Is staying at the DLH worth the extra money?

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We will be going to DL in early December. Staying at the DLH in a standard room with a park view is almost twice as expensive as staying in a 1 bedroom suite at the Desert Inn and Suites across the street. We will have a 4 year old and a 1 year old with us.

Is it worth the extra money? It would be fun to surprise the family with staying at the DLH.

If the monorail is up and running how long does it take to get to the park from the hotel?

If we go with just a standard view what exactly will we be seeing?

 

[AskTheChief]

If I could afford it right now (or if getawaytoday would take payments! need to save the money before June.) I would so do it.

I've never stayed on property but have always wanted to. So, if I had the money, I would.

I know the walk from some off-property places is closer than the DLH, but walking down Harbor (or whatever) wouldn't be the same as walking through DTD.

Someone else posted on another thread that they felt as if they hadn't left DL their entire trip (while staying at DLH), because they were totally immersed in Disney. Sounds grand to me!

 

[godalejunior]

We just ran into this same question. We had a room booked at HOJO for our trip in 2 weeks. I was really bummed because I wanted to stay at DLH. Taking out the $150 gift card offered, it would be $450 more for us to stay there. Is it worth it? I guess I will find out. I changed our reservations last week to the DLH. As our first time to DL for our son, I wanted to do it right and have the DL experience the whole time. Sure we will probably spend more money on food as well, I didn't see us hoofing it back to HOJO area for lunch and dinner every day to save a few bucks.

 

[honeymom]

Your kids are little. You might find DLH a long walk. It was long from CA for us when we stayed there. The walk from DL was less of a problem because of the monorail, but for the times that we didn't take the monorail, it was far.

We were just there last week. Monorail is operating one-way. That just means they make you get off once it gets to the other end. We just missed it one time, but even though there was only one monorail operating, it only took 7 minutes until the next one.

 

[terryX]

Yes..Yes..and Yes! I love the Disneyland Hotel! I have never had a bad experience except when I have to leave!

 

[GoofyBaby]

I'm staying at the DLH for the first time this March and even though it is significantly more expensive, it is giong to be worth it to me because I want to be completely immersed in Disney. Knowing I can walk right through DTD to get to DL & DCA without ever having to see the outside world is going to be magicall!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We've always had great experiences staying there. I agree that I always feel like we haven't left DL by staying there. You are constantly surrounded by Disney!

We paid for a standard room last year, and got a free upgrade with a pool view! But we have had a standard view before. At the DLH there two standard views. One is a parking lot, this view is from one side of the Bonita tower. The other is from the Marina Tower and would be the hotel enterance. The rest of the views are of the pool or DTD. The Sierra tower has nothing but good views!

The Monorail should be operating fully by December, so getting in to the park and back to the hotel is quick. It only takes a few minutes to walk to the station in DTD and when it's fully running we've hardly ever had much of a wait. Coming back to the hotel, even now with it running as it is we've found quite fast.

It's quite worth the money to us. It's great disney service, we love the rooms, the Peter Pan pool, having Goofy's Kitchen right there, meeting with Goofy in the lobby! Were quite spoiled with staying there now, just a room to sleep in doesn't cut it for us! It's more of a resort feeling that we enjoy now!

 

[godalejunior]

That's great to hear. It is really too bad that it has to cost substantially more. I was considering upgrading to an AP while I am there, hoping to cash in on some of the hotel benefits. Lately, it sounds like they haven't offered as many good hotel rates for the AP's. Anyone know any different?

 

[jemilah]

We stayed at DLH for the first time in May and I am now hooked! Yes it is sooo worth it! It is cute and I did not find the walk to be too long and I am not a fit person. I loved the decor, the food, the toiletries , the pool , the great service and the perks. Walking through downtown disney is exciting even when I am tired walking back. My sons begged to never stay any where else. We will be there again next month and can't wait.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

If I had the money I would stay at the DLH everytime. I love the way the rooms are decorated. So cute! My kids loved all the mickey stuff. It's a very magical place.

We've stayed there 3 times but not everytime we go. If we did we wouldnt be able to go as much as we like to.

We've had standard views of the parking lot each time. I usually don't spend much time staring out the window so it didnt bother me.

We usually pay just at or around $100 a night right across the street.

Having said all this if you don't go to DLR often and it won't break your budget then go for it. What a great suprise.

 

[jemilah]

I love to stare out at the park so I payed the extra for a view room , I loved being able to watch it come alive outside in the AM and give it one last look before I went to sleep.

 

[AZMickeyfans]

I love to stare out at the park so I payed the extra for a view room , I loved being able to watch it come alive outside in the AM and give it one last look before I went to sleep.

Never thought of it that way! Maybe we should give it a try next time.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Anyone know when they start offering th 4th night free promotion? That may save us a few extra bucks.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I love to hear others experiences.

 

[godalejunior]

They had it going this last Fall. We actually were booked in November for fourth night free. It really helped. This trip is like $400 more than the one we had booked in November. I am hoping it comes back for next Fall. I would like to go before Halloween.

 

[GreenGirl8]

It is a great hotel and a fantastic experience. With that being said, I think you could use the extra money to make some super magical experiences during your time in the park. It is up to you.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Are there refrigerators in the rooms?

 

[PrincessSitka]

I will not stay any place else. It is part of the Disney dream. Everything in the hotel is Disney so you dont really leave the park. I also open the door and watch the people coming and going and watch the dtd grow.

 

[Amy&Dan]

As for whether or not it is worth it. Opinion/answers will vary. To some it is without question. To others who have enjoyed very nice offsite stays and then splurge they wonder why they did since they always enjoyed their offsite stays just fine for half the cost.

We have stayed onsite more than we have offsite. But I can tell you that those offsite trips were still very fun and while we did miss the magic of staying onsite, it didn't affect the trip. Sometimes if I can't get good airfare or don't have ff tickets, I just can't swing it. And last minute deals at the three onsite hotels are hard to come by. They almost always sell out on the weekends so they don't need to offer much in the way of great deals.

If you can afford to stay onsite without cutting back on other things you want to do such as nice sitdown/character meals, souveneirs or the length of your stay, then go for it! Its a lot of fun and you'll be immersed in the magic. If however staying onsite is going to be a burden then by all means stay offsite and have a marvelous time at Disneyland.

And as for the distance to the DLH. I have stayed there with kids as young as two and while its not a short walk its a pleasant one up Downtown Disney. My kids and my nieces always got so distracted with all the shops and entertainment surrounding them they didn't mind it too much. And there is the monorail to fall back on as well. And onsite hotel guests get priority boarding for the trip back from Tomorrowland. If you do walk it, I would say from the turnstiles of Disneyland/DCA to the hotel is about 10-15 minutes depending on how fast you walk.

And as far as standard views, that can be anything from a parking lot, to a view of the Koi ponds to one of the lower rooms in the Sierra Tower facing DTD. I once got a second floor Sierra Tower/DTD side that was actually nice since some palm trees were right outside there. We could even see some of the fireworks even though we were so low. Another standard view I had in the Bonita Tower had a view of the fountains, the wedding pavillion and the Matterhorn. But I also got stuck with a parking lot view once which wasn't the end of the world but definitely very "standard"!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Are there refrigerators in the rooms?

Yes, but they don't call it a fridge, they call it a 'cooler'. (I called the hotel a couple times, because the first time the hotel person I spoke with said no fridge, but I kept reading on the DIS that every room had a fridge!) It's a small, dorm-room sized fridge, perfect for keeping milk, fruit and anything else needing to be kept cool.

 

[teacups]

We stayed last year when our kids were 6 and 3 and it was fun and nice and we didnt have one complaint. But, having said that.. we are staying off site this year. What I'll miss by not staying there:
The free mickey mouse soap!
The mini bottles of mickey mouse shampoo and lotion!
The morning wake up calls from mickey to my kids (they couldnt understand a single word he said, but no matter!)
The peaceful surroundings at night by the waterfall.
The view of the pond and the torches from the Rain Forest Cafe at night!
The pool was nice to sit by even though we didnt swim. I honestly didnt feel like I was surrounded by Disney every minute like the previous person said. I bet they stayed in the main building. I would tell you to ask for the couch/bed daybed whatever they call it. I think that was the main reason we got a big room... and the bellhop on the way home confirmed that to us. (Our room overlooked the falls and we COULD see the fireworks!) The walk at night was long to us as the monorail was only running partly. That, along with the cost are the only two reasons we are trying something different this time. Ask yourself this: Is this going to be a "Do it once, no matter the cost." Or will it be in your budget later as well? Your kids are young to even know or care right now. If money is no object and you like to walk... by all means stay there! BTW- we LOVED the Rainforest Cafe and so did our kids ! The food was very good the night we went and we sat right next to the spouting elephants and the salt water tanks! It was a great way to begin our vacation! It was a 5 minute walk from our room.