and yet ANOTHER question about the HOJO!

[smilnjen]

Ok, I've heard all the rave's about HOJO and am impressed. It looks like a nice, comfortable, clean AND friendly place to stay. I only have two things that are making me hold back from making a reservation for Dec.
#1....which I can totally deal with and get over this one...being a tad bit far to walk....though I don't mind a little bit of a walk
#2...No cont. bfast. I know most free continental b-fasts are mediocre at best, but I REALLY, REALLY enjoy having that small amount of food and drinks available (for free) before hitting the parks. I know it wouldn't be much to buy a few things from a supermarket so I should just get over it huh???

Oh yeah, and I see everyone talking about the SD50 code for 59/79 a night. Do I have to get some sort of entertainment book from somewhere....this one might be dumb, but what IS an entertainment book? and where do I get one?

 

[XTinabell]

Yes, the walk can be a bit of a long one, especially after a long day or with little ones. Most people don't seem to mind, but some do

The entertainment book can be purchased from entertainmentbook.com
Sometimes schools sell them as fundraisers as well.
They are full of coupons, so choose a book that is from your area and you can benefit from all the coupons and discounts inside the book!
You will need to show your card that comes with book to the hotel when you check in.

 

[mindylovesmickey]

Go to www.entertainmentcard.com you can get them there and they are pretty discounted now since they are only good until November 30. Just get the one for your area if there is one and the card that comes in the front of the book will be what you need for the HOJO.

I can't tell you about the walk. I'm hoping it will be manageable myself since I will be pushing a double stroller and dd8 will have to walk it, but I'm chalking it up to good exercise? We walked from dlh through dtd everyday we were there in Feb and I have been told it's about the same distance from the Esplande to the HOJO.

As for the continental breakfast, I'm not very big on breakfast, so I'm just going to bring a box of muffins or something and some juice boxes and call it good, and we will eat a nice lunch and dinner.

I say go for it!! You can't hardly beat the price.

 

[scrappychar]

We are planning on picking up some food from the grocery store to eat. We figure with what we are saving on not getting a hotel with cont breakfast that we will easily be able to save money (ie: hotel minus grocery costs)
C

 

[got2travel]

HoJo is one of my last choices for the exact reasons you're hestitating. If I can't find anything at one of the closer hotels with breakfast, then I'll consider HoJo.

 

[ptlycloudy]

The walk in the morning isn't too bad. I usually give the kids a muffin or granola bar to eat while walking. The walk at the end of the day can be long with little ones, but what we have done is just caught a cab. There was always one right by the shuttle buses and I think it was about $8 or less . I know it seems silly for a short distance but since I was alone with a very tired 5 yr old and 3 yr old and one stroller it was worth it at the end of the day! I looked up a couple of cab company numbers to carry with me in case there wasn't one waiting but there always was. I wanted as little stress as possible.

My DH thought it was ridiculous until he tried carry getting the kids back late at night by himself. After that he was a convert. I just plan for it in my budget when we are staying somewhere that is a bit far of a walk in case we want to use that option. If not more "souvie" money!

 

[pixiewings71]

HoJo used to be my last choice for those reasons as well, but now it's my first!! Besides the DL hotels of course. We always check the AP rates at the resort hotels first but then I call Lorealle and we usually go with the Hojo.

First off, the walk, it's about 7 minutes. We don't mind it at all, we are a family of 4, me, DBF and DD11 and DD8. We walk to the park in the morning and walk back for a break (if we need it) in the afternoon, walk back in the evening and walk back when the park is closed. It's never taken us more than 10 minutes.
In the morning we normally walk down the side of the street with the restaurants, we either stop at Mimi's (mmmmmmmmmmmmm) or we stop at McDonald's (not so mmmm) on the way in. We aren't big breakfast eaters though so that isn't a big deal for us. If we feel like it we will take breakfast bars, granola bars or some fruit to eat on the walk but often we just wait until we are in the park and we grab something there to eat.
What brings us coming back? The Ent Rates are unbeatable, the service is great and the beds are sooooooooo comfy!!!!! I also love the hotel aspect, the interior corridors are something I really like. For us, the "breakfasts" offered at the other hotels are not good enough to consider paying so much extra. We'd rather spend $10 and have our own breakfast stuff then pay $100 for the room and a not so great breakfast.

That said, if we can't get the Ent Rate at the HoJo our second choice is the Tropicana.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Ok, I've heard all the rave's about HOJO and am impressed. It looks like a nice, comfortable, clean AND friendly place to stay. I only have two things that are making me hold back from making a reservation for Dec.
#1....which I can totally deal with and get over this one...being a tad bit far to walk....though I don't mind a little bit of a walk
#2...No cont. bfast. I know most free continental b-fasts are mediocre at best, but I REALLY, REALLY enjoy having that small amount of food and drinks available (for free) before hitting the parks. I know it wouldn't be much to buy a few things from a supermarket so I should just get over it huh???

Oh yeah, and I see everyone talking about the SD50 code for 59/79 a night. Do I have to get some sort of entertainment book from somewhere....this one might be dumb, but what IS an entertainment book? and where do I get one?

What's another 7 minutes of walking when you consider how much you walk in the park? If you can't handle the walk, you could always buy the ART pass and ride back to the hotel. It's $12 per adult for 5 days and much cheaper than that for kids. Check out the prices here -> http://rideart.org/
The little store in Bld 1 at Hojos sells some foods for breakfast, lunch and snacks. The prices aren't bad especially for the convenience and not having to deal with grocery shopping, etc. Or you could get groceries delivered to your room. Or you could go to Costco and buy a huge container of muffins to go w/ your free in room coffee.
Depending on when you are going in Dec, there may not be an SD50 rate available.
Good luck!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I hear ya on the walk, it's one reason why we've never stayed there. However we are giving them a try in June. It's an awesome price, and we got a Disney room, so I'm excited. Worse comes to worse, DH said he'd go get the car and swoop by to get us if I felt I couldn't walk it here and there.

We are saving about $245 by staying at Hojo's, which will more then pay for our Universal Studios tickets (something we usually don't do, so it's an added expense for us this time).

Having the free breakfast is nice, but since were driving I can easily bring muffins and stuff with us to replace that. So I'm okay with that. But yes, the walk will probably be hard on me. I'm so used to staying right across the street at the Tropicana. It will be weird passing it up and having to keep going! LOL But yes, I'll get over it! Hopefully we'll love the Hojo like so many here do and the walk won't bother me anyway.

 

[rentayenta]

The extra 5 minutes is well worth it for the comfy beds and clean rooms not to mention the Disney-like customer service and neat pool. I have seen the rooms at closer places like BWPPI and Tropicana and I'll take the longer walk any day.

 

[damiel]

For us, the "breakfasts" offered at the other hotels are not good enough to consider paying so much extra. We'd rather spend $10 and have our own breakfast stuff then pay $100 for the room and a not so great breakfast.

That said, if we can't get the Ent Rate at the HoJo our second choice is the Tropicana.

I agree - The money we save on the room wit the Ent. rate can buy a lot of breakfast!

If you go in December do not buy a Ent. book yet. They expire the end of October, you will need a new book for your trip.

 

[bumbershoot]

Getting to and from HJ really wasn't that difficult.

And last Jan I thought I had a good rate at Carousel and thought it would be made up by the continental breakfast. Too late I found out HJ had just put the ent rate for my date up, and I started to wonder if a $50 difference would be worth the b'fast.

Oh man, no. Undrinkable coffee in tiny cups, yucko donuts, sad fruit. Yes, the b'fast room was pretty, but it was in no way worth it.

The only place I've heard really good things about their cont b'fast is CCI, and that's much further away than HJ.

 

[Bugsmom73]

We chose the Hojo d/t price and the fact that DS is on a GFCF diet and can't eat much of any standard b-fast fare.

 

[trodrigue]

Getting to and from HJ really wasn't that difficult.

And last Jan I thought I had a good rate at Carousel and thought it would be made up by the continental breakfast. Too late I found out HJ had just put the ent rate for my date up, and I started to wonder if a $50 difference would be worth the b'fast.

Oh man, no. Undrinkable coffee in tiny cups, yucko donuts, sad fruit. Yes, the b'fast room was pretty, but it was in no way worth it.

The only place I've heard really good things about their cont b'fast is CCI, and that's much further away than HJ.

And I have had CCI breakfast, and while it was ok, nothing to write home about. It was still bagels, instant oatmeal, cereal, milk, juice, basic fruit. I would rather have the $50, but in our case we had paid closer to $80 more per night at CCI. I would rather stop at McDonalds and order the Deluxe breakfast which is enough to feed one adult and one kid, at my house, which means two meals purchased for no more than $15 tops and that includes some protein with our carbs.

 

[pixiewings71]

About the walk, if you walk down the opposite side on Harbor and cross down near the HoJo (Manchester street) the walk is actually less.....and if you know where to go and cut through the shuttle pick up/drop off area you can save even more time. We only walk down the side with restaurants if we are wanting to grab something to eat on the way, otherwise we cross at Manchester and save ourselves about 3 minutes. LOL 3 minutes can matter sometimes. lol

 

[usschmidt]

3 mins can seem like 3 miles after a long day in the park with 2 little ones lol! We're trying Hojo's for the first time in Nov. We've only been 1 other time and stayed at the CCI. The bfast was not that great, just convenient.

 

[DangerMouse]

About the walk, if you walk down the opposite side on Harbor and cross down near the HoJo (Manchester street) the walk is actually less.....and if you know where to go and cut through the shuttle pick up/drop off area you can save even more time. We only walk down the side with restaurants if we are wanting to grab something to eat on the way, otherwise we cross at Manchester and save ourselves about 3 minutes. LOL 3 minutes can matter sometimes. lol

Yep, that's the route we take. Much shorter, and less people to contend with.

 

[4Ollies]

We just booked with HoJo for our June trip after reading everything positive here. The rate was great and we are used to packing breakfast for our WDW trips. At least here we have the option of fast food!

 

[noryglory]

Hey Pixie and Dangermouse, will this "shortcut" be obvious to us? We've never stayed at the Hojo but will be there in early May. Is there a crosswalk at Manchester and then you cut through a shuttle area near the main entrance? More details please if they are necessary. THANKS!!

 

[GoDisneyForLife]

That is awesome.

Just as an FYI, the beginning of April (1st-10th) will be a good time to go with very minimal crowds, but STAY AWAY the weekend of April 18-20 with the major cheer and dance competition taking place!! Went last year with it going on and it was the most crowded I've ever seen! Also, early May won't be very crowded either!