Any benefits to staying on property?

[bayportkat]

We are taking our first family trip to DL in August (usually go to WDW in Florida and stay on property). Is there any benefit to staying on property at DL? We usually stay in the Value Resorts in WDW and the prices seem really high at DL. Just trying to decide if it is worth the extra money to stay on property.

Thanks in advance!

 

[brocklesnar69]

Pros:
Closer to the parks than any other hotels
Never leave the magic
Excellent themeing
Extra Magic Hours
Early Entry
Secret Entry to DCA
Basically inside of DTD
Excellent food


Cons:
Price

 

[skiingfast]

We are taking our first family trip to DL in August (usually go to WDW in Florida and stay on property). Is there any benefit to staying on property at DL? We usually stay in the Value Resorts in WDW and the prices seem really high at DL. Just trying to decide if it is worth the extra money to stay on property.

Thanks in advance!

It's not comparable to WDW.

GCH is closer than some of the bus stops at the parks in WDW. DLH and PPH are further than some of the offsite hotels at DLR.

There are no monorail resorts at DLR.

No EMH like WDW with 4 hours of exclusive park time.

Magic morning is 1 hour early 4 days of the week for two lands in DL. If you stay onsite you can use it on all the days it's available. If you stay offsite and have a 3 days ticket you can use it once.

Staying offsite isn't like staying in Kissammee. The Anaheim Resort District is kept much nicer than a typical city and there are lots of motels and hotels within walking distance.

Stay onsite you get two things. Full on Disney decoration/theming. And CMs.

For that you can pay twice as much or more at the GCH.

 

[bumbershoot]

Pros:
Closer to the parks than any other hotels
Secret Entry to DCA
Basically inside of DTD

Staying at the Tropicana would put you closer to the esplanade than staying in some (if not many, if not all) of the rooms at the Grand, and any of the rooms at DLH and PPH.

The DCA entrance isn't really a secret (there used to be an entrance to DCA from PPH but that was closed by the time we had our September 2007 trip...).

Being inside a mall isn't a benefit to some people...



OP, for me, having access to Magic Mornings on all the mornings it is offered during your stay (of course you do need a ticket to enter a park) is the biggest benefit of being onsite. Unlike at WDW, where EMH is controversial and people have very different opinions from each other about it, at DLR MM is a "must do"!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We are taking our first family trip to DL in August (usually go to WDW in Florida and stay on property). Is there any benefit to staying on property at DL? We usually stay in the Value Resorts in WDW and the prices seem really high at DL. Just trying to decide if it is worth the extra money to stay on property.

Thanks in advance!

We always feel it is worth the extra money to say on property--the problem is that we don't always have the extra money

I am a total fan of staying at either the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian.

Downtown Disney is a beautiful walkway with music (live bands as well as piped in music) with ponds, plants, and places to relax. This is your walkway to Disneyland Park, which is so much nicer than staying across the street on Harbor. It adds a lot to ambiance and overall experience of the trip to stay in one of the resort hotels. The pools are also great! Look up pictures online. We love the look of the newly remodeled Disneyland Hotel rooms.

 

[brocklesnar69]

Here is a great link you should check out. Lots of good info:

http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/DisneysGrandCalifornianHotel.html

 

[bayportkat]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I am just starting my research, as we just got off the Wonder and were doing the research for that. We will be at DL at a very busy time- D23 convention it seems! Our flights are already booked- adding this DL trip to a Hawaii trip- so we can't change the dates.

From what everyone has said, it sounds like we should stay on property since it will be so busy the weekend we are there to take advantage of the early entry. If we decide not to stay on property, where would you recommend?

Kathryn

 

[LisainCalifornia]

Here is a great link you should check out. Lots of good info:

http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/DisneysGrandCalifornianHotel.html

That is a great link! I loved their pictures of the Grand Californian, and also liked his comparison between the Motel 6 they stayed at near the Grand the night before. I thought his list was very comprehensive.

We had a similar comparison experience when we went last summer and stayed one night in the Best Western Park Place Inn, and the next day checked into the Disneyland Hotel for 3 nights. It really highlighted the advantages of staying on property for us. Here is a video of one of the renovated rooms at the Disneyland Hotel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGBbO5in_-k

The total renovation of the hotel (including the pool area) should be complete summer 2012. Right now the Dreams Tower is complete, the Wonder Tower is almost complete, and they have started working on the Magic Tower. You can often find better deals for rooms at the Disneyland Resorts by looking for deals. For the past few summers there has been a pay for 3 days, get 5 (for both room and park hoppers) that I am praying for this summer. There are spring deals right now going on, as well as other deals throughout the year. You can also get good rates closer to your travel dates at Orbitz.com and Expedia.com. That is how we got our good rate last summer (it was 199.00 per night for 3 nights).

I really think staying at one of the resort hotels enhances the whole experience and gives you a more vacation feeling while at disneyland.

 

[azdisneylover]

If I had the funds to stay on property, I would. I like the Princess Nighttime story thing on TV, and the few other channels that show stuff about Disney and the parks! I love all the little details and waking up knowing I am at Disneyland, not at a hotel across the street from Disneyland. Our next trip will most likely be a hotel across the street, but I would stay on site if I could. I enjoyed the Magic Mornings and being able to send purchases made in the park back to our hotel instead of carrying them, or going back to the room.
Either way, you are going to Disneyland, and you will have a great time!

 

[KCmike]

Umm yeah. I would rather be walking in Downtown Disney vs. sucking down the fumes of the buses and other traffic on Harbor Blvd anyday. Like others have said you get:
1. Better pools and theming onsite
2. More immersive magic than McDonalds, motels, and traffic
3. Early magic hours everyday its available
4. Private entrance to DCA through Grand Californian
5. You can take the monorail into the park from downtown disney

Not a huge deal breaker but you usually get disney pins, lanyards, and a Disneyland backpack. Priority seating to Aladdin, day parade, muppets, and ITTBAB.

Harbor is good if your on a budget. I would definitely recommend Fairfield Inn or HOJO. BWPPI was okay but a step down to the other two.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

you can also charge purchases and food back to your room... also you can send purchases back to your hotel if you don't want to schlep them around the park all day!

You can also use "Vacation Planning" to deliver "surprises" to your room before you check in.

GCH is definitely closer... the other 2, not so much!

 

[davidsprincess]

From our room at DLH we could see the fireworks and there is a channel on the TV that plays the sound track for the fireworks and WOC. So even though we were unable to be in the park to see the fireworks on two of our nights, we could still see them from our room and listen to the same soundtrack that everyone else was that were in the parks.

DD loved the princess bedtime story channel. Every night she had to watch it before going to sleep!!

 

[Sweettears]

My second trip to DLR is coming up in a couple of weeks. I chose to stay at the Paradise Pier to enhance the Disney feel despite the cost. Although I thoroughly enjoyed DLR the first visit, staying off-site didin't enhance the experience. Its tough for WDW vets to transition to the DLR experience so I think its worth the extra cost.

 

[CrazyDuck]

DD loved the princess bedtime story channel. Every night she had to watch it before going to sleep!!

Ditto that!!! Although if you stay more than a few nights you will get reruns!

 

[ArchOwl]

you can also charge purchases and food back to your room... also you can send purchases back to your hotel if you don't want to schlep them around the park all day!

This is so convenient! And so dangerous! But it was awesome to just carry around our room key and use it to buy dinner and to shop, etc. Also nice when I bought a huge plush and they had it waiting for me in the room. Nice touch, Disney!

Also, Magic Morning is awesome. We did so much in that half hour. I don't know if I will ever be able to stay off-property again...

 

[brocklesnar69]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPWFBnC2BU&feature=related

She explains things pretty good.

 

[disneybride96]

Here is a great link you should check out. Lots of good info:

http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/DisneysGrandCalifornianHotel.html

How funny! I am a long time member of the "Zim Cocker Forum" and never new Jim had a VGC page on his site!

 

[Jessica527]

I have never been to Disneyland, but if it is like WDW.... you get Disney Magic 24/7!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I am just starting my research, as we just got off the Wonder and were doing the research for that. We will be at DL at a very busy time- D23 convention it seems! Our flights are already booked- adding this DL trip to a Hawaii trip- so we can't change the dates.

From what everyone has said, it sounds like we should stay on property since it will be so busy the weekend we are there to take advantage of the early entry. If we decide not to stay on property, where would you recommend?

Kathryn

1st I would cancel Hawaii and spend the money on staying at the GCH. Everytime I think of Hawaii my wallet gets sucked dry.

Jack

 

[LisainCalifornia]

Kathryn,
We typically like to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, but this summer with the construction of the new pool area going on, I think it is a better idea to stay at either the Grand Californian or the Paradise Pier. Especially since you will be there in August, and will probably make use of the pool. The Grand has a much bigger, nicer pool area than the Paradise Pier (the PP is more of a rectangle pool with a big slide, while the GC is more of a "resort-style" pool that appeals to kids and adults alike). The only problem with the Grand is that it is the most expensive of the 3 hotels. People here overall seem to like the Grand Californian best--mostly because it is so close to the parks (located in the middle of downtown disney), has an amazing lobby, and beautiful Arts and Crafts styling.

You could also stay at the Disneyland Hotel and use the Grand pools (this is totally legal)--but I tend to not like to walk that far to get to my pool and back.

There will be one pool open at the Disneyland Hotel, I think--but the whole area is pretty much a "pardon our pixie-dust" situation, which can be difficult to deal with. If you don't care about the pool at all, then the Disneyland Hotel is great to stay in (clean, modern, lots of disney touches, spacious rooms with great high tower views)--provided you ask for a renovated room.

I hope this helps!
Lisa