Disneyland where do you stay?

[WAMUMOF4]

I am looking at the Park Vue Inn DH is telling me to book a Disney hotel the problem is if you can call it that is for me i just don't know if i can justify paying 3 times+ as much, from everything i have read if you are not staying at the GCH you may as well be offsite for distance from the park.

I am thinking i would be better of spending the extra money on Character meals etc or maybe doing a split stay! We stayed offsite last time and drove to the park.
$5,674.50 GCH 10 nights vs $1690 Park Vue Inn
I will be staying for at least 10 days for DL and am planning on getting the 14 day pass and i don't plan on having a car for this part of our 7 1/2 weeks
Please help me out and tell me where you stayed and would you stay again.

 

[kyl]

We stayed a week at the GCH, but got it on a special price. Keep an eye out on the disney site. It was worth every penny. Last time we stayed at the disneyland hotel eeh wouldn't pay to stay their again. We did do one night at the hilton in anaheim. Its a distance to the park but you can walk it and they have buses. It was much nicer than the disneyland hotel. So first choice for me would be GCH but if not Howard Johnson across the road looks good and also I would stay again at the Hilton it was very nice. But I didn't notice a pool?

 

[Caroline NZ]

We have stayed at Hojos the last 2 times ( and I actually stayed there with my Mum back in 1987 as well!). We have really enjoyed Hojos, but next time we are going to try the Residence Inn Anaheim Maingate. We like the idea of a kitchen and seperate bedroom. Would love to stay in a Disney hotel, but at this stage can't justify the price difference. Maybe for the trip after next we will splurge and try and rent DVC points at GCV.

 

[Mum from oz]

We stayed in a two bedroom condo. Less than 10 mins walk to the trams in the parking lot. We booked it through VRBO.

 

[OzCath]

Our last two stays we have stayed at HOJO's. Great value if they have the entertainment rate available during your stay. Rooms are always clean, and an easy walk to the park.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I stay at the Residence Inn Maingate. I enjoy the extra space and the hot breakfast buffet includes cook your own waffles. It takes me about 7 -10 minutes to walk to DLR security check. There is an ART bus that drives right into and through the carparks of RI to DL; but I've never taken it.

It is also walking distance to Cheesecake Factory at Gardenwalk.

 

[Anne_Aus]

I stayed at the carousel when I went as a child and all I remember is the pool on the roof and jumping across the beds, but I do know it is also an easy walk.

When I go next year staying at Ramada plaza, Hojo's was another place I considered and everyone seems to speak highly of it

 

[BobbyRach]

If you have kids i would definitely go for HoJo - it has an awesome water park...my nephew wanted to stay at the hotel sometimes more than he wanted to go to Disneyland!!

It is also only a very short walk to Disneyland and Mimi's cafe and McDonalds etc are right across the road.

I have photos of the water park at the hotel if you want to see any?

 

[Saskiwi]

We are at Hojos right now - a 14 day stay and our second time here.

We managed to get the Enertainment Book rate most nights - $79!! That's for a Disney view premium room with microwave etc

Love the look of the GC but just can't justify the expense.

Hojos is very family friendly - lots of Aussie and Kiwi families - and the pool is great for kids.

 

[hjd0411]

Can I ask - how did you guys get the Entertainment rate at HoJo's? I'm looking at somewhere to stay next October (only 3 nights but it includes the weekend) and the rates are pretty outrageous!!
Just curious - anything to save a penny or two...!!! (To then spend in Disneyland or WDW, of course!)

 

[Caroline NZ]

Hi, the Hojos entertainment rates are posted here.

http://www.boards.hojoanaheim.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14

They are not normally offered over busy times though.
You need to keep going back and checking for updates, as sometimes they are added in quite late on in the piece.
Note they now have a cancellation policy that you can read underneath the dates (they never used to).
They accept Australian and NZ entertainment cards, but I have read that you can also buy cheap US ones on Ebay.
(we were also offered these same rates for working for an Airline).
For our last 2 stays (both in May) we received the discounted rates for around 11 of our 14 days.

 

[skiingfast]

When I go next year staying at Ramada plaza,

Out of curiosity, have you made you reservation already?

 

[aussietravellers]

We have stayed at Disneyland Hotel, but in recent years we have stayed at Grand Californian. It is just such a wonderful hotel, so close to the parks, great food options (White Water Snacks the counter service) is great, so close to DTD. We absolutely love it there.

They do have specials there, at the moment there is 35% off (so 10 nights during that period, you could get a room there for just over $3000 for 10 nights), when we last stayed, it was stay 7 nights get two or three free (can't remember now), but we we got a really good deal.

I haven't stayed off site before, but have looked into HOJO's before and it looks great, also Candy Cane Inn gets really good reviews.

 

[Anne_Aus]

Out of curiosity, have you made you reservation already?

I have, but everything I have made is able to be cancelled. So I now ask, should I be worried?

 

[OziJo]

We stayed at the Camelot Inn. With a family of 5 it was hard to find suites to suit us. It was right across the street. We walked to Disney. 2 rooms. Queen and sofa pull out in one, 2 doubles in the other. Great bathroom with double sink, mini fridge, microwave, coffee making facilities. It was great. About $120 per night. We would stay there again with a family.

 

[SnowWhite09]

We stayed at Hojos last time and thought it was great. The water park is great for the kids and the beds in building 2 are fantastic. It is great value if you can get the Entertainment Rate. Next time we are staying at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites which is a bit closer. It goes without saying that there is a big difference in the 2 rates. What will you get at GCH vs what is on offer at Park Vue? From there you can weigh up the pros and cons and decide how much each is worth to you.

Good luck with your decision and have a great holiday!

 

[jacs1234]

We've stayed at HoJo's before. The pool really is brilliant but we didn't have much spare time to play in it. My children were 3, 5, 7 and 9 at the time and the walk on the way home just seemed sooooooooooooo long so I'd rather stay a bit closer to the gate, but the pool and the price really is great. We've also stayed at the Marriot a few hotels down and that was pretty average but really, all we needed was a room and we didn't go near the pool. This time we staying at the Grand for 6 nights and Disneyland hotel for 6 nights and plan on making good use of the pools and spending lots of time relaxing at the resorts. It is costing us an absolute fortune though as we need two rooms. We had booked the view suite booked at the Carousel Inn and that looked fantastic. It's about $300 a night, 3 bedrooms and a lounge and a great view with breakfast included. We had a bit of extra money show up so we swapped to onsite.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Thanks everyone Hojo's is not an option for us as i am going to have to book for 6 just incase i have to change ds16's ticket DH is about to start FIFO which was not at all on the agenda when we booked and paid for the tickets.
I think at this stage i will stick with Park Vue Inn they are rated well on Tripadvisor and its a good rate I will just have to book and pay 1 night's accommodation and it is refundable. I dont want to hire a car for this time and i really don't want to be worried about shuttles.
July is not a good time to get discounted rates
Hopefully when they target us Aussies they will have some great discounts and i will be able to swap over I am still contemplating a split stay.

 

[miss.potatohead]

We stayed at Residence Inn Maingate for a week in mid January and it was fabulous - close to the parks (I seriously didn't get it when I heard people complaining about "how far away" the hotels are...lazy?) - a really good breakfast included, comfy beds, large rooms (we had a loft room) with a kitchen although we never used it. Parking was free I believe but we never needed it, and the staff were so helpful, they called to book our tours and confirm our airport pickup etc

 

[Aust]

First time we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, it was OK but I was surprised how far it actually is to the gates, so don't think I'd stay there again.

In January with my sister and neice we were first going to stay at HoJo's, then changed to Camelot Inn (not sure why!), then specials came out on the DL hotels so we ended up at the Grand Californian. I LOVED how close it was to the parks, and the lobby is beautiful, and the room was really nice - good for 3 but I think it would be a bit small for my family of 5.

Next year I think we will stay at Paradise Pier - cheaper, rooms bigger, and walk pretty good if you cut through GCH.