First Timer (mostly) needing help w/ planning/closures/anxiety!

[andsoitgoes]

Hi everyone,

A short back story, my wife has been to disneyland a few times now, the last was easily 20+ years ago, and I've never been. Our kids are at the tail end of the kids park hopper tickets, and I figure there is no better time than now. We have been putting it off for financial and medical reasons, with hopes that I would be better by the time the trip came around (alas, I'm not).

With that said, we are going regardless. I was able to get coverage through my insurance for a really nice modified scooter that will hopefully keep me comfortable, and we simply can't put it off any more. Originally we were going to go in May, but at the last minute discovered the two rides that are must haves for our trip, Small World and Pirates, will be closed. We have rescheduled our time and I would love some thoughts/advice. Because of my condition, and our general dislike of crowds, we have to go when it's the least busy.

Here are the bullet points for the trip:

• We are planning for September (likely near the end, allows the kids to get settled in class) and I'm assuming this is a relatively quiet time?
• Small world and Pirates are must haves, and from what I've seen, baring an emergency, they will both be open and prepped for Halloween by that time, does that sound right?
• I am having a very difficult time finding a hotel. We need somewhere that's not musty (allergies), is as close as possible to the park (for my scooter battery primarily!), has a decent Internet connection (this has been a huge struggle), and has a good pool. Bonus if it's good for fireworks!

I have a pretty good travel agent that I'm working with, primarily to keep everything in one place, but these are some issues I figured would be better answered here. I see so many reviews of so many hotels that are endlessly contradictory, or meet one criteria and fail on the rest.

A few other notes, I've looked at the Desert Inn (many comments about the rooms being musty/mildewy), The Carousel (very few amenities, small rooftop pool, but otherwise is our top choice), Park Vue (questionable reviews, don't allow 3rd party booking), Grand Californian (way too expensive and somewhat questionable quality for the price), the Ménage (a bit too far) and the Howard Johnson Plus (poor Internet and uncomfortable beds)

I'm hoping the awesome community here can help me plan the best possible, and really FIRST, vacation for the family! I know I probably sound unnecessarily fickle, but with my health issues, family allergies and my need to do something, anything when I can no longer be at the park, I can't comprise.

Thank you so much, SO much!

 

[PHXscuba]

If quality, distance, and pools are issues, I think I'd spring for the Disneyland Hotel.

1. The pool complex is amazing.

2. It's not really that far away, and has the advantage that you can take the monorail from Tomorrowland most of the way back when you are inside Disneyland.

3. You will be inside the "Disney bubble" for quality issues and room concerns.

4. Good Internet connection

The price is high compared to some across the street from the parks, but if these issues are important, it might be worth it. The Paradise Pier is a little less expensive and equally as close to the parks (doesn't appear so on a map but you can cut through the Grand Californian so it may even be closer), but the pool isn't quite as nice.

That time of year is as slow as any "slow" time any more. There should be some 20-25% hotel discounts but they won't come out until later in the summer (book now with hotel only instead of a package and you can change your rates if a better one come up). You may still see some renovations but the two you mentioned shouldn't be on the list if they are now. The Halloween overlays at Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion will be going. (There is a whole Halloween Superthread devoted to that time of year)

Good luck making your decisions. If you've been to WDW and want to see how DLR compares, be sure to read HydroGuy's "Disneyland for WDW vets" thread. It's a great resource either way.

PHXscuba

 

[andsoitgoes]

Thanks for the info! I was looking at DH, but hadn't seen PP!

My only concern is the hotel cost in comparison to the "others", but I guess that's not too surprising and in line with "you get what you pay for".

Is there anywhere that might be a step down, price wise, with maybe slightly lower quality? Looking at the price, it would be the difference between $700 and $2100 to stay at the Pier and almost $3000 for DH.

that's one of the big reasons we heavily decided against Grand Californian.

 

[seagodess]

I stayed at the Fairfield Inn 2 years ago and it was very nice. It was very clean and is only about 5 minutes from the parks. I dont know about internet connection since we never used it.

 

[dslrp]

You must be staying for a long time at those prices or you are getting prices that include park tickets. We are now looking at pricing for Oct, and 4 nights at CGH, room only is about $1700. Still far above the good neighbor hotels but I cant imagine the Disney hotel or PP is also that much.
I think you should seriously consider the Disney hotel. You will not regret it. Its convenient, and if you should need or want to return to the hotel there is no need to jump on a bus, wait for traffic, etc. And you can charge all your purchases, meals etc to your room. I believe they will even deliver the stuff to your room! But the biggest reason: You get to stay fully immersed in Walt's world. The only thing between you and the hotel is DTD which has lots of entertainment and shops. When we went last year it was the first 'real' vacation we took since our girls were born (9 and 7). We wanted to do it up right and we are glad we did. We actually stayed at the GCH which is by far the best property to stay but I understand it is costly to do so. Don't risk a bad hotel experience...it could potentially ruin your trip.

 

[scoopmorgan]

Disneyland has recently placed ECV charging stations in the parks, which may be very helpful on a long day. We ran out of juice once in Florida, at Epcot, and it was a beast pushing the chair to guest services where I had to wait until the supplier (off site) could bring a new battery. Stopping for a rest and recharge should be able to give you a full days fun.

I wonder if one of those room sized air filters would be useful for you. I am not sure, but I think purchasing one of those hepa filters and plugging it in your hotel room might be sufficient for most of the off site hotels. I think we paid around $100 for the one in our office. It is quite large, so a smaller one may be considerably less. You would spend that in one night at the DH, or PP. I have stayed in several of the off-site hotels, and most are pretty decent, but then I do not suffer allergies, either. You might consider phoning the hotel ahead of time to request they clean and air out the room prior to your arrival. I know a woman who does this everywhere she goes. She is sensitive to scents and certain cleaners set her off. It couldn't hurt to ask.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[VandVsmama]

What are your absolute "must have's" vs the "nice to have's?"

If it's proximity to the parks, then Best Western Park Place Inn would fit the bill. Down side is the pool is in the middle of the parking lot and not very big.

Also, do you have a particular price range that you are targeting for the hotel room?

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Hi,

So sorry to hear about your health problems. Wishing you the best of luck with your planning and that you get everything on your "must have" lists.

Not sure how useful this is but have you considered renting from a private owner (eg. townhouse or apartment)? You can check sites like "vrbo" (vacation rentals by owner??) or "home away from home". Sorry ... not posting full website addresses here since I don't know if it's against the rules for this forum.

With the high prices of Disneyland onsite hotels, it may be worth it to your family to rent from private owners and have access to a more "real" home environment with kitchen (in case you have special dietary needs and need to prepare your own meals), multiple bedrooms etc.

There are townhouse complexes which are across the street from Disneyland (believe it's on the back side of disney facing the "Monument" side) which is "apparently" about a 5 - 10 minute walk to the parking lot where you can take Disney's free tram to the main gate. It's also "supposedly" walkable to the monorail (about 15 minutes)? These townhouse complexes also usually have a pool ... not sure about playground for the kids though ... some do and some might not.

NOTE: The above is based on my research on the internet. We have not yet gone on our trip so cannot speak from experience.

Things to keep in mind if you're considering a townhouse or apartment rental from a private owner:

1) If mobility is a huge issue, you will need to check with Disney re: the trams since you will have a scooter. I'm sure Disneyland has much experience accommodating wheel chairs etc. Also, check with the private owner to see if their rental is "split" level in case you have problems navigating stairs etc.

2) Although you will need to travel outside of the park for accommodation, I hear these townhouses across from Disneyland are pretty comparable distances to hotels across from Disneyland's main gate.

Make sure you ask for a street address so you can Google Map and check the distance yourself. Unfortunately, I think the blocks are "long" so "1 block" away could mean it's "1 mile" away!

3) Check & research carefully before you rent from private owners. Check various sites to ensure you are comfortable renting from the owner.

Does the owner list the same property on multiple sites? Have they been a member of the listing website for a long time? Check the reviews!

Pay with credit cards and/or PayPal which is safer. Do not pay with cheques or cash.

Get a contract.

Call the owner and speak with them directly ... your gut will let you know if the person is reliable. Get their email address for future correspondence.

Do additional research online re: renting from owners. There are alot of tips for finding someone legitimate.

4) Check to see if the complex has a swimming pool and/or playground which are nice extras to have.

5) Private rentals always require the renters to pay for cleaning fees. So, if you are staying longer, the townhouse route might be good value even if you need to pay cleaning fee. If you're only staying a couple of days, it's not worth it since cleaning fees are usually $125+ per rental.

6) When renting and booking online, check and see if there's a "service" fee to book for the "rental". I think some online booking services like TripAdvisor charges the renter a "percentage" of the rental costs. This could add up to alot! I don't think VRBO or Home Away From Home charges but you should look into this.

7) Supposedly, it's illegal for owners to charge a "convenience" fee for the use of credit cards but alot of owners do. You might want to look into this if you're asked to pay for the convenience of using your credit card. Basically, the owners are trying to get you to pay for their credit card charge fees since they have to pay the credit card company when renters use their credit cards.

8) Renting from a private owner might save you money on food costs if you're willing to make your own meals and carry some food & drinks into the parks. At the very least, your meals might be healthier since you'll be doing the cooking!

Check with Disneyland if you have special dietary needs because of your medical conditions. I believe they will make more special exceptions about bringing in food and drinks in this case. I hear Disneyland looks the other way if people bring in snacks & drinks (no glass and no rolling or hard sided coolers!!) but if you have special dietary needs it's good to check with the Parks.

9) For park tickets, if you're Canadian and have Air Miles points, you can redeem points for Park Hopper Tickets. I've been researching this topic alot during the last few days and have been trying to get answers myself.

What I've learned is that people have used Air Miles points to redeem for Park Hopper Tickets and then "upgraded" those tickets at the park for either a longer Park Hopper ticket or Deluxe Annual Pass by paying the difference.

Depending on the length of your stay, this might be something to look into. Otherwise whatever Park Hopper Tickets you can get using Air Miles will be a savings. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what "value" Disneyland will give for these tickets or if it still works for 2014. The most recent news is that people said this worked in 2013 but I "think" it probably still works in 2014. Hoping so because this is what I plan to do for our visit!

If you don't have access to Air Miles points which can be used to get Park Hopper tickets, I have read also that people have purchased the Southern California City Pass. This pass gives you 3 day Park Hopper + 1 Day Universal + 1 day SeaWorld.

People have said that the discount is deep enough that if you only go to 1 of the other parks + 3 Day Park Hopper the City Pass is still worth it. Also, people have said that they "upgraded" to longer Park Hopper or Annual Pass at the main gates of Disneyland. Something else for you to consider.

OK ... that's alot of information for you to digest but I wanted to "pay forward" all the info and help that I've been given by reading these forums.

Good luck. Hope everything works out so you have a perfect trip!