Disneyland Hotel vs Howard Johnson for Star Wars Race

[stazmatic]

I know this has probably been asked before, but looking for opinions:
First trip to Disneyland for my family of 8 next week for the Star Wars Light Side. We have 2 regular rooms booked at Disneyland Hotel and at Howard Johnson. The price difference is about double to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We are WDW vets and this will probably be our only family trip to Disneyland. I really want to stay at Disneyland Hotel, but DH thinks we should save the money and use it to do something fun. He will go along with whatever I want to do, but he is pretty tight with money and will be cranky seeing the price at check in. We have the money to do either one, he just doesn't like thinking about spending a lot if that makes sense.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Hmm...this one is kind of tough. I love Hojo. We have stayed there dozens of times and feel comfortable there. I would unhesitatingly advise that you stay there and use that big chunk of leftover money to "do something fun" like your DH says except for the part about it being your only family trip to Disneyland. We have stayed at the DLH only once. Frankly, at the current rates, I couldn't convince myself to do it again, but we go to Disneyland a few times a year. I loved our DLH stay as a one-time splurge, and we really made sure to enjoy the amenities of the hotel and grounds which actually meant that we spent less time in the park than usual. If you think you are going to take advantage of the early entry and any other perks offered by the DLH and really enjoy that on-property feeling and will regret not doing it and it won't create a problem between you and your DH then you should probably go for it if it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. All that said though, I personally would end up back at the Hojo again if it was me, lol. The price of DLH is just something I can't get past these days. We stayed in 2010; prices have gone up an awful lot since then.

 

[DLgal]

Stay at DLH. The walk from HoJo to where the races begin is LONG and you'll have to do it before and after the race. Not fun. Splurge this once. The DLH is the perfect spot to stay for races. Packet pickup is there and the races start and end basically right there. The Hojo is crap (sorry, but it is).

 

[nervous1sttimer]

I stayed at Hojo when I did the Dumbo Double Dare for my C2C. The walk is not that bad and there are thousands of runners walking it with you. I would save the money for sure and stay there again.

 

[tarheelalum]

I'm with your husband on this. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should do it. But with that said, the disneyland hotel is nice and convenient, just waaaay overpriced at the regular or AP rates. But since this is your only trip to Disneyland, I would probably go ahead and stay there. You only live once. Have a great time regardless of where you stay.

 

[SMD]

It's worth it to stay at DLH the night before your race. If you can adjust the nights and do a split stay without losing your rate at HoJo, I would do that.

 

[Imdboss]

We can afford to stay onsite but never do so. I just can't justify paying at least double for a basic hotel room vs a suite and no perks such as a buffet breakfast. Staying onsite at DL doesn't have near the benefit as it does when going to WDW.

 

[Nevada Jen]

If it is your only trip. Disneyland. Hands down for all the reasons people listed. Plus, hojo is a Motel, the rooms are nice and there is the water park (of little interest to kids over 7) but that is it. No common areas or amenities. It is a completely different vacation. Especially since you are there for the race, the amenities will be worth it. I can't think of anything that would be more special if it was my only visit.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Just to correct things, the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel is just that, a Hotel. Now, not a full service Hotel (Bell Hops, Valet, Room Service, etc.), but there are very few of those in the area. Most are limited service Hotels, which means the parking lot are on the edges of the property, and interior corridors.

Motels (also called Inns in the area) have the parking spaces by the rooms, usually no elevator, and only offer the basics.

 

[bumbershoot]

The Hojo is crap (sorry, but it is).

Yikes. It's very much NOT crap. It's a very nice place.

Plus, hojo is a Motel

It's a hotel. The doors open to interior corridors, NOT exterior. A "motel" = "motor hotel" which means you open the door and there's your "motor" (car).


Wanna let us take your DLH room? (yes just one room, as we're just 3 people LOL...don't need both!)

Anyway, I would be torn, too. For HoJo you'll walk down Harbor across the street and through DTD to get to the start. And reverse that at the end. With DLH, it's *right there*. But DLH is super expensive. If you have park days planned, you won't get much pool time, so what's the point of paying for the pool and the grounds? (and by the way anyone can walk through the grounds) Just depends on what sort of trip you're taking.

Since you're doing a rundisney event, just maybe realize that you might be coming back. They are expensive and IMO not the best-run events out there (Hot Chocolate and Rock&Roll Vancouver are my faves) and many of the participants have zero clues about etiquette on the course which can drive a person batty, but there's something addictive about them. You might very well be back in a year.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

My husband and I have run Light SIde every year. Our first year we stayed at Paradise Pier and loved how easy it was to get to the start of the race as it was outside our door! The next year, we stayed at Grand Californian and discovered that the way of getting to the corrals changed and you were required to go through the runner's area at the Disneyland Hotel. Staying at the Grand for the race lost its advantage.

I would recommend Disneyland. Your feet will thank you. Yes the walk is doable between the HoJo and Disneyland Hotel.

 

[stazmatic]

I love all of your responses! Thank you! Thank you!
Both camps were well represented, so I'm still a little unsure.

This will be our 6th Run Disney race, but first and probably only to Disneyland. While my husband and I may come back as we love all things Disney, our kids are getting older. Our oldest is 21 and loves all things Disney and even did the college program last year at WDW. Our 2nd oldest just graduated high school early last month, and is going off to college in the fall. We have gone to WDW A LOT! We prefer the deluxe resorts, but have stayed at all the other ones too. We have also done trips where we take the little kids and have the older kids meet us for the weekend. We would never send our kids alone to LAX, but Orlando was no big deal. So, this is most definitely our one and only trip as a whole family to California.
I really like the fact that the expo is in the hotel, as DH and I love the expos, and some of the kids aren't interested at all. I'm also hoping that the area will feel safe enough that the teenagers can be on their own a little bit. I've read the surrounding areas are pretty seedy. My other big thing is I dont want to walk through the Disneyland Hotel at the expo and regret not staying there. I can make more money, but can't make more time, ya know?

So all that being said, I think I am going to cancel Hojo.

 

[stazmatic]

My husband and I have run Light SIde every year. Our first year we stayed at Paradise Pier and loved how easy it was to get to the start of the race as it was outside our door! The next year, we stayed at Grand Californian and discovered that the way of getting to the corrals changed and you were required to go through the runner's area at the Disneyland Hotel. Staying at the Grand for the race lost its advantage.

I would recommend Disneyland. Your feet will thank you. Yes the walk is doable between the HoJo and Disneyland Hotel.

Just looking at your trip signature I can tell you are "my people"
I got too lazy to keep updating mine, but we were in WDW at least 7 times in the last year. I'm a little spoiled, and I'm good with that!

 

[kirstie101]

I love all of your responses! Thank you! Thank you!
Both camps were well represented, so I'm still a little unsure.

This will be our 6th Run Disney race, but first and probably only to Disneyland. While my husband and I may come back as we love all things Disney, our kids are getting older. Our oldest is 21 and loves all things Disney and even did the college program last year at WDW. Our 2nd oldest just graduated high school early last month, and is going off to college in the fall. We have gone to WDW A LOT! We prefer the deluxe resorts, but have stayed at all the other ones too. We have also done trips where we take the little kids and have the older kids meet us for the weekend. We would never send our kids alone to LAX, but Orlando was no big deal. So, this is most definitely our one and only trip as a whole family to California.
I really like the fact that the expo is in the hotel, as DH and I love the expos, and some of the kids aren't interested at all. I'm also hoping that the area will feel safe enough that the teenagers can be on their own a little bit. I've read the surrounding areas are pretty seedy. My other big thing is I dont want to walk through the Disneyland Hotel at the expo and regret not staying there. I can make more money, but can't make more time, ya know?

So all that being said, I think I am going to cancel Hojo.

Let me preface this by saying I'm staying at the Hojo for the races. Its our favorite offsite hotel. I have to strongly disagree with the poster above who said it was crap.

This will be my 7th race weekend in Disneyland and the 3rd one staying at Hojo for the races. We've stayed at paradise pier and BW Stovalls for races as well. The Disneyland hotel is an amazing location for race weekend. The expo is in the hotel and your walk to the corrals in the morning will be like 5 minutes. Doesn't get much easier. The trade off is the price you're paying. I'm assuming Hojo is about 1/3 the price of DLH. The walk to the corrals from Hojo is about 20 minutes before the race and 30 minutes after as you're probably moving slower after the race and you'll have to go through security by that time of day. The walk to the parks from Hojo is about 8 minutes and thats with my small kids in tow. The walk to the parks from DLH is gonna be a little longer. For me personally, DLH isn't worth the price difference for the minutes of walking I'd be saving to/from the race. I'm sure you'll love DLH if you stay there. But I also think Hojos works well for race weekend and saves you quite a bit of money.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

This will be our 6th Run Disney race, but first and probably only to Disneyland. While my husband and I may come back as we love all things Disney, our kids are getting older. Our oldest is 21 and loves all things Disney and even did the college program last year at WDW. Our 2nd oldest just graduated high school early last month, and is going off to college in the fall. We have gone to WDW A LOT! We prefer the deluxe resorts, but have stayed at all the other ones too. We have also done trips where we take the little kids and have the older kids meet us for the weekend. We would never send our kids alone to LAX, but Orlando was no big deal. So, this is most definitely our one and only trip as a whole family to California.
I really like the fact that the expo is in the hotel, as DH and I love the expos, and some of the kids aren't interested at all. I'm also hoping that the area will feel safe enough that the teenagers can be on their own a little bit. I've read the surrounding areas are pretty seedy. My other big thing is I dont want to walk through the Disneyland Hotel at the expo and regret not staying there. I can make more money, but can't make more time, ya know?

So all that being said, I think I am going to cancel Hojo.

Disneyland Hotel does have three towers so you may not stay in the same tower where the expo is. You should feel fine to have the teenagers around Downtown Disney and the hotels by themselves. I still felt in the bubble all around there.

Its really up to you on the worth of your money though. I personally find it worth it to spend the money for DLH but my husband and I are both in decent jobs and we don't have children. We spend money on our vacations and our rooms as we tend to spend a decent amount of time in them, especially on race trips.

Just looking at your trip signature I can tell you are "my people"
I got too lazy to keep updating mine, but we were in WDW at least 7 times in the last year. I'm a little spoiled, and I'm good with that!

Well, you can't call yourself lazy if you have multiple children and are running Disney Races! Disboards are my zone out point and I write trip/dining reports as part of my zoning out to forget about work stuff!

Nothing wrong with being spoiled You only live one life! Feel free to say hi if you see us walking around!

 

[StarlitNight05]

My other big thing is I dont want to walk through the Disneyland Hotel at the expo and regret not staying there. I can make more money, but can't make more time, ya know?

So all that being said, I think I am going to cancel Hojo.

I COMPLETELY agree with your decision. I made the mistake of not splurging for my birthday last year -- I was torn between the GCH and a cheaper (but still nice) offsite option of Hotel Indigo. I went with the cheaper route and really ended up regretting it. The offsite hotel wasn't awful, but it just wasn't close in comparison. But hey, at least in my situation, I was able to complain to my husband enough that he agreed to go with me again this year (and we rented a VGC one-bedroom [at GCH] this time).

 

[ADLFAN]

Haha, there is no such thing as a "first and only" trip to Disneyland! I wonder how many Disboards patrons thought they'd only make this one big trip, I know I did. Totally didn't expect to fall in love with the magic!

If it's your first trip, your "only" trip, or a splurge for a special occasion or indeed, a marathon trip, I would totally stay at the DLH. Just plop your hubby down on the Trader Sam's patio while the kids frolic in the pool and explore the monorail themed slides, do a character brunch at Goofy's Kitchen on site, maybe a romantic breakfast or dinner for the 2 of you at Steakhouse 55, maybe just some nice room service, and enjoy the resort and the Disney bubble that causes the high rates!

 

[swooshbear]

The only time we stay on property is for the runDisney races. I think the convenience factor is worth the price for me. We have left our rooms with 30 minutes or less before the start of the race and still had plenty of time to warm up/stretch in the corrals. They have also done a much better job of directing traffic post race when runners are still on the course so getting back to your room is less of a hassle.

We will be at the Disneyland Hotel for this race, I just wish the weather was warmer so we can enjoy the pools.