1st time visiting a US park from Australia - Some questions

[Harry Baker]

Hi there,

I'm from Australia, and looking to visit America for a holiday next November/December, including Disneyland.

I've visited and stayed at Disneyland Paris many times before, mostly as a child, but last year I treated my girlfriend to a 2 night stay there for her birthday. We both had a great time, and are looking at tackling Disneyland when we're in CA. HOWEVER, compared to DLP, the prices for DL seem absolutely huge!

I paid about 550 euros (~604 USD) for 2 nights at DLP, including park tickets. For the same length of stay, it's going to cost me around 1300 USD according to the Disneyland site!!! This is around 610 for hotel and the rest for 3 day park tickets including park hopper.

We're both a bit shocked at the price, and were wondering if there any insider tips on how to get the price down? For example, here in Australia if you go straight to the DLP site and book a hotel, the same fare would have cost me 800 euros, but by calling the booking line and requesting the local (French) fares, the prices was knocked down to 500. Is there something similar happening here? Am I being charged at an international rate?

Regardless of that, just wondering what the best tips are for bringing down the cost. Seems like a huge amount of money, despite understand that DL is much larger than DLP and probably provides a better bang for you buck.

There were a few other things I wanted to ask but can't remember now. Will post later.


Thanks very much,
Harry

 

[seashell7290]

The nice thing about visiting Disneyland is there are many hotels in walking distance from the parks that are not associated with Disney. Try looking at one of those and buy park tickets separate. That will help with the price.

 

[Harry Baker]

Although that is an option, I forgot to mention we really want to stay on site at one of the 3 Disney hotels (probably paradise pier)

Would just prefer it this way - staying off site in a good neighbour would break the immersion for us in some ways I think.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Other than staying offsite there's not much that you can do to bring down the price.
To me DLR does not have a "Disney bubble effect" so staying at a good neighbor hotel that is within easy walking distance really would not break the immersion because there is not immersion to begin with.

 

[littlebearfan]

for a holiday next November/December

It sounds like you are booking for November/December 2017, if so, then it's a high probability there aren't any public discounts available yet. I am looking at Disney World for September 2017 and don't expect to see public discount offers until maybe Spring of 2017. There have been some Bounce Back offers for next year (not for my week) - but those can only be booked while staying at Disney World.

Since I haven't looked into Disneyland, I don't know if it works the same way. I also haven't bothered to price a vacation there, but if all the other replies are telling you to consider offsite hotels it wouldn't hurt to consider it. Maybe use some of the savings from the room and plan a birthday dinner! Hope it all works out for you.

 

[Donalyn]

Don't discount off-site. DLR is different than WDW and others - it is okay to stay offsite.

But, I will tell you, the DLR prices are a lot higher than DLP. And there seem to be fewer discounts. I was looking at DLP packages over the weekend to plan our first trip there and with the discounts and all, I initially thought that the price given was per person, instead of for all 4 of us. It was that low (even with the British Pound to dollar conversion). We are paying an ungodly amount to go to DLR for 3 nights next month (but I really needed a Disney parks fix and all of my favorite off-site hotels were booked for the race weekend).

 

[Elima2015]

My opinion is to take a second look at the off-site hotels. There are many right across Harbor Ave that are very close and nice. I don't feel like the Disney hotels at DLR give you that same feeling as staying on property elsewhere (though I have not stayed at the disney hotels at DLR as the price always makes me walk away). The deals on Nov/Dec 2017 vacation packages won't be released for a while, so I'd keep an eye on those starting after the new year.

You didn't ask, but thought I'd also recommend sticking with your plan to get park hoppers. The parks are right across an esplanade from each other, so very easy and fast to do.

 

[Nevada Jen]

There is not much to do to lower the price. Going mid week helps. And stay on site if you want to. I completely disagree with others that there are really nice hotels right across the street. There are nice MOTELS. With outside walkways to the rooms. Without room service. Perhaps the only exception to the MOTEL concept that is as close as on site is Howard Johnson. But even then, you are walking on a busy city street full of motels and chain resteraunts. Staying across the street off site is vastly different than staying on site. Even with Paradise Pier where you cross the street to walk through the grand Californian, you are crossing a clean Disney street, not a street full of motels and low end chain resteraunts. Not to mention the early entry you get every day if you stay on site.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

There is not much to do to lower the price. Going mid week helps. And stay on site if you want to. I completely disagree with others that there are really nice hotels right across the street. There are nice MOTELS. With outside walkways to the rooms. Without room service. Perhaps the only exception to the MOTEL concept that is as close as on site is Howard Johnson. But even then, you are walking on a busy city street full of motels and chain resteraunts. Staying across the street off site is vastly different than staying on site. Even with Paradise Pier where you cross the street to walk through the grand Californian, you are crossing a clean Disney street, not a street full of motels and low end chain resteraunts. Not to mention the early entry you get every day if you stay on site.

I stayed at Sheridan Park which is easy walking distance.
Its a HOTEL with indoor walkways, a pool, hot tub, convenience store with a Starbucks, and a TS restaurant.
I'd say it was pretty nice.
I could walk directly across the steet to catch the Toy Story bus or I could make the easy walk to DLR.

 

[Nonsuch]

...I'm from Australia, and looking to visit America for a holiday next November/December, including Disneyland...

...I forgot to mention we really want to stay on site at one of the 3 Disney hotels (probably paradise pier)

Would just prefer it this way - staying off site in a good neighbour would break the immersion for us in some ways I think.

If you want "immersion", either GCH or DLH would be better choice. While essentially the same distance to the parks as DLH, staying at PPH requires crossing a public street.

Considering the cost of travel from Australia, it's a relatively small cost increase to upgrade to GCH or DLH.

 

[Harry Baker]

It sounds like you are booking for November/December 2017, if so, then it's a high probability there aren't any public discounts available yet.

Yeah, that's right, 2017. Thanks, will keep this in mind.

I completely disagree with others that there are really nice hotels right across the street. There are nice MOTELS.

This is what I was thinking. Thank you for confirming it. I'm sure they're nice but I refuse to believe there's not a "Disney bubble", even if it's not as prominent as other parks.

If you want "immersion", either GCH or DLH would be better choice. While essentially the same distance to the parks as DLH, staying at PPH requires crossing a public street.

Considering the cost of travel from Australia, it's a relatively small cost increase to upgrade to GCH or DLH.

Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe consider upgrading to DLH depending on how much money we save up.

 

[Nonsuch]

...Maybe consider upgrading to DLH depending on how much money we save up.

DLH has the best Disney "details", but GCH is more "upscale".
GCH is undergoing a major refurbishment, which should be completed by the time you visit (although interior work has not started).

You might consider renting points for a VGC Studio (a DVC timeshare unit at the GCH). This will save money, but payment must be made in advanced and generally cannot be changed or cancelled.

 

[Harry Baker]

You might consider renting points for a VGC Studio (a DVC timeshare unit at the GCH). This will save money, but payment must be made in advanced and generally cannot be changed or cancelled.

What on earth is this? Sounds bizarre lol

 

[GatorChris]

What on earth is this? Sounds bizarre lol

They're talking about renting Disney Vacation Club points from an owner. You can get the Grand Californian at 40% off the price. Just Google or Bing "DVC Rental" and you'll get a number of options. As long as you are 4 or less, you can get a good deal at the Grand Cali. And honestly, if you want the Disney Immersion feeling, that's the only hotel you get that at. I've stayed at Paradise Pier and Disneyland Hotel, and I've not felt the "Disney Bubble" that I feel when staying onsite at WDW.

And since I can't get that great feeling for what they charge, we stay across the street. Usually at the Howard Johnson. You can even get a park view room for less than $200/night.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

I know Flight Centre offers a discounted 10 day pass especially for Austrailia and New Zealand. Not sure if they offer decent discounts for shorter stays.

On site hotel discounts are going to be slim around that time of year, but you can probably find something for Sunday - Thursday nights for 20% - 25% off.

If you're interested in vintage styles, check out the Dapper Day convention. They have two a year and this year their fall meeting is in early November. They offer significant hotel and ticket savings if you attend their free convention.

 

[losfp]

Next Sept will be our 3rd trip to DLR, and we travel from Sydney.

I would definitely consider one of the Good Neighbor Hotels on Harbor Blvd. We stayed at the HoJo in 2012 and enjoyed it. Probably about a ten minute walk, still very close. There's also some other accommodation options right across the road from the Esplanade that I've heard reasonable things about. Sure, they're more motel-style and nothing flash, but the price and location are hard to beat.

In our 2015 trip we rented DVC points and stayed at the Grand Californian. Now this is a nice hotel and super close. We really appreciated the daily early entry and ability to charge stuff back to the room. With 2 small kids in tow, it was nice to be close to our room for breaks and naps etc.

We're renting points for the VGC again for our 2017 trip, obviously we had a good experience last time. It's going to cost us about $300-390 AUD per night (more for weekend nights than midweek) which I thought was a very reasonable price for the Grand Cali.This is going through a private owner who we know and used for the 2015 trip, if you go through a broker, it will be a bit more expensive, but still likely to be a significant savings over the rack rate. I'd absolutely recommend checking out DVC rentals to consider as an option. For the VGC, you'll want to book right on the 11 month mark so you have the best chance of getting your preferred room type (the cheapest studios go quickest from my understanding).

FYI DVC is Disney Vacation Club, Disney's timeshare program. People "buy" a certain number of points that they can use annually. Sometimes people don't want to use it in a particular year, or can't. So they "rent" the points out to other folks. Disneyland in Anaheim only has the one DVC property, which is the Villas at the Grand Californian (VGC).

 

[disneyfirsttimer18]

Our first trip, I wanted to stay off site and save some money. My DH insisted on DLH. We loved it. There is such thing as the "Disney Bubble" at DLR, I realized it while staying at PPH 3 months ago. On our first trip, the only time we saw the "real world" was riding on the Monorail. Staying at PPH, we saw it everytime we left or went back to our room. And the elevators at PPH are absolutely horrible.

 

[jevs]

You're not going to get the price down on Disney hotels, especially for that time of the year. And PPH is further away from the parks than some of the places across the street.

You can save money if you buy the 10 day pass only available to Aussies and Kiwis, it's a little more than the 5 day pass.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Yeah, that's right, 2017. Thanks, will keep this in mind.




This is what I was thinking. Thank you for confirming it. I'm sure they're nice but I refuse to believe there's not a "Disney bubble", even if it's not as prominent as other parks.



Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe consider upgrading to DLH depending on how much money we save up.

You have to cross a street from the paradise pier. Don't think that any much different from staying at the hotels on harbor such as this one. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...ce/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

There's an Australian 10 day ticket available through your travel agents.

 

[Harry Baker]

Our first trip, I wanted to stay off site and save some money. My DH insisted on DLH. We loved it. There is such thing as the "Disney Bubble" at DLR, I realized it while staying at PPH 3 months ago. On our first trip, the only time we saw the "real world" was riding on the Monorail. Staying at PPH, we saw it everytime we left or went back to our room. And the elevators at PPH are absolutely horrible.

Interesting, thinking DLH then maybe.

I know Flight Centre offers a discounted 10 day pass especially for Austrailia and New Zealand. Not sure if they offer decent discounts for shorter stays.

Only going for 3 days, 2 nights, so 10 day pass would still work out to be more expensive. Will investigate further though.