This is our favorite hotel, price-wise. We were pleasantly surprised by the redecorating on our last trip, it had been a while. The peach/teal Miami Vice look is gone, as is the center fountain, replaced by a large bar with large screen tv's. The staff is always very helpful and friendly, and whether we book directly or through Priceline, it's always a great value.
As far as parking, it's only a few more dollars, 2 or 3?, extra for valet, so that's what we do. Most of the time we take a cab to the parks. Cab runs 7-10 dollars each way. The cabs are supposed to drop you off at Downtown Disney, we've already complained to Disney about taking away the Harbor taxi stand, but we asked to be dropped off at the IHOP on Harbor, and that worked. Just a walk across the street. When we did take the shuttle, we purchased our ART tickets at the kiosk in front of the hotel. The shuttles ran frequently over Easter weekend, and we never had a problem with them being overcrowded. At the end of Saturday night, the line to return to our hotel was very long, and after a bus was filled, they stopped loading before people had to stand, and there was another bus a minute behind to load the rest of us!
We always return to the hotel in the early afternoon for a swim and a nap, so that the five year old doesn't miss the fireworks or get overstimulated and have a melt-down, (which can directly be related to adult-meltdown
, ) and it is not inconvenient to do that at this hotel.
The walk to DL is way too far. Disneyland Resort will tax everyone's stamina, so save the limited energies for enjoying the parks and attractions, especially if travelling with kids.
Have a great time!
