Which Hotel

[julm26]

If we don't stay at a Disney Hotel which hotel would you recommend? Or should we stay at a Disney Hotel? It will me, DH and DD8. It will be our first time in California and at Disneyland. We are lovers of all things Disney and love to go to Disney World. We will be coming the week of April 14, 2013.

 

[lulugirl1968]

If you can stay at one of the on property hotels, I would! We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in 2005, and it was wonderful!

We have also stayed at The Portifino Inn and Suites in 2009, and then The Homewood Suites this past may.

I would not stay at the Portifino again.

We did love the Homewood Suites, and would stay there again in a heartbeat!

 

[MinnieMom13]

The answer to your question depends on your budget and your priorities. If onsite hotels are in the budget, that is what I'd recommend--especially if you value early entry each day.

However, if you are more budget minded, or your family likes to sleep in during vacations, then offsite may be a better choice.

There were trips when our budget mandated offsite, but our kids craved a good pool, and I insisted on walking distance to the parks as I hate to wait for shuttles. On these trips HoJos worked well, although we've also happily stayed at the Carousel and Tropicana. A recent posting showed bedbegs at Park Vue Inn--beware.

Our last three trip have been solely at onsite hotels, our favorite being the Grand for it's locaton and bunkbeds.

If you mention your priorities, I think the Dis Boarders would be happy to provide advice that addresses your specific needs.

No matter where you choose to stay, it's sure to be a wonderful trip!

 

[julm26]

Our wish would be onsite - but i'm not sure if the budget permits. We liive in Pittsburgh and this may be our only chance to get to Disneyland. I have a conference in Manhattan Beach and my family will be joining me after for a week long vacation. We plan on doing 3 days (hope that will be enough) at Disneyland and then doing some site seeing. We are not opposed to moving around to a different hotel once our DL days are done.

That being said...probably will need a budget friendly hotel - around moderate prices and walking distance to the parks. Thank you for all your help. We are WDW experts but DL is unchartered territory for us!

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

DH and I just got back last weekend from our first trip to Disneyland together. We stayed off site as we have a timeshare, however, there were a ton of hotels close by that offered the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) bus, which took you straight to the entrance of Disneyland. Most hotels as well as in the area the busses drop you off, there are ticket kiosks for the bus passes, and you can buy day passes, or weekly passes, depending on how long you plan on using them. They really weren't that expensive if I remember correctly. You can also buy them on the buses themselves.

We paid for the CityPass, which gave us 3 day parkhoppers to both DL and DCA, as well as a day at Universal Studios Hollywood and SeaWorld San Diego. I don't know much about CityPass but i'm sure there are a multitude of options there as well and it was the cheaper option for us.

Staying on site, such as Paradise Pier or Disneyland Hotel will give you the best option if you can afford it, because it's a straight walk through DTD to the parks. Looking into it ourselves for possibly next year, we were seeing that Paradise Pier would probably be our better option in terms of money if we stay on site. But honestly, staying off site was not a problem for us, and they had some great looking hotels along the way. Prices fluctuate depending on the hotel and the proximity to Disneyland, so be cautious. Google "Hotels near Disneyland, Anaheim" and it should give you a list of many many hotels.

I hope some of that rambling helped a bit with your planning.

 

[I❤MICKEY]

I would recommend longer than 3 days. Especially during a spring break timeframe. Five day hoppers are the longest tickets that can currently be purchased (other than AP). Our first trip was 5 days since then we haven't stayed for less than 7.

 

[Congo Queen]

You are a frequent poster Julm26, so you know the subject of which hotel is a frequent one on these forums. You can spend a good chunk of research time by using the search forum tool in the upper right hand corner of the main page and read loads of feedback on off-site hotels or about the three on-property hotels at Disneyland. My personal two cents on this topic is if you love all things Disney and can afford on-property, DLH is an excellent choice. My family stayed there in August and had a wonderful time as DLH is Disneyfied to the max while still being a pretty lux resort experience -- fantastic pools and slides, beautiful rooms, top notch service, loads of Disney atmosphere. But if funds will not allow, our go-to off-site hotel is the Candy Cane Inn. It's close enough to walk, but has a reliable shuttle if you don't want it, lovely landscaped grounds, clean and comfortable rooms, breakfast included, nice pool. Either way you are going to have a great trip.

 

[MommyLove]

For us, if we can't afford a Disney hotel, we like the HoJo (Howard Johnson) the best. It's a hotel (rather than a motel) and the walk is comparable as from the Disneyland Hotel! Do a search in this forum for HoJo and you'll get a lot of great info.

I'd also probably plan for at lest 4 days so you can see all the Disneyland and California Adventure have to offer. You'll be there during the off-season and the hours the parks are open are much shorter. (P.S. we'll be there that week too! )

 

[Mary09]

For us, the Dis hotels aren't worth it. They're 2-4 times the cost of Good Neighbor hotels and don't offer much in the way of proximity (some GN hotels are actually closer to the entrance) or room size or amenities. EE is probably the biggest draw for us but it's not worth the hundreds extra per day the room costs. Plus we just sleep there, not spend any real time in the rooms. And we've stayed in them, or eaten in them, in the past and found the service and rooms just 'ok'.

 

[scoker]

I agree with PP that the more we know about your priorities the better advice you will get. I've stayed both on site and off. If you want the most Disney you can get than stay onsite. If you want proximity then GCH or one of the closest off site hotels would be best. If you want a good value and good pool it sounds like the HoJO is the way to go but it is a little farther walk.

The offsite hotels that are within walking distance that seem to get the most consistently decent reviews are HoJo, Best Western Plus Park Place Inn (closest off site motel) and the Candy Cane Inn.

I would not break the bank on an on site hotel. You can have a great DLR vacation either way. Many of the off site hotels are closer to the park entrances than the Disney Land Hotel or Paradise Pier. You can't beat the location of GCH but rooms are pricey for what you get. I would stay there again if budget was not a concern. My next trip I have to watch the $$ so we are staying at the BWPPI.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[KateDrake]

What do you plan on doing during your site seeing days? That will help determine whether you should stay in the same hotel, or split your stay. I'd recommend staying at a different hotel closer to the sites if you plan to see San Diego, for example, and then move for the Disney portion of your trip.

The So Cal City Pass is a great deal, especially if you only want three Disney days. I'd recommend at least that, but would probably add more if you are huge Disney fans. I'd also recommend doing Disney at the END of your trip, rather than to start. Everyone I know who has ever tried Disney first, then the other attractions after is always disappointed, because Disney is the highlight of the trip!

Staying on-site is nice if you can afford it, but if you can't, it is no big deal. It's not like at WDW where staying on-site is practically a requirement. At DLR, you can easily walk from the many hotels across the street. We like Fairfield Inn, Best Western Park Place and Candy Cane. If you are looking to spend less, the Desert Inn or Del Sol are also very close, and while they are by no means nice, they are a clean place to dump your stuff and collapse after a full day in the park! It just depends on what your priorities are.