Where to stay.

[disneygal2007]

I am looking around at the neighboring DL hotels and they are nice and some are prices really well. But I am wondering would it be a better experience to stay at a DL hotel. I was thinking paradise pier hotel to get the whole DL experience. When we go to DW we only stay at their hotels the only time we leave property is if we take 20 the wrong way. My kids and DH have never been to DL and I haven't been in over 10 years so I Want the whole effect. What would you do?

 

[jham]

I always stay on-property at DW but at Disneyland it doesn't seem to be as big a deal. I always prefer to stay at a Disney resort but usually at Disneyland it is much more cost effective to stay off-site but within walking distance. Only the Grand Californian really saves you any walking distance, but if you can afford to, I'd say go Disney. The Paradise Pier is the one DL resort we have not stayed at and I hope to one day. This year the budget is telling me Hojos.

 

[DLR29]

Well the PPH is more Disney than the hotels across the street from DLR, but it's not much more than a few decorations, a nicely themed pool, and a couple restaurants. If you want a real Disney Disney experience at a hotel, choose the DLH. It's much larger and has a better pool.

Anyways, I've only stayed onsite once, and there's defiinitely a reason. There are many offsite hotels that are closer (walking distance wise) to the parks than the DLH and the PPH. So if you want close, you might want to choose an offsite hotel. Also, the prices are MUCH higher for onsite, and for us (we stay at the parks almost all day), we can't justify spending twice as much on almost the same room just "Disneyfied" when all we're going to be doing is sleeping there.

 

[Sherry E]

I always stay onsite. All of my DLR trips since probably 1987 have involved staying onsite. I have stayed at all 3 DLR hotels, with the GCH and PPH being the most recent. I like all 3 hotels for different reasons, and I think you really can't go wrong with any of them. That said, as the years pass and the prices go up and up, it is getting increasingly difficult to afford staying onsite. However, I find that for my friends and me, it enhances the whole experience for us. It makes it more vacation-esque for us. We are not so much interested in precisely which hotel is closer and that the off-property hotels are closer than the PPH is. And paying the extra money to stay onsite is worth it for me/us, but it is not for everyone. I like to be immersed in full Disney mode from beginning to end, from the second I get out of the car to the second I load my bags back in the car. I like to get my Disney folder with my brochures and room info at the check-in desk. I like that sometimes the CM at the desk will throw in a pin or an 8x10 B&W photo just for fun. I like to get my room key (Key to the Magic) with my name printed on it. I like to see the Mickey 'ears' bath products in the bathroom when we enter the room. I like to look for Hidden Mickeys in the wallpaper and carpets and shower curtains. I like to turn on the TV and see that it is on a Disney-related channel. I like to see Disney statues and artwork wherever I walk on the property. I also like the perks of staying onsite - the Magic Morning feature comes in very handy; the ability to send purchases made in the parks back to the hotel for free is very handy; and the use of the GCH entrance into DCA (available to any guest of any of the 3 DLR hotels) comes in handy in the morning, before DCA opens, to get in the line right by GRR and high-tail it over to TSMM to beat the masses of people heading in the same direction.

I just like it. I like that everywhere I look on property has some touch of Disney, whether it be in the beach/surf/nautical theme of the PPH, or the rustic elegance of the GCH (look for the Hidden Mickey in the grandfather clock) or the lush, slightly tropical-influenced, highly 'Disney-fied' grounds of the DLH. I want the FULL Disney experience when I go. I live in SoCal, in L.A., so if I am going to a place that is only 45 minutes away from where I live, I want to truly escape and not remember that Harbor Blvd. is right outside the gates. I can see traffic and IHOPs and McDonalds, etc. in my OWN neighborhood. If I am at DLR, I want to see ONLY Disney property the entire time I am there, from beginning to end. Total immersion.

 

[disneygal2007]

Thanks everyone. Sherry I think allot like you. I want Disney 24/7 when we are on a Disney vacation. I want my kids to have a Great first time we are going to stay on site. We will see after that. time. We are the ultimate Disney family and for our first stay as a family I want it to be memorable.

 

[Lynzer Torte]

I vote for DLH- it's our fave!

 

[disneygal2007]

We have decided to stay at the PPH for our first stay. Thank you for all you replies. Looking at the all ears site I think we will like it