Hotels questions

[WaterLinds]

We have a trip coming March 18-21. It’s me, my two kids, and my mom. When I first looked at hotels several months back rates were higher than average but we found an ok price at the Candy Cane Inn that made it reasonable to get two connecting rooms so my mom could have her space. (She always says she doesn’t mind sharing with me and the kids for a few nights, but I suspect she’s grateful for having a bit of room.

However now I’m questioning whether CCI is the right fit for us, partly because I didn’t realize before there’s no elevator. My younger son has some mobility restrictions, and while my mom is pretty healthy she’s no longer young, so stairs aren’t idea for us. I’m going to see if they’ll be able to accommodate us with a ground floor room but I’m also scouting the other options in case they can’t guarantee it.

We don’t need anything fancy for a short trip, but easy access to the park on foot and quiet at night are key criteria. Breakfast, free parking, etc. would be nice bonuses. Lots of places are full those nights, and some of the other close locations are too expensive. So far the other possibilities I’ve found include:
-Homewood Suites, with plans to take the shuttle from the toy story lot. How early does the shuttle run? Will it be a problem for getting into the park for a RotR BG? I’ve been hearing the horror stories from the Mickey and friends lot, but that’s from people actually trying to park. We can get a suite with a king bed and bunk beds if my mom doesn’t mind sharing the bed with me for a bit less than out two rooms at CCI would cost.
-Hyatt House, with a similar family suite, roughly the same price as Homewood Suites.
-HoJo, family suite, about $100 more per night than the other two. I’m leaning towards no, although the combination of closer location and the nicer pool are enticing—but in mid March with a short trip we might not be at the pool much?

Anything else I should consider? Any other thoughts on those possibilities?

 

[WaterLinds]

Oh, I should have added: we are Hilton honours members, so Homewood suites or the other Hilton properties have a tiny edge that way.

 

[Steve Dixon]

Consider courtyard Marriott theme park entrance. It is a little pricey but the rooms have 2 queens and a bunk bed. The kicker for us is 2 showers in the room. For us it's always been better than two rooms.

 

[WaterLinds]

Consider courtyard Marriott theme park entrance. It is a little pricey but the rooms have 2 queens and a bunk bed. The kicker for us is 2 showers in the room. For us it's always been better than two rooms.

I’d love to stay there, but it’s significantly more expensive for our dates. It sounds like a great property, though!

Well it was more expensive, now it’s completely sold out!

 

[bcla]

Hilton Anaheim was great. I've stayed there for as little as $59/night, but that was when there wasn't a major convention and it was a promotional rate.

 

[WaterLinds]

Hilton Anaheim was great. I've stayed there for as little as $59/night, but that was when there wasn't a major convention and it was a promotional rate.

It looks like pretty much all of the area Hilton properties are the same rate for a regular room when we’re there...around $220/night. The Homewood Suites offers us more room, plus breakfast and (if we happen to be back in the evening) two of our nights would be evening reception nights too. So I suspect they’re my leading contender if taking the parking shuttle to the gate makes sense.

I should probably ask about that in the RotR thread, since so many people there have recent experience with early mornings!

 

[Kellina]

Waterlinds I sent you a DM!!

 

[WaterLinds]

OK, I went back to my original decision making spreadsheet and re-checked rates everywhere while I wait to hear back from the Candy Cane about getting a ground floor room guaranteed. If they come through I think we'll keep that because it just seems simplest. I've checked everything else and almost all of them are fully booked for some part of our stay now.

So I think the accurate summary of alternatives is:
-homewood suites, which means slightly more cramped sleeping space and longer walk but probably nicer overall amenities, parking fees make it roughly equal to the 2 rooms at Candy Cane. I think we would plan to walk into the parks to avoid morning chaos, maybe take the parking shuttle home if our feet are tired.
-HoJo (I rechecked and prices must be constantly in flux!) we might now be able to snag a 2 bedroom suite for $40/night more than the two rooms at Candy Cane, shorter walk, nicer splash pad area (main pool closed). Pool may or may not get used in March, shorter walk might be offset by getting breakfast out or we could just use our fridge and survive.

Any other considerations I've missed? Thanks for being a sounding board, my mom is not-so-helpfully just saying "I'll be fine with whatever you decide"...

 

[cruisehopeful]

If you don't mind staying about a mile away, Embassy Suites, Homewood Maingate (further away from the main gate than the one you are looking at) and Hampton Inn and Suites all have a hot cooked breakfast every day. They do also have shuttles for a fee, but I've never used the shuttles so I can't comment on how they work.

 

[thewesterberg]

If you don't mind staying about a mile away, Embassy Suites, Homewood Maingate (further away from the main gate than the one you are looking at) and Hampton Inn and Suites all have a hot cooked breakfast every day. They do also have shuttles for a fee, but I've never used the shuttles so I can't comment on how they work.

I just stayed at the Embassy Suites this past Thursday to Monday. Had a work conference next door at the Hyatt. Anyhow, while we didn't use the Embassy Suite shuttle, I did look at the info. It is $6/adult (kids were a little less) for a day pass/unlimited rides back and forth. It picks up on the :15 and :45 of each hour and does return trips on the :00 and :30 of each hour, up to an hour after the last park closes. We opted to utilize Lyft for the back and forth instead. One way was about $6-7 plus tip. I was traveling with 3 friends/colleagues so we split the cost 4 ways and we could go on our own terms. The first shuttle of the day would not have gotten us to the park in time to make it through the gate for ROTR BG stuff.

 

[WaterLinds]

Thanks all. There are rooms at some of the slightly further away Hilton properties, but all within a few dollars of the homewood suites so no significant advantage to offset being further away. (And because we have two kids who use car seats/boosters, Uber and Lyft tend not to be great options for us.)

But! The Candy Cane got back to me and confirmed that they can guarantee us a ground floor room, so although the HoJo is tempting we will likely just stick with what we have and walk the extra few minutes. Still not a bad walk and better than the other transit options for early mornings. We’re saving enough to cover two days of max pass and with breakfast even more, and CCI seems to have a very devoted following so I’m sure there’s a good reason for it!

 

[goooof1]

Candy Cane is a good choice..... you won't be sorry. The walk is not longer than Hojos... AND you do not have to cross Harbor walking from the Candy Cane.

 

[Pamela M]

I would double check but I believe Toy Story lot opens after Mickey & Friends. I think it only opens 1 hour prior to park open vs Mickey and Friends 90 minutes. So the first bus may not be until 45 minutes before park open. So that may not allow for enough time to get in the park to get a boarding group.

Perhaps someone who has gone recently can pipe in.

 

[sunflare]

I would double check but I believe Toy Story lot opens after Mickey & Friends. I think it only opens 1 hour prior to park open vs Mickey and Friends 90 minutes. So the first bus may not be until 45 minutes before park open. So that may not allow for enough time to get in the park to get a boarding group.

Perhaps someone who has gone recently can pipe in.

Since Rise has been open, Toy Story seems like it's been opening well before Mickey (by an hour or so). I'm not sure if that has/will change, though.

 

[WaterLinds]

Candy Cane is a good choice..... you won't be sorry. The walk is not longer than Hojos... AND you do not have to cross Harbor walking from the Candy Cane.

Oh man I fail at maps this week! I think I assume all the pins clustered together were on the same side of Harbour, I missed that it was on the same side. Excellent!