Disneyland on a tight budget HELP!!!

[NHBelle]

We are HUGE Disney fans to say the least, but no way can afford Disney World this year. We are spoiled now and can only stay in a deluxe on site hotel and have to go for 2 weeks so on a tight budet its out of the question BUt our kids have never been to Disneyland and my dh and I have only been once many years ago AND I just found airfare really cheap (southwest) and the tickets are much less so I was thinking if I could just find a budget hotel, really close so we could walk or a free shuttle and somothing with breakfast included...maybe just maybe we can go. Any suggestions on a hotel or any other ideas would be very helpful!!

 

[my3kids]

Use Priceline for the hotel! Look at biddingfortravel.com, look at the Disneyland area to see what rates people are getting for hotels. For probably $35 you can end up nearby in a nice hotel. Just read what hotels might come up in what area and how many stars. The Hyatt comes up a lot for 3 stars.

I LOVE Priceline and use it whenever I can. The savings are unbelievable. I am driving all the way across the country and using Priceline for each of my stops(or at least sure trying to!) I'm in Radisson Resorts and Adams-Mark, both for $25 a night.

 

[tiggeroo42]

There are a lot of inexpensive hotels around the area within walking distance, but be sure to ask here before you book something because some of them are not so nice. A lot of them have breakfast included also and free shuttles.

Here's a tip: instead of eating in the parks, leave in the middle of the day, and eat at a restaurant nearby. There are lots of fast food places around that area to choose from. It will save you a lot of money, trust me. That's the one thing I don't like about WDW--you're trapped there and have no options but expensive "Disney food."

Also, get your tickets from the Disneyland website--they're offering that 5 days for the price of 3 deal.

Another thing I like to do is start stashing souvenir money away early. Just whatever you have, put it away and don't touch it till you leave. You'd be surprised just how much you'll accumulate!

Good luck! I hope you get to go!

 

[daannzzz]

Check the prices at Howard Johnson. You can sometimes get great prices there and it is a nice place. Also check prices for the Desert Inn and Suites and The Anabella.

 

[year2late]

I use Priceline for 3 star hotels myself. My winning bids range from $27 - 40. I have never been dissatisfied with the three star in Disney area. I get Marriott, Hilton, WestCoast, and most often Hyatt Regency(my favorite). Figure in at least $10 for parking at these hotels.

I am too chicken to bid on 1 and 2 star Disney area hotels.

This website will asist you in obtaining the lowest Priceline bid



Bidding for travel


Good luck!

Sue

 

[tink2dw]

At DL everything is only afew steps a part. Offsite hotels are just across the street from the Entrance to DL.

These are the offsite hotels to consider. They are on Harbor Blvd,between Katella Ave and Ball Road. I have added the reviews if I have found any for that hotel. I'm still researching.

Candy Cane Inn
1747 S. Harbor Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92802
Tollfree: 800/345-7057 Candy cane inn for its atmosphere inside and out. It has good free breakfast and is a 5-7 minute walk to the parks and also has a shuttle. www.candycaneinn.net

Tropicana Inn And Suites
1540 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $78 - $180
Anaheim CA
Good value, good service. It's a very basic hotel - but clean and not a bad pool. It's under external renovations - the internal ones are already complete.

Ramada Inn Maingate Saga Anaheim
1650 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $60 - $135
Anaheim CA
spending most of your time in the parks and are getting a good deal on your room $59 then it might be what you are looking for.

Park Inn Anaheim
1520 South Harbor Blvd
Rates: $73 - $695
Anaheim CA

Fairfld Inn Anaheim Disneyland
1460 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $53 - $139
Anaheim CA
(Across the street from the main entrance) - This is a very large motel and was very nice. Fridge in the room. This is a marriot chain,might find some good discounts. staff was very friendly. Offers free Anaheim Shuttle. It is clean, friendly, and some rooms have fireworks views from the balcony.

Desert Inn And Suites
1600 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $54 - $199
Anaheim CA

Castle Inn And Suites
1734 South Harbor Blvd
Rates: $72 - $132
Anaheim CA

Park Vue Inn
1570 S. Harbor Blvd
Rates: $55 - $125
Anaheim CA

Howard Johnson Plaza
1380 South Harbor Boulevard
Rates: $59 - $194
Anaheim CA
loads of greenery. The hotel has interior corridors and most rooms have balconies some with awesome views of Disneyland fireworks. Ask for a room away from the freeway! There is no free breakfast here though. The walk to the Park is 7-12 minutes.

Carousel Inn And Suites
1530 S. Harbor Blvd.
Rates: $64 - $110
Anaheim CA

Best Western Park Place Inn
1544 S Harbor Blvd.
Rates: $76 - $120
Anaheim CA
This was good for its location, directly across from the DLR entrance. The room was OK. continental breakfast, not good.

Best Western Anaheim Inn
1630 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $70 - $110
Anaheim CA
Directly across from Disneyland Park & Disney's California Adventure Park as well as the exciting Downtown Disney..

Best Inn Anaheim
is a 59 room,
2 Diamond AAA rated property directly across from Disneyland main entrance.

Check out www.MouseSavers.com Disneyland section for the best hotel and ticket options.

And checkout the www.AAA.com tickets.

 

[msr709]

I found this site to be very helpful in making up my mind and getting a nice low budget hotel nearby (I choose the HOJO on Harbor) check this out DLMap . Also over at mouseplanet they have reviews of the different hotels which were very helpful to me. And at mouseinfo.com one of the staff tries to get you a discount for Howard Johnson. Click on the first thread that mentions Howard Johnson. Hope this all helps you. Have a great trip.

 

[Libby]

We stayed at the Tropicanna Inn at the end of 2000. We got a room with a kitchenette so was able to do breakfast (though I think they have a light one for free) and dinner in our room. It was just across the road from the main entrance so in a great posiition. Best of all we could see the nightly firewords from our room every night (going off over the rooftop (we were on the left side building on the 2nd floor). The accomodation was basic but very good value for money. We traded off with 4 nighs here then 4 nights at the Disneyland Hotel. I would definitely stay here again.

Libby

 

[hookedup]

I have never stayed at the Candy Cane Inn but I have heard really good things about it. We drove by it last week and it does seem very nice esp compared to some of the motels along Harbor Blvd.
I got a quote for a $79 price per night at Candy Cane that included breakfast. Also they have a shuttle or you can walk it if you want to. They have a website that is very infomative.

 

[Mortimer Mouse]

i vote for candy cane inn

 

[Minnesota]

I got the tropicanna across the street from DL for about $80 a night in June. I have never been there yet to say if it was good or bad but it is cheap and close.
Minnesota

 

[AmyBWV99]

I just saw on their web site that they are offering very cheap tickets as well. We will be there at the end of June and even thought it'll be years beofre we go back that way we'll always have ticket days left!

 

[LeftCoaster]

Originally posted by AmyBWV99
I just saw on their web site that they are offering very cheap tickets as well. We will be there at the end of June and even thought it'll be years beofre we go back that way we'll always have ticket days left!

No you won't. Disneyland Resorts' parkhopper tickets work differently than WDW's. They actually expire. Usually, it';s about two weeks after first use. The only exception to the rule is if you purchase the park hopper at the gate. Those expire two years after AND you don't get the 5 for 3 deal.

 

[AprilsZoo]

When we went a couple weeks ago, we got rooms thru Priceline at the DoubleTree for $50 a night. Yes, $50!!! The room was nice and big, and we had 2 double beds. Bathroom was large, showerhead had a good flow (not just a spritzer-like spray, like some motels have) And the towels were big enough even for me... and I like "bath-sheet" size towels. We could even watch the fireworks thru the window at the end of our hall -- we were on the 14th floor and the view was great.

The only "problem" we had was not the hotel's fault. A very large group of teens gathered in the hallway outside our door, and as you'd expect they were loud I looked out the door and saw that the group extended down the hall and around the corner to the elevator area, and there were at least 30-40+ kids out there. I asked the ones closest to my door to please keep it down: afterall it was 1 AM and there were people sleeping. The response (of course) was a loud "shshshshhhhh" and then lots of giggling.
I knew that I was outnumbered and that they really didn't understand the impact their activity was having on others. I remember being a teenager on trips to Disney and elsewhere, and I'm sure I got a little carried away now and again. But I did need sleep, so I called down to the front desk and asked if they could please send someone up to explain to the kids that they were disturbing others. I told them I didn't want to be rude about it, but the kids did need to be told. Within 2-3 minutes the hallway was significantly quieter, and within 5 it was silent!

I was impressed with the speed of their response and how quietly the security (or whoever) handled the problem. I honestly expected something of an uprising before things settled down, and it didn't happen.

Anyway, we got a great room, cheap and it was not even a mile from the entrance. They appeared to have shuttle service (several shuttle vans were coming and going in the AM and late at night) but we didn't need to use it because we had driven our own van to CA.

There are good deals to be had... finding them is the hard part.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

I have stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites, which is a five minute walk to the front gates, and we liked it for a budget motel. The breakfast is really just a snack, but there is micro/fridge in the room. You could always pack some instant oat meal, the big plus for this breakfast was they had milk. What a life saver for our family.

I also stayed at the Carousel Inn and Suites, again about 5-7 minutes to the front gate, and the breakfast was better than the Desert Inn, but no milk.

Our last trip, we stayed at the Best Value Inn and Suites, Anaheim East (Orange). It was a 5-7 minute shuttle ride to the parks, but this location includes a HOT breakfast AND DINNER each day. By far this was the best deal. I was able to get the studio (one queen bed and a sofa sleeper) for 64.00 per night (during the off season). The breakfast always included two hot items plus and expanded continential breakfast. Dinner was always a salad bar plus two hot items. (Taco's, rice and beans; Chilli dogs and nachos; spag. and meatballs...) Check expedia.com for low prices on this property.

Expedia has the lowest rates just before your travel dates (maybe 7-10 days out) so book a cancelable rate then keep checking for a lower rate at a better hotel.

In August we are staying at the HoJo's. I booked my room via the web at 69.00 per night then e-mailed Willie Simpson at the Hojo's (someone already gave the link to the mouseinfo web site. He was able to upgrade our room and give us a nice discount per night. I'm excited to try this property. I have heard WONDERFUL reviews. They don't have breakfast, but you walk past McDonalds and Mimi's is a sit down place that also gets great reviews.

I don't leave the park to eat lunch/dinner, I think sharing meals is a great cost saver. I went in March with my girls (me, 3 year old, 2 year old) and for 4 days in the park we spent less than 50.00 for lunches. One kids meal (4.99\5.99) will fill both my girls and one more will fill me.

If you want more ideas on food saving ideas, just start another thread and I'm sure you will get some good ideas.

Disneyland CAN be done on a tight budget. Every one of our trips has been budget and our most expensive part (after our Annual Pass) has been the hotel. (I try to keep it under 300.00 for a 5 night stay.)

My big tip, is to buy items on clearance at the Disney store and hid them from the kids, then leave them out on the bed with a note from their favorite character. It cuts down on spending at the park and the kids get a great suprise.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Many hotels in The Anaheim Resort are now offering the Southern California CityPass. This ticket book bundles a 3-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper® Ticket; and 1-Day tickets to Knott's Theme Park, Sea World San Diego, and San Diego Zoo.

Adult - $166.00
Child - $127.00