Hotel in Disneyland area or Huntington Beach?

[stegel]

Visiting Disney in March- first time back in over 35 years! Bringing hubby and 3 teenagers for 8 days.

We plan to use some hotel points and can either stay the whole time in Huntington Beach (no pool) or 5 nights at the Fairfield Inn by Disneyland and then we would love somewhere near LA for the rest. Wondering what everyone’s thoughts are. How is driving to the parks every morning? And how long does it take to get from the parking lot to the parks?

The cost of the whole 8 and the 5 nights are the same so we would have to pay for the other 3 nights.

Also want to do some Hollywood stuff, Dodgers game and see the Pacific. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[Howry]

I personally would go with the Fairfield. Its almost an hour from huntington to anaheim.

 

[PHXscuba]

When I stay in HB (with family) I plan 45 minutes to drive to the parking structure, plus another half-hour to park, security/tram and get to front gates. It's all city streets and school zones. Staying at the Fairfield Inn would shave off almost an hour of that. The other advantage to staying close by with teenagers: if some want to come later to the parks or come and go at different times, they can just walk. Staying an hour away by car ties everyone to the same schedule.

Plus if I read you right, you would also be staying in HB for your LA time, which will be 1-1.5 hours each WAY, each day commuting. I value my vacation time more.

PHXscuba

 

[VandVsmama]

When I stay in HB (with family) I plan 45 minutes to drive to the parking structure, plus another half-hour to park, security/tram and get to front gates. It's all city streets and school zones. Staying at the Fairfield Inn would shave off almost an hour of that. The other advantage to staying close by with teenagers: if some want to come later to the parks or come and go at different times, they can just walk. Staying an hour away by car ties everyone to the same schedule.

Plus if I read you right, you would also be staying in HB for your LA time, which will be 1-1.5 hours each WAY, each day commuting. I value my vacation time more.

PHXscuba

This. I second what PHXscuba said.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I agree with others -- do Fairfield Inn. That sounds like a nightmare having to deal with a commute and parking each day. If you're across the street you can take breaks when needed and don't have to stress out if you forgot something at the hotel.

 

[stegel]

When I stay in HB (with family) I plan 45 minutes to drive to the parking structure, plus another half-hour to park, security/tram and get to front gates. It's all city streets and school zones. Staying at the Fairfield Inn would shave off almost an hour of that. The other advantage to staying close by with teenagers: if some want to come later to the parks or come and go at different times, they can just walk. Staying an hour away by car ties everyone to the same schedule.

Plus if I read you right, you would also be staying in HB for your LA time, which will be 1-1.5 hours each WAY, each day commuting. I value my vacation time more.

PHXscuba

I didn’t realize LA was that far away! Thanks for the info!

 

[stegel]

Thanks everyone- we are going to stay near Disney and try to plan out our other days and figure out where to stay for those nights!

 

[PHXscuba]

I didn’t realize LA was that far away! Thanks for the info!

The "mileage" rarely reflects the time it takes to drive to or around LA. Google Map it some morning during their rush hour. Huntington Beach to the Universal area will be at least 1.5 hours. And did I mention "rush hour" pretty much lasts all day? At least a hotel in the LA area will cut some time off. But I'd still plan for travel times -- for example, Santa Monica Pier to Griffith Observatory (25 miles) is listing as 45 minutes. On a Saturday.

PHXscuba

 

[LAS2AMS]

I didn’t realize LA was that far away! Thanks for the info!

Some exaggerations within this thread . No, Los Angeles is not a 1 - 1.5 hour drive "each way" from Disneyland. No, "rush hour" traffic does not last all day. Once you're on the 5, DTLA is about a 30-45 minute drive... 1 - 1.5 hours during rush hour. The rush hour commute is similar to any other major metropolitan area, peaking from 7AM-9AM and 4PM-6PM M-F, with slightly heavier traffic +/- around those hours. Traffic is also heavy where and when you'd expect it to be -- toward the beaches on weekends during the summer, around the entertainment districts (e.g. West Hollywood area) on evenings and weekends, etc. Note that navigating Los Angeles generally requires the use of surface streets, which will equate into a slow commute anytime of the day (lots and lots of traffic lights).

Another option to get to Los Angeles from Anaheim is the Metrolink Commuter Train. Parking at the Anaheim station, which is a short drive from DL, is free, and tickets are $10 RT on the weekends. Tickets include unlimited use sage of busses, trains, etc.

 

[Howry]

Maybe I didn't read close enough but I didn't see anyone say LA was 1-1.5 hours from Disneyland. Huntington Beach to LA was mentioned and it is about an hour depending on traffic.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

Dodgers don't start the regular season until the end of March. Spring training is in AZ.

 

[PHXscuba]

Some exaggerations within this thread . No, Los Angeles is not a 1 - 1.5 hour drive "each way" from Disneyland. No, "rush hour" traffic does not last all day. Once you're on the 5, DTLA is about a 30-45 minute drive... 1 - 1.5 hours during rush hour. The rush hour commute is similar to any other major metropolitan area, peaking from 7AM-9AM and 4PM-6PM M-F, with slightly heavier traffic +/- around those hours. Traffic is also heavy where and when you'd expect it to be -- toward the beaches on weekends during the summer, around the entertainment districts (e.g. West Hollywood area) on evenings and weekends, etc. Note that navigating Los Angeles generally requires the use of surface streets, which will equate into a slow commute anytime of the day (lots and lots of traffic lights).

Another option to get to Los Angeles from Anaheim is the Metrolink Commuter Train. Parking at the Anaheim station, which is a short drive from DL, is free, and tickets are $10 RT on the weekends. Tickets include unlimited use sage of busses, trains, etc.

My 1-1.5 hours was being measured from Huntington Beach, especially the beach area of HB many tourists stay at. Staying around Disneyland near the 5 definitely is a shorter drive. But I have done HB to most everywhere in the LA area over the years, and even trying to avoid "rush hours," I always allot a minimum 1.5 hours to go anywhere in tourist areas of LA, especially the far side like Universal, LA Zoo, Hollywood, etc. For people unfamiliar with the area, I try to warn them the rush hour is going to be more intense and last longer than they expect.

PHXscuba

 

[LAS2AMS]

My 1-1.5 hours was being measured from Huntington Beach, especially the beach area of HB many tourists stay at. Staying around Disneyland near the 5 definitely is a shorter drive. But I have done HB to most everywhere in the LA area over the years, and even trying to avoid "rush hours," I always allot a minimum 1.5 hours to go anywhere in tourist areas of LA, especially the far side like Universal, LA Zoo, Hollywood, etc. For people unfamiliar with the area, I try to warn them the rush hour is going to be more intense and last longer than they expect.

Admittedly, I misread your posting and posted a generalization to the embellished rhetoric of LA travel that's perpetually posted on here. That said, given that the OP is looking at properties such as the Fairfield Inn near Disneyland, she's undoubtedly looking at properties that are closer to the 405 than the beach. And those properties are 30-60 minutes drive from most of LA's attractions.

If you plan your vacation, you can certainly minimize, and even avoid most of, the time spent in traffic. Most of us who live here and value our time consider traffic into our decisions. For tourists, the good news is that the largest traffic congestion within the Los Angeles area is in non-touristy areas (generally high-density residential & business areas, and areas in which roadways were too narrow to expand as the population exploded).

 

[Skubygurl72]

We are staying in a VRBO in Newport Beach. Leave next Thursday. Will try to report back what kind of travel time we encounter.
As an older couple with no kids coming along we just love the HB and beach area too much to stay only in Anaheim.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

If your primary reason for coming to the area is to visit DL I wouldn’t stay far away and drive in an out every day. As someone who primarily drives to and from the parks every time I visit let me tell you that it’s a huge hassle! I live 40 miles away it always seems to take me 90 minutes to drive to the parks, park the car, get through security and walk through the park turnstiles. Same going home... 90 minutes door to door (as long as there is no traffic... with traffic that could easily turn into 2+ hours).

The few times I’ve stayed in a hotel near the parks it’s been a DREAM to just walk out my room and into the parks. Plus it’s so easy to go back for a break midday if necessary... or even grab something I forgot, change clothes, etc.

 

[azdisneylover]

If your primary reason for coming to the area is to visit DL I wouldn’t stay far away and drive in an out every day. As someone who primarily drives to and from the parks every time I visit let me tell you that it’s a huge hassle! I live 40 miles away it always seems to take me 90 minutes to drive to the parks, park the car, get through security and walk through the park turnstiles. Same going home... 90 minutes door to door (as long as there is no traffic... with traffic that could easily turn into 2+ hours).

The few times I’ve stayed in a hotel near the parks it’s been a DREAM to just walk out my room and into the parks. Plus it’s so easy to go back for a break midday if necessary... or even grab something I forgot, change clothes, etc.

I hear ya! Family that lives in Santa Ana would get frustrated we wouldn't stay with them, but on site, because it would save us money, until they followed us back to our room at the GCH to relax a few, and they got it.

 

[CastAStone]

My last Disneyland trip we stayed 2 nights at the Hyatt House Anaheim and 3 at the Hyatt Huntington Beach.

I have also stayed at the Hyatt Huntington Beach for several conventions at the Anaheim Convention Center (across the street from DLR)

From the Hyatt Huntington Beach we always leave early morning (7:30 or earlier) for and have never spent more than 20-25 minutes driving (parking can add 5-30 minutes depending what’s open). Maybe we got lucky.

But as I said we also stayed 2 nights at a hotel in walking distance and I can’t recommend doing that highly enough. The walk from the Fairfield is maybe 8 minutes? Which is quicker than the tram ride from the parking structure. So you’ll have at the very least an hour a day to stay in the park longer or sleep longer or actually enjoy a meal.

 

[Skubygurl72]

If your primary reason for coming to the area is to visit DL I wouldn’t stay far away and drive in an out every day. As someone who primarily drives to and from the parks every time I visit let me tell you that it’s a huge hassle! I live 40 miles away it always seems to take me 90 minutes to drive to the parks, park the car, get through security and walk through the park turnstiles. Same going home... 90 minutes door to door (as long as there is no traffic... with traffic that could easily turn into 2+ hours).

The few times I’ve stayed in a hotel near the parks it’s been a DREAM to just walk out my room and into the parks. Plus it’s so easy to go back for a break midday if necessary... or even grab something I forgot, change clothes, etc.

I get what you are saying but our primary reason is the beach- and getting a house on Newport where we can walk out our front steps to it for only $700 for the whole trip is worth it. We wanted to split up our days at DL so doing a split stay like we did last time wouldn't work. If we could afford to stay onsite totally different story but cant do those prices right now.

 

[Skubygurl72]

My last Disneyland trip we stayed 2 nights at the Hyatt House Anaheim and 3 at the Hyatt Huntington Beach.

I have also stayed at the Hyatt Huntington Beach for several conventions at the Anaheim Convention Center (across the street from DLR)

From the Hyatt Huntington Beach we always leave early morning (7:30 or earlier) for and have never spent more than 20-25 minutes driving (parking can add 5-30 minutes depending what’s open). Maybe we got lucky.

But as I said we also stayed 2 nights at a hotel in walking distance and I can’t recommend doing that highly enough. The walk from the Fairfield is maybe 8 minutes? Which is quicker than the tram ride from the parking structure. So you’ll have at the very least an hour a day to stay in the park longer or sleep longer or actually enjoy a meal.

When we did the drive previously we didn't mind it either!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I get what you are saying but our primary reason is the beach- and getting a house on Newport where we can walk out our front steps to it for only $700 for the whole trip is worth it. We wanted to split up our days at DL so doing a split stay like we did last time wouldn't work. If we could afford to stay onsite totally different story but cant do those prices right now.

In that case, just give yourself ample time for driving, parking and getting into the parks. And make sure you bring everything you might need so you don’t find yourself driving back midday.