Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You

[catfan98]

We've rotated around the convention hotels mostly and then tried out Fairfield and then BW motels. While we LOVED the proximity, definitely have also turned into a hotel snob.....so we did the DISboards thing --- got into VGC today! Mouse gonna make me a poor man -

We usually rent DVC points when we go to WDW (have stayed at Beach Club and Boardwalk on them), so I did think about VGC, lol.

 

[catfan98]

I just checked the ap blockout calendar. May not make much difference those days.

The 31st is a grad night so I’d stick with your days. Just Know that mondays can be quite packed, hard to walk.

I just looked up Grad Night...I did not know this was a thing! So it looks like in 2020, during our time frame in Cali, there is a grad night on May 29, May 30, and June 2. So we will hit a grad night on the 2nd. Ah well, I guess that will be ok. My only other option is to switch from Monday and Tuesday to Sunday and Monday with no grad nights, but idk. Thoughts?

 

[Cal-Pie]

I just looked up Grad Night...I did not know this was a thing! So it looks like in 2020, during our time frame in Cali, there is a grad night on May 29, May 30, and June 2. So we will hit a grad night on the 2nd. Ah well, I guess that will be ok. My only other option is to switch from Monday and Tuesday to Sunday and Monday with no grad nights, but idk. Thoughts?

You will be fine. just get the headliner rides done in the morning before the majority of the grads show up.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I just looked up Grad Night...I did not know this was a thing! So it looks like in 2020, during our time frame in Cali, there is a grad night on May 29, May 30, and June 2. So we will hit a grad night on the 2nd. Ah well, I guess that will be ok. My only other option is to switch from Monday and Tuesday to Sunday and Monday with no grad nights, but idk. Thoughts?

Oh I was looking at wrong dates. Maybe this years. Tuesday will probably still be better than Sunday.

 

[nikkislaght]

Has anyone stayed at the Kings Inn (formerly the Super 8) on West Katella? We got a pretty good rate there for my family in early July. We are planning to walk from there to and from the parks, so hoping it isn't more than 15 minutes to get to the parks. Thanks for any info you have!

Yes , we stayed there our last trip . Clean , friendly staff , basic rooms . If you need accessible rooms make sure to call them and get lower floor as there is now elevator. Pool is small but very clean . Breakfast was included , basic pastries , cereal and some fruits . They had a waffle “station” that got very busy . No proteins , but they had microwaves and purchased breakfast sandwiches from the CSV on the corner of Harbor and Katella and heated them in the breakfast room . Just be prepared for people to give you stink eye because they want more than cereal . . There is an ART stop right out front the hotel . It is walkable , but late at night the ART is kind to those sore feet . The hotel is just up the road from Bubba Gumps and then a block further the Cheese cake factory . Close to the corner strip mall and a bus ride away from either a grocery store on Katella or the Target up the road on S Harbor . For the price we paid for airfare and room it was a great deal . Seeing that we literally only slept in the room .

 

[kittyklawz]

we are a family of 6 and have tried many options around DL. We’ve been doing the Hyatt house most of the time for the past few years even though the walk is longer because it was newer and served a decent breakfast. The springhill suites across the street is an equal option. We haven’t stayed at the courtyard Marriott yet b/c it’s always priced a bit higher, in which case I’d rather just stay at a DL hotel. We haven’t liked the popular options down by the toy story lot (homewood suites) because the bus just takes too long for us (would rather walk). Technically, when your kids are still little, you can squeeze into a Disney room. It’s tight but I still prefer it. Your youngest can probably still go in the pack n play? Or put your two smallest on the daybed.

How far of a walk is Hyatt house? Is it close enough that you feel you could go back for a midday break?

 

[CastAStone]

How far of a walk is Hyatt house? Is it close enough that you feel you could go back for a midday break?

I'd say 10-15 minutes. Depends how you catch the lights and whether you're pushing a heavy stroller like we were. It's a great hotel.

 

[kittyklawz]

I'd say 10-15 minutes. Depends how you catch the lights and whether you're pushing a heavy stroller like we were. It's a great hotel.

We would probably have a stroller for sure with the little one. Did you find it easy to go back for a midday break? I don't think we would want to stay any farther than Katella where this hotel and residence in is located. I saw they do complimentary grocery shopping which sounds lovely too. Was the room quiet? I hate when I can hear other people I am a very light sleeper. Hows the pool area?

 

[CastAStone]

We would probably have a stroller for sure with the little one. Did you find it easy to go back for a midday break? I don't think we would want to stay any farther than Katella where this hotel and residence in is located. I saw they do complimentary grocery shopping which sounds lovely too. Was the room quiet? I hate when I can hear other people I am a very light sleeper. Hows the pool area?

The hotel is like 3 years old so it's in great shape. I found the rooms quiet and the beds comfy. The hotel has a Walgreens in the building so you can pick up a ton of things without paying hotel prices. My recollection is that you don't even need to go outside to get to the Walgreens. I work in the food industry so checking out the local grocery stores is part of any trip for me, so I didn't take advantage of any shopping the hotel might do.

The walk itself is short, the wait at the light adds a few minutes, but we went back for nap time every day and it was a breeze. It's certainly further away than like BWPPI, but it's an easy, flat, relatively peaceful walk (by Southern California standards).

The pool was nice! Not huge but not tiny either. When we went it was completely dead, and there was a guy with a cart selling adult beverages.

 

[kittyklawz]

The hotel is like 3 years old so it's in great shape. I found the rooms quiet and the beds comfy. The hotel has a Walgreens in the building so you can pick up a ton of things without paying hotel prices. My recollection is that you don't even need to go outside to get to the Walgreens. I work in the food industry so checking out the local grocery stores is part of any trip for me, so I didn't take advantage of any shopping the hotel might do.

The walk itself is short, the wait at the light adds a few minutes, but we went back for nap time every day and it was a breeze. It's certainly further away than like BWPPI, but it's an easy, flat, relatively peaceful walk (by Southern California standards).

The pool was nice! Not huge but not tiny either. When we went it was completely dead, and there was a guy with a cart selling adult beverages.

You can’t beat a cart of adult beverages lol! It’s about the same price for a week as it would be to rent a condo but it includes the free breakfast every day so I am leaning towards Hyatt when we go. I actually used to work for Hyatt wish I still did so I could get the discount lol! That’s awesome about the Walgreens. Is the pool area surrounded by parking lot or is it more private?

 

[CastAStone]

You can’t beat a cart of adult beverages lol! It’s about the same price for a week as it would be to rent a condo but it includes the free breakfast every day so I am leaning towards Hyatt when we go. I actually used to work for Hyatt wish I still did so I could get the discount lol! That’s awesome about the Walgreens. Is the pool area surrounded by parking lot or is it more private?

If I recall correctly it's on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the hotel, I think on top of the garage. I would say it more "overlooks" the parking lot lol. Def more private but not totally so.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Moving the following discussion here from the ROTR Superthread (2/14/20):

how do you like BWPPI?
i have reservations for us there for october
.

That's our go-to for my typical party of 6. It's decent, though last time we went they had plumbing issues in a neighboring unit and had the rooter out during the day. Made it kind of loud while we were trying to nap one day, but they comped us a free day of parking, so that was cool.

Overall it's clean and functional. No frills, but super close to the park. I plan to return.

we love it so far!! It’s so close to the parks - see fiancé lipstick debacle above

i'm debating between BWPPI and the Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center. It's at the corner of harbor blvd and katella, where the CVS pharmacy is.
I know it's at least a 10 minute walk from there, but it seems like a nice place and i have a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen booked there.
I just don't know what to do.
I have reservations at both, so i don't have to decide yet.
this is for my husband and me...
first time in 36 years, it will be just the two of us!!
.

I have a preference for BWPPI because it is just so freaking close to DLR and the cross-walk across Harbor. So for me, that is a no-brainer. When I am not at DLR I like RI's for the space and kitchen and all. But at DLR I am biased towards the walking distance.

To be fair, When I stay at the BWPPI I usually wind up walking to the CVS at least once a night to get something we forgot or first aid supplies or something. It's become a running joke that after we get in for the evening I just say "Well, time to go to CVS! What do we need tonight?"

At the end of the day, that walk feels kinda long, but it isn't too bad. If you think you will want to take an afternoon break at the hotel, the location of BWPPI can't be beat. But if you want to cook...

I usually can find that stuff at the little market in the Tropicana next door. Not as big as CVS, of course, and probably at a higher cost. But OMG it is just right there!

Our typical goto is Hyatt Place with free breakfast; lots of space and just across from Toy Story shuttle to save the steps for the day.

When we want midday breaks, we have rotated between the Fairfield/Courtyard (points) and Best Western places (hotwire deals). The two Best westerns simply cannot be beat, but the motel style; basic breakfast, and draconian parking rules put a damper on the visit a lot....

SO -- this year, we bought in VGC and closed just last week.

We are staying at Hyatt Place for 3 nights, work is paying, then I'm thinking about switching to Fairfield for Friday & Saturday night, DH has 2 certificates we can use. The parks will be open 8AM-12AM, I'm thinking it would be nice to go back to the hotel and not have to walk all the way back to the Hyatt on those long days. DH is also platnium so I'm hoping for an upgrade, we would be switching hotels 2/28.

We were wanted to just stay at HP because of the free breakfast, but we still have $140 Brilliant credit to use before it resets 3/24, could I just charge Pizza Hut/ market stuff to the room?'

And Congrats on the investment.

Fairfield is okay. no breakfast, but McDs and Panera are literally right there on the way. The furnishings are 'updated' but still a motel noise so get away from the elevators if you don't like luggage wheels going by the room all the time.

Consider using the Toy Story shuttle when at HP. It's time neutral compared to walking and saves a lot of steps - especially at night!

HOME...We hope to be back to our VGC home in December. We'll see what kind of tips and tricks we need to follow to experience ROTR?
I've been reading every post, thanks to everyone for all the excitement

congrats on DVC!! we're DVC at WDW. Bought in 2018 indirect and then 2019 added on direct.
SSR and BLT are our home resorts.

 

[harmon54]

So after reading through this again I was wondering what people’s thoughts are on this plan. We are staying at Grand Californian on points for two nights and then we have to switch hotels. I booked out by the Long Beach airport because we have a 7:10am flight to Hawaii on Sunday. I was concerned about traffic if we stayed at a hotel near Disney. This leaves us driving in to Disney for our last park day though. Would you keep it this way? Change to a hotel near Disney for both nights? Or get a hotel one night at Disney and one night at Long Beach - this doesn’t seem like the best option having to pack up multiple times since we already have to change hotels once! Thanks!

 

[Going2DisneyAZ]

I would stay near Disneyland. Traffic to long beach on a Sunday morning at 5am should be very light. Even in SoCal. Maybe get up tomorrow and check it on Google maps.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I would stay near Disneyland. Traffic to long beach on a Sunday morning at 5am should be very light. Even in SoCal. Maybe get up tomorrow and check it on Google maps.

Pro-tip: You can, at least on desktop, change the time and date of the directions you are getting on Google Maps. The default time is "leave now", but you can change it to "depart at" or "arrive at" and it can be fascinating sometimes.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Is the Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Themepark Walkable?

 

[CastAStone]

Is the Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Walkable?

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Theme Park Entrance hotel is extremely walkable.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Resort is a hike but walkable. It’s certainly a lot less walking than you’ll do in a couple hours at the parks.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Buena Park and Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Cyprus/Orange are not walkable at all.

 

[wdwobsessed]

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Theme Park Entrance hotel is extremely walkable.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Resort is a hike but walkable. It’s certainly a lot less walking than you’ll do in a couple hours at the parks.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Buena Park and Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Cyprus/Orange are not walkable at all.

I meant the first one. We booked the theme park entrance one.

 

[wdwobsessed]

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Theme Park Entrance hotel is extremely walkable.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Resort is a hike but walkable. It’s certainly a lot less walking than you’ll do in a couple hours at the parks.

The Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Buena Park and Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Cyprus/Orange are not walkable at all.

Crap. I’m sooooo glad you said that. We booked the wrong one!!!!

THANK YOU!!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Moved from the ROTR Superthread:

Congratulations! I know this is off topic, but did you buy direct or resale?