Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove?

[mellowme]

Hi everyone,


Does anyone have any experience with this hotel?

Is it a good hotel to stay at?

Is it in short walking distance to Disneyland? How long would you say?

Is it near shops and restaurants?


Thanks in advance.

 

[01spirit750]

The only Hyatt Regency I know of that is close to Disneyland is the one on Harbor and Chapman in Garden Grove.

We liked the hotel and the room. Our room was clean and comfortable. The staff was very nice and helpful.


Per Yahoo maps it is 3.04 miles from Disneyland. Determining walking distance is very subjective and different for everybody.

For me 3.04 miles is too far to walk. They do offer their own shuttle which is very prompt and on time (on the 20 and 50 of the hour). The only thing to remember is that at the end of the day everybody else (staying at the Hyatt) is also trying to get on that shuttle.

For us walking distance is the GCH.

 

[mellowme]

Thanks so much for your reply.


Would you say that driving there is a good or bad idea?

Is the parking lot for Disneyland close to Disneyland resort?

 

[01spirit750]

No, I do not recommend driving. There are two parking options: The parking structure and the parking lot on Harbor (the old strawberry fields) and either require you take a tram or shuttle to get to the resort (they are not close and they charge for parking).

If you stay at the Hyatt just use their shuttle but when leaveing the park at the end of the day just plan accordingly. Also if you arrive at the exact departure time there might be standing room only on the bus. We would always arrive about 15 minutes prior to the stated resort departure time.

From what I saw the bus was always able to get everyone waiting, but the bus was crowded.

When the Hyatt Shuttle driver drops you off at Disneyland in the morning pay close attention to where he drops you off at, this is where they will pick you up for your return to the hotel.

The Hyatt shuttle drops off and picks up at the end of the white loading area just past the benches.

 

[mellowme]

I'm glad I asked, 'cause I was planning on just driving. Now I see why staying at a hotel on the resort is the best bet.

Is there a fee to take the shuttle?

 

[01spirit750]

The Hyatt Regency shuttle is free for Hyatt hotel guests. You must show your room key. If you arrive before checkin and want to head to the parks get a temporary room key from the front desk, this will allow you to use the shuttle.

Be sure and check out the Hyatt website for special room sales. We booked our room and the price dropped so we rebooked. (I would check everyday). We booked one of the suites on sale rooms and the extra space was a really nice to "spread out".

They do offer a room with breakfast deal but my wife and daugher are not breakfast people. By my calculations the room with breakfast package would only save a few dollars and I felt that we would be tied into eating at the hotel every morning.

My wife made the comment (since she prefered staying onsite) that we spent about 1 hour per day either waiting for or on the shuttle and we could have been enjoying the park

 

[mellowme]

I thought staying off site wouldn't be too much of a hassle, but I'm beginning to think otherwise.

Thanks so much for your insight 01spirit750.

 

[Hound 109]

I thought staying off site wouldn't be too much of a hassle, but I'm beginning to think otherwise.

Thanks so much for your insight 01spirit750.

Great info from 01spirit.


But don't make the assumption that staying "off site" is a hassle everywhere.

The term "off site" also includes several Harbor Blvd. hotels that are truly walking distance (roughly half a mile or less) & are actually as close and as short a walk to the DL front gate as the 3 Disney hotels.

Also, the fact that they Hyatt has a dedicated bus is better & less "hassle" (imo) than other 2+ mile away hotels which use the ART shuttle.

 

[mellowme]

Thanks for letting me know Hound 109.

 

[GrandBob]

Great info from 01spirit.


But don't make the assumption that staying "off site" is a hassle everywhere.

The term "off site" also includes several Harbor Blvd. hotels that are truly walking distance (roughly half a mile or less) & are actually as close and as short a walk to the DL front gate as the 3 Disney hotels.

Exactly! There are a number of properties on Harbor that are actually more convenient than on-site. It just depends on what you're looking for.

Hydroguy's Hotel Rule is a great resource for this topic. Aside -- why do all the newbies miss Hydroguy's tip thread? Do the moderators need to do something to make them more prominent? Collectively, they're the best resource out there, bar none. Many DLR visitors would greatly benefit by finding Hydroguy's threads.

-Bob

 

[LisainCalifornia]

There are also several motels/hotels within walking distance that are considerably cheaper than staying on property. People here like Howard Johnsons Anaheim (Hojos), Park Vue Inn and Best Western Park Place Inn (across the street from the entrance gates). Farfield Inn is a Marriott right next to a McDonalds on Harbor (near Hojos). All of these hotels are within walking distance.

There is a hotel that has a popular following called the Candy Cane Inn. Look up reviews on www.tripadvisor.com. That hotel is walking distance, but also has a dedicated shuttle (and it is much quicker and less crowded than the Hyatt shuttle) if you don't feel up to walking.

So you have several options to chose from. If you do want to stay on property, then you have the 3 resort hotels to chose from.

Have fun,
Lisa

 

[HydroGuy]

Exactly! There are a number of properties on Harbor that are actually more convenient than on-site. It just depends on what you're looking for.

Hydroguy's Hotel Rule is a great resource for this topic. Aside -- why do all the newbies miss Hydroguy's tip thread? Do the moderators need to do something to make them more prominent? Collectively, they're the best resource out there, bar none. Many DLR visitors would greatly benefit by finding Hydroguy's threads.

-Bob

Bob, thanks for the promo. The moderators have them in the Mary Jo's prominent sticky thread. Not sure what else they can do.

 

[01spirit750]

Just to confirm what others have said. The hotels directly across the street from the main entrance on Harbor (see previous posts) can be closer then staying onsite (and less hassle).

Here is my "perception" of the "onsite hotels" and distances
Paradise Pier - Long walk to the parks. You can use the monorail but the lines are real long in the morning and at nights (can be a hassle)

Disneyland Hotel - Long walk to the parks. You can use the monorail but the lines are real long in the morning and at nights (can be a hassle)

Grand Californian- Closer than any other hotel options if you use the GCH entrance to DCA. If DCA is closed and you have to walk all the way thru DTD, then the harbor hotels are probably just as close. If we are leaving Disneyland and going back to the GCH, we will enter DCA and use the DCA-GCH hotel entrace to get back to our rooms.

We used to stay at the Camelot Inn (next to MacDonalds), but my wife is the type who likes to stay onsite to be in the middle of all things Disney.

 

[blackjackdelta]

My wife is the same way with staying on site. She has said she would prefer not to go if we can not stay at the GCH. We just save the money up to do so.

Jack

 

[mellowme]

Thanks so much everyone.

 

[tlovesdis]

We stayed at the Hyatt once and probably wouldn't again. The shuttle is a pain. If you want to actually get on it when you want, you have to be there very wearly and line up. One night we went to wait for the shuttle back to the hotel and the line was crazy! We had to wait for 2 busses to come before we got on. It was nuts. After that we decided from now on we were going to stay across the street, within walking distance and we did that in March and it was awesome not having to wait!

 

[yupikgal]

We only stayed in Garden Grove (not Hyatt, but close to it) when we were done with the Disney portion of our trip. We have stayed at the Fairfield, Ho Jo's & Paradise Pier. They are all great hotels, and all within close walking distance to the parks. When we stayed at the Paradise Pier, we would just walk across a street, and we'd be at the GCH, where we would use either the Downtown Disney entrance or the Cal Adventure entrance to get to the parks! Have fun!!