*25th Anniversary Trip!!*

[yupikgal]

We are celebrating our 25th on April 12th! Were considering Hawaii or Mexico (we are from Alaska) but we love DL, so have to spend at least a little bit of time there! We will miss celebrating the actual day at DL, since we head there on the Friday the 8th, and are either doing 2 or 3 days at the park. So excited for the F & W Festival being back!! Can't decide whether to go with a 3 day pass instead of 2! With all the rides being down, I figured maybe 2 might be ok, one day for each park? If we do that, should we still do PH??

As far as a hotel, I would love some help with this too! Right now I have us booked at the NEW Homewood Suites Convention Center on Harbor. Has anyone stayed there and how did you like it? It's only been open since November, apparently! I have also considered staying on property at the Paradise Pier, but it's twice the amount, we could use that extra $$ for nice dinners, etc.! Another favorite is the Candy Cane Inn. I also considered staying at the Sheraton Park at club level, has anyone ever done this? The Hotel Indigo seems pretty popular. I will admit being right across the street at the BW Park Place was handy the last time we were there, but it doesn't seem so special for our 25th!

I almost booked a Hawaiian vacation, but honestly, I don't know if I could miss out on DL, since it's my happy place! (I can't quit you, DL!) Besides, the prices were better for us airfarewise & otherwise in CA.

The full dates of our anniversary trip are April 8-16th, but part of it will probably be spent in San Diego or some other beachy town in Southern Cal. We've been to SD several times, and stayed in several places. If there are any hotels/resorts in particular that you can recommend (staying within a budget of about $200/night) that would be most helpful!

As far as closures, luckily I am not a "big ride" type of person as far as roller coaster type rides, etc. What is sad for me is that the railroad will be down, and then apparently, the monorail, although the monorail would be open if we go to DL straight away. I love that "ride"! I also love Jungle Cruise, and it's supposed to be opening back on April 4. according to the schedule. Here's a site that I found with updated closure info: https:/…closures

I'm getting so excited!! We weren't going to go anywhere for our anniversary, but how could we not?? It's a big one! I know I already said this, but we are so excited for the F & W festival's return, the last time we went was 2010, which apparently was the last year they had it!

 

[yupikgal]

Gm..feeling a bit under the weather today. I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm already laying low, so I want to continue working on our trip.

So main questions are: Suggestions for whether to do 2 or 3 days in the parks, and whether we should do PH?
Where to stay? I booked the new Homewood Suites at Convention Way, but I think it's a bit farther out. We have stayed on site in the past, but since we are doing other things on the trip, I'd like to keep the cost down, so maybe one of the newer properties or the Sheraton Park club level or Candy Cane Inn (the deluxe room where they deliver your breakfast?) just to make it a little more special since it's a special occasion) or the Hotel Indigo, Springhill Suites, or anywhere else you can suggest?

Thanks Disboarders!

 

[ADLFAN]

I would definitely allow yourselves 3 days for DLR, and get the Park Hopper tickets!

I love being able to cross back and forth whenever we have an urge, and DL is always open later than DCA, so I like to end my nights there, even if we don't get much completed.

Lucky you to get to experience the goodies at the Food and Wine Festival! We're going at the beginning of May and will miss it!

I haven't stayed at any of your potential hotels, but the breakfast delivery at CCI sounds romantic and leisurely! I know it's pretty close, too, but does it also have a dedicated shuttle?

Have fun planning!

 

[yupikgal]

I would definitely allow yourselves 3 days for DLR, and get the Park Hopper tickets!

I love being able to cross back and forth whenever we have an urge, and DL is always open later than DCA, so I like to end my nights there, even if we don't get much completed.

Lucky you to get to experience the goodies at the Food and Wine Festival! We're going at the beginning of May and will miss it!

I haven't stayed at any of your potential hotels, but the breakfast delivery at CCI sounds romantic and leisurely! I know it's pretty close, too, but does it also have a dedicated shuttle?

Have fun planning!

Thank you for your suggestions! We normally get park hoppers, so I'm sure I'll end up getting them.. We are excited about the food and wine festival! Yes CCI has a dedicated shuttle, which would be a definite plus for my aching feet at the end of the night!

 

[westcoastminnie]

Sorry, I don't have any advice on your hotels - we pretty much always stay at Best Western Stovall's - but just wanted to wish you an early Happy Anniversary! We were at DLR in the fall, for our 20th. We had an amazing time, including a wonderful anniversary dinner at Steakhouse 55

I agree with ADLFAN, if you can do 3 day park hoppers, I'd say go for it!

 

[yupikgal]

Sorry, I don't have any advice on your hotels - we pretty much always stay at Best Western Stovall's - but just wanted to wish you an early Happy Anniversary! We were at DLR in the fall, for our 20th. We had an amazing time, including a wonderful anniversary dinner at Steakhouse 55

I agree with ADLFAN, if you can do 3 day park hoppers, I'd say go for it!

Thank you!! It seems like we just got married... That's another thing I need to do, is to figure out where we want to have our special dinner, and when! Maybe on our last night, Sunday. It sounds like the general consensus has been 3 days, and I'm not one to argue!

I'm going to continue to research the hotels, and maybe call some of them. I like to touch base with real people & ask questions!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We've done club level at the Sheraton Park and enjoyed it. That is one of our go-to hotels in Anaheim. (If you do a search, there is a thread on that hotel with relatively recent info on the club level.) Premium rooms at the CCI are nice, too. The amenities basket, bathrobes, and breakfast delivery are nice touches. The private shuttle is clean and runs on time. Isn't the Homewood Suites walking distance to the Toy Story lot? You could take the TS shuttles to the parks for free. Springhill Suites are nice and have the advantage of being right above a 24/7 CVS (so convenient for snacks, beverages, and anything you might have forgotten to pack) and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

 

[yupikgal]

We've done club level at the Sheraton Park and enjoyed it. That is one of our go-to hotels in Anaheim. (If you do a search, there is a thread on that hotel with relatively recent info on the club level.) Premium rooms at the CCI are nice, too. The amenities basket, bathrobes, and breakfast delivery are nice touches. The private shuttle is clean and runs on time. Isn't the Homewood Suites walking distance to the Toy Story lot? You could take the TS shuttles to the parks for free. Springhill Suites are nice and have the advantage of being right above a 24/7 CVS (so convenient for snacks, beverages, and anything you might have forgotten to pack) and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Oh Lucky Rabbit! I'm having such a time trying to decide! At one point I even considered staying at the PPH again, although the price!! Arrrggghhh!! I keep trying to justify it by saying we will have 2 days of early entry, and it's our 25th anniversary, but when I think of how much $$ we will save, I just cringe! The Sheraton Park club is way cheaper than even the standard room at the PPH!! I don't know that we would take advantage of the evening offerings though, since we plan on eating our way around the Food & Wine offerings, but who knows? I'm not sure what time the breakfast would be done on Friday the 8th when we first get in too...I'm so tempted to take a chance on the newer hotels, and yes my understanding is the Toy Story shuttle would be available to us, I don't know when their first schedule is in the morning, we would want to take advantage of that. Too many choices, is my problem, I'm not good with them!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Well, if the rates are all fairly equal, I would choose a premium room at the CCI. Their customer service is very good. Tell them it's your anniversary when you make the reservation and ask what can be done to make the celebration extra special. The continental breakfast is generous and substantial enough to hold us until we get into the parks. And that shuttle really is helpful at the end of the day! Otherwise, I would try for a Disneyland view room (high floor) at the Sheraton Park. We love having dessert or wine and cheese on our balcony while watching the fireworks. (There is a hotel being built behind the Sheraton right now. Make sure to ask how the construction will affect your view and if the noise will be a problem.) Have you looked at the Anaheim Hilton? We had a large, tower room in a corner that gave us a view of the fireworks and WOC. Of course, the view was from far away, but it was still fun seeing both shows from our room (no balcony).

 

[yupikgal]

I'm a bit leery about CCI now...dangers of reading Yelp! I saw pictures & read reviews of bed bugs, the big red welts are making me shiver!!
If I was to choose the NEW Springhill Suites (heard great things about this one) or NEW Homewood Suites (this one I've got booked already) or Hotel Indigo, which would you choose? I also ended up booking the BW Park Place Inn again, we stayed in November and enjoyed the closeness-I guess I just wanted to try something new, but booked it just in case. One thing I don't like is they only had a room with 2 DOUBLE beds, I prefer queens or King. I now have these 3 booked, as a precautionary measure, since it is a busy time. I will definitely cancel the ones I don't want, once I make up my mind.

*Homewood Suites at Convention Center
*Candy Cane Inn
*BW PPI

Thanks everyone!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Any hotel can have a bedbug problem (all 3 properties on site have had reports, so even they're not immune to this). A report online doesn't necessariy mean the hotel in question is filthy. (Would you consider the GCH to be filthy?) If you have concerns, call the hotel directly to ask them about this review and what was done about it. We've always found the CCI to be clean and had great experiences with the staff and management.
When it comes to reading reviews on Yelp! or TripAdvisor, we toss out the highest and lowest reviews (some people will praise anything or it might be staff members artificially inflating the hotel's rating; other people are never satisfied and will complain and exaggerate about everything), and stick with the median reviews. Those tend to have the most practical pov.
It's good that you have multiple reservations. That will give you options to search for the best rate.

 

[yupikgal]

Any hotel can have a bedbug problem (all 3 properties on site have had reports, so even they're not immune to this). A report online doesn't necessariy mean the hotel in question is filthy. (Would you consider the GCH to be filthy?) If you have concerns, call the hotel directly to ask them about this review and what was done about it. We've always found the CCI to be clean and had great experiences with the staff and management.
When it comes to reading reviews on Yelp! or TripAdvisor, we toss out the highest and lowest reviews (some people will praise anything or it might be staff members artificially inflating the hotel's rating; other people are never satisfied and will complain and exaggerate about everything), and stick with the median reviews. Those tend to have the most practical pov.
It's good that you have multiple reservations. That will give you options to search for the best rate.

LuckyRabbit, yes you are correct, my apologies, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm not saying that there are no other ones that ever have issues, I just can't get those images out of my head right now. Yes, I like to keep my options open, so I haven't cancelled any of the 3 yet...Thanks for your opinions & suggestions! Where ever we end up staying, the main thing is the parks & how much fun we will have!!