I am wanting to surprise my wife with a surprise trip to
Disneyland for March of next year. I know pricing will not be released until summer, but am getting an itch to start planning a little!
Any pros/cons of staying offsite (but within walking distance)?
I would also like to do a LA day tour. I have looked at some 6-7 hr tours online. Any tips/suggestions there?
Other do's/dont's for first timers? We are WDW vets, but I know DLR is a totally different animal.
Also, any chance a local would be willing to mail me DLR/California Adventure park maps and any other local free literature available at the parks? I know you can view these things online, but I'm the type who loves to have physical copies of things haha!
Thanks!
any particular suggestions? my only real criteria besides walking distance is somewhere with complimentary breakfast. Figure that will save a little extra $$$ than eating in the park
You've already been given a link for Hydroguy's sticky, which will be a huge help!
I always try to do a pro/con list for on- vs. off-site, but it never works well, so here are my thoughts. I'll start with stating that I have never stayed on-site, just in the interest of full disclosure....
I choose to stay off-site for a number of reasons. First is always the cost. I spend $150 (well, usually less when military discounts are factored in) a night for a newly renovated hotel room at Tropicana. I've also stayed at Park Vue in a suite for around $200, shortly after they remodeled back in 2013. Park Vue ("PVI") and Best Western Park Place Inn ("BWPPI") are the closest off-site properties. Tropicana is the northern neighbor of BWPPI. From my typical rooms at Trop to the security tents at DLR is about 5-7 minutes, depending on the crosswalk light. So, I'm about 7 minutes away from security. For a room at the DLHotel, you'd be looking at $350+, but let's just use $350 because it makes the calculations easiest
So, $350 at DLH, or $150 at Trop. $200 difference per night... or, approximately 40 churros or dole whips, 4 adult sweatshirts, another day in the parks, a special dining package for 2-3 adults, lunch or dinner at Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle for 2-3 adults. When you start adding up the money saved over multiple nights, it can really make a difference for those on a tighter budget. So, in the case of Tropicana, there's no free breakfast, though they have a mini-mart with breakfast items. There's not a monorail slide, but the pool and hot tub are clean. There's not Mickey bedding, but there's clean sheets and towels. When we are at DLR, we are at the parks from open to close; we only use our hotel room for sleeping and showering, so we don't care about much beyond a clean, comfortable, safe room. We also like the seriously close walk--after walking 8-15 miles a day at Disneyland (those are my personal high and low miles), I appreciate walking out of the gates, through the transportation center, across the street, and past one hotel to be back at my hotel, and back at my room. I don't want to walk out of the gates, through Downtown Disney, through Grand Californian, and across the street to get to my "on-site" hotel.
What am I missing by not staying on-site? I'm not eligible for Extra Magic Hour at California Adventure, and only get one Magic Morning at Disneyland depending on my entry ticket. I can't shop and get my purchases sent to my room. I can't walk from my room directly into California Adventure (in the case of Grand Californian). I don't get the Disney bubble (but, personally, I feel like that bubble bursts once I go through the security tents). I don't get a monorail water slide. Are those things worth an extra $200+? Not for me or my family.
As for off-site hotels within walking distance, I have stayed at 5, and I would be generally willing to stay at 4 of them again. In order, of preference:
Tropicana. Newly renovated (October, 2017). Close. The mini-mart has breakfast items, snacks, wine, coffee, and some little souvenir things. Rooms are clean. Beds are comfy. Rooms are fair-sized. Staff is nice. Prices are really good (commonly $150 or less, with price breaks for
AAA/CAA members, military, and a few other groups). I haven't had much issue with noise.
Park Vue Inn. Can't really get much closer--it's at the crosswalk for the pedestrian entrance. Renovated in 2012-2013; the color scheme isn't the most appealing to me, which isn't a big deal, but I don't find it as soothing as some other places). Free hot breakfast is nice, though the dining area can get pretty full at times). Pool and hot tub are nice (in the middle of the parking lot, but with a brick and vine covering, so I never feel "exposed"). Rooms are clean, and fair-sized. Beds are comfortable. Their towels are good-sized for my fluffy self! We don't stay here now because they used to be wonderful with their military discount and returning guest discount, which used to take their prices down about $50/night; now, it's about $13 off. I'm willing to walk an extra 3 minutes to get a significantly better price at Tropicana!
Super 8 Katella. This one is on the edge of walkability (some would say it's not really walkable). It's about a 15-18 minute walk. Renovated 2012. Comfy beds. Clean.
Best Western Stovall's Inn. Just stayed here in January, as I won 2 free nights on their website. The walk was about 20-ish minutes, but most of it was on Disney property. Rooms were good sized, clean. They have 2 pools and 2 hot tubs, which was nice. Property felt a little dark at night, though.
Have fun planning!
