Paralyzed by indecision on where to stay; want to book tonight

[gethane]

HoJo with DL view (Bldg 1) - not ENT rates
PPH with concierge
DLH

Will be our first trip
4yr girl
6yr boy

Neither can swim well enough for big slide at DLH but don't know if they'd care. Son LOVES fountains and waterfalls. I mean LOVES them. Goes out of his way to see them. Also loves fish so Koi would be a draw.

If we stay onsite, though, we'll have to move. We'll drive down, stay at a cheapie first night, then drive to Disney early the morning of check in and dump our car and bags.

Not sure if conceirge at PPH will "pay out" enough to justify cost, but we do plan to come back to hotel for rests prob mid/late afternoon.

When we stayed at WDW, I was very happy to have stayed onsite, but I've heard that since its "smaller" at DLR that perhaps not as necessary.

I COVET the mouse ear shampoo stuff though.

Help me!

 

[CrazyDuck]

Why would you have to move? Is there no availability at DLH for the nights you want?

 

[ter-moo]

You could always stay somewhere cheaper for the whole stay and VISIT the DLH for the waterfalls. That's probably what I'd do... Just take the monorail out of the parks and walk on over to the hotel grounds.

 

[thewritegirl]

Given the info, I think I'd be inclined to stay at PPH with the concierge. The slide there doesn't dump into a big pool, right? So I think that the kids could play on that one. Plus, with concierge, you'll have breakfast and some snacks covered. And, of course, you'll get the Mickey soaps you covet!

I am confused as to why you would have to move hotels, though. Would you have to do that at both DLH and at PP?

 

[gethane]

Because we'd be arriving so late the first night (driving down from Bay) I don't want to pay over 200 bucks for a room to sleep, when I can just stay somewhere cheaper and get up the next morning, drive to a disney hotel, and dump the car and luggage.

 

[thewritegirl]

Ahh, gotcha. Well, I still say that given the choices you've lined out, I'd go with the PPH.

It really isn't necessary to stay on-site, though. Tons of people here adore the Hojo (I don't know if they would love it quite so much if they weren't paying the ENT rates, though!). There also seem to be quite a few hotels directly across the entrance to DL that are literally just as close as PPH or DLH and have a few extra perks - like free breakfast, fridge/micro in room, etc. Sadly, though, those don't come with the mouse-eared soap!

 

[CrazyDuck]

What dates were you planning on going?

 

[SnowWhite09]

Hojos is great and the pirate themed water park is great for small children so this would be a benefit with a 4 and 7 year old; they would love it! In saying that, I have never stayed on-site so I can't compare in that sense. If you ring Hojos in-house reservations they will be able to give you a 15% discount because you are a Disboards member - that may make it more affordable.

Whatever hotel you decide on, have a great time!

 

[bumbershoot]

Because we'd be arriving so late the first night (driving down from Bay) I don't want to pay over 200 bucks for a room to sleep, when I can just stay somewhere cheaper and get up the next morning, drive to a disney hotel, and dump the car and luggage.

I totally understand. For our PPH stay in December of '08, we got to Anaheim at midnight. MM was starting really early the next morning, so we wanted to check in, get our "keys to the magic" cards, and get over to take part in MM! We had APs so didn't otherwise get MM.

We got up at something like 5, left the Hilton (which I'd gotten for under $60/night through priceline EXCEPT there was a $15 parking fee and we did have a car), checked into PPH and dumped our bags, and had a great day. Oh, and got chosen to be the "Big Kahuna Family of the Day" which got us upgraded to a suite (and we'd paid really really low AP rates!), a picture of us, and some leis along with PPH pins that don't seem to be for sale.

So for that night before, definitely check out betterbidding.com to learn about priceline (it can help you narrow down what hotels they might be offering you, based on location and description), and see if there's something that sounds good that might be more fun than, say, Motel 6 (which is a great motel 6, I've heard, and they've renovated in the last year, but I found the Hilton to be a bit nicer, perhaps...we had the same rate at Motel 6 as we got for the HIlton, plus the parking fee).



Yes, if the grounds are the biggest draw, you can visit those grounds at your will! When my guy (there for his 5th b'day) realized he couldn't do the slide AND couldn't play on or even touch the big pirate ship, the pool became just any old pool. Sigh. Until he's big enough (and a strong enough swimmer) for the slide, I don't know we'd stay there any time soon.

PPH concierge...if the adults are plain coffee drinkers, you can get your coffee fix there (handy). (then again, at DLH they have coffee urns out for everyone, since they don't always have coffeemakers in every single room) Fruit, granola bars, waters (the little ones sold at the parks), juice boxes... They had cereal, goldfish crackers...that's at the DLH concierge, and I've read that PPH concierge is actually better than at DLH.



Remember...at hojo you can book wihtout paying anything up front. With the onsite hotels, you have something like a 6? day cancellation period, meaning that many days out from your trip, you can cancel. You do have to pay one night's stay as a deposit.

So you actually could book both (since only one requires a deposit), and pay strict attention to the cancel period of each, and make your mind up later.

Oh man, you were saying you wanted to make your decision tonight, and in swoops Libra-girl with that unhelpful idea!

 

[gethane]

I'm a Libra too probably explains my paralysis. I didn't realize I could book the HoJo without a deposit. I'll look into that.

I'm actually waiting to hear back from Disney about a question I asked them regarding their 2 free nights deal. I spelled out the math on another thread, but basically they aren't really giving 2 nights free with a 5 day hopper. So I asked them why that was (And yes, I took into account the tax and resort fees).

 

[ykmom]

We stayed at HOJO's last April. The pirate pool area is perfect for your kids, and the walk is easy. Our 5 year old daughter was as excited about the pool as she was about disneyland. I haven't stayed at the other hotels but can definitely recommend HOJO's for the pool area.

 

[MyMonkies]

I personally would stay at HoJos in part because I would absolutely hate changing hotels. That makes my stomach turn just thinking about how complicated it gets hauling everything in to just one, lol.

Although, I guess if you had planned for it you could just pack a small bag for each person for night 1 & not haul the rest.

 

[gethane]

Thanks for all the advice! We're going March 19-23. I just booked at HoJo for DL view rooms. I'm so excited! Thanks for the tip that no deposit was required. It made me actually stop hesitating and get it done! If I really feel I made the wrong decision I can cancel, but this way I don't lose a room at HoJo!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

With the description of your son loving waterfalls, I would have gone with the Disneyland Hotel. They have the greatest waterfall there--and you can request a room overlooking it. We typically stay in that tower, just because we love the waterfall too.

I have stayed in the Grand California, Disneyland Hotel, and Hojos--and for us the Disneyland hotel wins hands down. We stayed in Hojos last summer, and it just wasn't the same for us as staying in the Disneyland Hotel. I love the feeling of being there.

If you decide to change your mind and go for the Disneyland Hotel, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[gethane]

I am so torn . But at least I have A reservation made. That makes the trip real.

 

[samkj]

With the description of your son loving waterfalls, I would have gone with the Disneyland Hotel. They have the greatest waterfall there--and you can request a room overlooking it. We typically stay in that tower, just because we love the waterfall too.

I have stayed in the Grand California, Disneyland Hotel, and Hojos--and for us the Disneyland hotel wins hands down. We stayed in Hojos last summer, and it just wasn't the same for us as staying in the Disneyland Hotel. I love the feeling of being there.

If you decide to change your mind and go for the Disneyland Hotel, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I LOVE HoJo, but I have to agree if we could afford it, we would stay onsite every time. There is just something about walking downstairs and seeing the characters at breakfast and the extra touches in the room.

We have a Disney view room at HoJo for the first night of our stay next month. I think that will make a huge difference! We plan on watching the fireworks from the balcony. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[ter-moo]

HI AMY!!!!!!!!!

Glad to hear you get to go next month. Have fun!

 

[goldies 5]

We have stayed at all three. Definetely prefer on-site. My boys prefer DL hotel, but we go every year and I go with whichever Disney Hotel is the best deal for us that particular trip.
One of my boys was not a good swimmer but taller than the water so he went down the slide many times. There is also a short little slide for little kids too. We never had to do any swim tests or anything like I thought we would. The kids just wore life jackets and bobbled along. It was a ton of fun. My son was 4 at the time. Also kids get a kick out of riding the monorail which is closest to the DL hotel. I also like that they have washing machines and dryers. PP does not. Another advantage to staying on-site is early entry every day it is available. Just some thoughts. You will have a great time no matter what you decide.

 

[samkj]

Thanks Terri! Can you believe its been over 2 years?!?!??! The kids (well DH and I are too!)are beside themselves with excitement! We are also using our "Give a Day" tickets to upgrade to AP's so we'll have a couple more trips this year!