Hotel help for first timers with toddlers

[SarahCarsLand]

Traveling to Disneyland for the first time. Coming from the east coast. 4 adults (2 grandparents, 2 parents) and 2 children (2 and 6). Traveling from Thursday to Tuesday at the end of January (no date set in stone). We have no idea where to start so I wanted to come here for some advise. We are coming to Disneyland (and not going to Disney World) because of Cars Land. Kids are obsessed.
Where do we stay? We want 2 rooms next to each other or a 2 bedroom suite. It is important that we have a place to go when the kids go to bed (either adjoining, next door room or suite living room, etc). Looks like the Grand Californian is the best spot but insanely expensive compared to the other two on property hotels. We were hoping to stay on property to take advantage of the magic hour for Cars Land and to go back for naps or rest time. Then I read Disneyland Hotel is a bit of a hike to California Adventure? We have two small children and two people in their 60s who aren't looking for a long hike (although certainly capable-just whiny ). Is it manageable for those of you with toddlers?
What pools are the best in your opinion?
So I will start with these questions and I am sure bombard you with more later. Thank you!!

 

[MICKEYFIL]

The distance you walk from your hotel to DL or DCA will be substantally less than the distance you will walk in the park regardless of which hotel you stay at as long as it is one of the 20 - 25 closest hotels. Some of the hotels across the street from Disneyland are as close to the entrance as the on site properties. Staying at the onsite hotels for the early entry is a good idea, especially for cars land.

If you don't want to fork out the money for the onsite and you are willing to stay across the street, there are many good suggestions and each person has their individual preference. I hear good things about the Howard Johnson and a few others. I prefer the Sheraton Park Hotel, but you do have a 8 to 12 minute walk to and from the park each day. I realized last trip that I walked at least 6 miles a day and one time 8 miles inside the park, so the extra little walk seemed liked nothing.

We have two kids and did the trip when they were toddlers. Disneyland is full of strollers.

As for pools I have heard people say the Howard Johnson is good, but so are the hotels on site. Depends what age your kids are.

Regardless of everything, a few things remain certainties. Get there early, use the FASTpass system and be flexible.

 

[detarica]

I would work with someone like AAA to help get a good deal on the hotel even on Disneyland property. We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel this past June. It was fantastic. The rooms are kinda small for your size of group, but two adjoining rooms would be good. I will say that the walk through Downtown Disney to both parks takes 10 to 15 minutes of strolling. There is a short cut to California Adventures by cutting through the Grand Californian which you can use as a Disney hotel guest (at any Disney hotel). The Disneyland Hotel is very close to the Monorail so that can be a good option for avoiding the walk through Downtown Disney. My kids loved walking through there though because there is a lot to look at along the way. The monorail takes a long time in the morning and at closing. It lands in Tomorrowland inside Disneyland and it doesn't make sense to take it to California Adventures.

When you say a "hike", in reference to Disneyland, the walking there is no comparison to Walt Disney World. Just walking from the bus stop to the park gate in WDW is longer than most walks in Disneyland.

 

[detarica]

I forgot to say that I really did enjoy the pool at the Disneyland Hotel. It has a Tiki theme so it is very relaxing and vacation-ey. It has a big slide that the kids loved and two other pools for swimming. The hot tubs were close to the pools so parents could watch older kids from there. The one at the Grand Californian looks awesome. The Pacific Pier has a pool on the roof, and is just a pool as far I can tell.

 

[tarheelalum]

Howard Johnson has a nice pool and a shuttle to go back and forth from the hotel to DL. The DL Hotel also has a nice pool but it will cost a lot more. If you have to have a great pool, that eliminates a lot of really close/affordable walking distance hotels. Most hotels in the area do not have nice pools. Also in late January it could be chilly everyday so having a pool might be a waste.

 

[JayRW]

If you are really concerned about staying as close as possible to the gates I would recommend checking this post out. Someone took a lot of time to calculate the walking distance from many of the hotels. A great resource. mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?46907-Answering-the-quot-which-is-farther-quot-debate[/url]

 

[nwlovely]

Welcome to the boards! We've done Disneyland with the 60ish grandparents and toddlers three times at three different hotels. The first year we stayed at the Fairfield Inn in adjoining rooms. We went in early March and didn't use the pool at all. The location was good- not a bad walk, and the rooms were clean and updated. The next year we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in a two bedroom suite. We love the Disneyland hotel, but it can definitely feel like a long walk at the end of the day! We were fine, but we encouraged the grandparents to use the monorail, which really helped. The DLH pool area is fun for the kids, but we only used the pool once due to weather. This year we rented dvc points and stayed in a two bedroom villa at the Grand Californian. I was skeptical because I love the DLH, but we loved it! The pool area is great- we even rented a cabana and spent most of one day at the pool. The walk to the parks is just right.

 

[lk2500]

You will see many recommend the Candy Cane Inn, BWPPI, FFI, Desert Inn, and Hojo.

Hojo has the best pool but furthest walk (maybe 12 minutes to the gate?), not sure about the shuttle somebody mentioned above.

Desert Inn has the best price on 4 queen bed suites and has a short walk. I have seen many good reviews but also some not so good (thin walls, etc...).

BWPPI has the shortest walk.

FFI is about an 8 minute walk to the gate, has a regular pool (no play stuff), and is right next to McD's. We've stayed at the FFI 4 times and had adjoining rooms last time. A bit pricey but it worked great for us.

 

[Lizzards]

Everyone has given great advice. I love the Disneyland hotel. We have two kids and have done a two bedroom suite with my inlaws. It is very roomy and you have a central living room to go to when the kids are asleep. I recommend getting a two bedroom at the top of the adventure tower. You can see the fireworks from there. If you can afford to, adding on the concierge service is fabulous too. You can get drinks and snacks and food all day and take into the park with you. I don't think the walk is bad at all but anywhere you stay you will have to walk some. However staying on disney property makes the stay so magical. Make sure to bring your stroller!

 

[princesshalo22]

If you don't mind the price I would say stay on property. The extra magic hours make a difference, especially for cars land. Staying on property makes the whole experience Disney, it truly is magical.

 

[SarahCarsLand1]

Thank you all!

 

[geergirl]

We just got back last week from 6 days at DLR with our 2.5 year old twins. We stayed at the Carousel in a Resort Suite. It worked out great that the kids got their own beds in a separate room from us. That way we could read or whatever while they napped and after they went to bed at night. We found the walk to be not bad at all and went back every afternoon for a break. Never did get to the pool because we were too busy enjoying the parks!

 

[ehrawn]

On site hotels (unlike WDW) are all very close- none could be considered a hike to the parks. Saying the Grand Californian is closer than Paradise Pier may be accurate, but like 5 min walk, maybe. Choice of hotel on site should factor cost, pool, room, but not proximity to the DL/DCA. If you are concerned about a toddler in a hotel, though, there are alternatives.

 

[VicMom]

We were at the DL hotel earlier this month with a 3.5yr old. The walk was maybe 10 or 15 minutes but definitely a nicer walk with so much to look at and listen to-and eat-on the walk. Because of that I found it a very pleasant walk at night and loved not having to worry about the toddler darting out in front of a shuttle or traffic on the road.

 

[geminimagk]

We just came back, and had a 4 year old and an 8 month old with us. We stayed at the Grand Californian. It was pricey, but the proximity to DCA made it absolutely worth it for us. We really only made the trek to California (from MI) for Carsland, so it was absolutely worth it to stay at GC.

We went back to the hotel often to feed the kids, or just to get out of the heat, and the short distance made it incredibly easy to do so. One morning we had to walk from Disneyland Hotel (due to breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen) to the parks, and I was surprised at how much further it was than our easy walk from GC! Sure the rooms were smaller than at non-Disney properties, but that didn't matter to us. We were fine with both kids, a crib in the room, and our double stroller parked near the door.

 

[itr452]

just came back on the weekend with my 22 month year old, and stayed at the grand californian. At first I was wondering if the premium was worth it and I can gladly say thats where I'll be staying again if I were to go back down to disneyland from now on. I walked to Goofys kitchen and hated the extra distance the disneyland hotel was compared to the GC.

It was nice as it always gave us an option to go back to the hotel and rest or nap for my little guy. Can't beat the DCA entrance as well!