Friendly Resorts / Disney Resorts

[bmorr1963]

I am sure this has been discussed in much detail but I am new to this thread and am one of those Disney World repeat customers taking their first trip to Disneyland in 2012.

As a DVC member, I may have the ability to book the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier or save my points for a trip the following year and take shelter at one of the "Disneyland Friendlies".

Having never been to DL...can you provide insight on whether it is beneficial to utilize the friendlies or if the cost difference is such that I may as well book with a DL resort. If you have had great experiences with a friendly hotel...please do share.

Our situation - - -five of us......mom, dad and our three children (8, 6 and 4 years old).

Thanks in advance to your responses.

 

[sonnyjane]

The hotels I believe you're talking about are called "Good Neighbor Hotels", so if you search that, I'm sure you'll come up with more results. There aren't really any benefits to booking a Good Neighbor hotel other than the fact that they are usually much cheaper than staying on-site, and in several cases they can be closer to the park entrance than the on-site hotels. There are also plenty of hotels on Harbor (the close street where many hotels are located) that don't have official "Good Neighbor" status, but that doesn't mean they are bad, just that they don't have a business partnership with Disney to be called "Good Neighbor Hotels".

There are perks to staying on-site, which include access to Disneyland's Magic Morning (one hour early entry) on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday typically. Most 3-day plus tickets include ONE magic morning entry, but staying on-site lets you go any day it's offered during your stay. There a few additional perks including earlier entrance to California Adventure to get World of Color passes and being able to charge things to your room.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Here is one of those threads..http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1001815&highlight=disney+hotels+vs+good+neighbor

Jack

 

[bmorr1963]

You can see I'm a newbie to DL in that I screwed up what these hotels are even called

Thanks for your reply.

 

[blackjackdelta]

You can see I'm a newbie to DL in that I screwed up what these hotels are even called

Thanks for your reply.

It does not make any difference we are all here to help and there is a huge amount of info in the stickys at the top of the board.

Jack

 

[taaren]

Quite honestly I would waitlist for VGC just in case it comes available for your dates - DVC members on here report a lot of success with that though I haven't the few times I've tried.
DLH and PPH are very expensive point-wise by comparison to DVC the last few years, so I try not to use my own points on them ... if I can find somebody who is renting out last-minute DVC points cheaply then I might snag a room there or if you need to get rid of banked points before they expire its a good use since there's no fee and no UY restriction.
Otherwise I'd stay at a Good Neighbor Hotel and bank your points for next year. Honestly none of the GNs are Deluxe quality within walking distance, so then you have to decide if you want a nice room/hotel v. being super close. From WDW you're used to driving and parking anyways many times, so the Hilton or Marriott Suites down Harbor just a bit might work for you. Alternately if you're okay with 'slumming it' a little Best Western Park Place Inn is ridiculously close, and I also like Fairfield Inn since its about a 10 minute walk. Not that they aren't decent but its hard to come back to reality from DVC quality. Residence Inn is also a decent choice if you want a 1 or 2 bedroom with a kitchen. (Sorry I'm Marriott people so I can only describe what I know, I'm sure others will chime in with other good larger units with kitchens ...)
So waitlist, then book a good neighbor. Most rates at good neighbors you can cancel til day of check in in case the wait list comes through, and if you absolutely cannot stand the idea of a non-Disney-immersive experience odds are good (depending on season) that the DLH/PPH will still have room then too. (Oh, or you can book DLH or PPH cash and still bank your points/or save an offer and hope for a PIN for a good cash rate. But IMHO, kind of a waste of points if yours are still bankable.)

 

[HydroGuy]

You can see I'm a newbie to DL in that I screwed up what these hotels are even called

Thanks for your reply.

We can also see you are a newbie because you are referring to the resort as "DL" when the resort is named "Disneyland Resort" or DLR. But you will learn the lingo soon enough!

What you will find is that there are many bi-coastal Disney fans who will only stay onsite at WDW but at DLR they are happy to stay off-site. Why? Because the perks at DLR of the Disney hotels are less, the proximity of many good neighbor hotels is equal or closer, and the cost difference between the Disney hotels and GNs are huge.

If you do choose a good neighbor there are many on this forum (including me) who advocate strongly for a walking distance hotel. Don't let your comfort level of distant hotels at WDW and buses and boats convince you that it is OK to be located far away from DLR. The walking distance hotels at DLR are one of the several great advantages DLR has over WDW and can totally change how you experience DLR.

See "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862