Just booked at Carousel Inn!!! (is it nice??)

[alaskanmommy]

Hi everyone. I'm so excited I just booked 6 nights at the Carousel Inn and 6 day parkhoppers for 2 adults and 1 child for $1125. I think this is a pretty good deal right?

Anyway I was hoping some of you that have stayed here before could give me some input about the place. How far is it from the gate? Is it nice? Is there anything you didn't like about it?

How is it not staying on property, we've only ever stayed on property but PP was $500+ more and I just couldn't justify the difference.

Anyway any info would be fantastic, and I'm just so excited to be booked!!!

You can't tell can you???

 

[alaskanmommy]

Sorry, I forgot to tell you when: February 7 - 13, 2010!

 

[FourM's]

We have stayed at the Carousel 2 years ago. It is very close to the park. You can't get much closer unless you stay onsite. They had free continental breakfast at that time, very basic but it did the job. We had a kids suite and my inlaws were in standard room. The rooms were fine, clean and had a fridge and microwave. We had a really good rate so i thought it was worth it.
We did get charged per day for parking our car. I don't know how they work that now. The pool is outside, we were there early February and the kids loved it. It must be heated. I see your from avatar that you're from Alaska (I grew up there) So the outside pool might not be an issue.
I hope you have a great time!

 

[alaskanmommy]

Thanks for the info, FourM's! I wanted something fairly nice and clean, and close to the park. I mean we really only sleep and shower at our hotel when we're at Disney so we just need the basics. You're right being from AK, the weather and the outdoor pool shouldn't be an issue. We aren't going to have a car so parking won't be an issue. Where did you grow up in AK???

Thanks, I hope we'll ahve a good time too!!

Does anybody elso have any good/bad experiences with this place? It seems pretty popular on the DIS.

Thanks so much for your helpful info.

 

[munchkinsmom]

I remember a couple of threads about Carousel not too long ago. I've pasted the links below:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2301686&highlight=Carousel

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2212180&highlight=carousel+inn

I've stayed there a couple of times. Take toiletries w/ you (soap, shampoo, etc.). The bar of soap is very, very small and they only provide one to share for both the sink and the bath. The shampoo/conditioner is also very small.

The first time we stayed there, there was an exposed outlet (no cover) that my DH and I had to block with our suitcase since our DS very active, curious was a toddler at the time. We stayed in a one-bedroom "suite" which had a bed in one room and a bed w/ the bathroom in the other. The room with the bed didn't have a separate vent to access the AC, so the door to the room had to be opened all night so my kids wouldn't get hot. My parents were also with us on that trip. They booked a standard room and for them, the AC didn't work. Unfortunately, it was in the summer, so that was a bit of an issue. This experience was a few years back, though, so hopefully changes were made since that time.

I did stay in a single bed room a couple of years back at Carousel and was fine with it. The nice thing is the location. The complimentary breakfast was okay.

Hope this helps!

 

[SeattleTink]

I like it. One of the links above has my review too.

I have stayed at the Fairfield, HoJo's, GC, DLH...and I would stay at the Carousel again. Location is FANTASTIC! Breakfast is not fancy, but will get you going in the a.m.

Have a great trip.

 

[FourM's]

Thanks for the info, FourM's! I wanted something fairly nice and clean, and close to the park. I mean we really only sleep and shower at our hotel when we're at Disney so we just need the basics. You're right being from AK, the weather and the outdoor pool shouldn't be an issue. We aren't going to have a car so parking won't be an issue. Where did you grow up in AK???

Thanks, I hope we'll ahve a good time too!!

Does anybody elso have any good/bad experiences with this place? It seems pretty popular on the DIS.

Thanks so much for your helpful info.

I lived in Anchorage, then Chugiak, then Palmer. I lived there until I was 14.
Sounds like you won't be dissapointed with the Carousel.

 

[Ihaveamickeymousekid]

We got back from staying there last month and it was good.

My thoughts were:

The free breakfast was pretty basic but enough to get you through.

The rooms were clean and housekeeping did a great job.

It was very close to the parks and convienent as after a long day at Disneyland i know i did not feel like my feet could travel much further.

The quinzos in the car park makes great sandwiches and had deals of 2 for $5 which came in handy.

The pool was small but did the job

We would definatley stay there if we went back.

My hubby and i are pretty laid back people though and it takes alot to annoy us, typical laid back Aussies i guess

Also on the first night my daughter (2) actually rolled off the bed there as they are pretty high (dh turned his back for a second) and she needed to go to the ER (she landed on her head on wood floors) and have a CT scan and the hotel were really good in paying for our taxi back and calling 911. Thank goodness for travel insurance

The hotel also organised a big basket of halloween candy for her the next day which i am not sure was because of the fall she had or if they did that for all the kids staying there but it was nice of them.

 

[bumbershoot]

I personally did not like the motel much, but the location was good. But I should mention that I was traveling alone, and I much prefer a hotel to a motel when alone. I had an issue with the smoke detector while there...after a long solo day in the parks, I took a very hot shower to relax my back, and not only did the shower somehow cause a flood into the vanity area (I still don't know how, I had the inner curtain all the way closed), but when the steam from the bathroom got to the smoke detector, it set it off.

At midnight. On, it turned out, the same night that the MonteCarlo in Vegas had had a fire. I called the front desk to let them know why the detector was going off and to ask for help (I'm short, couldn't reach the button on the alarm), and they SAID they were "wondering" about it, but never never came up, even when it went off a second time.

I had to have the door open, at midnight, all alone, at a motel...to clear my room of the steam. And no motel staff ever came up.

The food was...not worth discussing.



All that said! Others have enjoyed it, and you won't be alone.


But do check the rates. They just announced a deal for the time you're going with tickets, where everyone pays the kid's price. So check the a la carte prices on tickets and see about a deal on the room...make SURE you have the best price you can get. Or if not, knowing you don't but going forth with it is OK (we did that for our first big stay...I could have gotten a better deal but chose to not change b/c I wanted the package)...

 

[alaskanmommy]

Thanks for the info bumbershoot and Ihaveamickeymousekid!

I'm bringing my trusty hubby so I'm not worried about being alone although I can completely relate to your issue.

When at Disney we really only use out hotel room to sleep and shower so I figured we'd try to save some moolah this time around. Before we get to Disney we're doing 3 days in San Diego doing Sea World and the zoo so the more $$$ in my pocket the better. I have tried to find better hotel deals online and am not having much luck finding any. I would appreciate some pointers for all of you discount hotel afficionados!

Thanks much and I will greatly appreciate any more info any of you knowledgable dis'ers might have!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, be sure to check the Carousel's site, first off.

Check out places like Orbitz/Travelocity etc.


For seaworld, be sure to check their website. Sometimes they have 2-days-for-cost-of-1 day tickets. My brother lives in SD, and having two days there is nice. Especially since we don't spend an entire day there, mainly b/c the food there is $$$$ (worse than Disney) and not all that good (again, worse than Disney). And we could watch the Pets Rule show all day long, it's that much fun. Forget Shamu, watching trained CATS is the best!!!!

The zoo is good. Hot hot hot, and hilly.

 

[alaskanmommy]

Thanks! I checked the Carousel's website and there isn't any availability for my dates. I've looked and haven't seen a better deal for hotels and my dates aren't good for HOJO ent. rate yet.

FYI, Costco has a really good deal online for the San Diego 3 for 1 (Sea World, SD zoo and SD wild animal park) for 5 consecutive days at $89.99 for an adult and $72.99 for children 3 - 9. They are for sale on the Sea World website for $115 and $92 respectively.