Good Neighbor motels

[bbseq24]

We have three kids, 10, 6, & 2. We are researching the feasability of staying off of the Disneyland property. We would like to be close to the park, have comfortable beds, (not rollaways) for everyone. We would also like a continental breakfast, wading pool and a complimentary shuttle to Disneyland. Doing this would mean renting a van. Is staying off-site more inexpensive than staying at one of the three Disney Hotels within the Park? Or is the inconvenience of being farther away and needing to rent a van not worth it?
What is the best way to book the entire trip? ie., through Disneyland Travel, local travel agency, or purchase all parts of the trip separately. Also, is the Meal plan worth it?
If you have any additional tips or suggestions to add, feel free. Thank you.
Ear we are.

 

[eeyoregon]

I know how difficult it becomes to find lodging when you are family of 5 and are on a budget too!

PLEASE consider onsite.

1st, there are NO "close" to Disney World hotels...even Disney World resorts require transportation as it's one big place! If you stay offsite you will have to rent a vehicle (the free shuttles are not very convenient/frequent) and pay for parking each day, which is another added cost.

Being on property allows you FREE airport transportation roundtrip, FREE on property transportation, FREE early/late Magic hours at the parks (pricesless in my eyes!)!

All Star Movies has family suites that sleep 6. Wilderness cabins sleep 6 and have complete kitchens and bbq's too. Or maybe 2 connecting rooms at the All Star's or Pop Century.

When is your trip? FREE DINING AUGUST 26 thru September 22, including check-in on September 22.

 

[bbseq24]

Dear Eeyoregon,
Thanks for the reply. However, I am not staying at Walt Disney World. We are planning on staying at Disneyland. If you've done a similar trip in Anaheim, please reply. Thanks again for the info.
bbseq24

 

[belle&beast]

Dear Eeyoregon,
Thanks for the reply. However, I am not staying at Walt Disney World. We are planning on staying at Disneyland. If you've done a similar trip in Anaheim, please reply. Thanks again for the info.
bbseq24

You may want to post your question on the Disneyland thread. When I was considering a trip to DL, the people there were really helpful.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just in case you don't want to post over there...

There are some offsite hotels that are actually closer to the gates than the "on-site" ones. We had a trip planned to stay at Paradise Pier, but I kept reading that it took longer to get to the park than just staying across the street, such as at a hotel like Carousel (where we switched our reservations to).

This is a good lodging map. It links to the hotel websites, too.

There are some suite hotels that might work well for you guys.

I booked through Costco, but could have booked through AAA. They were pretty much the same, except Costco included a character meal (the cost is in the price, so officially the Costco trip cost more, but we wouldn't have booked a character meal without that "push", AND the Costco deal had some other extras that AAA didn't for our trip). I don't know how much Costco is charging for the park tickets, so I could never get a really good feel for what it would have been compared to booking separately.

The dining plan for Disneyland, I found out, is not a deal. It's a good way to pre-pay, but you're not getting anything off. It's just vouchers, and you can't get change back, so you either lose money by leaving your change, or you buy something more than your voucher is worth and pay extra cash. So we cancelled that from our package.

If you stay close enough, you won't need a shuttle.

 

[eeyoregon]

Silly me!!!!! Land...World...suppose that matters You tricked me by posting on the Disneyworld board.

Hope you have a fabulous trip!!