom suite, so both kids will have their own room and us as well. However, I'm beginning to wonder about the reliability of the shuttle. We won't have a car, so I have a backup reservation at Fairfield inn in one of their suites. It is more expensive, smaller and also has no free breakfast, but for the convenience, wondering if we should still do it? Thoughts?

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Is there a reason that you're in Garden Grove rather than the RI Maingate on Clementine? We have three kids (then 2, 5, and 7), and we walked from there with the younger two in a sit-n-stand stroller. We walked back in the afternoon for the little one's nap, too, before returning for the night. I lost five pounds (that I needed to lose) doing that for 10 days!
I'd like to read others' replies to your question as I have a similar issue for our August trip. I am blanching at paying $229/night for the RI after paying only $151 last October, so I keep looking for other options. We have a reservation for a family suite at the Tropicana on Harbor for $189/night, but there's no good, hot breakfast there. You would think that it being much closer would be enough of a boon, but is it? $40 can buy us breakfast, but I am worried about it being inconvenient and taking too much time to go out somewhere every morning. When we stay at RI, we really whole hog the breakfast, getting lots of protein, fruit, and milk and juice (and coffee for DH) to power us through the morning, so saying we can grab a danish is not the same at all. I pretty much skipped lunch because I was still full from breakfast, although the kids needed lunch.
How vital is a suite to you? We *have* to have one because our kids need the darkness and quiet to go to sleep in a hotel, so we need a separate room if we want to be on the laptops or watch TV. So a lot of closer options are out for us. Is it the same for you?
So perhaps people who have stayed both further away and on Harbor could say how much of a difference the proximity makes? Anyone know of a good breakfast buffet or where to get a hearty breakfast quickly?

 

[Grumpy~N~Dopey]

if you plan on returning during the day for naps and such I would go with Fairfield! We were VERY happy with this hotel and it is so convenient! I dont know when you are traveling but if it is during a busy time, taking a stroller and 2 young kids on the shuttle can be awful!! if its a slow period then it is bearable so it kind of depends on when you go. we had a double queen room with a fold out chair and the room was quite large. I dont know what their suites are like though. It is nice not to have to deal with shuttles though.

 

[Baliezer]

if you plan on returning during the day for naps and such I would go with Fairfield! We were VERY happy with this hotel and it is so convenient! I dont know when you are traveling but if it is during a busy time, taking a stroller and 2 young kids on the shuttle can be awful!! if its a slow period then it is bearable so it kind of depends on when you go. we had a double queen room with a fold out chair and the room was quite large. I dont know what their suites are like though. It is nice not to have to deal with shuttles though.

I agree!
We stayed at the Residence Inn Garden Grove. It is nice, although my dh thought the air conditioner was too loud. We did wait a long time for the shuttle though. Staying here was the last time we stayed at a non walking distance hotel. This hotel has the ART shuttle, which if I remember correctly, runs once an hour. After the park opened, it took us 45 minutes to get to the front gate because of the shuttle. Not to mention what a pain it was to fold and unfold the stroller. Never again.

Fairfield Inn is nice and has two double beds and a pull out couch. We like that Pizza Hut is located on the third floor. Very nice, clean and convenient.
For me, I would choose a walking distance motel.

As far as breakfast goes. We either bring cereal and oatmeal cups with us, or grab something to go from McDolands and eat it while walking into the park. Mornings are the most valuable times at Disneyland. You can get a lot done before the big crowd comes at 11am.

 

[KCmike]

Fairfield Inn without a doubt. Great rooms, easy walk, and has McDonalds in front with a Pizza Hut Express inside.

 

[mommamonster]

I don't have experience with the shuttle and small ones, but last year we stayed at the Fairfield. It was an easy walk for us and very convenient because just about every day we went back to the hotel for afternoon naps and break time. The hotel room was super nice and clean, the staff is awesome there. I was bummed at first that they didn't have breakfast, but we packed in some shelf stable items such as granola bars, pastries, and trail mixes and I bought bananas and oranges for quick on the go breakfasts during the week which helped with costs and saved us time. There is a tiny fridge, but it doesn't hold much. There were 2 microwaves near the Pizza Hut lobby/seating area, that we always had access to, so when we needed to heat up leftovers we just had to take a short walk - which was an added bonus. I'd stay there again in the future!