Thinking of Crossing Over...

[DannyDisneyFreak]

...the country that is and going to Disneyland. Been to WDW 6 times and am not sure if we should skip the World next time and check out the original. If you would be so kind to answer some of my questions about DL that would be great. Where should we stay? We are value resort people (All Star/Pop Cen) but if we do go to DL we want to stay on property to get the best experence, but is staying on-site at DL as important as staying on-site at WDW? Can you walk to all the parks from the three (there are 3 right?) on-site hotels? Are there any neighbor hotels that are just as good? What is the cheepest Disney hotel? We would go during value season to save money, when is value season and how is the weather during the value seasons?
Do they have a dinning plan? What are the ticket prices? I have some research to do to see if it would be for us but I though thiswould be a good place to start, thanks DISland friends!

 

[iceskatejen]

Unless you are splurging and staying at the Grand Californian, there are many off-site hotels closer than either of the other two on-site hotels. Paradise Pier would be the cheapest of the three on-site hotels. It's also the furthest from the parks. Since I'm local and don't ever stay in the hotels, I'm not sure what is value season for the DL area. There is a dining plan, but it seems to be more for convenience than saving money. For the lastest in ticket prices, I suggest taking a look at Disneyland's own website.

 

[brenda1966]

If you are value resort people I suggest checking out the hotels right across the street from DL. There's a Hojo's and a couple of Best Westerns. They are nice and within walking distance. I've stayed at Hojo's and next will be trying the Park Inn and Suites (because it was cheaper than Hojo's).

I'd suggest just browsing through all the different questions on this board. There have recently been some good discussions on the differences btw WDW and DL and you'll learn a lot there. THere are threads on the different hotels on Harbor. You can even search the threads.

Good luck!

 

[Psymonds]

DannyDisneyFreak, I'd check out the disney "good neighbor" hotels. I've been to Disneyland 20+ times and never found it in my heart to stay at a DL property. We've stayed at the Anaheim Sheraton and the Marriot Residince Inn and both we within walking distance of all parks and DTD. everything is much closer together so it's not as important to stay on property.

Check out Getawaytoday.com for reasonable packages.

overall, because of the competition and the nature of the area, prices seem cheaper for most DL area properties than those in WDW and vicinity, so you should be able to find a nice place for the equivalent of a value resort price.

 

[ktulu]

There is a new doubletree that is opening up soon there too, we just booked three nights there for 431 total. My wife is a hotel snob, so she is excited about staying at a new hotel. We looked at staying on site, but decided to save some money and extend our trip.

darren

 

[Chicago526]

...the country that is and going to Disneyland. Been to WDW 6 times and am not sure if we should skip the World next time and check out the original. If you would be so kind to answer some of my questions about DL that would be great. Where should we stay? We are value resort people (All Star/Pop Cen) but if we do go to DL we want to stay on property to get the best experence, but is staying on-site at DL as important as staying on-site at WDW? Can you walk to all the parks from the three (there are 3 right?) on-site hotels? Are there any neighbor hotels that are just as good? What is the cheepest Disney hotel? We would go during value season to save money, when is value season and how is the weather during the value seasons?
Do they have a dinning plan? What are the ticket prices? I have some research to do to see if it would be for us but I though thiswould be a good place to start, thanks DISland friends!

In no particular order:

Staying on site is not as critical in DL as it is in WDW. It's great if you can afford it, but it's not strictly needed.

You can walk from any of the 3 Disney hotels to either park. You can also walk from DL to DCA.

You can also walk from many of the Harbor Blvd. hotels to DL. DH and I are staying across the street from DL (literaly) at the Desert Inn for $59 a night on our trip next month. It's a very basic hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn is $119 a night, it's very nice, but further away, you'd have to drive or take the shuttle to the parks. At anyrate, there are a ton of nearby off-site hotels to choose from that will fit your budget and comfort level that would still be cheaper than the Disney hotels.

Paradise Pier is the cheapest DL hotel, DL Hotel is a little bit more and Grand Californian is very expensive.

Ticket prices are generaly less at DL than WDW, you can easily get exacty prices at www.disneyland.com.

DL does have a sort-of dinning plan, but it is not nearly as good as WDW's, you do better just paying as you go. You can check out details at www.disneyland.com.

Not sure when Value season is, but just like WDW, summer's and holidays are the most expensive (and most croweded).

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Dan, there is nothing like the pop or the all stars at DL. Paradise Pier is about what you'd pay for a preferred room at a mod. It's amenities match them rather than a value. All 3 Disney Hotels are walking distance. The GC is right next to the parks (high deluxe pricing.) The Disneyland Hotel is a short walk to the Monorail but I understand that is on only partial service. It's pricing would be more the low deluxe pricing found at the Wilderness lodge or a Pool View at Animal Kingdom Lodge or something. The PP is the furthest away.

There are actually non Disney Owned Hotels across Harbor Blvd that are closer to the main gates than the contemporary is to the Magic Kingdom at WDW and they're actually closer to the main gates than the Disney Hotels. They're easy walking distance.
There isn't anything like the Disney themed Pop and All Stars at DL. I thought those were really cute. But then again you're not 20 minutes away from DL by car like those are from the MK either.

Also, check out this map.
http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Default.asp
You can look up some rates here by clicking on the hotel.

Go to expedia and Travelocity and hit Disneyland as a destination and look up some rates. They'll also have travelor ratings for each hotel you can look at.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Cannot_Wait_4Disney, thanks for the map! That is a great site, it answered my next question about what good neighbor hotels are in walking distance.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Oh yeah, on the map I saw I was wondering where is the Downtown Disney area? It must not be that big to not be on the map!

 

[amw]

Oh yeah, on the map I saw I was wondering where is the Downtown Disney area? It must not be that big to not be on the map!

Here's the official website map:

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/map/mapSWF?name=MapOverviewPage

Downtown Disney is the corridor between the parks and the hotels.

 

[daannzzz]

Here is an ariel view so you can see how compact the area is. If you choose not to stay in one of the Disney Hotels (All of which are nice) we have liked staying at the following which are just across the streert.
Howard Johnson
The Park Inn
The Park Place Inn
The Candy Cane Inn

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html

 

[lilpixie]

We just got back from our first trip to DL. We got a package deal from get away today-- they have customer reviews of hotels
One word of advice -- don't stay at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort!! We were supposed to stay at a hotel right across from the park. At the last minute, we were informed something happened to our reservation and we were "upgraded" to the Knott's Berry Farm Resort. It was a 20 minute drive (30 minutes in morning traffic), the hotel was just awful -- paper thin walls (our "nieghbor" next door snored so loud we couldn't sleep, then they were fighting, etc -- we heard everything!!!), they messed up our shuttle service to the park, they never brought us up a crib for our infant despite us asking repeatedly (she just ended up sleeping in her carseat). Blah -- definately go with a hotel that others have used and recommend on this site! My siblings have used many of the hotels right by the park and have had great experiences. They liked being close enough to walk to the park -- so you don't have to worry about reserving a spot with the hotel shuttle service -- you can come and go as you please.
We had a great time at DL, -- so, so fun. I grew up in Florida and went to WDW many, many times. It was fun to go to DL -- and kind of interesting to go as a tourist and not a local! I have heard the Grand Californian is awesome, but very, very pricey. Since we get to the park early and our kids are practically asleep when we get home, we're only in our room to sleep -- so as long as it is clean and quiet, we're good to go!
Good luck!