Stay at Paradise Pier, Fairfield Inn, or Tropicana Inn

[10SE]

Room with 3day park hopper at paradise pier is $2243. Room with 3day park hopper at Tropicana is $1475. Room with 3day park hopper at Fairfield is $1395.

I’m looking at sept 17-21. It’s supposed to be a slower time there.

Be careful about packaging park tickets with hotel cost through the Disney website. I've noticed in the past that the price of the hotel + tickets is less than the package price. For example, I just went on the site to confirm and they added $662.02 to the hotel-only cost for two 3-day park hoppers. You can buy the same passes on the Disney website for $630 ($315 each).

Better yet, you can buy that same three day hopper on LMT Club for $287.70 each

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets, that have now been going to DL every year for 8 years, and the only reason I don't also call us DL vets is there are locals that are there every week! We typically stay at the DLH; however, we stayed at the Fairfield last year when we wound up coming in a day early and DLH had no availability for that first night. I would not hesitate to stay there again if money was an issue or I did not mind staying outside of the Disney bubble. The rooms were clean, the staff was great, the store had good options and was open late; there is a Panera right next to it; a Pizza Hut Express in the hotel. By WDW standards, the walk to the parks is not far at all. It is more like a motel in that the doors open outside, but at least for our floor you had to go up the elevators in the lobby to get to the exterior hall and the room. It has a pool, but nothing interesting or special about it-- if you don't plan on swimming that doesn't matter.

I don't think I would pay the extra for the premium view. If you go on youtube and search Fairfield Inn Disneyland premium view- there are a couple of videos that come up taken in the last 6 months that give a tour of the room and show the view. That should give you a good idea of what to expect.

I can't speak to the other two places because we have not stayed at those.

 

[Haley R]

Be careful about packaging park tickets with hotel cost through the Disney website. I've noticed in the past that the price of the hotel + tickets is less than the package price. For example, I just went on the site to confirm and they added $662.02 to the hotel-only cost for two 3-day park hoppers. You can buy the same passes on the Disney website for $630 ($315 each).

Better yet, you can buy that same three day hopper on LMT Club for $287.70 each

I just looked on Disney first to see them at a first glance. Where would you suggest buying the hotel from? I didn't know if there is a website that is better than other.

Do you have to be a member for LMT club?

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

I actually was just looking at Park Vue also. Would you say if it's cheaper to go with that instead of Tropicana? Also, will we have time to eat the breakfast in the morning before going to the parks? I wasn't sure if it would open later than when we would want to be at the entrance.

Are you bringing a car? Free parking at PVI is nice. PVI is a little closer than Tropicana and breakfast can be as quick as you want it to be, can grab something and run. They have indoor and outdoor seating, hitand cold options. We like PVI. It’s clean but nothing special, motel not hotel. But we don’t spend time in the room, just like a place to crash and it’s SO close to the gate, right at the crosswalk. So yes, I’d choose PVI over Tropicana if it’s cheaper or even the same price. They have a AAA discount and returning guest discount, which is why we always end up back there. We stayed at DLH after our first PVI visit and the walk back to DLH seemed really far and we ended up not taking an afternoon break on a couple days because didn’t want to deal with the walk and the monorail wasn’t running.

 

[Haley R]

We are WDW vets, that have now been going to DL every year for 8 years, and the only reason I don't also call us DL vets is there are locals that are there every week! We typically stay at the DLH; however, we stayed at the Fairfield last year when we wound up coming in a day early and DLH had no availability for that first night. I would not hesitate to stay there again if money was an issue or I did not mind staying outside of the Disney bubble. The rooms were clean, the staff was great, the store had good options and was open late; there is a Panera right next to it; a Pizza Hut Express in the hotel. By WDW standards, the walk to the parks is not far at all. It is more like a motel in that the doors open outside, but at least for our floor you had to go up the elevators in the lobby to get to the exterior hall and the room. It has a pool, but nothing interesting or special about it-- if you don't plan on swimming that doesn't matter.

I don't think I would pay the extra for the premium view. If you go on youtube and search Fairfield Inn Disneyland premium view- there are a couple of videos that come up taken in the last 6 months that give a tour of the room and show the view. That should give you a good idea of what to expect.

I can't speak to the other two places because we have not stayed at those.

I just don't think I can justify the cost of staying at the DLH. It is so much higher compared to staying at an off site hotel. I looked on Kayak and they only had Concierge rooms left. I watched a video of the Fairfield view and it doesn't look that great lol. I might go with Park Vue or Tropicana.

 

[Haley R]

Are you bringing a car? Free parking at PVI is nice. PVI is a little closer than Tropicana and breakfast can be as quick as you want it to be, can grab something and run. They have indoor and outdoor seating, hitand cold options. We like PVI. It’s clean but nothing special, motel not hotel. But we don’t spend time in the room, just like a place to crash and it’s SO close to the gate, right at the crosswalk. So yes, I’d choose PVI over Tropicana if it’s cheaper or even the same price. They have a AAA discount and returning guest discount, which is why we always end up back there. We stayed at DLH after our first PVI visit and the walk back to DLH seemed really far and we ended up not taking an afternoon break on a couple days because didn’t want to deal with the walk and the monorail wasn’t running.

We will definitely have a car. Whether it will be a rental or not I'm not sure yet. We live in Iowa and would like to drive over to Seattle, down the coast to LA, and then either fly out of Las Vegas or drive home. I really don't want to drive all the way back home, but that might be our only option. I'll look more into the Park Vue because that seems like a good option. Thanks!

 

[Haley R]

Are you bringing a car? Free parking at PVI is nice. PVI is a little closer than Tropicana and breakfast can be as quick as you want it to be, can grab something and run. They have indoor and outdoor seating, hitand cold options. We like PVI. It’s clean but nothing special, motel not hotel. But we don’t spend time in the room, just like a place to crash and it’s SO close to the gate, right at the crosswalk. So yes, I’d choose PVI over Tropicana if it’s cheaper or even the same price. They have a AAA discount and returning guest discount, which is why we always end up back there. We stayed at DLH after our first PVI visit and the walk back to DLH seemed really far and we ended up not taking an afternoon break on a couple days because didn’t want to deal with the walk and the monorail wasn’t running.

I just looked at PVI and I can't find availability for our dates. It says it is limited and I have to call the hotel directly. Is that normal? I chose Sept 17-21 specifically because it was supposed to be less busy according to Undercover Tourist.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

I just looked at PVI and I can't find availability for our dates. It says it is limited and I have to call the hotel directly. Is that normal? I chose Sept 17-21 specifically because it was supposed to be less busy according to Undercover Tourist.

Not sure but I think you should call. Usually says availability through their site but worth a shot to call and ask. Let us know!

 

[Haley R]

Not sure but I think you should call. Usually says availability through their site but worth a shot to call and ask. Let us know!

Have you ever been in September?

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

Have you ever been in September?

No, are other places sold out too? Closest I’ve gone is last week of August. Crowds weren’t bad but it was hot.

 

[Haley R]

No, are other places sold out too? Closest I’ve gone is last week of August. Crowds weren’t bad but it was hot.

The crowd calendar says 3/10. I’ll try calling and see what’s going on.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Wow....Haley R your trip is becoming more fascinating....seeing how you researched....you probably using Trip advisor for your Pacific Northwest Trip....so let give you some advice about Trip Advisor for Oregon Coast...there are only two or three people who give advice about Oregon travel....and they know very little about Oregon travel...I was helping folks with the Eclipse since I was living on the 45th....and there was much misinformation about Oregon travel.....my point is, on your long trip, you need to have a point in the trip where you bail out of your schedule to be in Anahiem on your scheduled dates. folks here are 100%, 5 stars about honest Disneyland planning, but Trip Advisor, two stars and much misdirection. Also, September is high fire season (Southern Oregon and California) , so have alternate plans as you travel south out of Seattle.

 

[Mamato4boys]

You might look at Getawaytoday.com. Tropicana with your dates shows at $1424, including taxes and 3 day park hoppers.

I have booked all of my trips through them. Even this time, I booked my hotel through them even though I bought tickets separately at lmtclub.com for less. I'm sure that watching sales I could probably have found out hotel for a bit less, but I didn't want to have to worry about finding a better price before the room sold out. (There aren't many budget rooms that can hold a family of 6.) GAT was cheaper than directly through our motel's site when you take taxes into consideration.

 

[Haley R]

Wow....Haley R your trip is becoming more fascinating....seeing how you researched....you probably using Trip advisor for your Pacific Northwest Trip....so let give you some advice about Trip Advisor for Oregon Coast...there are only two or three people who give advice about Oregon travel....and they know very little about Oregon travel...I was helping folks with the Eclipse since I was living on the 45th....and there was much misinformation about Oregon travel.....my point is, on your long trip, you need to have a point in the trip where you bail out of your schedule to be in Anahiem on your scheduled dates. folks here are 100%, 5 stars about honest Disneyland planning, but Trip Advisor, two stars and much misdirection. Also, September is high fire season (Southern Oregon and California) , so have alternate plans as you travel south out of Seattle.

I'm a little confused what you are telling me to do.

 

[Haley R]

You might look at Getawaytoday.com. Tropicana with your dates shows at $1424, including taxes and 3 day park hoppers.

I have booked all of my trips through them. Even this time, I booked my hotel through them even though I bought tickets separately at lmtclub.com for less. I'm sure that watching sales I could probably have found out hotel for a bit less, but I didn't want to have to worry about finding a better price before the room sold out. (There aren't many budget rooms that can hold a family of 6.) GAT was cheaper than directly through our motel's site when you take taxes into consideration.

Is September a busy time to go? I was using Undercover Tourist and it shows September 18-20 as 3/10 for crowds.
Do you have to be a member to use lmt club?

 

[Mamato4boys]

Is September a busy time to go? I was using Undercover Tourist and it shows September 18-20 as 3/10 for crowds.
Do you have to be a member to use lmt club?

Yes, you have to be a member, but you should be able to find a promo for a free year by Googling it.

September used to be my favorite time. Low crowds, good weather, etc. But Halloween time seems to have changed that. First part of the month, you might hit some rides being closed to change to Halloween theming (Space Mtn and Haunted Mansion). Second half is busier because the Halloween theming draws people in. I haven't been during Halloween, so no first-hand knowledge of crowd levels in that time period.

I imagine that week is probably moderate. Not empty, but not packed. I don't think empty parks exist anymore. Our last few trips have been what other sites call 2s, 3s, 4s and they are definitely more crowded than we expected.

This time we are going in the summer and planning for crowds. Hopefully we will be pleasantly surprised, but if not, Maxpass sounds like it will help a lot.

 

[smartlabelprint]

So after reading through my unofficial guide to Disneyland book (that I just got today) it looks like Camelot, Park vue, and best western plus Anaheim inn might be good options. Any thoughts on these?

I’ve stayed at Camelot and bwppi. I’d stay again.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Do you have any thoughts on the park vue inn or best western plus Anaheim?

Best western park place inn is nicer than bw Anaheim.

 

[Haley R]

Yes, you have to be a member, but you should be able to find a promo for a free year by Googling it.

September used to be my favorite time. Low crowds, good weather, etc. But Halloween time seems to have changed that. First part of the month, you might hit some rides being closed to change to Halloween theming (Space Mtn and Haunted Mansion). Second half is busier because the Halloween theming draws people in. I haven't been during Halloween, so no first-hand knowledge of crowd levels in that time period.

I imagine that week is probably moderate. Not empty, but not packed. I don't think empty parks exist anymore. Our last few trips have been what other sites call 2s, 3s, 4s and they are definitely more crowded than we expected.

This time we are going in the summer and planning for crowds. Hopefully we will be pleasantly surprised, but if not, Maxpass sounds like it will help a lot.

I totally agree with you about crowds. It seems like that is happening at Disney World, too. I just go with the mindset that it could be busy no matter what. I really would like to see the Halloween decorations and the rides that are changed to fit the theme so that helps with our time frame we are looking at.

I found the promo for LMT club, but I'm going to wait a little longer because I don't know for sure if we will be going this year. Does Get Away Today include the parking fee? It's saying $0.00 parking fee (a $15 per night savings).

We will definitely be buying Maxpass since it's just the two of us going.

 

[Haley R]

Best western park place inn is nicer than bw Anaheim.

Okay thanks for letting me know. I'll look into both of them.