Im panicking - hotel

[meggers]

gonna be in disneyland in a week, and staying for a week, i booked a big pkg deal and got a good price but now im freaking out cause we are staying farther away not in walking distance at the HI Buena Park, they have a shuttle but i see everyone saying to get a hotel in walking distance and well im concerned, although its too late to change, can someone reassure me its okay lmao and if there are any reviews on the hotel????????

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I can't help you with reviews, but I can tell you not to panic. Don't fall into the deep and ever disparaging pit of What-if! People here on the boards have preferences and they aren't afraid to share. What works for some of them doesn't work for all of them and they will state their point until the cows come home! (I may resemble that remark....)

First, do not convince yourself you did something wrong. You felt good about what you picked when you picked it - keep the feeling. Buyers remorse isn't pretty - you could be paying $1000/night for a deluxe suite at the GCH and not eating when you get back home or you can stay in the nice clean hotel that you really only see for sleep. You decide.

Second, make sure you take a watch with you or have an alarm on your cell phone that you can set. Make sure it works and you can hear it.

Third, make sure you write down or memorize the time that last shuttle will take you back to the hotel and what time you need to be at the stop. Set your alarm and allow plenty of time to get across the park.

Fourth, remember that there are always cabs waiting at Downtown Disney to take you back, just in case you decide to stay later and have more fun. Sometimes, fun wins out over the cost of a $20 cab ride down the block.

Fifth and final, Go have a good time - It's Disneyland for gosh sake! No one can ruin your vacation but yourself! Don't do it!

How was that for encouragement?

 

[meggers]

Nancy,

YOU ROCK...i really really appreciate what you said.

Im nervous cause this is a once in a lifetime thing my dh and my ds8(we are surprising him the day we leave) going for 7 nights doing 5 day pass for DL and going to universal for a day, legoland for a day and the medieval show and want it to be perfect and really really hoping the hotel is half decent and they run the shuttles a fair bit!!!

I don't know the Buena Park area so I hope its a decent place, walkign around it and such at night is it okay?

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Buena Park isn't too bad. You are staying just north of Knotts, so you'll be fine. You are only sleeping there for a few nights!

I did some quick net research and found that folks thought the hotel was nice, but that the staff could be a bit friendlier. That's something that's subjective and based on how you handle people, so take it for what it's worth. I also pulled up the hotel's website and it says they have a complimentary shuttle with a 5 mile radius. Since I used to be a business traveller and stayed at a lot of HIs, I can tell you that probably means that they will give you a card and tell you when to call them and that you may have to wait for them to come and get you. Translate that as - "Call them when you are at the back of the park and have an hour before you want to go and they'll tell you how much time you have to get to the front when they are done shuttling another family around." Or, I may be completely off base and they may have set times - with a set ending time that the driver calls it quits and goes home. You'll find out when you get there!

I live up by Universal. Traffic can be crazy going from Anaheim up to here. What day are you planning on doing that? If it's a weekend, go before 10:30am and you'll be golden - 40 minutes. On a weekday, there are certain times you want to avoid. Go before 7am and after 7pm.

Are you guys flying in and renting a car at all? Legoland is a bit of a hike, but lots of fun! Our nephews loved it when they were out to visit a couple years ago. Our girls aren't old enough for it yet. I saw some folks on the boards say that depending on what day and time, it takes up to 2 hours to get down there. It's been a couple years since I've driven south, so I have a mistaken impression that it was even longer! You may want to ask the boards what kind of drive time to expect.

You definitely have an ambitious, but fun trip ahead of you! 7 days is a good amount!

 

[meggers]

we booked universal and legoland through socal busses...so legoland we are doing on a sunday (bus picks us up at 8am) universal we are doing on a wednesday (i think bus picks us up at 8am as well). then thursday night we are doing the medieval dinner show. so disney and dca will be mon, tues, thurs, fri and hopefully the sat night we arrive for a couple hours

so no car rental, just doing the tour and shuttle to disneyland, we are flying from seattle to long beach arrive saturday night, staying at the hotel for 7 nights, plus we have a patio room onto the pool so my son can swim and we can watch from the patio or join in....I am very excited and can't wait to see my sons reaction!!!!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Just thought of something else...

Compare the shuttle or cab ride back to the hotel as being the same as taking the bus at Disney World from the Magic Kingdom all the way back to the All Stars or Animal Kingdom Lodge. A long dark relaxing ride where the kids crash out and everyone decompresses.

I also didn't answer on of your other questions.... I would plan on staying later in the Downtown Disney (DTD) area and do my night walking there. I don't think Buena Park is really set up for walkers like Disney is, especially with having DTD and then the new Garden Walk shopping and dining area a few blocks away. I would just go back to the hotel and be done with my day out. You may want to Google Map it for yourself and choose the satellite view, so you can see exactly what the neighborhood looks like. I did - I entered the name of the hotel and the city and it looks like you can cut through some parking lots to stuff, but other than that, it's just a bunch of hotels right off the freeway.

You can also do that with Disneyland and get a better idea how the place is set up. It's pretty cool..... Your son will get a kick out of it.

 

[meggers]

okay you are awesome can i just hire you to be my tour guide lmao.... we are meeting friends sunday and monday so also hoping that in those two days we can hit bubba gumps!!!!!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

we booked universal and legoland through socal busses...so legoland we are doing on a sunday (bus picks us up at 8am) universal we are doing on a wednesday (i think bus picks us up at 8am as well). then thursday night we are doing the medieval dinner show. so disney and dca will be mon, tues, thurs, fri and hopefully the sat night we arrive for a couple hours

so no car rental, just doing the tour and shuttle to disneyland, we are flying from seattle to long beach arrive saturday night, staying at the hotel for 7 nights, plus we have a patio room onto the pool so my son can swim and we can watch from the patio or join in....I am very excited and can't wait to see my sons reaction!!!!

Buses are a good plan. LA traffic for that route at 8am on a weekday is enough to make you drink heavily! Just make sure you write down the time and location that they are picking you up at. Be there about 25 minutes ahead of pick-up, too. Universal is an uphill struggle if you are trying to get from the lower sections of the park to the top to get out. There are outdoor escalators to get you up and down the sides of the canyon. Citiwalk is a perfectly good place to kill the extra time

Night time pool going is a good plan, too. Keep in mind that it will be really chilly if they don't heat their pool. The temps drop pretty quickly here at night. It's been going from the 90's to the 60's this week.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Are you at the Holiday Inn Buena Park Hotel and Conference Center?

If so - they are a bit of a way from DL. Although they say, "walking distance," it's about 5-6 miles and to be very honest, it's not a walk I would do at night. However, not to worry. On their site it says:

"Hotel Shuttle Times
Schedules vary daily-check with bell services at check-in.

Disneyland® Resort/Knott’s Berry Farm: Complimentary scheduled transportation available daily. Inquire at the bell desk for scheduled hours."

The way this is worded makes me think that it is a shuttle that makes a circle, including a few local attractions at scheduled times. I bet if you call them, you can find out exactly how it works.

Have a wonderful time! You have fun things planned in addition to DL.

- Dreams

P.S. You say you booked through a package deal. If you wanted to, can you contact them and change hotels - for your own piece of mind?

 

[Mililani Mouser]

If you're still nervous about it, can the company that booked you switch you over to a closer hotel? It's nice being near the park esp with kids.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

If she's within a week, she may not even have the option of changing without incurring a lot of penalties. A lot of folks can't afford that additional expense these days. Therefore, she's in need of support to find the positive in her situation. I think she'll be fine. Like I said - no farther away than a bus ride between the furthest possible points at WDW! Gives a bit of a different perspective on it!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

id call and see if you could change the package for some harbor hotles idk if they will let you or not

 

[8gr8mouseketeers]

I agree that you will be fine. Our first two trips we stayed farther and were shuttled because we just didn't know any better. Yes, it's nicer to stay within walking distance, and you could always check to see if switching is a possibility. But, you will have a great time either way, don't panic!

 

[SeattleTink]

I agree that you will be fine. Our first two trips we stayed farther and were shuttled because we just didn't know any better. Yes, it's nicer to stay within walking distance, and you could always check to see if switching is a possibility. But, you will have a great time either way, don't panic!

I totally agree. Relax. It will be fine. Just think how well you will know the area by driving back and forth every day! You can check out all the great restaurants along the way.

Just remember you are going to be in DISNEYLAND! There is nothing better than that. And at this time of year the crowds are very low. Mainly people stay close to save time and for convenience. You will still be able to do everything.

Have a wonderful time! Seriously, enjoy every moment!

 

[Brady's Mom]

We have been to DLR 3 times in the last 2 years and are going again in Dec. For our first 3 trips we stayed in places that were not in walking distances to DLR. You will be fine!!! We google mapped/mapquested everything we might want to see or do. From the hotel to the destination and back! It worked out really well. One of the other things we had available was a compass (I got one at WalMart in the camping section for about a dollar) that way if we got turned around we could figure out where to go.

We have always parked at Mickey and Friends lot, my kids love the Tram. We have never used ART, it is more to use them than it is for us to park. So, for us they weren't cost effective. We liked the idea of having our car so we could go wherever we wanted without having to wait on anyone else.

This Dec. when we go, we are staying on Harbor at HoJo. So walking will be a new experience for us. We are looking forward to trying it out! However, if we really felt like it wasn't working for us to stay in walking distance, we wouldn't hesitate to stay at one of our previous hotels that we liked a lot.

Just remember, you have to plan extra time for getting to the Parks from your hotel and for parking and taking the tram. Allow a little extra time for these things and you will be okay. Sometimes it took as long as an hour, depending on traffic, time of day and how many people we had to get in the car. We have only ever made it to Magic Morning once in all the days we have been there and we really don't feel like we have missed out on our trips, each one has been really great. We also haven't made it to Rope Drop either.

One more thing, I had to really lower my "perfect vacation" expectations when we first took our kids. It was easier on every body if I didn't expect perfection, just good behavior and some tired and cranky moments. We really didn't experience many of the cranky moments at all. It worked out really great for me/family and I was much easier to live with. We just planned regular meal times so no one was hungry and took plenty of snacks and water with us. That saved us!

HTH
Shannon

 

[bumbershoot]

I know nothing about the hotel or driving or shuttles so I can't help with that.

But without panicking, I would say there is nothing harmful about calling the company (assuming you booked with a place that uses Walt Disney Travel Company, like Costco Travel and AAA etc) and seeing if there's anything closer, if that's something you want to know. Check out a map of the area, and see if they have anything to offer.

We booked our trip last year through Costco Travel, and although there were supposed to be penalties when we changed, they waived them each time (when I called, though they branded themselves Costco Travel, they were actually reps at a disney call center in Anaheim). The first time we were actually downgrading, and the second time we were upgrading again, LOL. So it's *possible* that they *might* waive penalties. Maybe. Possibly.

Can't hurt to find out.

 

[meggers]

Well i thought long and hard and panicked a bit but did book another hotel, our other hotel had better perks but really the best perk of all is being close by... So we rebooked and got the Camelot Inn which i think is pretty close at least in walking distance.

I really appreciate everyones help!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

request room 404 or 405 or 406 or 408 you will see fireworks from the window

 

[JadeDarkstar]

request room 404 or 405 or 406 or 408 you will see fireworks from the window
and 407 lol

 

[AURORA73]

I stayed at the Camelot Hotel last year and loved it. I was very impressed with the room and the service. It is definately within walking distance.

You probably would have been fine at the other hotel but if you feel better about being closer than you will enjoy the trip even more. Have a great time!!