Staying on site VERSES off site.

[DeterminedOne]

We have been to Disney World many times and would never choose to stay off site. There's something about being in the middle of the magic that we truly love. For those of you who have been to the World and stay onsite I'm sure you know what I mean about the "magic"


We're considering a trip to Disneyland -- never been there before. We're still in the planning phase and my gosh - it's overwhelming. Anyway ... I wanted to get your personal opinion about DL and whether it's important to stay on site to feel the magic - or can the magic be felt off site too since many of the hotels are close to the parks. Just so you know - we are leaning more toward staying on site at the Grand Californian or Paradise Peer. However, I still would like your personal opinion of on site verses off site and reasons why. TIA

 

[Danauk]

Many will say that staying off side is great as several of the off site hotels are closer to the entrance than the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels, plus they are a lot cheaper. However I would choose to stay on site. I still love the feeling of being emersed in the Disney magic. We stayed at the Grand Californian in the summer with a theme park view and if we were to go back we would stay there again.

 

[Lights_Out]

For me, if I were to go to Disney World.. I would definitely stay on-site, because the place is so huge and the Disney-service bus would really be nice to get to wherever I wanted to (Parks, Hotel).

But as for Disneyland... I prefer to save the few hundred bucks and just stay off-site.

 

[vettegirl]

I would recommend staying off site as many of the hotels are within walking distance or you can take a shuttle. The costs of DL onsite hotels is way more $$ than staying off site. Have fun!

 

[Sherry E]

If money is not a huge issue for you and you really want to be immersed in Disney magic, then I say definitely stay onsite. But the DLH is actually the most 'Disney-fied' out of all three hotels, so if you want a full Disney experience I would say that is your best bet. The PPH is cute and the most economical of the three DLR hotels, but it doesn't have the pretty grounds that the DLH has, nor does it have that upscale elegance that GCH has! Oh, and as for the GCH - for my group, that hotel worked the best for us in terms of location. Because it was so close to the parks, we seemed to get much more done in the parks, got more rest and didn't mind walking back there in the middle of the day for a break, nor did we mind walking back there at night after a long day. While staying at the PPH, we had a longer walk back, which was more daunting to my friend (even when we used the shortcut through the GCH lobby). I would choose to stay at GCH probably 80% of the time if had the money for it. EVery now and then I would stay at DLH or PPH just to get the cute bath products with the Mickey ears on them! And the DLH is technically the furthest of the three because there is no shortcut, but you get a nice look at DTD as you are on your way to or from DL/DCA.

The GCH is the most expensive (they make you pay for that convenient location), but the actual rooms are not much more upscale than the rooms in the other two hotels. It is the lobby, architecture and the overall feeling of the GCH that make it upscale, and, frankly anyone staying at any hotel can enjoy those things. You don't need to actually stay at the GCH to enjoy the ambience. It is a great place to stay in around this time of year - it really lends itself to the Christmasy feeling. And as for the DLH, people can enjoy its waterfalls and koi fish pond and other things without staying there, too.

 

[PinkBudgie]

If money were no object we would stay at the CGH. Never done that. When looking at where to stay for our 20th anniversary in June we considered splurging and staying on site. Then I realized we could stay for a whole week somewhere else nice for the same price as a few days on site. We are now looking at Embassy Suites South.

 

[Judy from Boise]

If you stay at the "pop" type resorts at WDW , you would be very happy with the harbor blvd motels....but if you usually stay moderate at WDW you would be happy with DLH or PP, but if you stay deluxe at WDW GC I think is the only choice that is comparable.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

If this is your first visit and you can afford to stay at the GCH you must! If you always stay onsite at WDW then you will love GCH because to me...I still feel like I am in the "magic" when I stay there...just go out on your balcony and you can see the theme park, or DTD...I love it. We are staying offsite this month for one night and it will be my first time. But we made reservations at the hojo for june because everyone says it's the place to be...so we'll see what that is like at least once!

 

[wmp.dll]

I would stay on site. We stayed off site, and taking the ART or walking to Disneyland got tiresome after 3 or so days. Stay on site if you can.

 

[Wendi2000]

If I could afford it, I would stay at Disney's Grand Californian every time!!! But I am also quite happy with most of the off-site hotels in the area. Many of them are closer to DLR than the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier Hotel. I'm voting GCH for you since it's what you are planning on so obviously the cost isn't an issue for you.

 

[disney4cam]

We just got back, and for the first time, we stayed off-site. We have stayed at Paradise Pier and GCH (more than once). This time we stayed at Carousel (to save $1300).

If money is no object, definitely stay at GCH. The energy is so awesome. Also, it's fun walking through DTD for anywhere you need to go. IMO, PPH is a waste of money. The walk is longer than all the Harbor Blvd. hotels and the hotel itself isn't all that great. You do walk through GCH and DTD, so that's nice, but personally, I don't think it's worth it.

Now, for the off-site, I thought it was well worth saving over half of the cost. The walk to Disneyland was about the same distance as from GCH. Obviously DCA is much closer to GCH. The only criticism I have of the off-site is that the walk isn't very nice. It's just basically a sidewalk. BUT, that is 10 mins (15 mins max if you are a slow walker), out of a full day of Disney! I would choose a hotel that is within walking distance, that way you don't have to hassle with waiting for a shuttle or cramming into a full one.

HTH!

eta: I didn't vote in the poll because I can't. If you have plenty of money, then stay on site. But, if you'd like to save quite a bit, without diminishing the magic by much, stay off-site.

 

[tinkermell]

For a first timer and if you have the money, I'd say do the Grand!!!!!

It is beautiful and the location can't be beat. Just arrivng to the hotel is "Grand!"

I would kind of call it a cross between the Wilderness and the Grand Floridian, if that helps.

It is right in the middle of DTD, and has its own entrance to DCA. It is a short fun walk to DL. I love it there!

My second choice would be the Disneyland Hotel. It's alot of fun too, with some great theming. The walk is a little longer to DL, but seems to go fast, cuz you walk through DTD. Or you can catch the Monorail along the way.

Another benefit of staying onsite, is getting into DL early on all of the days EE is offered.

Keep asking away with your questions. I know the unknown is bewildering sometimes.

 

[Sherry E]

And yet another benefit of staying onsite at any of the 3 DLR hotels is being able to use the GCH entrance to DCA (only DLR hotel guests can use it in the morning), which lets you into the park a few minutes ahead of the other people at the main gates, and you can gain precious time en route to the TSMM line and get in it before the masses hit!

And another benefit of staying onsite is having any purchases you make sent back to the hotel. Whether it is one small item or a big, honkin' bag of 20 items, you can have it/them sent back to the DLR hotel you are in and it will save you the trouble of either carrying it around the park or renting an expensive locker. Then, your packages are ready for pick-up at the Bell Desk at 7:00 the following morning. I am a klutz, so this works for me because if I tried to carry even a small item around the park, I would probably break it. So I just have everything sent back to the hotel.

 

[ACDSNY]

Our days of staying off site are long gone. I rather stay in the magic the whole time. I like to be able to send my purchases back to the hotel as I buy them as Sherry E mentioned.

 

[disney4cam]

And another benefit of staying onsite is having any purchases you make sent back to the hotel.

OMG! I NEVER knew that! I always saved my shopping until right before I was heading back to the hotel. That is great to know!

 

[Leofoenget]

Depends on your budget I guess. If money is not an issue its nice to be at the Grand. If you want to save $$ and be closer (depending on which hotel you choose) stay off site. You walk across the street and there ya are. I love it.

 

[disneychrista]

Disney World - on site without a doubt

Disneyland - only if money was no object or someone else was footing the bill.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am typing from the PPH in a suite (upgraded for free from a normal room), and I would say....stay offsite.

GCH just isn't my style...if I want to stay at a place like that, I'll stay at the lodge up at Mt Rainier. It's pretty, but it's dark and I find it hard to see my way around. I haven't been tempted to have a room there in the times we've walked through there to PPH or, last December, Anabella.

I also really really REALLY hate walking through Downtown Disney. My son is much better, as of this trip, about "the wants" when going through DTD (leaving the Star Tours shop is another story), but I just don't like it. There's nothing I want to buy, nowhere I want to go, and it's just obnoxious. So anywhere that makes me walk through that just peeves me, and that's GCH, PPH, and DLH! (and Anabella, but not many walk from there, though we did)

Magic Morning is good, and hubby made a joke that this morning's MM was worth the extra money, BUT people stayed away this morning b/c of threats of rain, and they stayed away until around 10am, so even for the 2 hours after MM it was very very light.

FWIW, the beds at the Hilton near the Convention Center are *amazing*, and the beds here at the PPH are like rocks. HoJo has been changing their beds over to the same brand as Westin's Heavenly Beds, and though I haven't yet gotten an updated room at HoJo, I do love the Westin style beds.

I'm sure if you are just adults, sending things back to the room is good, but if you have kids and those kids know you're buying stuff for them, well, good luck sending those things back, since you won't see them until the next day. And the two times we tried to do that during our first PPH stay, they didn't have the paperwork to do it and told us to go to another shop. Um, yeah, that's not terrific.


Stay offsite, splurge on food, get more souvenirs.


(when we go to WDW in the future, we only plan on staying ONsite, unless our family size explodes, in which case we'll rent at Windsor Hills or some other rental house place, LOL)

 

[gatorfreud]

Well, we always stay on-site at WDW. Our first DLR trip with the kids we stayed at HoJo. It was priced right and pretty convenient to walk, but it just felt like a regular hotel (of course). I HATED walking down the normal street to get back and forth. It was kind of depressing for me after being used to staying at WDW.

We stayed at DLH this time, and I liked it so much better. I liked walking through DTD to get back and forth, and taking the monorail. I felt like we never left Disney the whole time. The hotel itself is not like spectacular - still like the theming better at WDW. But I enjoyed on-site much more than off-site! I do not ever want to see a street etc... of the "real world" when I'm at Disney.

We made use of all the magic mornings since our kids get up so early and that was great.

However, it's like double or triple as expensive, so you have to weigh if that works for you. If it was off-site or nothing, I would of course choose off-site. And we did see the new pirate structure at HoJo from the monorail and it looked pretty cool!

Kim

 

[Sherry E]

OMG! I NEVER knew that! I always saved my shopping until right before I was heading back to the hotel. That is great to know!

Yes! For some reason, I didn't know this service was available 7 or 8 years ago, but when I found out about it, I began using it. Last year, on two different trips, it worked well for me. I sent everything back to my hotels - small and large. I even sent some items that one of my friends bought for me back to the hotel! Again, your purchases won't be available for pick-up at your DLR hotel Bell desk until 7:00 a.m. the following morning, so as Bumbershoot pointed out, if you have kids, that may not be possible! The kids may not stand for it! But it was so handy. If you buy things in the parks on the same day you are going home and leaving DLR, of course, then you can't use the package service, so that would be the time I would suggest waiting until you are about to leave DLR for home to hit the shops. Otherwise, it's great!


One time years ago, some other friends of mine went to DLR and apparently rented a locker first thing in the morning, to stash jackets and possibly merchandise throughout the day. They put some cookies or something edible or other in there, which sat there all day. When they took the food items out and later ate them, I was told they were not fresh at all and had 'storage locker' taste! So I wouldn't recommend the lockers to stash your newly bought Disney treats! Coincidentally, this same couple of friends went to DLR on another occasion and rented another locker early in the morning, stashed two jackets, never went back to the locker during the day for any reason, and then stayed until almost closing - and FORGOT they had rented the locker, only to remember it when they were on the way home! I am just scatterbrained enough where I could picture myself forgetting I rented a locker!!