Priceline DLand Area Hotels???

[Brady's Mom]

That DLR snowball is rollin' away with ME! DH turns 50 in July and I decided today that I should take him to DLR for his b-day since he took me for my 40th b-day. We had such a blast, that doing it again seems like a really great idea. He had his choice between San Francisco and DLR. Giants game and Wicked versus a Mouse! And the mouse wins!!!

So, I know that July is peak season and having never even considered going during peak season before, I feel like a Newb. I have considered Priceline for our Hotel and rental car. LGB for our airport of choice and JetBlue for the lowest fares. BUT, I have never done Priceline before and am uncertain what to expect in the DLR area. Any help/advice you can give is appreciated.

I know all the basics - early touring, fastpass collection, nap/rest/swim in the middle of the day, DLR til all hours of the night (okay, until they close). We are going July 16 (his b-day) arriving early at LGB - about 8:30 am and staying until Sun. evening - plane leaves about 7 pm. Saturday is a black out day, but we are West Coast people even though we live in Utah, so we will hit the beach. YAY! Maybe I can stow one of our stunt kites in the luggage.

Any help with Priceline would be great. Tell about your car rental experiences and your hotel experiences! Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Study, and I mean study, betterbidding.com! They give you all sorts of great info, including what hotels to expect if you're looking at __ star hotels in disneyland north/south, and how to get a good idea of what hotel you might get...

I didn't use priceline, I used hotwire, b/c bidding scares me, but it's the same thing. betterbidding has info for both, so make sure you're looking at the right "side" for priceline.

When I used hotwire for a one night stay, from reading there (for weeks, b/c it wasn't sinking in for some reason), as I chose a 3.5 star in d'land south ( I think it was south) I was very confident that from the descriptoin they gave, I was either going to get the Hyatt or the HIlton. Both were acceptable and the price was great (under 60), so I accepted the price and ended up at the Hilton.

The one thing about hotels is that they do NOT include any resort/parking fees. They don't even tell you the actual fee of the resort/parking fee. So as your'e studying the offer, make sure you are aware of any resort/parking fee and add that into your budget.


We used hotwire for a rental car too, and we got a very nice deal in our opinion.

 

[got2travel]

I second checking out betterbidding.

I did Priceline a few weeks back and got the Holiday Inn on S Manchester for $38 per night. This was the price range I wanted plus I went for a 2.5 star so I could avoid the parking/resort fees. The hotel was fine, but far away. I knew that when I was bidding though. I have a premium AP, so I didn't need a shuttle. The hotel is on the ART system though, so if needed I could have still gotten to the park easily.

I've also won bids in the $45-50 range at the Hyatt and the Crowne Plaza. That's when I was bidding for 3 stars.

One thing I would suggest is checking out Hotwire first. See what is coming up price wise for the area. Then go to Priceline and bid lower. If your bid is not accepted, you can either wait and rebid later, or go ahead and purchase from Hotwire. I do this for hotels and cars.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Mon & Tues night ~ I thought it was great. I got it for $40 (I'll call it $52 because of the $12 per day resort fee) per night through priceline.com I selected the 3.5* area on priceline and got it on my first try *that day ~ I had tried unsuccessfully earlier, I got it on 2/16, so about 2 weeks before our 1st night. The shuttle was great however you won't get there early enough for peak season, we were fine because of low crowds ~ we were the last pick up (they share with the Hyatt and one other place) we didn't leave our hotel till about 20 min. to the hour DL opened. A couple cabs stopped by while we were waiting for the shuttle and offered $6 to DLR so I'd do that if I wanted to be there early. I really liked that priceline charged my card right when I won it, I look at it as pre paying for it (except the daily resort fee). We did not take mid day breaks but I don't see it being a problem the shuttle runs all day.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I guess I'll have to pull up the map and see exactly how far the hotels are. Since there will just be the two of us we could handle being a little further away. I love the HoJo and I love being able to walk to the Parks. But, I don't want the trip to break the bank either. I'd rather spend the extra money on somewhere nice for dinner!