Hotel recommendations

[Chamrock7]

Hi, I'm just starting to plan our Disneyland trip in February. I am trying to decide which hotel would be best for my group. There will be 4 adults (parents and grandparents) and 2 kids ages 8 and 4. I want to minimize the amount of walking to the park.

1.Is it best to get a hotel like the courtyard Anaheim or Howard Johnson since they are close, or go with a hotel a little further away and take the bus. Will the ART take you right to the gates? If it does, then it may be better to get a hotel right next to the bus stop.

2. My kids would love the water area at the courtyard and Howard Johnson but wondering if it's worth it since we are going in February. Will they even be able to go in the pool in February?

3. The hotels I am looking at the hojo, courtyard, and Homewood suites (because it has a kitchen area and free breakfast). Are there other other hotels we should consider? A view of the fireworks would be nice. Will any of these hotels have a view?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Dr. G]

1. ART will drop you maybe 2-3 minutes walk, tops, closer than a hotel right across from the entrance. HoJo is maybe an 8-10 minute walk to the entrance gates I'd guess. It is so much easier to walk into the park than to take ART. However I've heard the Homewood Suites by the Convention Center are really nice.

2. Probably depends on where you are coming from and what temps you are used to. We're from Northern Utah so February in SoCal would be swimming weather for us.

3. HoJo and Courtyard Theme Park Entrance will both have views of the fireworks as they are right across the street. Not sure about Homewood as it is further down Harbor Blvd and I'm not sure of the sight-lines.

 

[Geemo]

Hi, I'm just starting to plan our Disneyland trip in February. I am trying to decide which hotel would be best for my group. There will be 4 adults (parents and grandparents) and 2 kids ages 8 and 4. I want to minimize the amount of walking to the park.

1.Is it best to get a hotel like the courtyard Anaheim or Howard Johnson since they are close, or go with a hotel a little further away and take the bus. Will the ART take you right to the gates? If it does, then it may be better to get a hotel right next to the bus stop.

2. My kids would love the water area at the courtyard and Howard Johnson but wondering if it's worth it since we are going in February. Will they even be able to go in the pool in February?

3. The hotels I am looking at the hojo, courtyard, and Homewood suites (because it has a kitchen area and free breakfast). Are there other other hotels we should consider? A view of the fireworks would be nice. Will any of these hotels have a view?

Thanks in advance for any info.

February is a good month to go. My grandkids will use the pool in Feb. We're from the Pacific Northwest and Feb weather in SoCal is like our summer.

Book your hotel NOW. The room rates only increase as you get closer to travel dates.
Walking distance is nice for getting to and from the parks. Makes it easy to take a mid day break if needed.

Rides will be closed for refurbishment, so be prepared for this.

If you have questions of hours, you can review HydroGuy's Historical Info at this link
https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/
HydroGuy also has a thread on Hotels here
https://www.disboards.com/threads/hydroguys-hotel-rule.1199862/

 

[farmfresh]

You need this!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/hydroguys-hotel-rule.1199862/

 

[tarheelalum]

February is often cold and rainy for southern California. And I would not want to depend on the ART bus if I could help it. Its pretty awful. Have you considered Great Wolf Lodge for swimming? Bit far for Disney (about 3 miles) but great swimming (All indoor water park) for the kids for one day. You would need to take a UBER or cab to Disney but not a bad thing for a day. I've heard you get to swim all day of check in and check out but I'd call to confirm about that to be sure if interested. But if your just interested in Disney, get a hotel in short walking distance and try to avoid the ART. Its left many a traveler stranded.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We loved HomeWood Suites. There is a free shuttle about 5 min away.

 

[Butterfly123]

Many years ago, on our first visit to the parks as a family, we stayed at a slightly further out hotel and used ART. What a giant waste of our time waiting for buses, always eyeing our watches. It was frustrating, too! Late? Full? Our rule ever since is walking distance only, and as short a walk as possible!!

 

[Chamrock7]

Thanks everyone for the great responses. It definitely helps. Would anyone have any idea how much a cab would cost to get from one of the hotels to the Disney gates entrance? There will be 6 of us and we don't mind paying for a cab if it minimizes the walking time. I'm from Canada so no idea cab or uber rates in the U. S. I guess it would add up pretty quickly if we were getting cabs twice a day for three days.

I had looked at the great wolf Lodge. We are planning on staying a few extra days so may be a nice option.

I was looking at the hojo and courtyard because they were close and had nice pools. If we didn't bother with a pool, is there a better hotel that's better or closer?

Thanks again.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Thanks everyone for the great responses. It definitely helps. Would anyone have any idea how much a cab would cost to get from one of the hotels to the Disney gates entrance? There will be 6 of us and we don't mind paying for a cab if it minimizes the walking time. I'm from Canada so no idea cab or uber rates in the U. S. I guess it would add up pretty quickly if we were getting cabs twice a day for three days.

I had looked at the great wolf Lodge. We are planning on staying a few extra days so may be a nice option.

I was looking at the hojo and courtyard because they were close and had nice pools. If we didn't bother with a pool, is there a better hotel that's better or closer?

Thanks again.

Any if the motels on s harbor are great. Fairfield inn, best western park inn, park vue inn, desert inn & suites (not my fave).

Like a pp we too have stayed somewhere not in walking distance. PITA. Skip the cab idea. If you want to go to the wolf lodge choose a couple of days at the beginning or end of your trip, switch hotels and focus on that and don't do Disney those days.

 

[Nevada Jen]

An uber from great wolf is about 5 bucks for a regular car, I think you might need the bigger size for your whole family though. Not sure how much those cost. My guess is it is cheaper to rent a car and pay for parking if you are making 4 trips a day in the bigger uber. Courtyard and hojo are an easy walk but with what they are charging lately its almost the same to stay at paradise pier and get the Disney perks

 

[MermaidHair]

If you are interested in hotel that has a dedicated bus option (not ART) Candy Cane Inn and Anaheim Majestic Gardens Hotel may fit the bill. There are likely others but these are the two that I know of. The dedicated buses run more frequently and are pretty reliable, in my experience.

 

[Elima2015]

If you get your pool fix at Great Wolf Lodge and therefore Courtyard and HoJo aren't as important, I second the Candy Cane Inn. You can get adjoining rooms, I believe. It is an easy 10 minute walk to security. The included breakfast was a perfect start to the day. Free shuttle if you prefer that to walking. My only caution is there is no elevator to the second floor, so you need to request a first floor if stairs are a concern.

We have also stayed at the HoJo and my kids loved the little water park. The rooms were spacious and clean. I would definitely stay again. The only downside is there is no included breakfast, so you do need to plan for that.

 

[cmpeter]

Your 4 year old would require a car seat, so a cab and Uber might not be a good bet. Unless you bring a blow up booster seat and are willing to carry it around the parks all day.

Homewood Suites could be a great option. It's minimal walking (you walk to the shuttle bus outside the front gates and take that to the Toy Story parking lot (it's free). Then it's about a block walk from the parking lot to the Homewood. We stayed there in April and had a suite with a king bed, set of bunk beds and a full size sleeper sofa. Great free hot breakfast and they offer drinks and free dinner Mon-Thur (we didn't take advantage because we were in the parks). It's pretty new and the rooms are good size, bright and super clean. It's not very tall (maybe 4 stories?)...not sure about fireworks views since it's not a tall hotel and we were in the parks during fireworks.

 

[cmpeter]

Oh...it's a $6 Uber ride from the Homewood to the parks (cab is slightly more...maybe $9?) It's about a mile to walk it...which I have only done on arrival night when my feet where fresh.

 

[wendow]

We loved HomeWood Suites. There is a free shuttle about 5 min away.

Homewood Suites could be a great option. It's minimal walking (you walk to the shuttle bus outside the front gates and take that to the Toy Story parking lot (it's free). Then it's about a block walk from the parking lot to the Homewood. We stayed there in April and had a suite with a king bed, set of bunk beds and a full size sleeper sofa. Great free hot breakfast and they offer drinks and free dinner Mon-Thur (we didn't take advantage because we were in the parks). It's pretty new and the rooms are good size, bright and super clean. It's not very tall (maybe 4 stories?)...not sure about fireworks views since it's not a tall hotel and we were in the parks during fireworks.

I keep seeing two Homewood Suites locations. Which one is it that you recommend? Thanks!

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Many years ago, on our first visit to the parks as a family, we stayed at a slightly further out hotel and used ART. What a giant waste of our time waiting for buses, always eyeing our watches. It was frustrating, too! Late? Full? Our rule ever since is walking distance only, and as short a walk as possible!!

We did the same thing on our first visit and also vowed to never do it again.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I keep seeing two Homewood Suites locations. Which one is it that you recommend? Thanks!

Convention center

 

[Chamrock7]

Thanks everyone for the info. It helped me make my final decision. Decided to stay at best western park plaza Inn and suites. It was the closest hotel with the least amount of walking and it offers free breakfast. thanks Again.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Thanks everyone for the info. It helped me make my final decision. Decided to stay at best western park plaza Inn and suites. It was the closest hotel with the least amount of walking and it offers free breakfast. thanks Again.

Great choice.