Is it worth it?

[disney4metoo]

We are in the same boat! My 6 YO DD has been to WDW 4 times and on DCL twice. We are planning a 2 week trip to CA this summer and plan to spend 4 nights at DL. The onsite/offsite debate is driving me crazy! The one thing that is plaguing me is the safety factor. I hate feeling vulnerable and unsafe. Maybe there is no difference safety wise but I am one of those who places immersion very high on our list when visiting Disney

Also, I have seen in this thread people say there is no transportation at DL. I was thinking if we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel we could take the monorail at night from Tomorrowland to DD. I was thinking this could save valuable steps with DD who will be 7 at the end of a long day

Most hotels in the surrounding area use the ART bus system. It cost $3.00
( If I remember correctly) per person per day, and it drops you off in the bus drop off zones at DL. Some hotels have their own bus, I think Candy Cane Inn, and some hotels that are further away but most use the ART.

.

 

[HydroGuy]

We are in the same boat! My 6 YO DD has been to WDW 4 times and on DCL twice. We are planning a 2 week trip to CA this summer and plan to spend 4 nights at DL. The onsite/offsite debate is driving me crazy! The one thing that is plaguing me is the safety factor. I hate feeling vulnerable and unsafe. Maybe there is no difference safety wise but I am one of those who places immersion very high on our list when visiting Disney

Also, I have seen in this thread people say there is no transportation at DL. I was thinking if we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel we could take the monorail at night from Tomorrowland to DD. I was thinking this could save valuable steps with DD who will be 7 at the end of a long day

Actually there is not much debate around here. I think I can speak for the vast majority in this.

o The Disney hotels are much more expensive and when money is no object or one wants to splurge then the Disney hotels are a great choice.

o The off-site hotels/motels are more economical choices.

o A larger percentage of DLR visitors over WDW visitors use their hotel only for sleeping (and maybe some swimming too). Hence the extra price paid for Disney hotels provides little value for many DLR visitors

o Overall the value in staying onsite at DLR is less than WDW in terms of what you get. No exclusive EMH. Since it easy to walk from offsite then onsite access to Disney transportation offers little value and is even a drawback in some cases.

o The immersion factor for Disney hotels at DLR is much less than WDW. But it is real and counts for something to some visitors.

o DLR has a different kind of immersion than WDW if one stays onsite or at one of the walking distance hotels. This immersion is based on staying within view of the parks and a very short walk to the parks at all times. This is further enhanced by the generally longer park hours and easier park hopping which makes it more likely you will spend signficantly more time actually inside a Disney park at DLR than you do at WDW. We spend about 50% more hours per day inside the parks at DLR than we do at WDW.

o It is common to find folks who visit both DLR and WDW who stay only onsite at WDW but offsite at DLR because of perceived reduced value.

o Safety is not an issue for offsite hotels if you are at the walking distance hotels across the street. The walk to the Disney hotels vs. offsite is safe in general and made more so when there are the typical hoards of people around. Common sense precautions still apply.

On your other question, the monorail is an option - but it can be a bad one when you want to travel at peak times and you have to wait several cycles to board. Using the monorail is certainly easier if you stay at the DLH or PPH. There is no advantage for the GCH because the hotel is closer to the park than the monorail stop. And DCA is not served by the monorail so you get no help there. In cases where you are traveling between DL only and not at peak times it can save some time and steps for tired children.

 

[vpalmer]

Actually there is not much debate around here. I think I can speak for the vast majority in this.

o The Disney hotels are much more expensive and when money is no object or one wants to splurge then the Disney hotels are a great choice.

o The off-site hotels/motels are more economical choices.

o A larger percentage of DLR visitors over WDW visitors use their hotel only for sleeping (and maybe some swimming too). Hence the extra price paid for Disney hotels provides little value for many DLR visitors

o Overall the value in staying onsite at DLR is less than WDW in terms of what you get. No exclusive EMH. Since it easy to walk from offsite then onsite access to Disney transportation offers little value and is even a drawback in some cases.

o The immersion factor for Disney hotels at DLR is much less than WDW. But it is real and counts for something to some visitors.

o DLR has a different kind of immersion than WDW if one stays onsite or at one of the walking distance hotels. This immersion is based on staying within view of the parks and a very short walk to the parks at all times. This is further enhanced by the generally longer park hours and easier park hopping which makes it more likely you will spend significantly more time actually inside a Disney park at DLR than you do at WDW. We spend about 50% more hours per day inside the parks at DLR than we do at WDW.

o It is common to find folks who visit both DLR and WDW who stay only onsite at WDW but offsite at DLR because of perceived reduced value.

o Safety is not an issue for offsite hotels if you are at the walking distance hotels across the street. The walk to the Disney hotels vs. offsite is safe in general and made more so when there are the typical hoards of people around. Common sense precautions still apply.

On your other question, the monorail is an option - but it can be a bad one when you want to travel at peak times and you have to wait several cycles to board. Using the monorail is certainly easier if you stay at the DLH or PPH. There is no advantage for the GCH because the hotel is closer to the park than the monorail stop. And DCA is not served by the monorail so you get no help there. In cases where you are traveling between DL only and not at peak times it can save some time and steps for tired children.

Thanks Hydroguy! I think I have read all your tips and guide posts while doing my research. I guess I was referring to the onsite/offsite debate going on in my own mind more so than on this board.

I actually kept in mind what you typed about spending 50% more time in the parks. But, if I remember right your youngest was nine years old the first time you visited DL, right? My DD will be newly seven (as in her birthday is 10 days before our trip) and we will still have 10 vacation days after our DL portion so pure exhaustion is not the goal of our trip. I also recall reading that you were all very tired after your trips.

My debate is this:

OFFSITE: Stay at Fairfield Inn or HoJo.
o Get five day hoppers, visiting on days one and five of our trip. Day one is also June 22 which is the last day before AP visitors are blocked so I am expecting the parks to be packed.

o Take full advantage of visiting the parks for Disney atmosphere and staying at the room as little as possible. For us that mean opening until about 1:00 and 6:00 until about 10:00. We just can't do more than that and enjoy ourselves. That's just us.

ONSITE: DisneyLand Hotel
o Day 1: (June 22 - Last day before AP's are blocked) Spend afternoon at Neverland pool and exploring the hotel grounds. Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.

o Day 2-4: Probably similar to offsite plan taking advantage of Neverland pool during breaks.

o Day 5: Breakfast at PCH's Mickey's Surfs Up breakfast.

That's another factor. My DD really likes character meals. I don't know how much longer this will last so I want to take full advantage while she is still interested. Would it be practical to stay offsite and eat in the DL hotels? That would be a 20 minute walk (guessing here!) and I'm just thinking it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[disney4metoo]

Well said HydroGuy, no wonder you are "The Man."

We are in the small percentage, we have been to DL for years, and we prefer to stay in and around the hotel, and we only spend a few hours in DL-hence we stay at the Grand.

However, when our kids were small, we stayed off-site because that is what we could afford at the time and we were happy.

Once during that time, we stayed one night at the Grand because I had always wanted to stay at least one night in my life ( never knowing in the years to come we would be blessed and it would be our regular hotel) and it was way beyond what we could spend and it was so hard to enjoy it, when it was so much money for us. Also at that time we spent a lot of time in the parks and not in the hotel.

I completely agree, the three on-site hotels are beautiful, convenient, and very special but it is not worth breaking the bank over or regretting your stay because of the money spent. There are plenty of off-site hotels that are clean, comfortable and a whole lot less money. Choose something that will fit within your budget and whatever you choose you will be happy. Remember It's Disney...it's all good!

 

[HydroGuy]

I actually kept in mind what you typed about spending 50% more time in the parks. But, if I remember right your youngest was nine years old the first time you visited DL, right? My DD will be newly seven (as in her birthday is 10 days before our trip) and we will still have 10 vacation days after our DL portion so pure exhaustion is not the goal of our trip. I also recall reading that you were all very tired after your trips.

Let me clarify. That one trip we took in summer 2005 was especially challenging because:

o all four of our kids got an ear infection and we had a mobile medical service send a doctor with antibiotics to our hotel room. That made the whole need for sleep more of an issue. They got especially run down by the time we figured out they were sick and then we backed off the last couple days.

o it was the first summer of the 50th anniversary celebration and the parks were very crowded.

o it was the only 4 day trip we have ever taken to DLR. Now we only do 3 days max as all the kids thought 4 days was too much.

The fact that we spend 50% time in the parks does not reflect that we spend 16 hours a day in parks and exhaust ourselves. It is that we spend 10-12 hours per day inside the parks at DLR while 6-8 hours per day at WDW. Part of that is because the extra transportation time it takes at WDW to actually get to the parks and restaurants takes away park hours because we are on or waiting for buses or boats rather than inside the parks enjoying ourselves. It is also partly due to easier parkhopping at DLR which means rather than heading back to the hotel when AK or Epcot closes at WDW we instead hop into DL when DCA closes because it is so close.

Finally, we personally treat DLR touring intensity differently than WDW. At WDW we know we are in for a marathon and pace ourselves more and take full and half off-days. At DLR it makes less sense to do that for a 3-4 day trip. So we treat DLR more as a sprint and do get ourselves a bit more tired as a result. The same thing would happen if we blasted 3-4 straight days at WDW. But we instead tend to take it easy every third day at WDW to rebuild some energy.

That was all an explanation of our personal choices. Some folks - maybe you - like to go at a much slower pace and/or have personal strategies based on age of children. We never took our kids to DLR when they were under 4 because of need for naps and melt down potential on hot days. Some people take very young children to DLR and have to work that into their park hour choices. Someone around here (not me!) recently called the worst ones "stroller nazis".

My debate is this:

OFFSITE: Stay at Fairfield Inn or HoJo.
o Get five day hoppers, visiting on days one and five of our trip. Day one is also June 22 which is the last day before AP visitors are blocked so I am expecting the parks to be packed.

o Take full advantage of visiting the parks for Disney atmosphere and staying at the room as little as possible. For us that mean opening until about 1:00 and 6:00 until about 10:00. We just can't do more than that and enjoy ourselves. That's just us.

ONSITE: DisneyLand Hotel
o Day 1: (June 22 - Last day before AP's are blocked) Spend afternoon at Neverland pool and exploring the hotel grounds. Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.

o Day 2-4: Probably similar to offsite plan taking advantage of Neverland pool during breaks.

o Day 5: Breakfast at PCH's Mickey's Surfs Up breakfast.

That's another factor. My DD really likes character meals. I don't know how much longer this will last so I want to take full advantage while she is still interested. Would it be practical to stay offsite and eat in the DL hotels? That would be a 20 minute walk (guessing here!) and I'm just thinking it wouldn't be worth it.

Good luck choosing. Yes, eating at the Disney hotels would be more difficult - especially DLH and PPH. The GCH is so close it is a wash. But there are off-site hotels a bit closer to the DLH and PPH than the Harbor hotels so maybe those would be a better choice if you go that route.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I just wanted to add about the character meals that lots of people stay off-site but do character meals at the hotels. That doesn't seem to be a strange thing to do at all. There are also a couple of character meals inside the parks too which I've heard are good.

Good luck making a decision! Like others have said, the on-site hotels are great but for us we can't quite justify the cost of spending that much more money so we stay off-site if we get a hotel (usually we just do day trips though). Our personal favorite is Candy Cane Inn which i think is the nicest looking hotel within walking distance.