Nearest offsite hotel to the Grand Californian Hotel?

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi all

We are planning on staying 6 nights at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, but will need to have our first night offsite. The day we check in to GCH we will need to walk our luggage there and I was therefore wondering what is the closest hotel please?

As we will have been travelling for 3 weeks and there are four of us, I imagine we will have quite a bit of luggage - is it safe enough for us to just walk across between hotels? It seems a bit daft to get a taxi if it is so close, but perhaps that would be a more sensible idea?i

Many thanks for any help

 

[cmpeter]

Best Western Park Place Inn is the closest hotel to DL. It would be an easy walk from there to GC.

 

[kkmcan]

I think the Best Western Stovalls is one of the closest to the entrance of the Grand Californian. Just walk up Disneyland Drive. I think its like a 5 minute walk on a sidewalk.

If you stay on Harbor you'll have to cross through the esplanade/bag check and go through downtown Disney.

Here is a link to a map of nearby hotels. So you can see for yourself.

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/images/AnaheimMap.gif

 

[Nonsuch]

The Anabella, corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella, is another good choice.
Cross Katella and a short walk down Disneyland Drive (nice landscaped sidewalk) to the main entrance of GCH

It's a good idea to check in to GCH very early. Don't wait for your entire group to pack up and get ready, walk over and check in at 6AM

 

[ParkHopper1]

The Anabella, corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella, is another good choice.

I have never stayed there but I have lots of friends that have pretty high standards that stay there quite a bit and like it...and is one of the closest to that side of the park.

I also second the plan of checking out of you off site hotel first thing in the AM then checking into the the Grand early. They will store your bags if your room is not ready then you can return to settle in at your leisure rather than having to head back to the first hotel mid day to check out then transfer.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thank you everyone for your replies - that's really, really helpful

 

[konagal]

BW Stovalls is a great option. Short walk. Do not plan to stay on Harbour and walk to the GCH. You will need to go though the security. That would mean opening all those bags.

 

[Escape2Disney]

I think the Best Western Stovalls is one of the closest to the entrance of the Grand Californian. Just walk up Disneyland Drive. I think its like a 5 minute walk on a sidewalk.

If you stay on Harbor you'll have to cross through the esplanade/bag check and go through downtown Disney.

Here is a link to a map of nearby hotels. So you can see for yourself.

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/images/AnaheimMap.gif

This is where we are staying our first night. It's about a half mile walk from there to Paradise Pier (which is directly across from Grand Californian).
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Eeee-va]

I've done Stovall's to Grand Californian, checked out of Stovall's early and got early check-in at the Grand Californian, and it worked great. (Though I reckon the others on and near that intersection should be OK too.)

 

[Escape2Disney]

I've done Stovall's to Grand Californian, checked out of Stovall's early and got early check-in at the Grand Californian, and it worked great. (Though I reckon the others on and near that intersection should be OK too.)

Glad to hear it worked well! How long did the walk take you?
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Eeee-va]

Glad to hear it worked well! How long did the walk take you?

Sorry; we drove to the Grand Californian for "moving day" (well, except my mom followed later with an ECV and a few of her things).

Walking without luggage, I'd estimate it's about 10 minutes, though I've never actually timed it. Google says 8, at 0.4 miles. It's plenty safe if you want to walk and save a few dollars, but I don't think anyone would think it daft to at least put the luggage and at least one person in a cab, either, even if you DIDN'T have 3 weeks' worth of luggage. You're on vacation! If you've got more than one suitcase and one small bag per person, I think it would probably be very worth the cab fare for convenience. And if you have kids in your party who can't carry their own luggage, I would also think a cab may be the better idea, unless you really don't want to spend the money and have someone who can be a pack mule and take a couple trips if needed.

(I'm pretty sure I have walked my luggage the same distance through some airports as it is from Stovall's to Grand Californian, so if you can technically each carry your own luggage, I imagine it's doable, if not super-fun.)

If you were to stay at Paradise Pier for a night, I would walk that without hesitating. I think the other two Disney hotels are the only ones that are right next-door to the Grand Californian, though.

 

[chrisaman]

I would stay where I want and take a cab. U don't want to walk from the harbor hotels because of the bag check. There is no real great hotels next to the grand that is close. I think ur best bet is to pay 10 bucks and take a cab

 

[keahgirl8]

The Anabella, corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella, is another good choice. Cross Katella and a short walk down Disneyland Drive (nice landscaped sidewalk) to the main entrance of GCH It's a good idea to check in to GCH very early. Don't wait for your entire group to pack up and get ready, walk over and check in at 6AM

I've never walked to the GCH from there, but I can vouch for the fact that The Annabella is really nice. It feels like a more expensive hotel than it is. It kind of puts you in a different world as much as you can be down there.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

BW Stovalls is a great option. Short walk. Do not plan to stay on Harbour and walk to the GCH. You will need to go though the security. That would mean opening all those bags.

If you have luggage, they will not require you to open it. They will require you to be escorted through the esplanade by a security officer. That can slow you down a bit. -- Suzanne

 

[bumbershoot]

The Anabella, corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella, is another good choice.
Cross Katella and a short walk down Disneyland Drive (nice landscaped sidewalk) to the main entrance of GCH

Definitely. We adore the Anabella.

And I would get a cab. It's a short walk when you're not carrying anything. The moment you put a toddler in your arms or a rolling bag behind you, the walk gets longer. And there are other walkers along with joggers with you.

Now, from Anabella it's going to be annoying because you have to turn right out of the parking lot on Katella. That's not the right way. So they have to go to the first spot for a U-turn, then come back around and turn off Katella to go up the street to turn into the Grand's entrance area. A bit more time on the cab's meter. But so much nicer than dragging a bunch of bags behind you...

 

[brocklesnar69]

Best Western Park Place Inn is the closest hotel to DL. It would be an easy walk from there to GC.

This

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thank you everyone

I've just looked at the flight times and it looks like we wouldn't be getting to Anaheim until around 10pm, so as BW Stovalls is a lot cheaper than the Anabella for the night we are needing, I think that will be what we'll go for - after all it will literally be a bed to sleep in, as I want to be up and checked in at GCH by 8am.

Thanks so much for the advice and I think we will get a taxi - the luggage will be enough for the Taxi Driver to realise why we've done it and that we aren't just really lazy!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Sounds good, Amy!

I don't think taxi drivers care. They just want the fare and maybe a tip.

From the placement of the hotel, it looks like you'll avoid the U-turn! Bonus!