Not Feeling Confident About HoJo

[peterpanandwendy]

Here is a link showing the walk from hojos to the gates. We never found it to feel outside the disney bubble. Yes, you walk past some chain restaurants like macdonalds (great for picking up coffees and juice in the morning), and some hotels, and one bus stop with people sleeping on it (not going to lie)... But it is treed and you can see the park and the Matterhorn and it is a very short walk, we never mind it or feel unsafe at all.

 

[jina]

We prefer to cross Harbor in front of Mimi's and walk on the other side of the street - fewer crowds although you do have to walk past that bus stop... and I like looking up at the monorail tracks right above me when it goes by. But agreed it's a quick, easy and safe walk - honestly it seems about the same as the walk length-wise from the Disneyland hotel to the gates through DTD (but fewer crowds than walking through DTD unless you're going first thing in the morning). But yes, if $ were no object we'd be at the Disneyland Hotel - would love to take advantage of early entry and the pools.

 

[nana50]

This will be our second trip to Disneyland. We have been to WDW many, many times. We are DVC members, so the first trip we stayed at the Grand Californian Villas. This trip is more of a side trip during a California trip, so we are only staying 3 nights, and we don't have any DVC points to use. I booked the HoJo because I think my kids will like the pool area and the walk to the parks looks nice and short. However, the more I think about it, I am considering switching to 2 rooms at the Disneyland Hotel. Of course this is a significant price jump. I just don't know about staying outside of the Disney bubble. I don't like the idea of going off property to an ugly strip of hotels and chain restaurants. It just seems like it will ruin the magic. Also, in looking at pictures of the rooms online, they look pretty outdated and ugly. I have read several threads where people say staying on property isn't as important at Disneyland. Is this true? Is the Howard Johnson a nice resort, and is it kept up well, family friendly, etc? Any input and advice would be appreciated!

I am one of the few who don't care for it. I find the exterior really off putting as it is extremely outdated. For the price iIwas not impressed. also don't like the fact that the pool pool was away from the kids area. I had to watch or sit in a hot jacuzzi cause they weren't leaving the play area. Also it is a lot farther walk at night than it was in the morning.