Is it worth staying onsite??

[50thisyeartoo!]

I have stayed at all of them..and usually budget determines where I'll be on one of my trips to DL. Next month my sister and her daughter are coming from Kansas and I booked a room at Paradise Pier for three nights; complete with concierge. It is costing me $800 less than the GC; $400 less than the DL Hotel. I think that the PP is nice and don't mind the walk thru the GC and downtown disney. As long as I get to stay at one of the DL resort hotels I'm a happy camper!

 

[honeymom]

If you can afford GCH it is worth it. I don't think it is for the other two. PP is a bit of a hike. DLH feels like a flimsy, plain hotel with some theming tossed in although the grounds are beautiful.

 

[disney-super-mom]

I guess we've become spoiled, but DH and I were just discussing this the other day, and although we would stay offsite if we HAD to, we TOTALLY think its worth it to stay at one of the DLR hotels.

Okay, I have to clarify a little. It's not worth it if you have to pay rack rates - NO WAY! But if you can find a good deal or discount, then YES, it's WORTH it to stay onsite.

 

[ralfrick]

Every time I go to DL I ask myself if it's worth the cost to stay on-site. The answer has been consistent-NO. I once got 4 nights in a suite on Harbor Blvd. 10 minutes (on Foot) to the main gate for the price of 1 night in the Grand Cal with a park view.

A bientot.

 

[dizzyami]

Okay If you are going during the 2-19, I would do this: (this is what we are doing!!)


http://www.gayday2.com/html/HotelsPop.html

When are you going in October??

 

[Mtnman44]

Help!

We are planning the the weekend following the Gay Days thing, at least we thought. Why are these gay day rates thru the 19th? Is there more gay day stuff than just the three day event dates??????

Thanks.

By the way, does anyone know the dates for "Straight Days"?

 

[dizzyami]

Help!

We are planning the the weekend following the Gay Days thing, at least we thought. Why are these gay day rates thru the 19th? Is there more gay day stuff than just the three day event dates??????

Thanks.

By the way, does anyone know the dates for "Straight Days"?

That is just what is advertised on the site - I actually saw a post that said they tried to get the rates, and they are really only good through the 12th - so I don't know for sure. I know that DH and I and the two kiddies are booked through Gay Days for the 7th-11th. Still looking for the deal on straight days - but haven't found that one yet!!

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Help!

We are planning the the weekend following the Gay Days thing, at least we thought. Why are these gay day rates thru the 19th? Is there more gay day stuff than just the three day event dates??????

Thanks.

By the way, does anyone know the dates for "Straight Days"?

Every day is "straight days" apparently.

 

[Mtnman44]

Hmmmm. Never heard of that one. Where can I get a T-shirt?

Every day is "straight days" apparently.

 

[disneyluvbug]

with kids I think it is worth it..if I went without them.(ok before I had them) I would stay anywere..almost...but the easy access is just to invaluable to us..we go off season to save on hotel and use my DH military discount..we are also going to buy APS and go when they have speacial rates..

 

[Disney_Princess83]

We stayed @ the Howard Johnson and thought it was great. We saved heaps of money, which meant more $$$ for us to spend at the park. But we didn't have kids (2 adults) and next time we'd stay at a hotel closer to the Park Entrance but Off-site is great. We were so close, only a 10 minute walk but its the last hotel on the block so at midnight, we were always the last ones walking! But a closer hotel would fix that.

Good Luck

 

[godalejunior]

We had our ressies at HOJO as well and I kept going back and forth because I wanted our first family trip to be at DLH. Price difference when we went was $450. I am SO glad we changed them to DLH and it was worth every penny to us. We were upgraded to a park view and could watch the fireworks from our room. The staff was great and using the monorail was a big deal to us.

 

[munchkinsmom]

I have been to WDW and it is such a plus to stay on site. My kids will be 2 and 4 when we go to DL in OCT, is it worth the money to stay at GCH? I was looking at the Anabella Hotel which is also close to the parks. But I have stayed with Disney and I am always impressed with the resorts. I just keep going back and forth with the decision. Plus the disney resorts have restraunts in the hotels VS looking for restraunts to have dinner or breakfast.

If...

1. This is your very first visit to the Disneyland Resort;
2. You won't be heading back to the DLR anytime soon;
3. You want to be immersed in all things Disney 24/7;
4. Most importantly, cost is not a factor in your vacation;

...then I would go for staying at the GCH.

I'm normally a big advocate for staying off-site since you can pretty much find restaurants close by and the walk to the parks isn't a big deal, but I do think it's nice to stay on the grounds at least once if you can manage it financially. The rates are quite pricey for what you get in a room, even with a discount IMHO. We usually prefer to stay off-site now (we're fans of the HOJO), because we feel our money would be better spent at the parks than at the hotel, but we've already had the experiences of staying at each of the resort hotels, so we feel we're not missing out on anything.

October will be a FUN time at the DLR. They'll have all the Halloween decorations up! You'll have a great time no matter where you stay.