HoJo questions-first trip!

[sugarmagnolia]

Hi there,

We are planning our very first DLR trip for end of June/beginning of July & I could really use your help as we have no clue what we are doing!

We are pretty set on staying at Howard Johnsons, as it seems to get great reviews & is very reasonably priced. Some questions:

1) How long is the walk to DLR? Is it safe to walk at night? I noticed that HoJo's charges money for a shuttle, but if DLR is so close, do you really need the shuttle??

2) Will we get the best deal by booking through Disney? On their website, it came out to $1,018.08 for 5 nights, including tickets. Is this our best bet?

I think that's it-thanks & I look forward to hearing from you !!

 

[jolynda]

You're going to have a great trip!!

1a) the walk is about 10 minutes and it is indeed safe to walk at night.

1b) they do have the ART shuttle stop there for those that prefer to save themselves the walk. We walked on some days and took the shuttle on others when we were getting tired or wanted to conserve our feet a bit. My kids consider it another DL ride! lol! And having that shuttle available when you are exhausted and your feet are killing you, or your children falling asleep on their feet, can be very nice. Cost is $3/adult for an all day pass - kids are free.

2) I have always gotten my best deal by contacting them directly and using my AP or AAA discount, but I know many use the coupons in the Entertainment book to get even better deals. I'll let someone else who is more knowledgeable tell you about that.

And it's hard to tell if you got a good deal or not, because I'm not sure how many of you there are, or how long you are staying. Booking with Disney isn't always necessarily the most economical route, but it sure is convenient, and they package it all for you so well. I just love getting that package with the tix and itinerary in the mail!

 

[sugarmagnolia]

Thank you! Sorry I should have clarified that there are two of us.

I just went onto Mousesavers though & it seems like booking hotel & tickets separately is MUCH cheaper than a package through Disney direct.

Hotel for 4 nights, 5 days is $430 total from Monday through Friday for a King sized bed....though we noticed that Wednesdays & Thursdays are $10 extra/night. Anyone know why Wednesdays & Thursdays are more expensive?

We thought about saving $10 & going Sunday through Thursday instead, but I'm nervous that Sundays might be VERY busy in the parks-??

Mousesavers recommends getting tickets through a company called ARES Travel at $199 each for 5 day Park Hoppers (roughly $400 total for both of us). Apparently with ARES, you can pick up your tickets right at DL at the ticket window.

This would bring us to $830 for tickets & hotel!!

We are not interested in the Dining Plan, as we are planning on just sticking to CS meals & one characters breakfast.

 

[MickeyNikiNaka]

If you have an entertainment card, you can get the most amazing deals at the HOJO! If you need more than one room the card is good for up to two rooms, and the standard room is only 59.99, I don't remember what the website is that tells you the exact dates they have the Entertainment pricing on. If you call the HOJO directly and ask to speak with in house reservations you'll be golden. Also, if you're entertainment card isn't good for those days, or you don't have one, make sure to tell them you're on the DIS boards... I believe you get a discount for that as well, nothing substantial but it's always good to save money!

 

[sugarmagnolia]

If you have an entertainment card, you can get the most amazing deals at the HOJO! If you need more than one room the card is good for up to two rooms, and the standard room is only 59.99, I don't remember what the website is that tells you the exact dates they have the Entertainment pricing on. If you call the HOJO directly and ask to speak with in house reservations you'll be golden. Also, if you're entertainment card isn't good for those days, or you don't have one, make sure to tell them you're on the DIS boards... I believe you get a discount for that as well, nothing substantial but it's always good to save money!

Thank you!!! Now, we do have the Entertainment card/book, but we live in Massachusetts & our book is for Massachusetts-do we still get the discount? We will only need one room (there is just the two of us)-$59.99/night would be unreal!! I think our airfare will be tough, so we are trying to save as much as we can.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Thank you!!! Now, we do have the Entertainment card/book, but we live in Massachusetts & our book is for Massachusetts-do we still get the discount? We will only need one room (there is just the two of us)-$59.99/night would be unreal!! I think our airfare will be tough, so we are trying to save as much as we can.

Here are the dates that the entertainment rate is available.
http://www.hojoanaheim.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14
It looks like it is only available for the first few days in June and not any days in July at this point, though. You can book a room through them now and then change it to the ent. rate if it becomes available for your dates. You'll need the card that comes in the front of the book when you check in at the hotel and it doesn't matter which book it comes from.....The one that you have from your area is fine.
As someone mentioned above, be sure to call in-house reservations to book your room. (That would be the phone number for the hotel itself in Anaheim, not the 1-800 number). I hope it all works out for you.

 

[jolynda]

Regarding flights from Massachutsetts to CA, check with Virgin America Airlines too. They can run some good prices and they do fly out of Boston into both LAX and Orange County. I just peeked and saw flights from Boston to LAX for $188 each way - not sure if that is good or not, but I just thought I'd throw it out there - in good part because we LOVE flying with Virgin - it is such a blast!

 

[sugarmagnolia]

Thank you everyone!

Now, does HoJo book up quickly?

& is end of June/beginning of July (but before the 4th) mega busy at DL?

 

[spacemermaid]

Thank you everyone!

Now, does HoJo book up quickly?

& is end of June/beginning of July (but before the 4th) mega busy at DL?

I booked my room only a few weeks in advance & there was no problem, but that was recently (February/March = "off season"), so it may be different during the summer.

You can use your Entertainment Book card for the Anaheim HOJO no matter where your actual Entertainment Book is from

Summer is super-busy, but super-FUN, as you can ride Splash Mountain and not freeze the rest of the day due to being soaked!

Have fun on your trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

...I noticed that HoJo's charges money for a shuttle, but if DLR is so close, do you really need the shuttle??

2) Will we get the best deal by booking through Disney? On their website, it came out to $1,018.08 for 5 nights, including tickets. Is this our best bet?

The charge isn't from hojo, it goes to ART, Anaheim Resort Transit. Some people really like taking it, or really can't walk that far, so it works for them!

I'm glad you figured out that not doing a package is good for you. Sure there are little perks with the package, but they really aren't worth what you might pay for them. Some people do better with packages, depending on their exact time/number/etc etc, but I've never seen a package turn out to be better than booking separately.


As spacemermaid said, you can use any Ent book! Even the New Zealand and Australia books! They need to see the card from the front of your book at check-in.

They don't charge for reservations, so just call their 714 number tomorrow during Pacific time business hours, and ask for "in house" reservations. Once you know you're speaking to someone actually there in Anaheim, ask about the ent rate for your dates. If they aren't all covered, you can use the disboards member rate, which is the same as the mousesavers rate...15% off rack rate. Or if you're going to become an Annual Passport holder, hojo gives a 20% discount for that (off rack rate). If your other dates come up with the ent rate in the future, you can call and have the ent rate applied. They're good like that.