Most 'Disneyfied' non-Disneyland hotels near the parks?

[ComixGirl]

I'd look at the Sheraton Park Hotel. It used to be "The Inn at the Park" and was the sister hotel to the Disneyland Hotel when both were owned by the Wrather family. They also have some great historic Disneyland pictures up.

So while it might not have much in the way of Disney themeing, there is definitely some Disney history.


http://www.yesterland.com/innatthepark.html

Thank you so much for sharing this information and article- I love learning about historical Disney, the photos are fantastic! I read up a lot on Disney World resort history, but it's nice to learn about Disneyland and where Walt's theme park dream started.

 

[ComixGirl]

Out of the box...you could try looking at airbnb, homeaway, flipkey, or any of those home vacation rental websites. I know when my family looked 2 years ago, some of the houses had Disney themeing and they looked pretty awesome. I thought I read awhile back that L.A. was going to stop those types of rentals, but I could be wrong. Still could be worth checking out.

I actually hadn't thought about going this route (it completely slipped my mind), definitely worth looking into- thanks!

 

[ComixGirl]

My DH has the same hotel issues as your DH. We stayed at GCH last trip. I'm not willing to pay rack rate though! We ended up booking at HJ - in the Queen Suite. It has two bathrooms so it was deemed acceptable. Let's see how it actually is in August!

You so get it lol

 

[5forMickey]

Thanks for the info- this will be our first time staying at a hotel near Disneyland, and I'm starting to realize that 4-stars near the parks might not actually exist lol (not to mention I must sound like such a snob trying to limit myself to 4-stars, but that's more to keep the husband happy than anything else lol)

I'm with your husband. We stay at the DLH usually but I also like the Grand. We stayed at the new Courtyard once prior to moving onsite. It was only opened 2 months then I think but I would stay there again.

 

[Nevada Jen]

Great Wolf Loge often has deals on Groupon. We got an amazing deal there. 230 a night that included parking, $50 a day resort credit and TAXES for a wolf den suite. I would never pass that deal up. We just ubered to and from Disney every day for 5 bucks each way. Here is the problem with that for you. Both your kids need carseats under CA law. So I do not think that is a good choice regardless of cost. The only non Disney hotel that is walking distance that I consider acceptable is Courtyard Theme Park. The lobby definitely has Disney touches and most of the rooms are two queens plus a set of bunk beds. I AM a hotel snob and this one is perfectly fine for me. I think it is very comparable to Paradise Pier. The thing is, the price is pretty comparable also. As is the walk to the park (although Courtyard feels shorter). A lot of times, when I do the math, a standard concierge level room at PPH actually saves me money over Courtyard because it basically leaves us one full meal a day we need to pay for and saves on my very expensive diet coke habit (I figure concierge easily saves me 100 dollars a day in food and drink costs for my family of 4). Plus PPH gets you extra magic hours everyday and it sounds like it might also get you Max Pass for free when it starts (which should be before December). Anything else walking distance with kids that age is going to be a Motel. Yes, they are perfectly fine for motels, but they are motels. You need to realize that "perfectly fine" means, no evidence of ax murders, limited visible bugs, outdoor corridors with people walking past at all hours, thin walls, no services like bell services, a lobby to work in or take a quiet phone call in, no room service etc. . . If your husband considers a standard holiday inn to be not good enough, none of these Motels is going to cut it. I tried HOJO and it just didn't work for me. I tried Fairfield (which actually has awesome Disney themed remodeled rooms) and it was also quite bad (but better than HOJO). When people say, we just need a clean, safe place to sleep, that is all the motels are. I thought that described me until I realized that I really did need to be able to do a little business (or perhaps an emergency requires hours of unexpected work) and I just wasn't going to believe it was a vacation if I had to carry everyone's bags to the room and then figure out where to eat and how to get there etc.. . Perhaps you can find a hotel with a dedicated shuttle a bit further away (to solve the car seat problem) but I can't think of any off the top of my head that fit the bill.

 

[lcp9]

they built a new residence inn on katella/harbor last august - I'm not sure what the star level is, but since it's new and they're all suites (plus full breakfast!) it compares with most 4* Marriotts I've stayed in. No Disney rooms I don't think, but IMO the nicest/most room offsite. cheaper than courtyard generally I think, probably b/c it's a 10 min walk vs. across the street.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

We stayed at the new Courtyard last year. It's definitely one of the nicer Harbour Blvd hotels, and the waterpark area is nice for the kids.

Also, the bunkbeds were a huge hit, the kids loved them.

 

[bcla]

Are you really hung up on a "4 star" hotel? That generally implies some sort of hotel that caters to business travelers, although in some vacation areas that might apply to a higher end hotels.

The only hotels that might be in that class that are mainly Disneyland visitor hotels are the on-site hotels, and they cost a small fortune. The ones closer to the convention center are in that class too, but they're catering to the convention crowd. I've stayed at those hotels and they're fine, but they're clearly not going to have any kind of themed rooms. They're fine for kids or Disneyland visitors. And often they're pretty inexpensive if there isn't a major convention in town, especially with the distance from Disneyland. Those hotels certainly acknowledge that Disneyland visitors make a good portion of their guests, especially with Disney Desks with a CM to sell tickets.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks for the info- this will be our first time staying at a hotel near Disneyland, and I'm starting to realize that 4-stars near the parks might not actually exist ...

4 star hotels might be scarce now, but there are a few new properties in the works that will make things more interesting in the near future.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

There really aren't a lot of 4 star hotels except the ones at Disney, but there are many 3.5 stars. We are locals, but are staying this weekend at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South. A bit too far to walk from this particular hotel (straight shot, though about 20 minutes), but they do offer a shuttle for $6 a day pp. We aren't going to do the shuttle because the Disney parking lot is only .6 miles from the hotel, and we have free parking with our AP's. Lots of other 3.5 star hotels on Harbour.

 

[DLgal]

Great Wolf is nice but for the $300+ a night you'd have to pay to stay there, you might as well pay for the PPH. What you're really paying for there is the cost of their waterpark, which is included in the cost of the hotel room. Which is fine if you're planning to be at their waterpark all day, but not if you're going to be at Disneyland all day. Even the PPH isn't 4 star, though.

In December, using the Early Saver special offer code (ESAVE), rooms are as low as $149/night. And the waterpark is often open until 9 or 10pm, so even if you only use it for a couple hours per day, it's worth it. December can be VERY cold in Anaheim. This place gives you a guaranteed 84 degrees every day, with heated water as well.

Even figuring in $20/day for Disney parking (the Toy Story lot is less than a mile down the road), it's much cheaper than any of the Disney Resorts. HOWEVER, the Great Wolf Lodge operates a shuttle to the main park entrance. It is free last we used it.

Even the Courtyard Anaheim is PRICEY! It's often more than Great Wolf Lodge.

OP, what dates are you going?

 

[amyamya]

We always stay on site, but for a last minute trip last month we got the Anaheim Hilton for $89 a night. I was impressed, we had a room overlooking DCA, although it was nothing compared to the amazing view from a high floor on the PPH. We also used Uber or taxis to the park and loved how big the room was, the quality of the linens and the Starbucks in the lobby. There are no Disney touches, but it feels like a luxury hotel. If I didn't miss my Early Entrance and short walk to the parks I'd stay there again.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm starting to realize that 4-stars near the parks might not actually exist lol (not to mention I must sound like such a snob trying to limit myself to 4-stars, but that's more to keep the husband happy than anything else lol)

Agreed that they don't exist.

What does your husband want/value in a hotel? Rather than "4 star", which can mean different things depending on who is rating the hotels, what does he like in a hotel?

Sidenote, I can't even call the Grand a 4 star. Dark long hallways, dark tiny rooms, not much service that we could find...meh. The distance from our room to the center of the esplanade (we had the second furthest away room you can get, because we weren't in the wing that has the exit into DTD) was almost as far a walk as from the sidewalk outside HoJo.

Here is the problem with that for you. Both your kids need carseats under CA law. So I do not think that is a good choice regardless of cost.

Ayep.

And it's just on a busy road with NOTHING nice around it. Just plunked down in a parking lot.

 

[ComixGirl]

So we made our choice, and after all this back and forth and reading everyone's posts and researching over a dozen different hotels we ended up going with...Paradise Pier!! lol I found a discount code for some dates in early December and the price ended up being within our budget, we're very excited! My husband wanted a 4-star, but Paradise Pier just looks like a hotel that our kids will really like so we went for it- I'm a true Disney fanatic but ultimately this trip is for them. ^_^ THANK YOU so much to everyone here on DISboards for their input and sharing their experiences- I find that you meet the nicest people on this site who all share a true passion for all things Disney!

 

[DLgal]

So we made our choice, and after all this back and forth and reading everyone's posts and researching over a dozen different hotels we ended up going with...Paradise Pier!! lol I found a discount code for some dates in early December and the price ended up being within our budget, we're very excited! My husband wanted a 4-star, but Paradise Pier just looks like a hotel that our kids will really like so we went for it- I'm a true Disney fanatic but ultimately this trip is for them. ^_^ THANK YOU so much to everyone here on DISboards for their input and sharing their experiences- I find that you meet the nicest people on this site who all share a true passion for all things Disney!

I think you will be happy at Paradise Pier. Good choice.

 

[SteveMP]

So we made our choice, and after all this back and forth and reading everyone's posts and researching over a dozen different hotels we ended up going with...Paradise Pier!! lol I found a discount code for some dates in early December and the price ended up being within our budget, we're very excited! My husband wanted a 4-star, but Paradise Pier just looks like a hotel that our kids will really like so we went for it- I'm a true Disney fanatic but ultimately this trip is for them. ^_^ THANK YOU so much to everyone here on DISboards for their input and sharing their experiences- I find that you meet the nicest people on this site who all share a true passion for all things Disney!

You will love it there. The character breakfast there is great, good food. And you can't get much more disneyfied than that. Also, ask the concierge about the activity schedule as they sometimes have some fun kids activities. Its also a nice short walk to the park.

 

[ComixGirl]

You will love it there. The character breakfast there is great, good food. And you can't get much more disneyfied than that. Also, ask the concierge about the activity schedule as they sometimes have some fun kids activities. Its also a nice short walk to the park.

Thanks for the tip re inquiring about the activity schedule- my kids participated in a few poolside activities at the WDW resorts, maybe they have something similar out West too!

 

[SteveMP]

Thanks for the tip re inquiring about the activity schedule- my kids participated in a few poolside activities at the WDW resorts, maybe they have something similar out West too!

The Grand used to have the best activities. They still have a fun scavenger hunt around the property and they get a free cookie at Whitewater snacks afterwards. They got rid of our favorite, the storyteller at the big fireplace. We still talk about those stories and make references. I'm sure they will have some fun ones at Paradise Pier for you to make some more magical memories though, I remember them having at least a trivia challenge with prize. Enjoy!

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

I saw you decided on PPH, but for future reference, the Residence Inn Convention Center on Katella has a Monster's Inc. themed room and bathroom for kids. Not 4 stars, but it's a nice and newer hotel and offers free breakfast. http://www.residenceanaheimresort.com/photos.php

 

[oakleycat]

I like the HoJo as it's really convenient and kid friendly, but it's definitely not four stars. It does have Disney touches in the art.

I also really like (and my kids LOVE) the Great Wolf Lodge, but I would not recommend it as a base for going to DL. The high price is only worth it if you're going to take advantage of all the amenties and my kids never want to leave the place. For the price I would stay at Paradise Pier and be onsite for a DL trip.