Good Neighbor VS Disney

[dianaore]

Help staighten me out on the benifits of staying onsite with a Disney hotel as opposed to a good neighbor hotel.

Thanks
Diana

 

[Judy from Boise]

if you are talking Disney vacation packages, I think the only current one is the possibility to do every EE as opposed to just one.If AAA the ability to have enhanced FP.
If you are talking infastructure it is onsite restaurants and themed pools
If you are talking intangibles it is "magic" 24hrs a day.

of course you are paying $$$, and notice i didn't say proximity .

 

[GailT]

if you are talking Disney vacation packages, I think the only current one is the possibility to do every EE as opposed to just one.If AAA the ability to have enhanced FP.
If you are talking infastructure it is onsite restaurants and themed pools
If you are talking intangibles it is "magic" 24hrs a day.

of course you are paying $$$, and notice i didn't say proximity .

I just called the hilton anaheim and it wasn't much less then the DGC onsite so that is where I am gonna park my body for 7 nights even though I am going to other places in CA. If it is like WDW I know I am getting a real clean hotel room

 

[CamColt]

Another bonus of stayng on site is you get to use Pinocchio's Workshop for baby sitting if you wish. You can also have charging privliges in the park and package delivery. To expand on the restaurants on site that Judy mentioned, they all have character breakfasts. Dont forget Mickey Mouse wake up calls. And again, to expand on the themed pools, they also have waterslides.

 

[dianaore]

Thank you for the thoughts. I am trying to find out what makes staying at a Disney location far and above the other good neighbor hotels in perks.

diana

 

[wackywexler]

I have stayed at Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian. If you have never stayed on site I would recommend doing so. Just got back from staying overnigt at the Candy Cane Inn, loved it and would do it again, but only because I have already had the on site experience and I am wanting to save some $ right now. You can't really compare, the on site is a great immersion experience but you can stay for less than $100 per night off site. If you've only got one shot at it do it all the way and stay on site if you can. Just my opinion. .

 

[blackjackdelta]

We stayed on site a few years ago and it was 24/7 Disney magic, we have since stayed offsite in a nice suite hotel. The $$$ we save go along way to having the opportunity to do more and as the wife says, "buy more." A family of 2 adults and 4 teens requires $$$ conservation to accomplish the family goals.


Jack

 

[disney-super-mom]

Thank you for the thoughts. I am trying to find out what makes staying at a Disney location far and above the other good neighbor hotels in perks.

diana

All the Disney properties are just what you said - Hotels - and they come with all the perks of what any four star hotel will have: on site restaurants, bars, room service, pools and spas, game room, work-out facilities, meeting and special occasion facilities, concierge, ect. And of course the Disney properties have some nice theming and most importantly, location, location, location.

The large majority of off-site good neighbor hotels are NOT really hotels, but rather motels, and although many are clean and well kept, and many have a pool, they do not offer the perks of any four star hotel. They're just a clean place to rest your tired head at night.

There are a couple of actual good neighbor hotels, the Hilton Anaheim, the Marriott, and maybe a few others, that offer the expected perks of a four star hotel because they ARE four star hotels, but they're not what I would consider a comfortable walking distance to Disneyland, and they don't have slides at their pools. Other than that, they have everything that a Disney property has.

 

[Ziva]

We're staying at the Carousel inn, which is right across the street from Disney and only paying 483.00 for 7 nights.

We chose an off-site because it's out first trip there and we aren't planning on spending any time at the hotel, just sleeping. It was so much cheaper to stay off site and you can't beat the location.

 

[ron808]

Exactly. Be practical with your decisions. With what you'll be losing when you'll splurge with an X amount onsite as you'll save it to an offsite hotel/inn/motel and spend it somewhere that you'll appreciate longer.

IMO, hotel rooms are more for resting than lounging. If your hotel room is far there are shuttles or you could always rent a car.

 

[LucyKate]

We chose to stay offsite at the Howard Johnson principally because of the cost.

Apart from the Grand Californian (which was way outside out budget) no Disney hotel is actually on site, and so it's just as far to walk or bus as it is from the HoJo and other off site hotels.

I understand why many here feel it is worth paying more to stay at a Disney Hotel to get that full "magic" but as we only ever used the hotel for sleeping, and were in the parks all day. We had no problem missing this, in return for staying at a much cheaper, but still superbly run safe, clean and close hotel.

 

[JLSM97]

We've got friends who are heading to DL in the spring or summer. They'll probably stay at the DLH. Why? 'Cause they want to get all the of that Disney magic. Us? We'll have a 2 bedroom suite at Residence Inn. Alot farther for sure, but, for us with 2 kids, 2 parents, and 2 grandparents, 3 separate rooms could be the differnce between and .

Vic

 

[CALNEVA DISNEYFANS]

We've done both many times. Nothing beats staying at Disney Properties for ease and experience.

However, a dollar saved on rooms is a dollar spent enjoying other Disney Magic that may not have otherwise been able to afford.