Stay at Disney hotel or not?

[silvaohana808]

I can verify Military discount of 40% at GCH. I am retired military and got 40% off for both stays in August and December. I checked PPH for a split stay in November 11/26-11/28 with GCH 11/29-12/3 and it was 30% off but they only had club level available. I am not a fan of PPH's club level so skipped it and am staying off site for those 3 days instead. You have to call the reservation line to book and pay 1 day hotel rate to keep it. You can get 2 rooms per military member per visit.

Definitely look into the Salute tickets- they are a great deal if your mom will be with you.

OPTIONS - all hoppers:

3 DAYS- 181

3 DAYS/ MP- 225

4 DAYS- 201

4 DAYS W/ MP- 260

You can get up to 6 Salute tickets- more if you can prove it's immediate family. They sell them at the gate or you can get them in advance at a base.

yes!! she is already going to get the tickets from her base. Thanks so much! I'll definitely have her call for the hotel rooms though.

 

[Pamela M]

I looked at Clementine...it looks beautiful! How is the walk to the parks? We love DLH hotel too. ..such a magical experience. Last time we were there, booked a standard room but could still see the fireworks! It was a nice surprise.



I will take a look! Thanks so much!

The Clementine was my go to hotel when it was a Marriott. For healthy adults the walk(10-15 minutes based on the lights and walking speed) is fine we even did a mid day break. If you stay there be sure to ask to stay in the rooms closes to entrance to the hotel. That will save you a few extra minutes walk. It's really 4 long blocks to the park. I think it feels longer than it is because it's not a straight shot.

I've also stayed at the Desert Palms. We stayed in the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom. It's really like 2 hotels rooms side by side. It was clean and it was enough room for 4 adults to move around. I stayed there a few times but I have to say they had a change the last time I was there and I didn't think the service was as good as past visits.

My now go to is Candy Cane Inn - mainly because of the price, it has free parking(very hard to find these days!), it's clean, it's close to the park, the shuttle is a nice extra( especially for those mid day breaks) and the people there a super nice and helpful.

I'm always open to trying a new hotel if the price is right.

 

[wendypooh22]

The Candy Cane Inn has daily breakfast and a shuttle to the park. I have not stayed there, but this is my friends go-to place to stay and they really like it there.
My sister and I prefer to stay at the Residence Inn on Katella, but that is a pretty long walk for mid-day breaks.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Brought over from a different thread:

I would like to know as well! Looking at the Staybridge Suites on Manchester and instead of driving to the parking lots, was thinking of just walking to the Toy Story lot and hopping on a shuttle...if its not too far.

I notice that the hotels you're looking at are getting further and further away from the parks. We've had posters stay at this hotel whose number one complaint was the distance from the gates. For a group as large as yours, I'm thinking this Staybridge might be too far. This location is not convenient, especially for large groups (a consistent complaint from posters who've stayed there). Walking distance would be better -- the investment for proximity will really pay off.

I'm really just shopping around still. The Staybridge Suites look really nice but you're right...if we do stay there, we'd have to either drive to the parking lots or walk. Aside from the hotels from close to the park, I'm also looking at comfort for my family. I think I've narrowed it down to Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites and Desert Palms. I'm also going to call Tropicana and see if their largest suite is available for our dates. My cousins just stayed there and they said they liked it! Plus, it's really close to the parks. Thank you for your input!

Between the DI&S, the Desert Palms, and the Tropicana, I would take the Tropicana first, then the DI&S, and the DP third (because it's the furthest away of the 3). Any of those 3 beats the Staybridge for sure!

And I'm moving your posts to your other thread on hotels so that this discussion can continue there and not take over this thread on the TS lot.

 

[Aurora0427]

Ok. That extra info helps. I've stayed at the DLH twice. It's an awesome hotel. But with a party of 8 and since you'd probably need 2 rooms, that gets pricey pretty darn quickly. The DLH pool is wonderful. 2 round trip walks from DLH to main entrance & back can get tiring, though (although there is the monorail, which is a plus).

Honestly, you could spend far less on the hotel and then use the savings in your budget for "extras." Extras which would allow you to experience some other stuff that you might otherwise pass by given the little ones' ages and stuff like that. For example:

• dining package for Fantasmic
• World of Color dining package
• World of Color dessert party
• a couple of character meals - Plaza Inn & at GCH (because either IN a park or close proximity to a park)

Our family has also stayed off site a few times. My DH gets theme park fatigue. So this means we HAVE to have an afternoon break at the hotel. NO way is that happening if we have to get in the car and drive. Forget it. It just takes too much time. Too much hassle. Here's where we've stayed & what we've thought of the places (ordered from farthest away to closest):

• 
  
• L
• Park Vue Inn on Harbor Blvd - next door to BWPPI. Free parking, free breakfast, move your car by 11 am check out time. Great customer service. Pool is in parking lot, but feels very private. Clean room. Didn't notice background noise but we sleep with white noise (use an app on our phones) anyway so that helps drown out any issues like thin hotel walls. This place is THE shortest walk of all the ones we stayed at. When you're in the parking lot, you can see the crosswalk. It's that close. It was wonderful.

You do not have to move your car by 11 on check out day. You can park for free the entire day until park close. We have stayed at PVI five times since June 2019, most recently two weeks ago, and this is a great perk.

 

[lindyv321]

Sorry if this has been answered as I didn’t read through the whole thread...

For a group of 8 I highly recommend Desert Inn and Suites. The rooms are bigger than BWPPI and you can get connecting rooms. The walk isn’t really much further from the gates than BWPII either, and Despert Inn is cheaper. We used to always stay at BWPII but with two teens the rooms started to feel small. We stayed in a Parlor Suite at Desert Inn and it was perfect for four people. We went with another family who got the room next door which was connected. We are actu booked here again for May.

The only negative when comparing these two hotels is the breakfast, BWPPI has a better free breakfast.

 

[Disco Lemonade]

I would probably try a split stay in your situation, since you will be there for a week. Start off at Desert Inn & Suites then transfer over to the DLH (even if it's just for a few days). You can check in as early as 6am and will be able to use EMH privileges for check-in day. That way you can test out staying offsite, still save a nice chunk of money, and end your visit with DLH magic!

The alternative is to start with DLH and then transfer. We did that last time and I think there are advantages both ways. The way we did it, you get there and get the Disney excitement right away. When you transfer, it’s still there because you are still going to the parks.

 

[Dawn82]

I don't think I've never heard anyone regret staying on-property. We go every other year, and each time I swear that we'll stay on-site--and I'm willing to pony up. But then the prices are soooo high that I can't bring myself to do it. There are so many great, low-cost options within easy walking distance of the gates (literally 5-10 minutes) and we've always been happy staying at one of those.

I do know that there is value added with the on-site hotels, but you should at least look at the options and factor those in.

I totally agree. I love staying on property or even a good neighbor hotel. That way you get the benefits of Disney and a little cheaper. Plus how often do you go to Disney? Im a "yolo" type of person when it comes to Disney!!

 

[whoever]

We adhere to "can't stay on property, not going".