Is 3 days at DL too much?

[kaabost]

DH has a conference in San Diego in May. Wonderful as he is, he is thinking of humoring me and going to DL (neither of us have ever been. I LOVE WDW and he likes WDW. I am worried that 3 days at DL (with only 2 parks) will bore him of Disney.....and there goes the possibility of going to WDW in January. Also, DL seems so expensive as there are not so many discount codes and there are no value resorts. If we were to go to the parks for 3 days......yikes, the hotel bill. What do you guys think? We want to park hop but that seems to mean buying a 3 day hopper or staying in an expensive resort. Thanks for help in advance.

 

[tiggeroo42]

Many aspects of DL and WDW are not comparable. For example, you don't have to stay onsite to have easy access to the parks. A lot of the offsite hotels are just as close to the DL entrance as the Disney hotels (some are even closer!). There are many good hotels within walking distance of DL, so we've never felt the need to stay onsite. We've stayed at the Candy Cane Inn several times, and loved it (it's right next door to DL on the DCA side). Search on this board to get some other hotel suggestions.

As for 3 days being too much--I don't think so, especially if you've never been there. We've been to DL many times, and have been getting the 3-day hoppers the past couple of times. Even with the three days, we sometimes have to skip some attractions! It will easily take 2 full days to see most of DL, and at least 1 day to see all of DCA. Park hopping is so convenient at the DL resort, as it only takes about 2 minutes to walk from the entrance of DL to DCA. Don't forget about Downtown Disney, which is between the two parks.

As far as discounts go, no DL does not offer as many as WDW. But if you stay offsite, you won't need a discount to get a good price! Also, the DL website has a special park hopper ticket for this year--5 days for the price of 3. They often offer these special tickets instead of discounts, and you will find that DL park hoppers are much cheaper than WDW's.

 

[tink2dw]

It is soooooo hard to imagine how very very close everything is at DL as apposed to WDW where there are MILES between hotels and parks. At DL everything is only afew steps a part. Offsite hotels are just across the street from the Entrance to DL.

These are the offsite hotels to consider. They are on Harbor Blvd,between Katella Ave and Ball Road. I have added the reviews if I have found any for that hotel. I'm still researching.

Candy Cane Inn
1747 S. Harbor Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92802
Tollfree: 800/345-7057 Candy cane inn for its atmosphere inside and out. It is a simple two story motel that was remodeled and nicely landscaped. It has a decent free breakfast and is a 5-7 minute walk to the parks and also has a shuttle. www.candycaneinn.net

Tropicana Inn And Suites
1540 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $78 - $180
Anaheim CA
Good value, good service. It's a very basic hotel - but clean and not a bad pool. We're hoping it's still good this time, although we've heard it's under external renovations - the internal ones are already complete.

Ramada Inn Maingate Saga Anaheim
1650 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $60 - $135
Anaheim CA
If you plan on spending most of your time in the parks and are getting a good deal on your room $59 then it might be what you are looking for.

Park Inn Anaheim
1520 South Harbor Blvd
Rates: $73 - $695
Anaheim CA

Fairfld Inn Anaheim Disneyland
1460 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $53 - $139
Anaheim CA
Fairfield Inn (Across the street from the main entrance) - This is a very large motel and was very nice. Fridge in the room. This is a marriot chain, so you might find some good discounts. Easy walk to the entrance and the staff was very friendly. Offers free Anaheim Shuttle. It is clean, friendly, and some rooms have fireworks views from the balcony. The location can't be beat.

Desert Inn And Suites
1600 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $54 - $199
Anaheim CA

Castle Inn And Suites
1734 South Harbor Blvd
Rates: $72 - $132
Anaheim CA

Park Vue Inn
1570 S. Harbor Blvd
Rates: $55 - $125
Anaheim CA

Howard Johnson Plaza
1380 South Harbor Boulevard
Rates: $59 - $194
Anaheim CA
It doesn't have a theme but is on a nice size chunk of property with pine trees and loads of greenery. The hotel has interior corridors and most rooms have balconies some with awesome views of Disneyland fireworks. Ask for a room away from the freeway! There is no free breakfast here though. The walk to the Park is 7-12 minutes.

Carousel Inn And Suites
1530 S. Harbor Blvd.
Rates: $64 - $110
Anaheim CA

Best Western Park Place Inn
1544 S Harbor Blvd.
Rates: $76 - $120
Anaheim CA
In January 2002 I stayed at the Best Western Park Place. This was good for its location, directly across from the DLR entrance. The room was OK, but not great. This property also had a continental breakfast, but it was not very good.

Best Western Anaheim Inn
1630 S Harbor Blvd
Rates: $70 - $110
Anaheim CA
Directly across from Disneyland Park & Disney's California Adventure Park as well as the exciting Downtown Disney. 3 miles to Arrowhead Pond and Anaheim Stadium. 30 miles to Universal Studios, 7 miles to Knott's Berry Farm and 15 miles to Southern California beaches.

Best Inn Anaheim
is a 59 room,
2 Diamond AAA rated property directly across from Disneyland main entrance. We offer year-round heated pool, Jacuzzi, continental breakfast, and free parking. All rooms have coffeemakers, fridge, hairdryer, microwave, and color cable TV with remote control. All rooms remodeled in April 2000.

Check out www.MouseSavers.com Disneyland section for the best hotel and ticket options.

To make your Dh happy with your Disneyland visit do a budget trip, stay offsite, at one of the fore mentioned hotels,and save by eating some meals offsite, there are alot of restaurant chioces right on Harbor Blvd. It seemed like we spent alittle less on Food at Dl.
Disneyland is more relaxing than WDW because it is not as spread out and you feel like you are seeing it all!!

Hope this helps and I'm sending you Pixie Dust for a Great Trip~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

 

[daannzzz]

Here are two links to maps. One and airiel photo and one a map of hotels and restaurants. Most of the motels around the Best Western Park Place in are a 4-7 minute walk to the entrance of the parks!!! They are fairly bland compared to Disney resorts but like the others said the Candy Cane Inn is nice, convenient and stmospheric. The Howard Johnson also is a nice property and is usually less than the Candy Cane. Keep schecking all the online booking systems to see if prices go down.
3 Days is just enough!!!!!!!!
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html

http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

 

[Grog]

Our last trip was 2½ days and there were plenty of things that we didn't do. For that reason our upcoming trip is going to be six days (five DLR, one USH). The nice thing about DLR is that you don't have to rush so much. It's easier to go back to your hotel and take a mid-day break than at WDW. I'm sure that three days will not be too much. Your DH shouldn't get bored as there is plenty to see and do that is different from WDW

 

[LuvTigger]

I agree with all of the above posters. My last visit was in October 2001 and we spent 4 nights there, which I felt was just right to enjoy everything at a leisurely pace. DLR now also has a DD which isn't as big as WDWs, but still very nice, with some great restaurants and shops.

I usually stay offsite at DL because of the cost (I like the Howard Johnsons...it's slightly farther away, but not by much, still an easy walk). During my last stay we splurged on GC which was great!! But like the others said, it's not as much of a MUST like it is at WDW.

However, one thing I wanted to add was that sometimes Expedia and Travelocity have pretty good discounts at DL hotels, but you'd have to book relatively last minute. What I'd consider doing is book someplace offsite that has a good cancellation policy (like maybe up to 3 days ahead), and keep checking travelocity and expedia for discounts. If you find a discount that fits your budget, snag it and cancel your offsite ressie.

 

[tink2dw]

If you love wild Coasters save a day for Knotts,which is about 5 miles from DL!!
Link to the Knotts website
http://www.knotts.com/index.shtml