Staying at a Disneyland resort vs. Best Western Park Place Inn

[hswillia07]

Hello! I'm a total Disneyland newbie. We're hoping to stay there for 3 nights prior to heading off to Aulani. I'd love to stay at a Disneyland resort, but it's sooo expensive. I found this place right across the street - the Best Western Park Place Inn that seems really close and reasonably priced. There will be 3 adults and 2 kids (8 and 5). We're hoping to do one park each day and hopefully attend the halloween party on one of those days. Will we be missing out by not staying at a Disney resort?? Any other thoughts?? Thanks so much!

Edited to say - if we're going to do Mickey's Halloween Party, do you think we need a ticket for that day? Or do you think getting in at 3pm will give us enough time to explore the park?

 

[tink89]

I will always vote for staying on site . But BWPPI seems to be well liked by many on here.

 

[azdisneylover]

We have stayed across the street and at the 3 DL Hotels. We prefer onsite, especially the Grand Californian Hotel. My DH and triplets all love riding Grizzly Rapids over and over at night, then head to the room. The love it so much, they passed up going to DL in July for a week staying across the street, and having 3 days in October at the Grand, to stay a week in October at the Grand!

 

[StitchyPoo81]

I am wondering this also. We are currently booked at BWPPI for the middle of August but my daughter who will be 16 wants to stay on property for the experience becuase she will probably never have the chance to go again til she is older with her own family. Plus we are taking her to DL as a 16th birthday present. Of course my DH says do whatever ugh no help.

 

[DnA2010]

Budget is always important to us, so we stay across the street, we don't even consider onsite. Given the hotels across the street can be actually closer than the onsite ones, we would rather save the money for other things. I'm guessing this is your first visit however, so you will want to spend as much time in the parks as you can, and the early entry offered from staying onsite might be very valuable. if you can afford it, why not
Edited to add- also consider if you are going to spend much time in the room

 

[ADLFAN]

The DL Hotel is pretty awesome - with on site dining, characters roaming the grounds on occasion, a fantastic pool with slides and music and of course Trader Sam's right next to it. It is a whole experience and I would set aside some 'resort time' if you choose to stay there so you can enjoy some of the amenities.

Best Western Park Place Inn is nothing special, and is my least favorite of the offsite Anaheim hotels I've stayed at. The pool is small and surrounded by room windows on 3 sides, the rooms are clean, but the grounds are all concrete and parking. The only benefit is the location right AT the crosswalk to the parks. I would check out a few more offsite hotels before settling on BWPPI. Some of the others on Harbor that I have stayed at are the Fairfield Inn and the Tropicana, and I liked them slightly more than BWPPI because of better or bigger pools and hottubs, better on site stores, and nicer ambience in and around the buildings. There are also the Howard Johnson's and the new Courtyard by Marriot which both have splash pad set ups for water play.

If I could afford it, I'd stay on site every time! Since I can't... I'm thankful for the MANY off site options - you could probably make 75 trips without staying at the same place twice!

 

[StarlitNight05]

The Best Western Park Place Inn is our go to when staying offsite. It is a very short walk and the rooms are super clean. The free breakfast is a nice perk.

I LOVE GCH, but I agree the price is very high compared to offsite options. My only gripe about staying offsite is the morning wait on the Harbor side security entrance. However, YMMV depending on when you stay and what time you get up and out of the motel room.

If you can swing it though, onsite is so nice! It just feels more like a vacation to us. But of course, you are going to Aulani after so you'll be surrounded by a vacation vibe there!

 

[hswillia07]

So many great responses, thank you all so much! I really appreciate all of the info

 

[NewbieMouse]

I've done both, and I just feel that the extra cost isn't worth it for us at DLR. I am not against staying onsite - we could afford it if we wanted to and at WDW I wouldn't do it any other way - but I just feel like the extra money doesn't translate into as much extra value at DLR. I'd rather put it towards a splurge in the park, like a special meal, or the dessert party, or something like that. We always stay at BWPPI for the location and free breakfast. This year we may try Park Vue next door just because our dates are cheaper (for once!), and it offers similar benefits.

 

[amyg1975]

We stayed at the Disneyland hotel one time recently, but I told my husband we weren't going to go in the parks that day (we have annual passes) because I wanted to enjoy being at the hotel. We never take breaks, so staying at the DLR hotel does not make sense to us. BWPPI is our favorite hotel to stay at for our non-stop Disney days!

 

[goooof1]

BWPPI is fine b/c it is so close, but.... it is NO DLR hotel! Go with the DLH and spend some time there. With young kids, you likely will be taking a break in the afternoon and the pools and slides at DLH are great! I'd also advise you to get park hoppers for the flexibility. (If you stay off site, the 3 day tickets come with one magic morning at DL...... on site you get EMH each day, DL and DCA.)

 

[HydroGuy]

IMO BWPPI is a fine choice and it is my "go to" hotel for DLR. As you can see from my signature, I always stay onsite at WDW (if you count Swan/Dolphin as onsite). Lots of dual WDW/DLR vets only stay onsite at WDW but gladly stay offsite at DLR.

In addition to the other good responses you have here, this may help: "Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You" www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/

 

[tweak89]

We have only stayed at Paradise Pier as far as onsite hotels. I will say that while it was nice, it wasn't worth the premium for us. This go around we are staying at the Castle Inn and Suites and our entire trip (5 days with air, hotel, park tickets and car) will cost less than just the room at PP (the least expensive "on site" resort). Nothing at all against the accommodations, but I think the lack of the all enveloping Disney "bubble" that you feel at WDW when staying onsite was also a contributing factor. The GCH is the only hotel that really gives you that feeling IMO, but that's way too much $$.