Disneyland Virgin!

[rebecca1176]

Hi all. I'm so thrilled to come across this site! I'm a 30 something mom of 3 girls and find myself suddenly planning our first trip to Disneyland (Hubby too!).

I'm overwhelmed! We are now shooting for Easter weekend for 4 nights. Originally it was going to be Spring Break but realized we were very limited on where to stay and sounds like (from what I've read) it will be very crowded (is it ever NOT crowded!?). We thought about the of summer but realizing airfare rates would be very high and our middle child would be stepping up to the next price bracket. So we figured, we're doing this and doing it NOW

First off - 3 daughters - 12, 9, and 7...so meeting/eating with characters really doesn't appeal to them..whew..I might save $$ there!

I do have a disability (neuromuscular) my legs (and other muscles) can give out but tend to have it well controlled. We do plan on lugging my beasty wheelchair around but it's not a major factor...except trying to find a hotel "walking distance".

I am trying to stick to a budget. I am quite frugal but want to loosen up a little bit for this trip!!!! We won't be staying in the park. I can't justify spending that much..especially if even a light breakfast is not included.

I'm curious to know if many people have used Getawaytoday.com? Good results? Do you receive the little freebies?? Lanyards?? Etc?? Is it worth it?

I found the HOJO through them for $1400 for 4 nights including 3 day hoppers. (I know, no breakfast but they do have a small convenience store, right?)...and is it really in walking distance??...for a lazy 7 year old..he he.

But for $100 less, they offer the Del Sol. Nothing fancy, but closer.

Any recommendations as far as hotels. I prefer a decent breakfast like the Park Vue offers but not sure it's worth paying an extra $200 for the trip for a full breakfast! I'd really like to stay there...leaning towards it but constantly ?'ing my decision. Hubby could care less...no help...he he! (PVI quoted me 516+ tax for the 4 nights).

Desert Inn seems decent too. Islander Inn?? Is it truly walking distance?
Also, any off-site "Disney themed" hotels?? I noticed the Fairfield has some Disney feel to it.

Ack..I just have issues deciding here. I want to give them an awesome experience!

Yes, I just drank some coffee. I sure hope CA has espresso like we do up here in Seattle!

Thanks!
Becca

 

[I'm mikey]

Hello and

We've used getawaytoday.com many times, never had any problems and we did recieve
the extra little freebies, a lanyard and disneyland pin for each member of the family.

We've stayed at HOJO's several times, we loved it there, its about 10 or 15 minutes walk to the front gate from your room. Hojo also has a pirate themed pool area for the kids

 

[rebecca1176]

Thanks for your speedy response!
Okay, are the freebies worth it??? I keep leaning towards PVI but I'm sure my kids would treasure those little tokens GAT has...well...at least for a week or so....

 

[skiingfast]

Thanks for your speedy response!
Okay, are the freebies worth it??? I keep leaning towards PVI but I'm sure my kids would treasure those little tokens GAT has...well...at least for a week or so....

Honestly, you get the lanyards, that have GAT all over them. While in a gift shop on some of the hotels for $5 you can get a smilar lanyard but with Mickey or Goofy on them.

Since there are 5 of you, you might consider that going to PVI or Del Sol will offer breakfast that will save you at least $25 a day. PVI also has a nightly social hours with some light food. PVI also gives you a gift basket.

 

[clairabell29]

I've also heard PVI has free water, fruit and cookies all day long. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I haven't stayed there since they started including so much, but my stay was very nice when we did stay there. It's as close as you're going to get to the park and it makes a huge difference at night. There's been many a night I've wanted to kick myself for not getting the really close hotel and instead getting one 7 minutes farther down the block!

 

[Maddie2]

Yes, PVI has the water, cookies and apples - also the social hour food from 5-7pm and that could save you quite a bit as well. We stayed there in January and we liked going back to the room around 4:30 to change and sometimes take a swim and eat and then go back to the parks. Close enough to go back to grab a sweatshirt, etc. AND the savings of having basically 2 meals covered was wonderful.

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

 

[DTFVolunteer]

Congrats on your first trip to Disneyland - I was hooked after my first trip!

We have stayed at Quality Inn on Manchester - a little further than I like, but for the price - worth it. Their breakfast has make your own waffles, toast, english muffins, hardboiled eggs, danishes, donuts and cereal. We ate lots and usually didn't eat again until about 2pm to grab a snack to tide us over til dinnertime.

In between DLR and Quality Inn, I recall passing Park Vue Inn, Tropicana, Camelot, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, and Carousel Inn. Howard Johnson is maybe 30 yards closer than the Quality Inn.

Make sure your first stop in the park is City Hall to get a Guest Access Card (GAC) to help you reduce wait times. Let me know if you want more info on this - I have some experience in using the card - it helps save your energy and prevents injury to you.

Allie

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Hi and welcome!

How exciting to be planning your first trip!

Here's my two cents on your many questions...

Get Away Today is a good company. We have used them four times, although the last time was 2007. I look at the freebies as cool things if they are truly free, otherwise pretty much unnecessary. When I needed tickets (we just get APs now), I always priced everything out separately and then checked Get Away Today. Whichever way was cheaper won out. Remember when pricing things out separately to add in room taxes (17%) and any special fees of the particular hotel you are looking at, most commonly parking, but sometimes also "resort" fees, internet fees, etc.

As for breakfast...reading these boards I feel like I'm in the minority on this topic. I don't personally consider breakfast that big a perk of staying at a Disney hotel. Here's why this is true for us, but I do recognize that everyone is different:
1. My family is not big on breakfast on a daily basis. Yes, we enjoy an occasional hot breakfast, usually on the weekend, but the rest of the week we are generally happy with cold cereal, fruit, English muffins, things of that sort.
2. The times of year we go to Disneyland, the park usually opens at 8 AM. That will be true of the dates you are considering. An early entry day will start at 7 AM. We find breakfast at the hotel breakfast room to be somewhat time-consuming and not always starting at a useful time.
3. Hotel breakfasts often aren't all that exciting anyway. There are certain exceptions where hefty hot breakfasts are served, Park Vue and Marriott are often referred to, or a nice expanded continental is provided, Candy Cane Inn for instance, but as I pointed out in comment 1, this is not a big lure for my family. The rest of these breakfasts are generally carb heavy and stocked with items we can easily bring or obtain for ourselves (and get better quality at that).

As for what to do about breakfast, if you're being frugal, breakfast is a good meal not to eat "out" for at all or at least everyday. We usually drive so can easily bring our own cereal, milk, fruit, snacks, etc. If you are flying, that is not as easily done, so you might want to look into a grocery delivery. Grocery delivery will also be good for getting water. With a family of 5, you will go through a bit of water, breakfast food, and snacks so can probably easily meet the grocery minimum for free delivery.

A PP did a great job of listing most of the closest walking distance hotels along Harbor. Many on these boards will point you toward Howard Johnson's. Our family has stayed there a dozen times and never been disappointed. My youngest son has been making this walk (and walking all over the parks and DtD all day) without difficulty (but with occasional whining complaint) since he was six years old. No one in our family has mobility issues though, and only you know how much of a factor that will be for you. An example walking distance: we found it was almost 0.7 miles from Building 2 in Hojo to the front gates of Disneyland. Another hotel that seems to be gaining a bit of a following on these boards is Park Vue. I haven't tried that one so can't comment. We have stayed at Tropicana and Fairfield. Clean, ample space, each a bit closer than Hojo. We have also stayed in Candy Cane Inn, a very nice motel that is about the same distance from the parks as Hojo, just in the other direction, and also has its own dedicated shuttle. Our favorites in order are Hojo, Candy Cane, Tropicana, then Fairfield.

Food at Disney isn't cheap, but there are some decent priced meals to be found. Skipping character meals will save some money. You can usually eat twice at counter service places for what a character meal will cost you. Take a look at this website to see menus and pricing for Disney restaurants: http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/menus.htm
Favorites of ours include Plaza Inn, Pizza Port, and Troubadour Tavern in Disneyland, Pacific Wharf Cafe in DCA, and Jazz Kitchen and Jazz Kitchen Express in Downtown Disney. Some of these places have large portions, good for sharing, and the food is very tasty.

BTW, I don't drink coffee, but by DH's testimony and most other reports I've encountered, coffee at Disneyland is terrible. You may want to bring your own.

 

[rebecca1176]

Awesome. We had a late start with DL...I've never been but I think the girls are at the ideal age for this!

Thanks for all of the pointers/tips guys! I did it! I booked us at the PVI! Hubby likes to eat a full meaty breakfast, so I could justify it! They also informed me of the evening meal which sold me but I doubt we'll leave DL for dinner every night!

I purchased the Hopper tickets through GAT as they were cheaper than Disney's website.

Thanks Allie for the GAC info. I'm hoping to avoid needing it.

I'm going to check all the links everyone sent -yippeee 45 days!!!

Ugh...no Starbucks on Harbor?!?! JJ!!!! Coffee is coffee!

Thanks again!

 

[skiingfast]

Thanks for all of the pointers/tips guys! I did it! I booked us at the PVI! Hubby likes to eat a full meaty breakfast, so I could justify it! They also informed me of the evening meal which sold me but I doubt we'll leave DL for dinner every night!

When you see how close the PVI is to the gates, you will probably reconsider going back for food. Let alone grabbing sweatshirts or changing into pants for the evening like Maddie2 suggested.