Advice for a new member please! (June DL trip)

[ND Disney Daddy]

Hi everybody! First of all I want to say that I just recently discovered this forum... and I love it! Lots of friendly people here, and lots of good advice. I've been doing a lot of reading here lately, especially HydroGuy's tips and rules.

Here's the background on my upcoming trip:

5 adults (myself, girlfriend, mom, sister, and bro-in-law)
3 kids (my daughters, ages 8, 7, and 4)

Making the long drive from North Dakota, will arrive the night of 6/10.
Staying 9 nights, playing for 8 days before checking out 6/19.

Planning to buy 6-day parkhoppers from disneyland website and Seaworld/Universal combo tickets for a day at each.

UNDECIDED on accommodations. This is one area where I could really use some advice. The on-site DL hotels are a bit out of our budget range. I definitely want to stay within walking distance. I've stayed at the HOJO, the Fairfield, and the Del Sol Inn in the past and had no problems with any of them (although the rates I paid then were considerably lower than now). I've been doing some shopping around and found that rates for the harbor blvd hotels almost all fall into the $100-$120 range, with a few exceptions.

The cheapest I found was the Alpine at $77, but it's also the farthest walk.

I cheapest near the entrance is the Desert Inn & Suites at $102 (including parking and resort fee).

I've read a lot of good things about the Park Vue Inn - their rates average $142 during our stay, but may be worth it for the location and freebies (parking, breakfast buffet, bottled waters & snacks, evening social/light meal).

Any advice on where to stay would be very appreciated! My main concern is value, and I understand that convenience and time are at a premium when on a DL trip.

Also welcome are any tips on things I may not be aware of during the dates of our stay. My last DL trip was in '05, so I'm a little out of the loop. I do know there is a grad night on the 16th, and I have checked the AP calendars. One AP question - which is worse for crowds: an unblocked weekday (Mon, Tue) or a blocked weekend day (Fri, Sat, Sun)?

Sorry about the long post, and a big thank you in advance to anyone who chimes in!

 

[mama2dutchies]

One question is do you plan to stay at DL the whole time or just for your 6 days then drive and stay in SD for the day passes there?

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

One question is do you plan to stay at DL the whole time or just for your 6 days then drive and stay in SD for the day passes there?

We'll be staying at the same hotel in Anaheim for the duration of our trip.

 

[Piglet99645]

We are staying at the Best Western Park Place Inn. We booked a King Suite (or maybe it is called a Jr. King Suite) which is two adjoining rooms, each with a king bed and a pullout Queen sofa. I believe the price is around $206 per night for both rooms (total, not per room). It was the best value I could find. And has the added bonus of having two bathrooms, continental breakfast, and being RIGHT Across the street from the park.


Good luck.

Piglet
(originally from ND)

 

[TheChapman6]

I just wanted to say I hope you have a great trip. I have no advice as I'm planning myself as well.

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

We are staying at the Best Western Park Place Inn. We booked a King Suite (or maybe it is called a Jr. King Suite) which is two adjoining rooms, each with a king bed and a pullout Queen sofa. I believe the price is around $206 per night for both rooms (total, not per room). It was the best value I could find. And has the added bonus of having two bathrooms, continental breakfast, and being RIGHT Across the street from the park.


Good luck.

Piglet
(originally from ND)

Hi, thanks for posting! Sounds like you got a really good deal. I checked the BWPPI too, but according to their website they're booked up for my dates, and they want $129 for a basic 2 double bed room anyway (plus $8 a day for parking).

 

[Dexican]

We are staying at the Best Western Meridian Inn and Suites. I know we paid close to 400 for 6 nights and it isn't too far from the park, free breakfast and best of all it gets awesome reviews. However, this is my first trip to Disneyland (Disneyworld Vet) so just letting you know how affordable Meridian Inn & Suites is.

 

[lulu2]

I love a good fellow North Dakotan- I'm originally a Fargo girl myself! Where are you from?
We will be at DL the same time as you. I have only stayed at HOJO and GC, we enjoyed both but we are staying at the Grand again. Can't give you any other advice on hotels, is the entertainment rate available at HOJO?
Hope you have a magical time

 

[Piglet99645]

I love a good fellow North Dakotan- I'm originally a Fargo girl myself! Where are you from?
We will be at DL the same time as you. I have only stayed at HOJO and GC, we enjoyed both but we are staying at the Grand again. Can't give you any other advice on hotels, is the entertainment rate available at HOJO?
Hope you have a magical time

Wow, three North Dakota families all at DL at the same time (including us). What are the chances? LOL. ND will be empty.

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

I love a good fellow North Dakotan- I'm originally a Fargo girl myself! Where are you from?
We will be at DL the same time as you. I have only stayed at HOJO and GC, we enjoyed both but we are staying at the Grand again. Can't give you any other advice on hotels, is the entertainment rate available at HOJO?
Hope you have a magical time

Hi, and thanks! I'm from a small town north of Bismarck, but I went to NDSU from '97 to '01. Good times.

No, HOJO isn't currently offering any ent. rates for June (or July, August, or September ).

Hope you have a great trip too!

 

[Shimmer]

One thing to consider in comparing prices with hotels that have a "free" breakfast or snack is that you are paying for it. Your research showed $40 more per night per room. (Will you have 2 rooms for 8 people? If so, that's $80 more.)

Since you have a car, can you buy food and waters at the grocery for less money? Can you get healthier choices than a danish? Do you really plan on leaving the parks for a snack at the hotel?

We eat in our room which saves time (some are eating while others are showering) and saves money. And, we take lunch into the parks.

Have a fun trip...that many days will be so wonderful!

 

[Piglet99645]

Hi, and thanks! I'm from a small town north of Bismarck, but I went to NDSU from '97 to '01. Good times.

My hubby went to NDSU. I went to that other state school. (shhhh)

North Dakota is getting great press lately as a good place to live....

Sorry for the hijack.... back to Disney planning.

HEre is a good link for hotels near the park:

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

One thing to consider in comparing prices with hotels that have a "free" breakfast or snack is that you are paying for it. Your research showed $40 more per night per room. (Will you have 2 rooms for 8 people? If so, that's $80 more.)

Since you have a car, can you buy food and waters at the grocery for less money? Can you get healthier choices than a danish? Do you really plan on leaving the parks for a snack at the hotel?

We eat in our room which saves time (some are eating while others are showering) and saves money. And, we take lunch into the parks.

Have a fun trip...that many days will be so wonderful!

Hey, thanks for your input! I definitely hear what you're saying on money-saving options. We can't afford to eat all our meals in the park either, so I consider a hot breakfast buffet to be a very nice perk over a continental breakfast of donuts and coffee. We'll definitely be bringing snack foods to the parks.

I actually do see us returning to our hotel most afternoons for a break after an early morning, so the snacks and evening meal provided at the Park Vue are appealing to me. It would be an extra $80/day for 2 rooms, but on the other hand that breaks down to only $10/day per person. I guess that seems pretty reasonable to me to get 2 hot prepared meals (plus bottled waters & snacks) and avoid the hassles of grocery shopping, food preparation, cleanup, etc.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I don't know if you looked at lastminutetravel.com. It is an "opaque" booking site which doesn't give you the name of the hotel, but unlike priceline or hotwire, it will give you photos of the hotel! While the pool areas for most hotels are a dead giveaway, the photos of the DLH actually show the hotel name and the PPH shows the Goofy/Surfboard statute in the lobby.

No deals on the DLR hotels, but they do have deals on other hotels such as the Hitlon for $77 per night and the Park Sheraton for $86 per night. If you are willing to invest some time on this site (and comparing it to the websites of the hotels to play match the photos) you might find a great deal. -- Suzanne

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

My hubby went to NDSU. I went to that other state school. (shhhh)

North Dakota is getting great press lately as a good place to live....

Sorry for the hijack.... back to Disney planning.

HEre is a good link for hotels near the park:
(link)

Haha, I actually just printed off that map this morning and have been jotting down rates by the hotel names all day. It's definitely the best nearby hotels map that I've come across.

And yes, the ND economy has managed to stay pretty strong.
Unfortunately, so has the weather.

 

[ND Disney Daddy]

I don't know if you looked at lastminutetravel.com. It is an "opaque" booking site which doesn't give you the name of the hotel, but unlike priceline or hotwire, it will give you photos of the hotel! While the pool areas for most hotels are a dead giveaway, the photos of the DLH actually show the hotel name and the PPH shows the Goofy/Surfboard statute in the lobby.

No deals on the DLR hotels, but they do have deals on other hotels such as the Hitlon for $77 per night and the Park Sheraton for $86 per night. If you are willing to invest some time on this site (and comparing it to the websites of the hotels to play match the photos) you might find a great deal. -- Suzanne

Hmm, thanks for the tip, I'll check it out!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi everybody! First of all I want to say that I just recently discovered this forum... and I love it! Lots of friendly people here, and lots of good advice. I've been doing a lot of reading here lately, especially HydroGuy's tips and rules.

That HydroGuy is all wet! But my wife loves him for some reason!

Also welcome are any tips on things I may not be aware of during the dates of our stay. My last DL trip was in '05, so I'm a little out of the loop. I do know there is a grad night on the 16th, and I have checked the AP calendars. One AP question - which is worse for crowds: an unblocked weekday (Mon, Tue) or a blocked weekend day (Fri, Sat, Sun)?

Personally this would be an easy decision for me. In June after two major rides have opened I would do the blocked Fri/Sat/Sun.

Regarding hotels, that is just so hard to say. We have stayed at BWPPI because it gets more consistent reviews than Park Vue - which I have considered. If you want to step up in quality then HoJo's or Candy Cane Inn would be good choices and still be close to the parks.

 

[Karenann*]

With 8 people, I think the cost of included breakfast and dinner outweigh what you would pay dining out or even eating in your room (I don't want to spend that much time fixing food or cleaning up!) Even Mcdonalds for $5/ each is $40!
I am travelling with 5 kids ages 12-26 in June and we're staying at PVI as well.

I plan on sandwiches for lunch in the room. We have a small kitchenette but even if we didn't we'd still just do the sandwiches. They have microwave and fridge in each room. Von's (Safeway in some regions) delivers first time orders for free.

Lots of plusses for PVI but I know other Harbour choices are swell too! We've also stayed at Fairfield and Tropicana before and would again.

Have fun!!!!!