benefits of good neighbour hotel?

[waltdisneymama]

I'm sorry to ask this question, but I'm having a hard time finding the answer. I'm thinking that the Desert Inn might work for our family, but it's not a good neighbour hotel, so can someone tell me what I'd be missing? Good neighbour hotels offer an early morning entrance to DL? Are there other benefits too?
Thank you!!

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

nothing that I know of Im not sure if they offer MM I think it is just the 3 disney hotels that get that perk.

 

[ScooterL]

Only guests staying at one of the three Disney hotels can use Magic Morning any day that it's offered - it is not a feature of the Good Neighbor Hotels. If you buy three day (or more) parkhopper tickets, then most of those come with a "Magic Morning" feature. You can buy those tickets even if you are not staying at a Good Neighbor hotel. They are available direct from Disneyland.com, and I think Getawaytoday.com and ARES Travel have them, also.

 

[waltdisneymama]

Thanks for the information! So are there specific benefits of good neighbour hotels that aren't on Disney property?

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

not that I know of

Just book the desert inn fall out of bed and into disneyland at night walk out of disneyland and fall into bed. It is not a fancy place but a place to rest your head and take a shower.

 

[Sherwin]

Only guests staying at one of the three Disney hotels can use Magic Morning any day that it's offered - it is not a feature of the Good Neighbor Hotels. If you buy three day (or more) parkhopper tickets, then most of those come with a "Magic Morning" feature. You can buy those tickets even if you are not staying at a Good Neighbor hotel. They are available direct from Disneyland.com, and I think Getawaytoday.com and ARES Travel have them, also.

Yes, all 3-day hoppers and up come with one MM, unless you buy fishy tickets off say, the black market.

The Good Neighbor hotels have no affiliation to DL, so you won't be missing out on much.

 

[teatime]

if you have the money I suggest you stay on property. but the off site motels offer plenty. they off a huge savings which is more money to play with, and for me thats a big plus. We are staying at the fairfield, the internet is free, kids eat at milli's for 99 cents with an adult meal, its close, and it has a nice pool and rooms. for 200.00 less then the disneyland hotel. I say thats the best benifit of all

 

[Queen Elisabeth]

Right now, Good Neighbor hotels are included in the 5 for 3 deal that is available at the Disney hotels. If you book a Good Neighbor hotel and tickets through Disney World Travel or Costco Travel (and I think AAA), you get 5 for 3, Early Entry, and Mickey's Morning Madness. If you go through Costco, you also get a free character breakfast, a $20 Disney gift card, and a Downtown Disney discount card.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

try hojos if you didn't mind the walk. tho i don't think the desert inn is bad almost stayed there last year but hojo won an this year if we go we will stay there again

 

[avalon451]

Right now, Good Neighbor hotels are included in the 5 for 3 deal that is available at the Disney hotels. If you book a Good Neighbor hotel and tickets through Disney World Travel or Costco Travel (and I think AAA), you get 5 for 3, Early Entry, and Mickey's Morning Madness. If you go through Costco, you also get a free character breakfast, a $20 Disney gift card, and a Downtown Disney discount card.

The only problem with the 5 for 3 good neighbor deal is that it's only "participating" good neighbor hotels, and after searching around (I couldn't find the info on Disney.com, I found it on GetAwayToday) you find out that those include only the following 6:

· Clarion Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· The Anabella Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Red Lion Hotel - April 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Anaheim Marriott Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Raffles Inn and Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009

Of those, only the Anabella is really walking distance, and it's quite a hike. Personally, I'd rather stay within close walking distance, i.e. across the crosswalk on Harbor. Some people have said they got better deals with the Ent rate at HoJo and buying tickets separately, than booking the 5 for 3 deal, especially while staying on property.

OP, the biggest advantage for most of us, for staying offsite, is cost. It's just so much less than staying at one of the onsite hotels. If you're not spending a whole lot of time in the room, why pay $200-$350 a night to stay onsite, when you can stay across the street for $100 or less?

 

[Queen Elisabeth]

The only problem with the 5 for 3 good neighbor deal is that it's only "participating" good neighbor hotels, and after searching around (I couldn't find the info on Disney.com, I found it on GetAwayToday) you find out that those include only the following 6:

· Clarion Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· The Anabella Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Red Lion Hotel - April 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Anaheim Marriott Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Raffles Inn and Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009

There were alot more hotels than that available when I booked. Portofino Inn, Carousel Inn, Menage, Best Western Park Place are the ones that I remember, but there were alot more. I'm not sure what availability is like though. I hear that the included hotels are selling out fast due to that deal.

 

[teatime]

The only problem with the 5 for 3 good neighbor deal is that it's only "participating" good neighbor hotels, and after searching around (I couldn't find the info on Disney.com, I found it on GetAwayToday) you find out that those include only the following 6:

· Clarion Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· The Anabella Hotel - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Red Lion Hotel - April 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Anaheim Marriott Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Raffles Inn and Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009
· Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites - May 1 - Sept. 30, 2009

Of those, only the Anabella is really walking distance, and it's quite a hike. Personally, I'd rather stay within close walking distance, i.e. across the crosswalk on Harbor. Some people have said they got better deals with the Ent rate at HoJo and buying tickets separately, than booking the 5 for 3 deal, especially while staying on property.

OP, the biggest advantage for most of us, for staying offsite, is cost. It's just so much less than staying at one of the onsite hotels. If you're not spending a whole lot of time in the room, why pay $200-$350 a night to stay onsite, when you can stay across the street for $100 or less?

I got the 5 for three at get away today for the fairfield inn. thats why I chose it

 

[SeansMom]

I'm not sure why disney chooses certain hotels/motels as "good neighbor". I DO know we had an awful experience, wrote to DL travel company and complained, and the next year that motel was no longer a good neighbor motel/hotel. I'm assuming we weren't the only ones to complain . So, perhaps guest input affects this??? However, that's just a guess. Check out tripadvisor.com for real people ratings hotels/motels around DL. It's a great site.

 

[disheadz]

I think good neighbor hotels must meet some minimum standard and play ball with disney. Staying at a good neighbor hotel does not gaurantee anything though. I too had a strange experience at one of them. If you care about price and walking distance go for hojo. if you dont mind the shuttle try the crown plaza which is a beautiful hotel and offers some great deals if you look.

 

[avalon451]

I got the 5 for three at get away today for the fairfield inn. thats why I chose it

Good deal! Wish there was a comprehensive list somewhere, though. I took that other one right off GAT, and Disney's website just has some vague "Oh, call our good neighbor hotels" instead of listing the participating ones.

 

[PigletGurl]

The Fairfield Inn is my thing!

 

[ballarinamom]

Good Neighbor Hotels pay a travelagent fee to DisneyTravel. It is not Disney that turns them down but they who turn Disney down. The no neighbor hotels can take that fee and pass the savings on to the customers in hopes of booking more by being $10-20 a night less than "Good Neighbor" hotels. The benefit to Good Neighbor Hotels is that you can book a whole package through Disney travel which would include TTMM but no additional MMs. We stayed at Desert Inn in November. They were the only ones who could gaurantee us adjoining rooms. The other hotels said they would try but no promises. Desert Inn was cheaper, closer and we had great service. The front staff accepted our Von's order and refridgerated our food. They also recommended a ECV company that delivered and picked up from the hotel for DMIL. They received it for us and had it charging when we checked in. We were there in November and DD got to swim in their indoor pool. If it's summer, it won't be as great.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Yeah no real benefits to a good neighbor that I know of. I think it just means that they are supposed to be up to Disney standards. I don't know, it's not something I look for anymore.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Somebody ought to let Disney know that Desert Inn and Suites is still using the Good Neighbor Hotel advertisement on their website. I noticed at DL page, that their sister property Desert Palm Inn and Suites is not longer a partner either but they also have the ad on their page. Talk about false advertising.
I was told that Good Neighbor designation has to do with them meeting Disney's standards. I know I read that somewhere in one of the WDTC brochures. Also, my AAA agent mentioned something like that. Even if it's not the case anymore, I would think that most people look for the Good Neighbor designation because they think it means that the hotel has met Disney's standards. A couple of years ago I heard of people staying at DI&S who had their credit cards double charged and the manager refused to do anything about it. They ended up having to dispute it. We stayed at DI&S a few years ago and didn't think it was that great. At the time the rooms were dirty, small, cramped and old looking. Our socks turned black from the carpeting. (The sofa they show in their photos looks just like the ones that were there when we stayed there years ago! Yikes!) The furniture and carpeting looked dated, as did the walls (think layers of things being painted over) and bathroom fixtures. Come to think of it, it all look pretty bad considering what they charge per night to stay there. The parking was horrible. One night DH came back late from LA and couldn't find parking. No one cared or bothered to help him even though it is supposed to be 1 stall per room which meant that someone had more than 1 car. The chlorine small from the enclosed pool was overhwelming and bothered me a lot. (I have asthma.) It was also pretty small. The 'continental breakfast' was slim pickings and dried out pastries and donuts. It was so bad DH said forgetaboudit and we went elsewhere to eat.
Maybe they had enough complaints that Disney took them off their Good Neighbor list. I wouldn't stay here again. Not when you consider that there are other much nicer properties in the area. Yes, you are paying for location. So if you can stand the filth, lack of parking, and lack of customer service, then I guess the location is a good reason to stay there. I just don't know if it's a good enough reason to stay there.

 

[Leofoenget]

I'm sorry to ask this question, but I'm having a hard time finding the answer. I'm thinking that the Desert Inn might work for our family, but it's not a good neighbour hotel, so can someone tell me what I'd be missing? Good neighbour hotels offer an early morning entrance to DL? Are there other benefits too?
Thank you!!

I think maybe if you are booking a package and don't want to stay on property, these good neighbor hotels are indorsed by Disney, or they give a little bit of a discount. I always stay at Desert Inn btw.