Fairfiled Inn or Paradise Pier

[Mynamewastaken]

I am asking the experts because this is the first time I am going as an adult. I am booked right now at both the Fairfield Inn and Paradise Pier. The Paradise Pier room for 3 nights is 1,300 where as the Fairfield In is 650.00. I think I read the Fairfield Inn is within walking distance. What am I getting if I stay at the Paradise Pier for almost double the amount? Just the one hour extra time? Does it make that much of a difference? Please help me decide what to do. I have not been since I was 7 so this is all new to me. for what it is worth I am traveling Solo so no kids in this equation. Thanks for any advice you offer. You've all been so helpful.

One other question: I am booked with the Disneyland Express will that drop me off at the Fairfield Inn if I decide to keep my reservation? I do not have a car nor will I be renting one. I already booked the Disneyland Express....

 

[mom2rtk]

Are you pricing a theme park view room at PP? That seems really high for PP even by Disney standards.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

Yes, I checked with the Disney site and Theme park View is cheaper on cheaptickets than a standard room with the Disney Site. All standard rooms are booked on every travel site so its a better deal this way...seems crazy high. I hope that makes sense.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, I checked with the Disney site and Theme park View is cheaper on cheaptickets than a standard room with the Disney Site. All standard rooms are booked on every travel site so its a better deal this way...seems crazy high. I hope that makes sense.

That's the problem. Comparing a theme park view room at PP with FFI isn't a fair comparison.

The theme parks view rooms are quite awesome, but only you can say whether it's worth it to you. That's a pretty hefty difference.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

Huge difference. Now looking into Park Vue. Its literally half the cost. Ugh, I don't know what to do. The prices in DL are so much higher than WDW

 

[Congo Queen]

You had asked if FFI was in walking distance and it is. I've stayed numerous times at FFI, and it is a good option - clean, well run, close to the parks. You can see the fireworks from their upper floor rooms that face the park. That said, I have also stayed numerous times onsite at the resort hotels. But I never spring for the park view rooms when I do because they are just too expensive and because we are not in our rooms long enough to really make that spend worth it.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

We have stayed at all three you have mentioned, we have gone back to Park Vue several times. Park Vue is older than Fairfield, but is clean, a little cheaper, and closer to DL. They do have breakfast, so that can sway us usually.

 

[justgrace]

The Fairfield Inn may be closer to Disneyland than the Paradise Pier (the walk to the Paradise Pier felt like it went on for much longer than the walk back to Harbor Blvd. hotels). You aren't getting that much extra with Paradise Pier, it is pretty much the extra hour. If I were you, I would stay at the Fairfield and save that money for something else.

 

[justgrace]

Just saw that this was a double post. I posted on your other one, but I will post on this one as well.

I wouldn't stay onsite. Chances are likely that the hotel on Harbor Blvd. is closer than the onsite Disney hotels (with the exception of the Grand Californian, but even then they have super long hallways). If I could give you a recommendation - the Camelot Inn, Tropicana Inn, and Desert Inn and Suites are all good hotels if you're looking for a close, safe, clean hotel with no frills. We've stayed at both the Camelot and Desert Inn. While I prefer the Camelot, people speak pretty highly of Desert Inn for a no-frills hotel. Tropicana is the sister property of the Camelot and is a closer walk than the Camelot.

I personally would never stay onsite, as I feel the value just isn't there for the prices they charge. The question is - are you there to spend a large amount of time at the hotel or are you there to spend a lot of time in the actual parks? If it is the former, stay at one of the Disney hotels. If it is the latter, stay across the street and save your money for extra souvenirs or restaurants.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

For that difference in price, I would book the Fairfield Inn. Although it has been quite a number of years, I have stayed in each of these hotels once. Except for being able to take advantage of the early entry, there was nothing particularly special about the Paradise Pier, and I personally wouldn't value the early entry at hundreds of dollars. You can take that $650 and enjoy some nice meals or extra experiences in the parks and downtown Disney. As for walking distance, it's true that Fairfield Inn could end up being fewer steps back than Paradise Pier.

My only caveat is you don't say what kind of hotel person you are. The Paradise Pier is a hotel experience with interior corridors, onsite restaurants, a rooftop pool, room service, etc. The Fairfield Inn is a motel with exterior corridors and a parking lot swimming pool. I think there is a snack bar on site but not a hotel restaurant. There is a Panera in the parking lot. If you are using your hotel is a place to sleep and unwind, then the Fairfield Inn is clean and safe with decent-sized rooms. If you are looking for a place with even slightly more upscale amenities or have a strong objection to exterior corridors, then the Fairfield won't be for you.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I've stayed at each of them once. While I loved staying onsite, I would not spend that much extra for it. We simply don't spend enough time in our room to make it worth it. I'd rather be in the park, the viewing it out the window.

Our "go to" motel is the Candy Cane inn. We are staying there again next month. I've lost track of how many times Ive stayed there. I would guess more than 6 times in the last 10 years. We have also stayed at the BW Park Place inn, and the Park Vue. Candy cane is small, family owned, has a shuttle and a nice little continental breakfast. And, fits our budget nicely.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

I am a hotel person. I like being indisde in a hallway. What can you recommend that is close "hotel" wise...please?

 

[tdhickey]

Park Vue, Jacuzzi Suite is how I would fly if going solo!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I am a hotel person. I like being indisde in a hallway. What can you recommend that is close "hotel" wise...please?

Howard Johnson which is a slightly longer walk than the Fairfield Inn is a hotel in that it has interior corridors. You would prefer building 1 or 2 probably. Hojo is my go-to place. It is very clean and has nice grounds, free parking, excellent staff, and a decent pool. Again though this hotel doesn't have an on-site restaurant or lounge, no room service, and not a very large lobby. There is a Mimi's across the street.

Most of what is in easy walking distance of Disneyland would be classified as motels in that they have exterior corridors. If you really want a hotel and walking distance, then you are probably right to be looking at the official Disney hotels, and Paradise Pier may in fact be worth it to you. There is a Hilton hotel and a Marriott that are further down Harbor and certainly walkable, but not the easy 7-15 minute walk that most are looking for. I believe those hotels are more like a 20-25 minute walk to Disneyland.

 

[justgrace]

I am a hotel person. I like being indisde in a hallway. What can you recommend that is close "hotel" wise...please?

Most hotels around Disneyland do not have interior hallways. Even the Fairfield Inn has exterior hallways. There is one that is pretty nice, the Desert Palms Inn and Suites. It isn't too far of a walk and is probably the closest hotel with interior hallways that I would recommend. It is around a 10-12 minute walk. The Desert Palms has interior hallways, is clean, safe, and is usually available for a decent price. They have a full breakfast buffet as well which is nice. I think it's pretty nice, but it may not be as nice as the Disney hotels if that is what you are leaning towards.

If you are more of a hotel person and that aspect is important to you, then you may be better at looking into the Disney hotels. They all have interior hallways.

 

[justgrace]

Also wanted to add, part of our party stayed at the Paradise Pier hotel for a couple nights during our trip. We walked back with them one night to check out the hotel. I wouldn't say it was any nicer than the Fairfield Inn. It's a pretty basic hotel, with the only differences being the interior hallways and the extra morning hour. The rooms were slightly smaller than the rooms of the hotel we were staying at across the street, which was a little surprising because it was double the price. I believe a couple characters are in the lobby when you get to the hotel, too (but don't quote me on that).

I don't think the Disneyland Hotel is that much more from the Paradise Pier prices. You may want to check into that as well.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Most hotels around Disneyland do not have interior hallways. Even the Fairfield Inn has exterior hallways. There is one that is pretty nice, the Desert Palms Inn and Suites. It isn't too far of a walk and is probably the closest hotel with interior hallways that I would recommend. It is around a 10-12 minute walk. The Desert Palms has interior hallways, is clean, safe, and is usually available for a decent price. They have a full breakfast buffet as well which is nice. I think it's pretty nice, but it may not be as nice as the Disney hotels if that is what you are leaning towards.

If you are more of a hotel person and that aspect is important to you, then you may be better at looking into the Disney hotels. They all have interior hallways.

I forgot about this one. It is indeed a hotel, and I would say the walking distance is comparable to Howard Johnson, just the opposite direction down the street and you don't have to cross Harbor which is nice. I remember parking being underground and very tight but doable. I only stayed there one night a number of years ago and didn't come away with positive feelings overall. We got an odd-shaped room that was very dark even during the day, had a funky smell, and just wasn't clean enough for me. The breakfast room was so over-crowded in the morning, we skipped it, but that can happen at a lot of these places. The lobby was lovely and the desk staff were super friendly, but I felt like the lobby was so much nicer than the hotel rooms that it was almost like false advertising. Lol. Perhaps we were just unlucky with the room we got. If was only one night and we spent most of our awake hours in the parks, so we just dealt with our own disappointment and didn't return.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I don't think the Disneyland Hotel is that much more from the Paradise Pier prices. You may want to check into that as well.

I second that. I have stayed at each once. I know the view rooms at Paradise Pier are said to be fantastic but I might be tempted to take a standard room at the DLH instead if pricing was comparable. I felt the DLH had more Disney touches, and I just liked the overall atmosphere there better.

 

[ddwlms]

For us, that extra hour you get by staying on site is worth more if we have four of us sharing the room than if I'm going alone. When I'm solo I usually stay at the Dessert Inn and Suites. -motel, not hotel that you want, but closer than PP and Fairfield, and cheaper as well.

 

[justgrace]

I forgot about this one. It is indeed a hotel, and I would say the walking distance is comparable to Howard Johnson, just the opposite direction down the street and you don't have to cross Harbor which is nice. I remember parking being underground and very tight but doable. I only stayed there one night a number of years ago and didn't come away with positive feelings overall. We got an odd-shaped room that was very dark even during the day, had a funky smell, and just wasn't clean enough for me. The breakfast room was so over-crowded in the morning, we skipped it, but that can happen at a lot of these places. The lobby was lovely and the desk staff were super friendly, but I felt like the lobby was so much nicer than the hotel rooms that it was almost like false advertising. Lol. Perhaps we were just unlucky with the room we got. If was only one night and we spent most of our awake hours in the parks, so we just dealt with our own disappointment and didn't return.

That's really surprising! We stayed there in December of 2012-2013 (can't remember the year) and had a great stay. The only thing we didn't like about it is the walk back (we're used to a very short walk! We also got hit up by a couple people on our walk back at night on the sidewalk down Harbor about buying key chains. We were approached about buying tamales, too... lol Those were a few interesting happenings! Wasn't on the same block as the hotel, but it was interesting.) The room was nice, the breakfast room wasn't too crowded (we ate outside on the roof some mornings). The pool was a bit small, but we weren't there for the pool. The hotel staff were all really friendly. Most of the hotels around Disneyland seem to be a hit and miss.