Help with a couple decisions

[tylerrabe]

Okay family of 4 with 2 girls age 6 and 12. We are traveling November 30-december 6th. Ive been debating on hotels for awhile now and think ive narrowed it down to a couple. We would like a hotel with a larger refrigerator for our extended stay. I have narrowed it down to Desert Palms Hotel and Suites and Residence Inn Anaheim convention center. Right now its about $350 more for RI.. RI pool and hot tubs look nicer as well as rooms. Desert looks a little run down and some of the reviews say that they are not real quiet. Breakfast seems to be better at RI as well. Is it worth the money to stay at RI or not..?? ANy input appreciated.

Also is a 5 day park hopper to long? Was going to just do the 4 day but the 5 day was only like $100 more and I figured this would give us more time to take a few breaks and not be rushed.. Just curious what others thought as this will be our first trip out to Disneyland..

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We've done 3 and 4 day hoppers every trip, but are trying 5 day hoppers this time. We were able to get plenty done during our 4 day hoppers, and really even with just 3 day it was doable, but I like the flexibility of 5 days so that getting all the nighttime shows done isn't quite as stressful. I also plan on taking more breaks this trip, so I felt like a 5 day was worth it!

 

[pblack]

We just stayed at the Desert Palms for the first time about a month ago. Mind you it was only for 1 night, but I probably won't stay there again unless I needed it for just 1 night and I got a ridiculous deal on it. We had a room on the first floor and it was really noisy. The "breakfast" they offered didn't have many options and wasn't very good. We didn't use it, but the pool and hot tub area is really small. So i'd take that into consideration if that's a factor for you. The only really plus side to this hotel for me was the location. It was a super quick walk to the park and having 7-11 next door was great. 7-11 had better prices on bottled water than CVS (across the street) did. I've not stayed at the Residence Inn/Convention Center, but if the $350 more is doable for your group I'd probably go with it instead.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Residence inn hands down.

Also look at the cost of home 2 suites.

We always get 5 day. At www.getawaytoday.com they were less than $100 more. Maybe I was confused.

 

[Pluto468]

I always do a 5 day hopper, because you have alot more flexibility with 5 days. It also gives you more time for dining reservations, night time entertainment etc.

Have you looked at Hyatt House? We stayed there in 2019. It was about a 15-20 minute walk for us, it's across the intersection from residence inn. We stayed in a suite with a full kitchen, bedroom with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed in the living room. They also serve a hot breakfast.

Tropicana has kitchen suites and they are right across the street (Well, a few hotels up, but still close.) You need to call or email to book those suites but that might be a good alternative to Desert palms if you want to be close and have a kitchen.

 

[tylerrabe]

Residence inn hands down.

Also look at the cost of home 2 suites.

We always get 5 day. At get away today they were less than $100 more. Maybe I was confused.

Ya it was only like $20 difference on that website.. Undercover tourist was a little cheaper I believe overall so was comparing on that website the 4 to 5 day. I will check out Home 2 suites

 

[katyringo]

5 days is not too long.

Our first trip we did 3 days and it was not long enough. 5 days let's us take our time, soak it in, wind take breaks when we need to. If I could go more often 2-3 would be fine, but I'm flying accross the country.. so we stay 5. In fact for our October trip we are doing 6 days.. as we will have Halloween party tx for one of the days.

 

[SFMommy]

We stayed at the Residence Inn last July 2021. Very quiet, very clean and new feeling. Room was so spacious and nice to have a full kitchen for a longer stay. I'm not familiar with the Desert Palms hotel, but I would 100% recommend the Residence Inn. We had a car and got our own groceries, but you could do a grocery delivery too. There is a Blaze Pizza just a few minute walk away near the Walgreens. We ordered online and picked up for dinner 2 different nights. We didn't eat the breakfast, only because it was the peak of the Delta Variant and we preferred to have breakfast in our room while we were getting ready. And we left our room super early...maybe before breakfast was even served.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[gelatoni fan]

Yes to the Residence Inn. The question of the 5th day isn't so much the cost of the tickets but if you'd rather use that time to do something else like drive up to LA to do something different. You will likely be tired so depending on your thought process, the extra day could be seen as a benefit allowing you to go slower or wasted money because you'll probably want to sleep in or leave early on some days.

 

[bardays]

Another vote for Residence Inn!

 

[Malcon10t]

I've gotten too old for the beds at DIS, Residence Inn is 10x better, and it has a good breakfast.

 

[idahosoxfan]

Residence Inn is one of our favorites. Last stayed there in July 2021. It was clean and quiet and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was good and the rooftop pool area is nice. I do wish it was just a little closer as it is a decent walk back at the end of the day.