rent a car or get a closer hotel?

[jswalker1981]

I want to got to Disneyland for the first time at the end of August/beginning of September, and I'm wondering if it would be better to just get a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland versus renting a car. I could get a cheaper hotel room farther away from Disneyland, but then I would have to rent a car. I've seen prices for a car at around $18 a day, but I believe that Disneyland parking is $12 a day, so basically, it would cost me $30 a day for a car. And that basically takes up the discount I would get for a hotel farther away from Disneyland. So would it just be simpler to get a room close to the park instead of getting a car, and having to pay for parking? Also, I'm planning on flying into LAX, is there transportation to get me from the airport to the hotel?

 

[kaoden39]

Have you checked the price for Hojo's? They are usually pretty reasonable, and from what I understand the walk is not all that bad.

 

[Sy-]

If you are in a hotel too far away to walk it probably has ART (http://www.rideart.org/) available for only $3/day.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I'd get a hotel closer to DL. Dealing with the whole parking garage costs you a lot of time, let alone the parking fees.

We actually like to do both though. We rent a car, and get a hotel close by. But we like to have a car so we have more choices of where to eat, Universal Stuidos, runs to Target ect...

 

[avalon451]

Read this: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580 Hydroguy's "Hidden Time Losses when Using a Car"

I'd stay close by. What are your dates? You might be able to get the Entertainment book rate at Howard Johnson's, which is very nice and easy walking distance. It's $59 a night for a standard room, $74 for deluxe.

 

[jswalker1981]

Read this: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580 Hydroguy's "Hidden Time Losses when Using a Car"

I'd stay close by. What are your dates? You might be able to get the Entertainment book rate at Howard Johnson's, which is very nice and easy walking distance. It's $59 a night for a standard room, $74 for deluxe.

I'm hoping to leave FL on August 30th, a Saturday, and leave to go back home on September 3rd, a Wednesday.

 

[avalon451]

Looks like the Ent rate is only available for one night of your stay (Sept 2nd) but you could still get the DIS boards discount for the other nights, which is 15% off. If you want to check out that rate and availability, you would call the hotel directly and ask for IN HOUSE reservations, not the national reservation line. Ask for Lorealle, she's the best-- but they are all very nice and acommodating.

 

[bumbershoot]

Definitely stay closer. Have you seen this map? http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html

With the rental car, remember that on top of any low rate you might get, there are fees, taxes, and the insurance if you like to get that.

On our one-day trips to Disneyland, we drove in, and we got the worst parking spots. You are directed to spots, you don't get to choose, and our spots have been just about as far away from the escalator down to the tram as you can get. So not only might you have a car that is more expensive than you thought, then you have to pay to park, but you *might* end up walking just as far as you would have from a walkable hotel!

Stay closer.

 

[kaoden39]

And gas is so expensive right now and around the resort area it will just be higher than most other places.

 

[popsicle123]

Not only for the above reasons but its should be fairly warm during those dates. Being able to walk back to your room and be in your pool in less than twenty minutes is great. Also, if you forget something, want to take a nap or just veg out during the hot part of the day is a big plus.

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Done it both ways and Im telling ya the money saved to stay farther away is not worth it. By the time you pay for parking and time wasted you might as well stayed close and walked.

Get a hotel close and walk to disneyland it is the only way.

Unless you are using points and getting the hotel for free then its a whole new story.

 

[mousiemom]

we just got back from our 1st vacation to disneyland and everyday of it was perfect!! (7 days) by taking everyone's advice, i stayed at hojos with a disneyview room on the 7th floor, watched wishes everynight from our balcony. the walk to disneyland was so easy, i couldn't believe it cause we are so used to wdw with the buses. we flew in and i knew i didn't want to rent a car so we bought a 4 day pass with grayline bus tours. they picked us up at the hotel and our 4 days consisted of roundtrip to/from airport(SNA), seaworld, zoo, and universal studios/hollywood tour. on our bus trips, we learned so much about the orange county area and went buy a lot of star homes and historical places. it's so nice too, when you've been gone all day in a park and you get to take a little siesta on the way home to the hotel. it was awesome!!!!
mousiemom

 

[kaoden39]

Sounds like you had a great trip.

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Most definitely stay in a hotel that is close enough to walk! There are so many options SO CLOSE to the front gates - no reason to spend all that money on a rental car just to drive to the Parking Structure and walk to the tram/front gate. Plus, it is a great convenience to be able to walk back to the hotel in the middle of the day (or whenever). If you are going with a large party (we have a group of 15 for our Family Reunions), it is nice to be able to easily coordinate the whole group when you are so close.