HOJO DL View, is it worth it?

[haley's mom]

So oldest step-daughter told us that she will not be joining us for our first trip to DL. What a crazy kid!!!

Anyhow, I originally booked a kids suite at HOJO for the 5 of us. Now there are only 4, no need for the kids suite. I am looking to save a few bucks and downgrade to a 1 queen suite.

My question is, which one? Is the DL view really worth it? I am trying to decide between pool view and DL view.

2Q standard = $ 118.15/nt
2Q highway = $118.15/nt
2Q pool = $126.65/nt
2Q DL view = $139.40/nt

We are staying 9 nights!

TIA

 

[SaraK]

I can't answer your question, but was wondering what dates you're going? We WANT a kids suite but it's all booked up during the time we're going to be there (4/18-4/23). Do you happen to be going during that time?

 

[bumbershoot]

I have personally enjoyed the pool view (as long as they are talking about the proper pool in the "garden" area), b/c it's nice and quiet once the pool is closed.

 

[Abbeys_mom]

I can't answer because our first trip to the HoJo will be in July. But I think you can do slightly better on your prices using the mousesaver's discount. I got the 2Q Pool view Bumpershoot is talking about for $109, not the $139 on their website.

I just googled Mousesavers Howard Johnson and booked through their link to get the discount. I got a confirmation right away.

ETA - just use the promo code LNMC - try that and see what you get.

 

[SaraK]

With the entertainment book discount you can get the Queen DL view room for $79/night.

 

[geekypeach]

With the entertainment book discount you can get the Queen DL view room for $79/night.

Yes, but that isn't the Suite. The Suite just gets the 15% discount.

We had an NQQ1 last year, 6th floor, and the view was so awesome. We watched the fireworks straight on 2 nights while our little ones were sleeping. I will be a little bummed if we're on a lower floor this year!!

 

[haley's mom]

I used micechat rate. Discount posted above is more. We are going mid-October.

Can you request higher floor for view? Will they honor request?

 

[spacemermaid]

IMO, it's not worth it, unless you get a fairly unobstructed view. The one time I paid extra for a view, it was mainly a view of...pine branches.

 

[mareed]

IMO, it's not worth it, unless you get a fairly unobstructed view. The one time I paid extra for a view, it was mainly a view of...pine branches.

I'm pretty sure I read that they're going to take care of that. And when we left from our last trip on Jan. 4, they had about half of the trees marked with tape, and it looked like it was the trees that were blocking the balconies with the ones between rooms with no tape on them. I strongly suspect that they were getting ready to remove some of them to fix the Disney view issue.

As for whether it's worth it or not... If you're going at a time when there are nightly fireworks, it could be worth it. We've stayed in those rooms before and it was really cozy to sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks. Without plans to watch fireworks from your room a few times, I personally don't think it's worth the extra just for the view.

 

[spacemermaid]

I'm pretty sure I read that they're going to take care of that. And when we left from our last trip on Jan. 4, they had about half of the trees marked with tape, and it looked like it was the trees that were blocking the balconies with the ones between rooms with no tape on them. I strongly suspect that they were getting ready to remove some of them to fix the Disney view issue.

As for whether it's worth it or not... If you're going at a time when there are nightly fireworks, it could be worth it. We've stayed in those rooms before and it was really cozy to sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks. Without plans to watch fireworks from your room a few times, I personally don't think it's worth the extra just for the view.

This is good to know! It's been almost a year since my view-of-pine-branches trip; if the situation has been remedied, I'd totally be down for paying extra for a room with a view

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

We like Bld 1 and have enjoyed our stays there in the Premium DL facing rooms...when we could see DL. Here are some photos of the various views we've had:

7th floor circa 2004. Zoomed out, but you can see there was one tree blocking one side of our balcony. Not bad though...:

3rd floor Circa 2002. Had a nice view of the Front Desk roof...:

Our frustrating 6th floor view zoomed out and around the trees in January 2009. No matter where I went on the balcony I couldn't get away from the trees. It was like smack dab in the middle and wide enough to obstruct the view on all sides. I was literally bent over and twisted to get get some of these shots. And worse, this room only had one sink so we got a double whammy:

I'd still stay at Hojo, especially for the Ent rate, and the sooner you book the better your chances of getting your room requests as from what I understand they are honored in the order they are received. I would not book a pool view by the kids waterplay area, as people go into the jacuzzi late at night. The noise would bother me. (I'm a light sleeper though...) Hopefully they'll trim the branches back soon, or even better, move the trees elsewhere. Cali needs all the trees they can get with all the air pollution, so I hope they aren't cutting them down.
HTH and good luck!

ETA: As you can see, the view from the 7th floor is a lot better than the view even from the 6th floor. Just look at how much more of TL and the Matterhorn you can see. In the 2006 pics you can pretty much just see the tip of the Matterhorn and can barely make out Space Mountain.

 

[samkj]

I'm pretty sure I read that they're going to take care of that. And when we left from our last trip on Jan. 4, they had about half of the trees marked with tape, and it looked like it was the trees that were blocking the balconies with the ones between rooms with no tape on them. I strongly suspect that they were getting ready to remove some of them to fix the Disney view issue.

As for whether it's worth it or not... If you're going at a time when there are nightly fireworks, it could be worth it. We've stayed in those rooms before and it was really cozy to sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks. Without plans to watch fireworks from your room a few times, I personally don't think it's worth the extra just for the view.

Due to a date change for our trip(the room we wanted was not available this night) we're getting the view room for the first night of our trip. We will be up a 4:30am to travel to DL, so I'm sure we will all be ready to call it a night before the fireworks. We can watch right from our balcony, then head straight to bed. We have the kids suite for the rest of the week, so no Disney view.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Haley's mom, request 7th floor, middle of the building. The sunset view pic was in the middle of the building and the 6th floor room pic was at the far end room 1615IIRC. It only had one sink. Some of the rooms only have one and that sucks. IIRC they tend to be more toward the far ends of either side of the building. The middle rooms from what I've experienced have 2 sinks and a far better view of DL. The only caveat is that the 7th floor rooms have skylights so it wakes you up first thing in the am as soon as the sun rises. I like that though because otherwise we tend to sleep in. It's like an automatic alarm clock courtesy mother nature. BTW, are you the Haley's mom with the Vegas blog?

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Just wanted to add that if you're concerned about seeing fireworks from your room, you'll see them in almost any room in Bld 1 as even people at the pool can see them. The question is how much will you see from your room? That depends on your location in the bldg, trees obstructing view, etc...

 

[haley's mom]

No Vegas blog. Sorry!

Thanks all for the info. Think I will do DL view with recommendations! This is our very first trip to DL. One less thing to worry about!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

No Vegas blog. Sorry!

Thanks all for the info. Think I will do DL view with recommendations! This is our very first trip to DL. One less thing to worry about!

Have a great first trip!