Staying on-site

[dw123]

What are peoples thoughts about staying in one of the Disney hotels as opposed to a non-disney hotel?

At disneyworld there's a huge difference, I'm wondering what people think about it a Disneyland.

 

[sramille]

I've stayed at GC and PP as well as the Candy Cane and another off site hotel. It is really nice to be able to enter the park within 5 minutes of leaving your room. However, if you're trying to save $$, there are a ton of off site hotels that you can walk from within maybe 15 minutes.

Lots of hotels have shuttles or are on the Anaheim Resort Transportation route. I used the ART a couple of years ago and found it safe and convenient. It's a system of vehicles that look like trolley cars that are specifically designed to get people around the "Anaheim Resort".

http://www.atnetwork.org/anaheim_resort.html

 

[crazymomof 4]

Every year I tell myself we will stay off-site this year. But I haven't been able to folllow through with it yet. We will be trying PP this year. My cousin stays at the Desert Inn and Suites. They say it is okay and it is really close. For me this is our only true vacation ever year and the Magic is worth the price.

 

[peachgirl]

For us, staying onsite at Disneyland is as important as when we go to DisneyWorld. I know that the offsite hotels at DL are more conveniently located than at DW, but we don't stay either place because of convenience. It really is about being in the Magic 24 hours a day.

I'm sure you can have a wonderful time at both places staying offsite, but we much prefer onsite.

 

[daannzzz]

I live in California and when I go to Disneyland it is usually for a few days. I will stay at one of the 3 Disney hotels if the price is lower than usual. They are fun and nice, particularly the Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel. But in general I stay offsite at Hojo, the Candy Cane or Park Place Inn. They are just as conveneint (except for the GC) and much less $$$. I save the money and use it toward the Disney hotels at WDW where it makes a bigger difference and there is more variety and prices to choose from.

 

[Dobie]

On site all the way.

We only make it down every 2-3 years, and since we just stay 4 nights or so, the difference in price, when coupled in with the price of airfare, tickets, and everything, isn't a make or break for us--it's not like we would come more often if we spent $800 less per trip. For that reason, we stay at the GCH, because it is so much of the magical Disney experience.

 

[CalGal]

I could not imagine going to WDW without staying onsight. The benefits are significant, the resorts are so much closer and infinitely more convenient, and some of the resorts are so lovely. The benefits of staying onsight at DL are limited. You do not have the EE benefit, and can still be within walking distance staying off-site. Aside from the places directly across the street, there are several very nice hotels and suite hotels with shuttles every 1/2 hour (although the ART system gets mixed reviews). Nevertheless, like some of the others, I still find that I stay onsite most of the time. It's very nice being submerged in the magic, the Disney pools are more fun than off-site hotels, and I think the Disney properties are significantly nicer than anything else within walking distance (<1/2 mile or so; you don't want to have to walk back to the Hilton after walking the park all day). As Daannzz pointed out, sometimes, you may be able to get one of the on-site properties at reduced rates, and that can make the onsite resorts hard to resist. During the off-season, you may be able pick up a 4th night free deal with off-peak season rates; on-site may be worth it. Even during busy periods, if the resorts are underbooked, reduced rates may be released on Expedia a few weeks out. For that reason, I'll sometimes book an off-site room somewhere where I can cancel without penalty; then I'll watch Expedia to see if rates drop.

 

[LucyKate]

Apart from the GC I really can't see the attraction of staying onsite at DL.

It's not like WDW where if you stay off site you have a half hour ride to the parks - many of the hotels around DL are closer and better than the DL hotels.

Surveys of park users rate GC as the best in the district - but it's also the most expensive. After that you have Candy Cane and HoJos, which bot rate better than PP and the DL hotel.

The GC is the only one with direct access to the park - PP and DL are just as far, if not further away, than many off site hotels.

 

[Blackunicorn]

Staying on-site is part of the magic. I'll admit that I haven't got as much experience staying in off-site hotels as I do on-site, but I couldn't imagine it any other way. For us, staying in a Disney hotel is a big part of the vacation every year--we really enjoy the theme in the PPH, we have nothing but good things to say about the CM's, we love the Neverland Pool, strolling the grounds at the DLH is very relaxing, the rooms are large, and all of the little Disney touches in the room make us very happy.

 

[karylrocks]

To me the biggest difference is that almost all the off-site lodging within walking distance is pretty old, and they are just motels (mostly 2-star), not resort hotels. Even though the Disney hotels are not as fancy as some of the WDW properties, the atmosphere and grounds are much nicer, and I personally like to "stay in the magic".

 

[B9erSteve]

On-site. DLH is the best. I find that on this trip to DLR, I'm missing the convienence. (I'm in my 5th wheel)

 

[Amberle3]

I've yet to stay onsite at DL. Although I'm into the magic as much as anyone I just can't justify spending that much more to be 10 minutes closer. As for the difference between onsite & offsite in terms of age etc:
There are a lot of hotels surrounding DL that are 3 and 4* hotels. Many of them keep up a good renovation schedule and do not show the wear that you'd expect. And remember that of the 3 onsite hotels only one of them - GC - was actually built by Disney. The other 2 were already there and were just taken over by Disney and renovated.

One of these days I'll stay at the GC, but until then I'll stay offsite (HoJo, Anabella etc) and use the difference in price to pay for meals and souvenirs.

 

[JonetteA]

The one time I went to the DLR we stayed onsite. The first 2 nights were at GC with a park view. I LOVE this hotel, but it was so expensive. The next night we stayed at PP, which I found not that special. It was like any other room. Maybe the GC just spoiled me =)

 

[LuvTigger]

Like many others on this board, staying onsite is a "must" at WDW. I will not even bother going to WDW without staying onsite, mostly because it makes us feel totally emersed in the "magic." We also like the perks of staying onsite at WDW, but I don't think that's our main priority when we choose to stay onsite. We also like the different themes of the resorts and think of them as attractions in themselves.

At DL, staying onsite is not a "must," we consider it more of a luxury. We will stay onsite every few years, but most of the time we stay off site. Because DL is so much smaller, and other hotels are so close, and even the not-so-close ones offer great shuttle service, we don't feel that we HAVE to stay onsite. Also, it isn't as easy to get a good deal on the DL hotels, so they tend to be more expensive.

That being said, this year I will be staying at DLH because I really wanted to be onsite for the 50th Anniversary celebration! My favorite is GC, but I thought we'd do something different this year since our last onsite stay (several years ago) was at GC. I like GC because it reminds me of WL at WDW, my favorite resort there. It is also the only DL hotel that was built by Disney from the ground up.

So I guess my philosophy where DL is concerned is, if I can afford it, I'll stay onsite, but it won't be a deal-breaker for me.

 

[RADOPT]

I second what LuvTigger wrote - I would write almost the same thing.

We have stayed at Gc and loved it - maybe more so because it has the look and feel of Wl at WDW. I was with my daughter who wanted to go home until I opened the drapes to DCA and she saw the park. It was the best $$ I every spent. Having said that, if I can I stay off site at Desert Inn and Suites. Mainly because of the $$, it is very close and works well for us. We tend to be at the hotel more at WDW (maybe because we go there when they close earlier and DTD is far away) then we do at DL. I have trouble spending that kind of $$ for the GC when we are there only to sleep and everything offsite is so close to DL.

 

[AFMom]

Out of the countless times we have gon to DLR, we have only stayed onsite once. It was a great experience and I really hope we can justify doing it again sometime! But we really like the Candy Cane Inn and for the price, just can't pay twice as much to stay on site most of the time. That said - if you can swing it - stay at the DLH or GC and you'll really enjoy it - but know that there are cheaper, nice options available!