Disney Hotels- worth it?

[tiffjoy]

We are headed to DL again in September. This will be our then- 3 year old's third visit and then nine-month old's first.

We thought about staying at a Disney hotel, but the Grand is quite expensive- it would be more than twice as much as a Good neighbor hotel. Paradise and the Disneyland Hotel just seem so far from the parks. I booked at the Fairfield Inn, but I can cancel. My husband is leaving it up to me, but he is doubtful about the Disneyland hotel and really doesn't care to stay at the Paradise one. He feels the walk would be too far with our little ones in the evening, and I think he has a valid point.

When we are at DW, we always stay on site. But we never have at DL because we can never seem to justify it. I'm trying this time but having trouble (especially as we have a DW trip planned in January as well.) Thoughts??

 

[smiles33]

I was underwhelmed by my Disneyland Hotel stay a few years ago (before the remodel) so for us, it's GCH (which looks gorgeous on its website and has the best location) or HoJo (which is an awesome value but is a 5-8 minute walk for us). We haven't stayed at GCH yet since my youngest is still napping and we wanted two rooms (so the adult stuck in the room isn't sitting in the dark).

The Kids' Suite at HoJo has spoiled me rotten! The cost of getting 2 rooms on-site isn't worth it to me. When my girls are older and not napping, I plan to invest in a GCH stay but until then, we stick to HoJo.

I don't know that PP is that much better, unless you're the kind of person who wants to be immersed in all things Disney (in which case PP is better than a Good Neighbor hotel/motel).

 

[nicolispicoli]

You'll get a lot of different opinions on this. Is it worth it? Ehhh...Do I always do it? Yes

We always stay at the DLH and utilize the monorail, so we only end up walking the complete DTD distance a couple times and usually it's because we want to grab Marcelines or shop a little. I will note that I never stay during peak season, so I never pay rack rate. For us, we love having magic mornings everyday they're available and we just love the feel of the DLH. I like to feel the full magic in the short time we're there. The wallet suffers, but I have always felt good at the end of the trip!

Are you staying on site when you go to WDW?

 

[nicolispicoli]

I will also mention that while we would LOVE to try the GCH and could when it's affordable, the kids (7, 5 and 1) prefer the DLH because it's more kid friendly. They like the headboards and all the small mickey touches. Plus, I like the larger layout at DLH.

 

[honeylove]

When we lived 45 minutes from DL I never could justify staying at a DL hotel. Things changed after I bit the dust and paid the big $$ to stay at the Grand. I can say I will never stay anywhere else. The accessibility of just walking right into the hotel and letting my DD take her nap was priceless. At the time too they had magic mornings with early access to CA Adventure.

 

[tiffjoy]

I wanted to book at HoJo's, but they are full.

Yes, we are staying on site at DW. We always do.

I forgot about the monorail for the Disneyland hotel. Hmmm....

 

[jdb in AZ]

The GCH is massive -- if you're in a room far, far away from the entrance then you could end up walking farther to Disneyland than you would from the Disneyland Hotel.

Your 3-yr old might like the headboards at the DLH that light up like fireworks.

Any hotel is going to be a long walk for tired little feet at the end of a day in the parks. I assume you're planning to rent a stroller during the day? It might be simpler to just bring one from home. Three-yr-old meltdowns are hard, especially for the tired parents that have to deal with it. If you're flying, a stroller is also very helpful in the airports.

We've stayed at all three Disneyland Hotels and prefer the GCH. We like it even more than the Grand Floridian at WDW.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I wanted to book at HoJo's, but they are full.

Yes, we are staying on site at DW. We always do.

I forgot about the monorail for the Disneyland hotel. Hmmm....

The monorail serves all three Disneyland hotels and Downtown Disney (same stop.) My cousin recently watched the fireworks from the monorail station in Tomorrowland -- gave her an elevated view of the Matterhorn, and overlooked the lagoon. After the fireworks they got on the monorail and escaped the crowds.

 

[Spassvogel]

I think you have to do it once just to get all of the plush Disney amenities, but the only hotel that saves you a walk is GCH saving you a walk to California Adventure.

I still don't understand why they moved the monorail station out of the Disneyland Hotel. That was by far the coolest aspect of that hotel.

 

[arthur06]

We are headed to DLR in November. It will not be my first trip, but it is the first for the wife and kids.

I know that many people don't like to switch hotels in the middle of a trip, but we are doing just that. We wanted to do some activities not Disney related on our trip and found that staying in other parts of the city was more beneficial for us. We are doing 2 days in LA, 2 days in San Diego, then 4 days at DLR.

We are DVC, so we have a 1br at VGC, but the points are pretty high compared to a 1br at OKW or something at WDW. The split stay allows us to have a Disney trip and a SoCal trip with a budget that works for us.

 

[Virgoinab]

I think you have to do it once just to get all of the plush Disney amenities, but the only hotel that saves you a walk is GCH saving you a walk to California Adventure.

I still don't understand why they moved the monorail station out of the Disneyland Hotel. That was by far the coolest aspect of that hotel.

Well to be fair they actually didn't move the monorail...they tore down the original disneyland hotel

I miss the monorail cafe tho.

To the OP

I for one will not stay anywhere but the DLH, it works really well at night with the monrail for not walking through DTD, and the only time we walk the whole length is when we do magic mornings, and we are all ready to go first thing.

However the cost is not always something that everyone can afford, or justify, for me it is a non issue, for other's, not so much.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Completely underwhelmed by DLR hotel rooms, always stay on site for other amenities such as pool, bar, room service etc.

 

[Disneyanajc]

They did not tear down the Hotel they revamped the grounds...at one time you had the Sierra lap pool as it was called (side facing DTD) and the Plaza shopping area...you walked through the shopping area to get to the stairs that took you up to the monorail or out to the street to catch the tram over to DL.
But the monorail site never moved.
And I too miss the Monorail Cafe, and the pedal boats on the Marina, and our
son loved the Atari Adventure...now I'm dating myself...

 

[KateDrake]

I will never stay off property at WDW, but it's a whole different ball game at DLR. I'd say stick with a cheaper off-site hotel for now, simply because your kids are so small, they won't notice the difference. My DD3 loves staying in a hotel, and doesn't care if it's a Best Western, Marriott or Four Seasons. As long as there are two queen beds to jump between, she's happy.
So I'd recommend either staying at an off-site hotel that is within easy walking distance, or go for DLH and use the monorail. The GCH is really more for adults. Save the money and use it to buy extra souvenirs or do a character meal, etc. Then when your kids are older and will notice how great staying on-property is, you can spring for GCH!
Have a great trip!

 

[lorieintucson]

When our boys were around that little we stayed at GC and wouldn't have it any other way. It was the closest and gave us great opportunity to get back to the hotel and out again without a lot of fuss and sherpa-like packing for the day. And if there is a meltdown or a necessary nap time, you can split up and send one parent/child back to the room easily to take a break (and then there was that one time my three year old, who i thought was handing the stimulation well, just snapped mid afternoon and i had to carry his tantruming-tired-sobbing self back to the room from Bugs Land to GC. Lesson: learned)

Last time with them 5 &3 we stayed at Disneyland Hotel and the walk wasn't that bad at all -but we did use a stroller. We also loved the remodeled room and the mickey touches everywhere.

This fall we are going to stay at FFI with a 6&4 YO--and I would have loved to stay at a Disney hotel again, but our vacation budget was cut down with an extra beach weekend and I didn't want to wait to see if there were fall deals, so I booked FFI through a Costco/Disney travel package to save some money and get more trips.

The main thing that is going to make your trip as best as it can be is to have good strollers. The question you asked about length of distance for little feet at the end of night makes me concerned that you're not going with wheels for the trip? No hotel is close enough, IMO to take the littles purely on foot or on your back. Make your life easier and plan to stroll. If I couldn't bring mine from home (due to air travel, i suppose it could be spendy?), I'd rent from an off-site company instead of getting the Disney stroller that you have to leave at the gate. I haven't used them (because i ended up buying a new one to resell myself) but I almost booked with :http://www.travelingbaby.com/anaheim/ProductDetail.aspx?City=anaheim&Itm=58&Name=BobDuallieJogger

(I actually kept our big BOB duallie around just for our trip last Christmas for transportation to and from the hotel and as a place to stash our stuff as we went from land to land (also makes for great parade seating). This year, I sold the duallie and got a single BOB just for a trip to Sea World this summer and for the trip to Disney for Halloween time. It's big enough to handle the 40lb, 4 year old and our bags, and a breeze to push and maneuver though crowds and down the street. Plus, i'll be able to sell it for 75% of what i paid for it.)

 

[blackjackdelta]

We used to stay off site at a number of places and the walk really was not that bad for the 4 kids when they were 4-8, we switched to onsite, at the GCH, and then to theVillas(which we could not get into this year), two more have decided to go so now we have switched to the DLH and the family is pumped, we will see how it goes.
Worth it is a poor term, has alot to do with resources, what you feel like you need when there, we feel the places on harbor are not worth it for us.
Most people spend about 42% of there time in the hotels and we find that it is part or our experience. The EMH/MM what ever they call it now allows for us to get lots done and take breaks if we wish..my 2 bits.

Jack

 

[KCmike]

This question is always a tough one. For my family the hotel is a HUGE experience when we travel. I love the GCH and DLH. We have stayed at three different good neighbor hotels (FFI, HOJO, and BWPPI) and have had good stays each time. I like FFI the best of them. Now of all them the GCH is hands down the best for us. Is it worth $400? Probably not. We have never had to pay that much to stay there. We had a buy 3 get 2 free deal when we went. This was years before carsland. If I could get 20-30% off I would probably jump on it. I personally don't like walking on Harbor Blvd seeing the outside world and all its noise (homeless, busses, cars, etc.). I would much prefer walking through the Downtown Disney area or making the quick exit back to GCH from DCA. If you can afford or have the choice then definitely stay onsite. That's a no brainer. If you can only afford to choose a good neighbor to get to go to Disneyland then choose one of the three good neighbors I mentioned above. FFI is my #1 choice for them.

 

[chrissiecutie]

I still don't understand why they moved the monorail station out of the Disneyland Hotel. That was by far the coolest aspect of that hotel.

I'm SO sad about this!!

As a kid...WAY before DCA & DTD, GCH & PP, my family would drive from Seattle every summer and spend just 1 day at DL. While we could never afford to stay at the DLH, we always went over for dinner and shopped at the awesome gift shop and we always hopped on the monorail. This was a huge part of my Disney childhood memories so I'm heartbroken that they got rid of it!

So OP...In all the years I've been going to DLR, I have NEVER stayed onsite. My parents couldn't afford it then when it was just the DLH and I can't afford it now. But I can say that it's my dream to take my parents for a stay at the DLH because they love it so & it will always hold a special part of my Disney memories.

My family of 3 stays at the HoJo. It has now become my son's "Disneyland Hotel" and until he's grown, we will never stay anywhere else.

 

[tiffjoy]

We are bringing a double stroller. Sorry that I didn't make that clear. It's a long walk from the perspective of going back and forth for naps and when DH and I are tired at the end of the day. I usually get my daughter ready for bed at the Baby Center before we leave the parks (at DL or DW) because she always falls asleep on the way back. We plan to do that this time with both girls.

Lots of opinions to consider! Thanks for the feedback. It's not that we can't afford to stay at a Disney hotel. It's decision of whether the extra cost is worth it. It seems that really varies from person to person. Our dates are fixed (third week in September), and I don't see any deals.

I guess I was thinking it was a long walk from the Disneyland hotel to the parks but I forgot about the monorail.

Guess we will have to discuss and think about it more.

 

[Jkpark]

I guess I was thinking it was a long walk from the Disneyland hotel to the parks but I forgot about the monorail.

Not sure how to quote on mobile app. Just a heads up that at DL, you have to fold your stroller up when boarding the monorail. So if your little ones are asleep in the stroller, you will have your hands full. Just wanted to give you that heads up as it's a little different from WDW monorail at the end of the night.

The evenings in mid-September are pretty nice. We usually enjoy the walk back talking about our day while the girls doze off in the stroller.