Disadvantages of staying off-site and off Harbor Blvd?

[ctbergman]

Good morning! I am planning a 10 day trip starting in Phoenix and ending in Anaheim in the late spring. I currently have a room at the Howard Johnson water park on Harbor Blvd. I just saw a listing on airbnb for a small house about 10 minutes away from Disneyland that has 3 bedrooms.

I am trying to decide if having some extra room for myself, my mom and my daughter at the end of a road trip is worth the time away from the parks. (touring plans puts crowd levels at 8/10 during our stay)

If we arrive later in the morning is parking at Disneyland difficult to find? And how far is the parking lot from the entrances to the parks? We've been to WDW several times and I'm trying to understand the scale of DLR.

Any advice for this DLR newbie is greatly appreciated!

 

[Girimama33]

I personally wouldn't stay in the house since there are only 3 of you. Staying within walking distance is so much easier than having to deal with parking. Your options for theme park parking are the Mickey and Friends lot on Ball and Disneyland Drive or the Toy Story lot on Harbor and Katella. You may pull in to one and have to be redirected to the other...which is a pain.
Here is a parking map (includes hotels as well) https://disneyland.disney.go.com/au/maps/#/m=parking
That is my 2 cents...

 

[ADLFAN]

I would suggest sticking with the Howard Johnson and walking to and from the parks. It is just so much easier than driving every day, locating the parking lots, paying for parking, taking the tram or bus to the parks, reversing the process at night with a flood of other people... I wouldn't trade that for extra room, especially since you won't want to leave the parks once you're in there! The Hojo is close enough that if part of the group needs to run back for sweaters or medicine or a pool break, they can walk there in under 15 minutes from the parks without having to coordinate Un parking and Re parking. A big time saver! Have fun planning!

 

[figment_jii]

I would also recommend staying at the Howard Johnson over a house that is about 10 minutes away. Depending on when you're going, driving to the parks could be difficult/time consuming. We drove to the Mickey & Friends lot once and it took us over 30 minutes to get in (this happened twice, once was a Saturday night and other was a marathon morning - so if you're going during a marathon, avoid driving to the parking lots at all costs). The distance between the parking lots and the parks aren't too bad...there is a bus that runs from the Toy Story lot and a tram that goes from the Mickey & Friends lot (kind of think of it like Animal Kingdom's lot). You could walk, but most folks will take the tram/bus.

Another option would be to see if you can find a house that is closer to the parks (within walking distance). I've stayed at two different houses, so they are available (I don't know if there are any through Airnb).

 

[gottalovepluto]

Time. It takes a lot of time to get to DL on a crowded day with everyone else trying to go to DL as well , find parking, tram to the bag check line. I believe from HoJo you can walk to bag check & easily leave the parks if you want a break.

 

[ctbergman]

I'm seeing a trend! Thank you all for the advice.

 

[Geemo]

For a trip to Disneyland we feel it's a must to be within walking distance.
While on-site is extremely nice, there is nothing wrong with staying on Harbor.

We stay on Harbor for most of our trips to DLR. Closer to the crosswalk is our favorite. Makes for an easy retreat at the end of a long day in the parks.

The thought of driving to and from each day would ruin my trip before we even arrive.

Besides on busy days it gives you the option of taking a break/nap back at your hotel.

Geemo

 

[lovebug33]

We are trying driving because we got a great deal on a suite at the Stanford inn. We always go early so I'm hoping it won't be too crazy.

 

[lalasmama]

Feel like it's a pretty obvious decision to most of us?

I'm jumping on the bandwagon. While I don't think it's imperative to as "walking distance" as some people, I'll admit I do appreciate it at the end of the day!

Before our recent change in financial status, DD and I stayed at Super 8 Katella (on the edge of "walkability" depending on who you ask). It wasn't a bad walk at all. It's a 0.6 mile walk each way. But, when I started watching my pedometer, I saw that DD's shrimpy little 8-year-old legs were managing 10+ miles a day (high of 14, low of 8) in the parks. And, at the end of a 12-14 hour day at Disneyland, honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was (1) walk 0.6 mile back to the hotel, or (2) wait for a tram, hop on the tram, wait for destination, walk to car, pile everything into the car, drive back to wherever we're staying, unpack everything, etc. I'm tired just thinking about it!

HoJo is about 0.3 mile according to Google Maps. Much more reasonable in my opinion.

For what it's worth, if you aren't planning on playing much at the hotel/home where you are staying, there's cheaper/closer places. Our favorite is a 2 queen, 1 bedroom suite at Park Vue Inn. It allows the grown-ups some room to stay up while our DD is sleeping And we've never paid more than $200 for it (usually more in the $150-180 range).

 

[sheetz]

Closer is obviously better, but you have to take into account your own personal situation. If the 3 of you in the same room will have you at each other's throats by the end of your trip then it's better to get the house!

 

[Bud Ice]

Money-wise. Parking at Disneyland is $20/day at a minimum. Factor that in to the time equation.

If you're ok at HoJo, stay at Hojo.

 

[bumbershoot]

Is that a 10 minute *drive* away? And is it away from the parking garages, or just from "Disneyland"? Could make a difference.

We have stayed down at Harbor near the Target/Buca di Beppo, and walked both ways all but one time. Do most call it walking distance? Nope, but it was for us. That's not for everyone. And if it was 10 minutes on the highway, or complicated driving, I wouldn't want to do that.

I personally would just stay at Hojo. Cross over to the Disney side of Harbor to make the walk a little bit more pleasant. We've been stuck at a hotel driveway while a big delivery truck was having issues getting in or out b/c of traffic, and it was not fun! So close and so far at the same time. The Disney side doesn't have that issue of hotel/restaurant driveways.

 

[Geemo]

Before our recent change in financial status, DD and I stayed at Super 8 Katella (on the edge of "walkability" depending on who you ask). It wasn't a bad walk at all. It's a 0.6 mile walk each way. But, when I started watching my pedometer, I saw that DD's shrimpy little 8-year-old legs were managing 10+ miles a day (high of 14, low of 8) in the parks. And, at the end of a 12-14 hour day at Disneyland, honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was (1) walk 0.6 mile back to the hotel, or (2) wait for a tram, hop on the tram, wait for destination, walk to car, pile everything into the car, drive back to wherever we're staying, unpack everything, etc. I'm tired just thinking about it!

HoJo is about 0.3 mile according to Google Maps. Much more reasonable in my opinion.

For what it's worth, if you aren't planning on playing much at the hotel/home where you are staying, there's cheaper/closer places. Our favorite is a 2 queen, 1 bedroom suite at Park Vue Inn. It allows the grown-ups some room to stay up while our DD is sleeping And we've never paid more than $200 for it (usually more in the $150-180 range).

I have a story about shrimpy little kid legs.
This was 35 years ago when my son was about 5yrs. old. My brother is 6'+ and walks at a rather fast pace.
He had my son by the hand as they were walking downtown. When my son looks up at him and asked his uncle why they were jogging?

One nice thing about going to Disneyland is all the options for accommodations.

Geemo

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree about sticking with the HoJo. But if more space really is an issue, how about the Residence Inn Maingate on Clementine? Or the Springhill Suites on Harbor and Katella?

 

[sheetz]

It wasn't a bad walk at all. It's a 0.6 mile walk each way. But, when I started watching my pedometer, I saw that DD's shrimpy little 8-year-old legs were managing 10+ miles a day (high of 14, low of 8) in the parks.

Don't underestimate 8 year olds! The average 8 year old can run circles around their parents because 1) they are used to being more active and 2) they are carrying a lot less extra weight.

 

[lalasmama]

Don't underestimate 8 year olds! The average 8 year old can run circles around their parents because 1) they are used to being more active and 2) they are carrying a lot less extra weight.

My 8 year old was a formerly-failure-to-thrive little shrimp. She kept up well, but it's still a lot of walking for someone with short legs

 

[Yvie B.]

I am a newbie too and I am so glad to find this board! We go to WDW every year and decided to add DLR as a midway trip since we can drive. However, I'm more overwhelmed trying to find a hotel for this tiny park than at WDW which is huge! I guess it doesn't seem so cut and dry here.

Where is the BEST located hotel off property for easy walking (we'll have a car but a stroller too so walking would be better).

How bad would it be to stay at the Embassy Suites 2 miles away and take the bus? Is that unrealistic? We have a 5 year old and again, a stroller.

I was looking at Park Vue, Hojo, Candycane, Desert Palms and Embassy Suites and Peacock Suites. Any thoughts????

I'm only thinking Embassy Suites because I know what to expect and darn it I love their free breakfast, that's just money in our pocket! I havent' been to Disneyland in 30 years so I have zero idea what to expect but looking at it on the map I can see it's a tiny fraction of WDW in size which is kind of appealing.

HELP!!

 

[mich311e]

I am a newbie too and I am so glad to find this board! We go to WDW every year and decided to add DLR as a midway trip since we can drive. However, I'm more overwhelmed trying to find a hotel for this tiny park than at WDW which is huge! I guess it doesn't seem so cut and dry here.

Where is the BEST located hotel off property for easy walking (we'll have a car but a stroller too so walking would be better).

How bad would it be to stay at the Embassy Suites 2 miles away and take the bus? Is that unrealistic? We have a 5 year old and again, a stroller.

I was looking at Park Vue, Hojo, Candycane, Desert Palms and Embassy Suites and Peacock Suites. Any thoughts????

I'm only thinking Embassy Suites because I know what to expect and darn it I love their free breakfast, that's just money in our pocket! I havent' been to Disneyland in 30 years so I have zero idea what to expect but looking at it on the map I can see it's a tiny fraction of WDW in size which is kind of appealing.

HELP!!

I would call Embassy Suites and check their breakfast hours for your trip. We stayed there about 6 years ago around Thanksgiving time. We are a rope drop family and their breakfast hours were never available before we needed to leave. :-( We had booked through Triple AA that trip and drove to the park each day because we had free parking. It was a huge pain. I'd much prefer to stay somewhere on Harbor and walk.

We usually stay in Carousel suites but Park View and BWPPI are close by, too. We went last week and stayed at Quality Inn on Manchester, which is a short walk to Disneyland, it's right off Harbor, just to save more money.

 

[debdreamsofdis]

I am a newbie too and I am so glad to find this board! We go to WDW every year and decided to add DLR as a midway trip since we can drive. However, I'm more overwhelmed trying to find a hotel for this tiny park than at WDW which is huge! I guess it doesn't seem so cut and dry here.

Where is the BEST located hotel off property for easy walking (we'll have a car but a stroller too so walking would be better).

How bad would it be to stay at the Embassy Suites 2 miles away and take the bus? Is that unrealistic? We have a 5 year old and again, a stroller.

I was looking at Park Vue, Hojo, Candycane, Desert Palms and Embassy Suites and Peacock Suites. Any thoughts????

I'm only thinking Embassy Suites because I know what to expect and darn it I love their free breakfast, that's just money in our pocket! I havent' been to Disneyland in 30 years so I have zero idea what to expect but looking at it on the map I can see it's a tiny fraction of WDW in size which is kind of appealing.

HELP!!

Out of the hotels you listed, I think the closest hotel to the parks is the Park Vue. I believe the Candy Cane inn and Desert Palms offer a free breakfast as well, but I haven't stayed at either so I can't comment. Candy Cane generally gets really good reviews here and they have their own private shuttle or you can walk to it in about 10-15 minutes tops.

We are big Embassy Suites fans. I think their breakfast buffet is one of the best hotel breakfasts out there and I also agree that it can save you money. I'm not sure what you're looking at budget wise, but remember ES charges daily for parking, so if you compare prices, say to the Hojo, which doesn't have a free breakfast but does offer free parking, how much is that "free" breakfast really going to cost you compared to just bringing your own bagels/donuts etc.... You kind of have to look at the trade offs, know what I mean? It's been a while since we stayed at ES, and when we did we had little ones and strollers and it seemed like such a hassle to get the strollers folded up and then waiting for the bus and fighting the crowds to get on just got really old to us. We discovered we liked staying within walking distance. However, we just stayed at the Best Western Park Place inn, and even though it is as literally close to Disneyland as you can get, we also discovered that we are sort of picky about our accommodations. We much preferred our stay at the Springhill Suites, which was a little further to walk, but a much nicer, newer, cleaner hotel.

 

[Yvie B.]

Thank you that's really helpful! We are also pretty picky about our accomodations, I would really like to have a 2 room suite otherwise we can't watch TV after my daughter goes to bed, stay up and read etc. We're definitely not a rope drop family, I can't see us getting there before 10am earliest. At WDW we roll in around 3pm!! BUt I agree the bus sounds like a hassle, parking sounds like a hassle. It's $16 a day to park at ES. Our family has a lot of dietary restrictions and we just can't get by with bagels, I wish we could! Did the springhill suites offer hot breakfast? I wonder how much uber would be from ES to the park?????