Which would you choose???

[dohgusgus]

I voted good neighbor hotels. Unlike WDW, I don't see the necessity of staying "on-site". You can get there very quickly from a good neighbor hotel. I'd rather use that money I'd be saving by staying at a GNH on souvenirs or maybe an extra day at the parks.

 

[DisneyaholicRaquel]

Thanks, for all the replies!

Yes, money is a factor but, we will only be staying 4 nights. Therefore, the cost won't be that bad. I see there were not too many votes for PP...is that because the concierge is not worth the money? If it was a preferred view room instead would that alter the results?

Additional information is there will be 1 adult & 1 child...so space is not really an issue. Would like a close, clean place to lay our head. We will not be in the room too much and not really looking for luxury!

 

[hlbtimes2]

I voted good neighbor. I cant see spending the money for an onsite room if you know you are not going to be in the room much. PP is a bit of a walk and the conc. service we sort of be a waste for two people. If you had a larger party it would make more sense. If you chose that hotel I would probably go with a view room over the conc. service. Unless you are at the hotel a lot to take advantage of what they offer there is no use in paying for it!

I like the candy cane inn. Its close enough to walk (about the same distance as PP), but they have their own shuttle. The breakfast is better then what we had at PP in the conc. lounge.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks, for all the replies!

Yes, money is a factor but, we will only be staying 4 nights. Therefore, the cost won't be that bad. I see there were not too many votes for PP...is that because the concierge is not worth the money? If it was a preferred view room instead would that alter the results?

Additional information is there will be 1 adult & 1 child...so space is not really an issue. Would like a close, clean place to lay our head. We will not be in the room too much and not really looking for luxury!

Okay, I just realized that I was earlier responding to someone I thought was the OP but in fact was someone subscribing to the thread. So my comments to them were fine but now that I see some clarification by you I will respond more specifically to you!

If a money is a factor I would not do the Concierge at Paradise Pier but rather a regular room with a theme park view. You pay a lot for concierge and the more people using it the more it pays off. One adult and one child who sound like they will be spending most of their time away from the hotel will not benefit too much from this. So that would definitely make PP a better choice if you don't do concierge in my opinion. PP is the cheapest of the onsite hotels and its a great hotel. The slide at PP is great and very fun, but how old is your child? Will they be old enough and brave enough to go down that very long slide? If not, than the DLH is a better pool since they have a themed pool with a small slide for littler kids and a 100 foot long one for older kids and adults. Its fun but not at all scary. The Disneyland Hotel also has some nice Disney touches that appeal to kids of all ages. PP is more of a beach theme. Its a bit further of a walk than the DLH as well. But it would likely be cheaper than the DLH. I love the DLH for its lovely landscaping but again, you don't sound like you will spend that much time at your hotel.

GCH will be pretty expensive but you say close to the parks and it fits that bill. Its a great hotel however you say no luxury necessary and I would definitely say GCH is a luxury that like all perks of that kind, comes with a price tag! You are paying more for the services and amenties they offer like nightly turndown, having a spa right there etc. But if close is your main thing and you don't mind paying for it, this would be the hotel for you! Also, most rooms have a balcony which can be very nice.

I love staying onsite but it gets expensive. You cannot go wrong with one of the good neighbor hotels. The Candy Cane Inn might be perfect for you. Their rooms look very nice, a bit more upscale and pretty than some of the other hotels. Some of the rooms are apparently smaller but you say that room size is not an issue. And its close by, with as Linda said, a shuttle to take to the parks and back again. And since money is an issue, the free breakfast that is pretty generous as far as free breakfasts go would be a big plus. This motel consistently gets the highest reviews on sites like tripadvisor.

You gave a wide range of options from concierge to good neighbor. Its almost hard to vote since the choices are so different. If you don't mind at all speinding that money to stay onsite and it won't affect your trip length, things you want to do like character meals or souveniers you might want to buy but feel you can't due to the high cost of your lodging, than go for it. But I would skip the concierge services at any of the oniste hotels. I think that element of staying onsite would be a waste for you. Good luck with your decision!

 

[DisneyaholicRaquel]

My son will be 9 at time of travel. I got rates from AAA and the rates were relatively the same for the level of service I referred to in the poll. Which means a standard room at GCH was about the price of the concierge room at PP. I didn't want to spend over $1000 for lodging for the 4 nights and those all came around that amount. Since, I don't know much about the hotels that's why I created the poll. As for closeness...we don't mind a walk but, don't want it to be more than 15 minutes or so. I am only considering Disney hotels because of the added AAA benefits and I couldn't imagine going to Disney and not staying onsite.

My question is: We are planning a couple character meals & staying at the park the majority of the time. Which hotel would you choose based on the additional information?

 

[Amy&Dan]

My son will be 9 at time of travel. I got rates from AAA and the rates were relatively the same for the level of service I referred to in the poll. Which means a standard room at GCH was about the price of the concierge room at PP. I didn't want to spend over $1000 for lodging for the 4 nights and those all came around that amount. Since, I don't know much about the hotels that's why I created the poll. As for closeness...we don't mind a walk but, don't want it to be more than 15 minutes or so. I am only considering Disney hotels because of the added AAA benefits and I couldn't imagine going to Disney and not staying onsite.

My question is: We are planning a couple character meals & staying at the park the majority of the time. Which hotel would you choose based on the additional information?

I would choose either Paradise Pier or the DLH. Both of those have some great character meals, the PP has the Lilo and Stitch one (my son who is 12 has always loved that one) and the DLH has Goofy's Kitchen which is great. GCH has the Storytellers Cafe one but its the only character meal know of that is more about the food than the characters! Really and truly however, due to the closeness of the three onsite hotels to each other and the parks you cannot go wrong with any one of them. They all have lots of pluses. Have you checked out the photos of the sticky thread at the top of this board regarding Disneyland information and hotels? It has some helpful information and photos, for both onsite and Good Neighbor hotels. If you can get the GCH for four nights for $1000 that is a GREAT deal incidentally. And the GCH is great because its attached to DCA and your son being the age he is would probably love the theming of that hotel. I am probably not helping you one bit! But I will add again, they are all three great and if you want to stay onsite than you won't be disappointed with any of them in my book. Good luck!

Oh and another plus to staying onsite is that you would have Early Entry each day its offered instead of just the standard one day that park hoppers have attached to them. That is a biggie in my book. Also package delivery, room charging privilidges in the park, room service available, bell and valet service available and other things that most of the motels near DL do not offer.