YVR to Disneyland

[Discovering Parenthood]

We are hoping to go to Disneyland March 2017 sometime between March 13-24. 2 adults, one child, and one infant.

We want to do 5 park days. The last, and first time we ever went was right before Christmas (we came home Christmas Eve) so we figure any other time of the year will be a little less crazy busy than that... though probably still busy. We did park hopper last time and loved it because if one park was busy due to a parade, or something we just switched. Or we spent our morning in one, and afternoon in the other.

What hotel would you recommend? We would prefer a hotel with at least a one bedroom, so we can put our youngest down for a nap. Bonus if the hotel is within walking distance. It be incredible to find one with a kitchen so we can cook some of our own meals, and save a little instead of dining out all the time.

Can someone please explain to me how the new photopass works? I am so confused.

Any other tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[Indiana Scott]

What is "YVR"?

 

[Discovering Parenthood]

What is "YVR"?

Vancouver Airport

 

[Discovering Parenthood]

One other thing... it's sadly looking like no family can, or wants to join us... would we be crazy to try and save up and book an actual Disney Hotel near the park/in the park? Is it worth it?

 

[disneychrista]

To me it is not worth the extra money to stay at a Disney owned hotel/resort. Most the hotels on Harbor are closer/shorter walking distance (expect the Grand) .

 

[smartlabelprint]

It's too expensive for an on site hotel. Plus, you want a bedroom right?

We're straying at Homewood suites convention center next trip. It's brand new & I'm excited. There's a shuttle in the toy story lot. M-th free dinner. Every day free breakfast.

If you prefer closer Camelot inn was nice.

If you want cheap desert inn & suites is cheap if you book far out.

 

[millie0312]

First- I may be in the minority but I LOVE staying onsite and if you can afford it- I say do it! We always have a rest day (5 days is too many park days with no break) and enjoy the pools, tours, special classes, etc the hotel offers plus EMH- we love!!! The extra hour each morning. We have only stayed at the grand but we've walked through all 3 and while the location of GCH is the best- the views at PPH and the theme of DLH are awesome.
Next- I would say any walking distance hotel is recommended as opposed to having to drive/shuttle etc- we are staying at the BWPPI because you can't get any closer and it was a great price, but I think there are lots of other good options- we had also thought about DIS. There are a few that have bedrooms and more room then a typical hotel room if you need it (the on site hotels do not offer that perk). If you don't need a second room we had 3 adults and 2 kids and fit fine in the GCH rooms- the other 2 on sites have bigger rooms. Kinda a personal choice on what you are willing to pay, would you use the perks and if you have to have more room.
Photo pass- you basically can pre-buy or buy it after your trip now with no difference. Everyone I've seen recommends you wait until after to see if you took enough photos to warrant buying it that day. There is no multi-day pass or discount just a buy each day thing. If you haven't used it before you take a photo and have them scan a card that gives it a number link- you put them all into your account to view/buy the photos. There should be a thread to explain it in detail but it is nice to have everyone in the photo, posed and have special shots. We haven't been since they stopped the multi-day pass but we will still buy a couple days I'm sure. They will also take photos with your camera.
You will be going during a busy spring break time but it will be fun no matter what! Just keep your expectations realistic, take breaks when you need them and maximize less crowded times like RD and closing- if you have a loose plan, goals for certain rides/shows to do and some ideas of places to eat you'll like it may help during the busy time too.

 

[sweethannah]

If you do decide to stay onsite I would suggest using VGC and renting points. It's substantially cheaper than booking direct for a studio ( or a 1 bedroom ) but let's not kid ourselves, it's still almost double the price of staying offsite, especially when you factor in the conversion from USD to CAD(lower mainland disney fan here ). I've never used a points rental company but these forums offer a lot of help in that regard. I've stayed onsite, it's amazing. The Early Entry is fantastic during busy times. Given your preferences/requirements though, a regular room might not suit and the price point might be prohibitive.

There is a trade off (imo) when looking for a hotel near the Park and a suite hotel. You might want to look at one of the King Queen or Kid suite at the Howard Johnson.
I have stayed there too and it is 8 minutes from hotel to esplanade. The staff are super friendly and helpful.

The Residence Inn Anaheim by Marriott is not within walking distance but has paid shuttle and a full breakfast.

As for the Photo Pass, make use of the Park photographers! If photos are important and you plan on having a Character meal, that should be the day you focus on photos because you can buy just that days' worth of photos for $39.00. We got most of our photos at CA because we spend a lot of time on that side of the Park and had success at the entrance to CA, outside of Carsland ( near the sign ), on the walkway to the Pier, Radiator Springs (across from the patio area of Flo's ) and in Redwood Challenge Trail.
Just like before you show your card and it's scanned, but now you can view them through the App as well as when you get home. You can buy whole days or individual shots.

If you haven't already, use Vons. It's like Safeway ( takes your Safeway club card ) for a grocery delivery. Even if you don't end up with a suite it's a cheap way of stocking your room with beverages and small snacks like granola bars, yogurts and cheese strings. The first delivery if over $50.00 the delivery is free. I think EASY7 is the code.

Good luck to you with your planning!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I don't know about Photopass.

For hotels with a bedroom, you would have to pay a lot of money for a suite or a villa onsite. You are much better off staying at a Homewood Suites or Embassy Suites. They are not as close and convenient as many other locations, but you can get a bedroom at a decent price. There is another place right across the street called Desert Inn and Suites. It has bedrooms. I've not stayed there but many people who post here have. They sound relatively happy with it, other than some reports about the beds not being comfortable.

There are a few timeshares in the area and the excess inventory gets rented out by Wyndham Extra vacations. They include, Wyndham Anaheim, Dolphin's Cove and Peacock Suites. They would all have the bedroom, but I think Peacock's is more of a sliding door between the bedroom and the main area.

Renting points for Villas at California Grand, as mentioned above is a good idea, but you cannot spend too much time thinking about it. It gets full, as there are only 48 units. You can do that through David's Vacation Club rentals. He brokers between owners and renters.

 

[TheZue]

We went when we had babies and I found that we didn't end up needing an extra bedroom. The Disney hotels are nice because there is a pack & play in the closet that they can just use; they do have smaller rooms though. When we stayed at the GCH we ended up setting up the pack & play in the sink area by the bathroom which is actually quite separate from the rest of the room. It was also nice because there was a balcony to hang out on as well. Being close was a big deal to us when we had babies & toddlers just because we could get back to the room quickly if we needed to & you can't really get closer than the grand Californian. Is it pricey? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes if I still had babies, now that my kids are older probably not.

The other one we stayed at was Best Western Park place in. Again it's super close & their sofa bed area is some what separated from the rest of the room which worked well for us.

 

[Aladora]

We are hoping to go to Disneyland March 2017 sometime between March 13-24. 2 adults, one child, and one infant.

We want to do 5 park days. The last, and first time we ever went was right before Christmas (we came home Christmas Eve) so we figure any other time of the year will be a little less crazy busy than that... though probably still busy. We did park hopper last time and loved it because if one park was busy due to a parade, or something we just switched. Or we spent our morning in one, and afternoon in the other.

What hotel would you recommend? We would prefer a hotel with at least a one bedroom, so we can put our youngest down for a nap. Bonus if the hotel is within walking distance. It be incredible to find one with a kitchen so we can cook some of our own meals, and save a little instead of dining out all the time.

Can someone please explain to me how the new photopass works? I am so confused.

Any other tips are greatly appreciated.

We've stayed at a few places across the street from the main entrance as well as all 3 DLR hotels. With you wanting a hotel with a separate bedroom, I would recommend looking at the Desert Inn & Suites. Their C1 Parlor Suite has 2 rooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms. One of the rooms has a door to the outside and the other does not...at least that was the set up when we stayed there. It's great with little ones because you don't have to worry about them getting out without you knowing! No kitchen but a fridge and microwave. Also included is breakfast, although it was nothing special.

Park Vue Inn has a Double Queen suite that has a bedroom with 2 queen beds, a lounge area with a sleeper sofa and a kitchenette. If you check on their website's gallery, pics 10 and 11 show the kitchenette and lounge area. PVI also has breakfast included but this one is MUCH better than the once at DI&S.

The dates you are looking at are right around March break, although our school district (Victoria, BC) has a really late break next year, March 20-31! I'm not sure about US schools but if they have a similar break, I would definitely look at going the week of March 13 instead of 20th.

 

[tarheelalum]

Stay offsite. For the money you save you can have a great place and money for uber rides back and forth any time you want them with money left over.

 

[Phoenixrising]

First off, if you can I'd advise you to fly into SNA instead of LAX. Reason being that Westjet flies into SNA, and this airport is alot closer and easier to navigate and is closer to DL than LAX. The price difference between flying into the airport is almost the same price, and it will save you on taxi, as well as saving time getting to your hotel upon arrival. SNA is a 30 mins drive to DL compared to LAX which is an hour drive. I personally like Best Western Park Place Inn, but have also stayed at HOJO's (Howard Johnson Anaheim) and can also recommend this hotel as well. Hope this helps.

 

[courtneybeth]

Vancouver to Lax is relatively cheap via Air Canada -- we are doing the reverse of this for Rock n Roll Vancouver.

There's plenty of shuttles you can book to get the ride to your hotel.

 

[kathy040690]

i wouuld look into a westjet vacation from there !! we fly from edmonton and we always get the best deals through westjet. This august we are going and we paid 3000 for flight and hotel for the 6 of us !!!
YVR has a direct flight to orange county VIA westjet as well !!!