Need some help, where to stay for the Disneyland Half

[Embroidery Grandma]

Just finished my first Disney half marathon with a time of 3:31:25. This was a great walk time for me and now I am ready and excited to go for the C2C medal. Going to train even harder now!

Any thoughts of where to stay besides at Disney itself?

Thank You.
Kathy

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Anaheim since I get an employee rate and it was wonderful. They had a frequent shuttle to the parks, but there are several others that provided race day transportation. Dropping people off and picking up runners at Disneyland is quite a chore compared to WDW. We are staying at the Grand Californian this year for the convenience.

 

[hockeygirl]

We stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites which is right across the street from the entrance to DL. No shuttle needed, just go out and walk across the street. It was very reasonably priced and was nice.

 

[geaux_half]

There are quite a few hotels along Harbour Blvd that are within walking distance to the DL entrance. I stayed at HoJo for last year's DL 1/2 and the only shuttle I took was to and from LAX.

 

[saysay]

We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn in December which is next door to California Adventure. Like a 5 minute walk to buy our tickets. VERY nice little place to stay, free parking, free wifi and free continental breakfast. Very nice staff also...wasn't during an event, but i give the place 2 thumbs up. They let us leave our car there the day we checked out since we were going to the parks.

 

[escape]

Woohoo! CONGRATULATIONS, KATHY!!!! I was wondering how your half went. YAY! Post some pics with your medal. I'm going to assume John conquered Goofy as well. Now on to Disneyland for that C2C!

I can second the Candy Cane Inn. I really enjoyed my stay there a few years ago while getting my first C2C medal. Last year, we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on Harbor Blvd. and I wasn't crazy about it...would have preferred CCI. However, If you can get a good price, I'd be temped to stay at the Desert Inn & Suites as it is right across from the DL entrance.

Enjoy that Donald medal! You worked hard for it.

 

[jmasgat]

I stayed at the Residence Inn..about a block or so away (maybe 1/2 mile or so) from DL. It was fairly quiet, had a nice studio suite, and breakfast. ART shuttle stopped there, which I took on race morning (although since they dropped you off at DL entrance, I could have just walked over!). Got a good rate. I would recommend it (actually I did on TripAdvisor!)

Maura

 

[Embroidery Grandma]

I want to thank everyone for their input.

Susie - John did his full marathon in under 5 hours and got his Goofy.

Kathy

 

[MeredithRX]

For those of you with knowledge of the DLR area and the 1/2 marathon...

I made a reservation for myself at the HoJo. I won't have a car and it looked like a really easy distance to walk to and from the park, so I wouldn't need one anyway. How easy would it be to get from the Harbour HoJo to the race start on race morning. Is there a way to cut through the entrance to the Parks or will I have to walk all the way around. (The race does start in the back behind the Disney hotels, right? I was trying to look at maps and I got all turned around.)

Thanks!

 

[Embroidery Grandma]

Thanks again for the posts.

Just booked the Desert Inn & Suites. This way we have the 2 rooms and can spread out. Do they pick up from the airports and if so which one?

We also registered for the half marathon. Now we just have to get airline reservations.

Kathy

 

[verticalchaos]

I'm holding a room at the Portofino Inn & Suites. It looks pretty good.

My sister and her friends (my running partners) are WDW CMs and are going to see what kind of rate they can get on property...but this way I've got something held.

 

[papamouse1]

We stayed at the Desert Inn and Suites which is right across the street from the entrance to DL. No shuttle needed, just go out and walk across the street. It was very reasonably priced and was nice.

Another vote for Desert Inn. Not a fancy hotel, but nice and very convenient!

 

[kim3339]

For those of you with knowledge of the DLR area and the 1/2 marathon...

I made a reservation for myself at the HoJo. I won't have a car and it looked like a really easy distance to walk to and from the park, so I wouldn't need one anyway. How easy would it be to get from the Harbour HoJo to the race start on race morning. Is there a way to cut through the entrance to the Parks or will I have to walk all the way around. (The race does start in the back behind the Disney hotels, right? I was trying to look at maps and I got all turned around.)

Thanks!

There is. On Harbor, you walk down a block or to and there's a ginormous crosswalk to the DL entrance. It'll be right past the McDonald's as you walk from HoJo's. Just cross the street and you can walk straight back. You'll have to walk through the prommenade in front of DL/DCA and then through Downtown Disney. Once you get to the end of DTD and in front of the Disneyland hotel, you turn right and into the parking lot/staging area. About 15~20 minutes or so.

It's really easy to get to, and you'll see a lot of people. The nice thing too is that the bakery, Jamba Juice and coffee shop open early at 3:00~3:30 for runners so you can pick up something to eat if you want!

 

[verticalchaos]

So the research resulted in us changing to a 2-bedroom suite at Portofino Inn and Suites! We got that for 5 of us for under $200/night! YAY! The cheapest CM rate they could find on property was a little less than that but for a STUDIO. We decided we'd rather have the extra room and stay slightly off-property!

 

[stampingoddess]

We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn the last two times and really like it. Convenient to walk to Disney and they have a nice breakfast buffet. Price seemed reasonable.

 

[ultramickeymouse]

I also agree with Colleen and other on CCI. I stayed there last year after staying 2 previous years at Grand Californian. I like saving over $200 a night and it was a nice place easily within walking distance of DL & CA. Will be back there in 2011.

See you in September!