Best place to stay for a large family!

[jenajoy]

HI all I am planning an april 2014 vacation for a family of 8 adults, 2 teens, 2 kids and one infant. We are all wanting to stay in the same hotel, but the budget is a little tight for most of us. What i am looking for is options, I am open to just about anything from suites with kitchenetts to connecting rooms. This is the first disney expirence for most of my family and i really want to make it magical. here are my prefernces...
close to maingate entrence (walking distance)
large spacious rooms
free breakfast
mini fridge or full frige in room
crib for rent or free

I would really love to hear all suggestions!

 

[laura&fam]

Desert Inn and Suites has several room layouts. It's very close (the best feature IMO) and they do have breakfast, but it's very unimpressive. We would supplement the breakfast with sandwiches or yogurts from McDonalds down the street (within walking distance). The rooms also have microwave and mini-fridge.

 

[starshine514]

We stay at Desert Inn a lot. It is fine and no-frills. Their largest room sleeps 10, so you would need 2 rooms. We've also found the Del Sol to be easy on the budget (you'd need 2 kids rooms w/ bunk beds there). Note that if you're driving, both allow only 1 vehicle per room.

Both have a free continental breakfast (protein-free) and charge for parking and a resort fee.

 

[MamaChelle]

I'll say desert inn and suites also, large rooms that accomodate up to 10, across the street from the entrance.

I haven't stayed yet, our trip is in about a month but I did hear some really great reviews on it.

Also if you book early enough, you can get a really great rate. I reserved a Parlor C1 room with 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths for $99/night when I booked about 10 months ahead.

Here's the site www.anaheimdesertinn.com/

 

[firefly87]

I have a large extended family as well and twice now we have rented houses very close to Disneyland. It makes it nice for several reasons. We have a little room to spread out and aren't all sitting on top of each other in a hotel room. We make our meals in the kitchen.....we make our own breakfast, pack our lunch into the park, and usually come back for dinner (sometimes something in the crock pot). Our travelling group is around 14 people and that gets way expensive to eat at a restaurant every night. And you also get the benefit of a washer & dryer!!!

We find them on vrbo.com. Search for Anaheim and I think you can even select houses close to Disney. Don't let the price per night or weekly rate scare you. If you figure how many hotel rooms & how many nights, it can be very comparable to rent a house with the extra benefits. There is a very cool Disney theme house that someone rents out. We stayed there and the kids loved it!! It was very pricey though. But it usually comes up in the search, so check it out and see!

The last 2 homes we rented were close to park as the crow flies, but it was a bit of a long walk because we had to get around the DL Hotel. so we ended up driving to the parking structure at Disney. If you buy your park hoppers thru AAA, I think they come with free parking. Otherwise it's around $12-$15/day.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Another vote for Desert Inn! Like the pp said, fantastic location, great room layouts, good prices.

The only big thing to consider is how important is a pool for your group. I know other guests are fine with the DI indoor pool. I guess I'm a pool snob, but my family thinks it's well....gross.

We always order muffins from Mimis nearby. It is easy to order them online through their website and there is often coupons around for free breakfasts or muffins. The muffins are a good addition to the basic offerings at the DI breakfast.

 

[Hawaiian Style]

We have done Desert Inn a couple times and would stay there again if the rates did not go up so much...used to be as low as $59/night for the 2 queen beds room. The convenience of being right accross the street is a huge plus! We love Residence Inn Maingate or Residence Inn Garden Grove. Suites will run $129-$189 depending when you catch it, and if you know someone who can get the Family & Friends rate with Marriott, it really gets cheap! We booked the smallest suite they have for $89.00/night Dec 6-10th, and it has a full kitchen and includes a full breakfast buffett. The breakfast alone is worth $40-50 for our family if we were to eat out. The large suites can sleep 8 comfortably, but you could probably squeeze 9 in. 2 full bathrooms in the larger suites is a plus too.

 

[mellers]

HI all I am planning an april 2014 vacation for a family of 8 adults, 2 teens, 2 kids and one infant. We are all wanting to stay in the same hotel, but the budget is a little tight for most of us. What i am looking for is options, I am open to just about anything from suites with kitchenetts to connecting rooms. This is the first disney expirence for most of my family and i really want to make it magical. here are my prefernces...
close to maingate entrence (walking distance)
large spacious rooms
free breakfast
mini fridge or full frige in room
crib for rent or free

I would really love to hear all suggestions!

We are staying at the Del Sol Inn from 12/7-12/13 for $69/night annual passholder rate. If one of you has an AP, that might not be a bad option. Even if you have to get 3-4 rooms, it would still not be a bad price. I'm not sure how many connect, but I know some rooms have bunk beds, which might work well for the kids. They also, as I recall, had some pretty low AAA rates--worth a check. We had to get two rooms for this trip, so we are VERY grateful to comfortably sleep everyone for $138/night in two rooms.

They are an easy walk to the park, close to the maingate, have a refrigerator and microwave, have a basic, continental breakfast, and I think you can rent a crib, although I would double-check. They also have a Denny's in the parking lot, although it may be a bit more expensive than the usual Denny's.

Drawbacks are that it has no elevators, so if you're on the second floor, you will have to carry your luggage. Also not so good for strollers, and the 2nd floor is impossible for wheelchairs, so you'll definitely want to let them know if that's an issue.

If you're looking for fancy, this isn't it, but it's clean, has a pool, has breakfast, has a fridge and micro, and it's close to the maingate.

 

[jenajoy]

Thanks so much this very helpful! And 69.00/night sounds great!