Accommodation Question: Please help make up our minds!

[Staceycs]

Hi all,

I need some advice!

In September we will be on our 4th trip to Disneyland and our 2nd trip to Walt Disney World, all rolled into 1. We are certainly packing in a lot of flying!

We have never stayed at a Disney Property, and have always stayed on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim (we are huge Desert Inn and Suites fans) and on I-Drive in Orlando.

When we hit WDW this trip, we have booked the All-Star Music Resort as it's a value resort....we can't wait to stay on Disney property for the very first time!!!

We are now debating whether we should book accomm at one of the three Disney resorts while in Anahiem, as it will be the last time we get to the US for a very long time (kids are the next step on the agenda!).

The problem is, all 3 Anheim resorts are very expensive (compared to what we usually pay!). We have 7 nights in Anaheim and think maybe even 3 or 4 nights on Disney property could be a goer?

My questions is: will I regret never staying there? For people who have stayed at either PPH, DLH or GC, is it totally worth it for the jump in price? Do the benefits and the magic outweigh the cost, especially travelling so far?

I live Disney and think this may be one of those things where I may just have to say "forget the money" and go for it. Trust me, I'm stoked to stay on Disney property in Orlando, but I still consider Disneyland to be the original and the best and think that a theme-park view room in the PPH or GC would be a dream come true. I need ammo to be able to decide with DH, as he is still very much on the fence!

Please help!!!

Thanks

 

[limace]

Hi there! What a fabulous trip! I used to live in ACT and love your part of the world.

We personally don't think the DLR hotels are worth the crazy prices they are charging now-at WDW we pay the premium to stay onsite, but not at DL, since the travel savings in time aren't there.

 

[Staceycs]

Thanks for the input! I agree- at the Desert Inn, we are closer than if we stayed at the DLH.

I wish I lived in the States lol. The ACT is beautiful too!

Thanks

 

[nannyz]

Your trip sounds fabulous. I hope you have a wonderful experience.
As to the Desert Inn, we used to think it was great too, until we stayed at HoJo. Now we will never stay anywhere but HoJo.
The reason we choose not to stay onsite is because we spend so little time in our room that it just isn't worth the extra money.

 

[mrswh]

We have only stayed at two hotels in Anaheim - the Hyatt OC and the GCH. Both are nice hotels. If I had to pick, I'd say the Hyatt is probably a nicer hotel than the GCH. But . . . the Hyatt is a mile down Harbor, so it's not even really walkable. Most of the hotels on Harbor that are walking distance are not high end hotels. They are mainly motels and older hotels with fewer amenities. GCH is lovely and I know DLH and PPH have both been recently remodeled so I assume they are nice as well. We prefer to stay at the GCH because of how incredibly convenient it is. But we have two young children. Without kids, I might not value the convenience as much and it would be a closer call. But then again, without kids I'd probably not go to DLR to begin with, so I'm not sure my opinion is helpful to you.

I will say that being able to walk to the parks, without seeing Harbor Blvd., is lovely and just makes the whole experience seem so much nicer. Shuttles and/or walking down Harbor just adds a lot of time, hassle, noise, etc. You can still have a wonderful time staying offsite, but if you want the most convenient and relaxing vacation (esp. after traveling so far!), and you can afford it, I'd suggest trying out the GCH. DLH is a nice walk through DTD to get to the parks but my understanding is that it is geared more towards kids - so maybe try the GCH now and when you have kids, come back to the DLH!

 

[silence]

For us, if we can afford too, we will stay on property.

1) During peak months, the closer walk and awesome pools are a huge plus for our family as we always take breaks.

2) During off peak months with shorter park hours, we are in our rooms more every evenings, it's nice to be onsite in the midst of the "magic".

3) The shorter walk is important to us, by day 2, my mom and I tend to have feet issues. (this mostly applies to GCH and DLH using the monorail)

That being said, we can't always afford too, so we do like HoJos and Candy Cane (since they have a free shuttle). We have stayed at Desert Inn as well, and while the walk is nice, it really doesn't compare to these two in cleanliness and space in my opinion.

We have stayed at PPH a couple of times, but, I would recommend an off site hotel over that property personally. We didn't feel the "Disney" theme as much here vs. the others.

Here is how I personally would rank these properties if price was not an issue:

1) GCH - I think everyone needs to spend at least one stay here if you can afford it!
2) DLH
3) HoJos
4) Candy Cane Inn
5) PPH
6) Desert Inn & Suites

As you can see from my signature, there have been plenty of trips where we have not stayed onsite, price usually does come into play for our family.

Good luck, I'm sure whatever you decide on, you will have a fabulous time. Both coasts in one month! I'm jealous!

 

[SomeDude78]

Given that you're coming from Oz and may not make it State-side for a while, I'd definitely splurge on one of the onsite properties. DLH and GCH would be my personal preference, although you can save some money by going with the PPH and it's not that much longer of a walk compared to GCH, in all likelihood you're going to access PPH via the GCH lobby anyway. Go for it, spend the money and don't look back, money comes back around but time doesn't!

Oh yes, my personal defaults for walkable-but-offsite properties are Hojo or FFI (right next to Hojo), both are more than passable, and frankly the rates are an infinitely better value than any of the onsite properties, but like I said, you only live once, spend the money and just make more later!

 

[JoRo]

before disney vacation club we always stayed at the best western park place inn, the carousel inn, or the camelot - these are literally across the street - and are cheaper. Save $$ for play stuff.

Also stayed at PPH didnt like it all, over priced best western but that is only my experience.

Also check for specials in Sept the DH or GH might have something going on after summer..

Just a thought too - with all the $$ you spend in hotels might be worth it to invest in disney vacation club. We spent way to much on a florida trip about 5 years ago and could have applied that $$ to DVC. We were going to DL & WDW anyway so now we are spoiled. But I know everyone spends there money differently so certainly NOT trying to push this at all, it was just a thought. Best of luck sounds like a trip I would do!

 

[BriannaRuth]

It really depends on what you can afford. We stayed at HoJo the first time we went and thought it was a great value for the money. The next time, we stayed at Disneyland Hotel just because we wanted the experience. We're going for the third time in August and will be staying at DLH again, even though it's going to cost us about $1000 more.

Why? It's just so much more "Disney" and that's what we want. When I go on vacation, I'm buying an experience, not just a bunch of rides. And the experience I want includes all the bells and whistles of a Disney hotel.

I don't think the walk to the park entrance is any shorter, at least not significantly, but the walk is different. There's just something about walking through downtown Disney on your way to the park in the morning that is so much more fun that walking down Harbor Blvd. Same thing in the evening on the way back ... especially if you don't have kids with you. You can stop and have a drink at one of the little outdoor bars; we thought that was fun.

Then there's the pool area. The pool at DLH is quite nice, complete with a pirate ship that looks really cool at night. HoJo also has a nice pool area, but it's nothing like DLH. The other hotels don't even come close.

The hotel itself also just feels more Disney. We haven't been there since the renovation, but I've heard it's great.

There's nothing wrong with HoJo, but it has pretty much the same feel as being in a HoJo anywhere else in the US, in my opinion. Staying at a DL hotel is just total immersion from the minute you wake up til the minute you go to sleep. You don't get that at a non-Disney hotel.

BTW, we stopped in at Paradise Pier and probably wouldn't consider that. The pool area was not as nice and it didn't have as much of a Disney feel that I felt it justified the extra $$.

 

[DizMe]

I think it's totally worth it. If you can swing it, do it!!! The hotel DOES make a difference to me. Not necessarily the room, but the whole setting. DLH and GCH are resort hotels. Nothing on Harbor is a resort in any comparable way. Hojo is ok, but I'm not a huge fan. I've stayed there several times but I'd much rather spend the extra to stay at DLH or GCH. I'm also not a fan of PPH. All it has going for it is the view (which I did not have). It's not like the other two Disney properties at all.

I LOVE both GCH and DLH. To me, there is magic everywhere. You are on acres of beautiful grounds with lovely pools, outdoor fireplaces, waterslides, lots of great eating and entertainment, wonderful gift shops, etc.

 

[DisneytheKid]

Hello!

Personally, I have stayed at the DLH and PPH and I don't think its something that has to be done. There are hotels across the street that are actually closer and are considerably cheaper. Now, with that said, the staff at the on property hotels are great and it is nice to stay there... its just hard to justify it. Have a great trip!!!

 

[Renae De Liz]

I love Disney as well, and if you can afford it, then yes I would splurge on the room at the Disney Hotels, especially if this is a somewhat rare/special trip. It depends on if you think a Disney Hotel would lend to your memories of the trip. We always stay at Grand Californian and will always stay there if we can help it, though it's much more expensive. That hotel is a big part of our wonderful memories, so we know it's worth the money to us. We'd rather remember the best time we can make it rather than how much money we saved. The other 2 hotels, I cannot say, though to me they feel more like regular hotels compared to GCH. However I must say, the Disneyland Hotel renovations look nice.

As far as WDW, if you can maybe consider a deluxe resort, like Wilderness Lodge, it's cheaper and has boat transportation, and is by the same architects as the Grand Californian. I hear that has the same magic feel as well.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[squirrel]

For WDW, I stay on property.

For DL, I stay off. I'm staying at BWPPI again this year. As a family we did DLH back in 1992, it was fancy for us but I don't think we even went swimming-we were too busy doing DL.

For me I just sleep and shower at the resort/hotel/motel, etc. Even at WDW when we go for 2 weeks we only swim about 2 or 3 times at the pool. Staying on property at WDW gives you free transportation, early/late entry at the parks, package shipping to your resort and these are worth it to me to pay a bit more for.

Being just across the street is so fast and easy to get to the parks, no waiting for buses or shuttles. There are quite a few places that sound good. Next time I might try Park Vue if their prices are comparable to BWPPI.

 

[Butterfly123]

We spend so little time in our room, the extra cost of staying on property is just not worth it. We would sooner spend an extra day with the money we save. Now if money weren't an issue, I'd stay on site in a heartbeat!

 

[scoker]

When we went in October of 2010 we stayed at the FFI. Last month we stayed at the GCH. I'm hoping to go in June next year and I'm hoping to stay at the GCH again. If it meant not going I would stay off site. The GCH has only slight Disney themes but it was so convenient. We did take advantage of the pools and it has a resort feel rather than a hotel feel. The basic rooms at the GCH aren't anything super special. They are comparable in quality to a nice Marriott or Hilton. The lobby, restaurants, pools, view and location made it a great EXPERIENCE for us. When we stayed off site it was just a hotel, a place to sleep and shower period. GCH was much more than that.

 

[8timesblessed]

Not sure what days you are staying but if money were an issue, I might stay 4 nights at a cheaper place and then move to the Grand California for like the weekend when things are busier and it would be so nice to end your trip that way and be in the park with MM and easy access to the parks.