Howard Johnson on Harbor?

[TandLMommy28]

Right now that looks like my top choice. I like the price (about $1100 for seven nights) and the rooms look nice and big. We will have just spent a week in the car together (driving route 66) so having a little space to spread out won't hurt my feelings.

We are only doing two days at Disneyland, despite being in Anaheim for a week. We have a lot of other stuff going on. So I'm thinking the fact that it's a bit of a longer walk to the gates won't matter since it's only a couple days...? Opinions? Comparing to WDW, I am imagining the walk from the gates of MK to the furthest bus stop (because no matter where we stay, somehow we always have the furthest bus stop). That walk seems like an eternity after a full park day. How will the distance from gate to hotel compare to that?

The other downside to me is not having breakfast, but the price difference is considerable so we may have to suck it up and buy breakfast/eat in our room. This is a two week trip with a one way car rental (good grief, that's not cheap) and one way flights home, so price of hotels is a big consideration at this point.

Anyone have any other suggestions? We are overwhelmed, to say the least. ;P

 

[NannyBeBe]

We have stayed at HoJo many times and have never been disappointed. Their customer service is fabulous. We had a very unfortunate incident during one of our stays and their handling of it was far beyond what anyone could expect. The walk may seem long if no one talks, but we usually are talking about our day while walking and are at the hotel before we know it. I am in my 70s and have no problem with the walk.

 

[crystal1313]

Hojo is one of our favorite places to stay! Fantastic customer service! I know they have been recently renovating some of the rooms and they go with a mid century vibe. We love the size of the rooms (we usually book a 2 queen room in the tallest building). The rooms are always super clean too. We walk a lot while in the parks (average about 14 miles a day) so to us, the walk is not bad at all! Not having breakfast has never been an issue for us. We usually bring something to eat in the room (and there is a mimi's, panera and Mcdonalds the next block down... plus the hotel has a tiny convenience store with stuff too). Love that they do not charge for parking!! To me, the no charge for parking makes up for no breakfast. We also love their beds and pillows! So comfortable!! I would sign up for Wyndham rewards too since you are staying so many nights. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I am a big fan of Hojo and stay there for most of my Disneyland stays, over 40 times in the last 10 years. The customer service is great, the rooms are clean, the beds are comfortable. I prefer the interior corridors also over the nearby motel options. The walk to the parks is really not a problem, about 10-15 minutes depending on walking speed. Parking is free. The lack of breakfast doesn't bother us because we bring things for ourselves to eat in the room and can then be on our own schedule rather than scrambling with all the other guests in the morning to eat and get where we are going. Since you will have a car, you should be able to fit in a grocery run once or just bring along some handy breakfast foods to at least get some sort of food into everyone to start the day. There are nearby options as well such as Mimi's which in addition to being a full-service restaurant has lots of great carry-out options and a McDonald's (though I hear that can be a pretty crazy packed place) and a Panera down the street between the hotel and the parks. As for the rooms, do check which room type you are booking. I haven't tried the rooms in buildings 3-6 but do know they have smaller beds and possibly less floor space. The rooms we have had in buildings 1 and 2 are quite spacious.

 

[pharmama]

Just recently stayed at the Hojo and had a great experience. Really liked the newly renovated room in Building 1 (it was a significant improvement over when we stayed in Building 1 pre-renovation several years ago). The walk really isn't that bad. I recommend crossing to the DL side of Harbor at Manchester, NOT at the main crosswalk entrance farther down by BWPPI. You'll have a much quieter walk and only have to cross one driveway (which is a CM entrance and not heavily used) vs. multiple hotel/restaurant driveways. Then turn into DL just past the bus stop benches. There's a path that there takes you into the DL end of the Harbor security checkpoints and the lines can be MUCH shorter. One of our days the main Harbor entrance was solid people almost all the way back to Harbor but the lines at the far Disneyland end where this path takes you were less than half the length.

Also, Hojo has a DIS discount so take advantage of that too. Their AP discount is even better if that applies to you.

 

[TandLMommy28]

Thanks everyone. I really think this is a good fit for us. I am so overwhelmed, ugh. We go to WDW so much that it's nearly on autopilot. All this planning is really freaking me out. Knowing where to stay is one big thing off my list.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

If the parking is still free - that's a huge savings! And Mimi's Cafe next door is great. I love Hojo's but have recently converted to Homewood Suites Convention Center, and taking the Toy Story shuttle for free. But this change coincided with using Uber from the Orange County/John Wayne airport instead of renting a car.

Once you have your hotel, the planning necessary for DL is much less than WDW - so don't stress out!! You'll have a great time!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

HOJO is my favorite affordable hotel to stay at when visiting Disneyland, especially when I'm with my family. You really can't go wrong. Beds are comfortable. Rooms are clean and spacious. The only, literally only downside, is no free breakfast. But, McDonald's and Panera are very close, so it's not so bad.

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

We always stay next door at the Courtyard, and the walk is not long at all. Not even in the slightest. It takes us 5 minutes to get to the gate. Lots of food choices along the way, just don't eat at that Captain Kidd's place!

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

If I don't stay at GCH, this is where I stay. Great choice.

 

[TandLMommy28]

If the parking is still free - that's a huge savings! And Mimi's Cafe next door is great. I love Hojo's but have recently converted to Homewood Suites Convention Center, and taking the Toy Story shuttle for free. But this change coincided with using Uber from the Orange County/John Wayne airport instead of renting a car.

Once you have your hotel, the planning necessary for DL is much less than WDW - so don't stress out!! You'll have a great time!

Yeah, I'm not so stressed about the parks themselves. It's the getting there and then the where to stay. We are spending the week before driving Route 66 and there is just SO MUCH to consider with that, throwing a new Disney park on top of it makes me a bit nervous but I think it'll be fine.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I would go compare prices with homewood suites convention center. Full breakfast. And dinner monday the through Thursday. They have a weekly discount.

 

[PairOfDice]

We stayed there in 2016 and it was great. Clean and comfortable. I clocked the walk at 8 minutes. I would stay there again in a heartbeat but I haven't been able to get as good a deal as I did in 2016.
Your Route 66 plus Disneyland trip sounds awesome!

I wanted to edit this to add that they remodeled a couple of years ago so everything is clean, comfortable, AND NEW!

 

[JohnneeO]

Just recently stayed at the Hojo and had a great experience. Really liked the newly renovated room in Building 1 (it was a significant improvement over when we stayed in Building 1 pre-renovation several years ago). The walk really isn't that bad. I recommend crossing to the DL side of Harbor at Manchester, NOT at the main crosswalk entrance farther down by BWPPI. You'll have a much quieter walk and only have to cross one driveway (which is a CM entrance and not heavily used) vs. multiple hotel/restaurant driveways. Then turn into DL just past the bus stop benches. There's a path that there takes you into the DL end of the Harbor security checkpoints and the lines can be MUCH shorter. One of our days the main Harbor entrance was solid people almost all the way back to Harbor but the lines at the far Disneyland end where this path takes you were less than half the length.

I was intrigued by your description, and I was able to find exactly where this path is using Google Street Views. Thanks for the tip, we are staying at Hojo's in November, and I am planning on trying this out!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... We will have just spent a week in the car together (driving route 66) so having a little space to spread out won't hurt my feelings...
Anyone have any other suggestions? We are overwhelmed, to say the least. ;P

Have you seen this trip report (June 2017 Trip Report – WDW vets reflect on their first DLR trip)? This poster had a great idea to take photos of icons along Rte. 66, then to take photos in Cars Land of the Disney versions -- very fun! Maybe you could do something like that, too. I keep telling DH that I want to do this one day!

 

[kirstie101]

Add me to the list of Hojo fans! We stay there on all of our trips now! The walk is less then 10 minutes to the security check. We like to cross Harbor and walk down the Disney side of the street. We feel it’s faster as there’s no motel driveways to stop for and it’s less crowded. You turn inti the drop off area just after the bus stop. No need to cross the street to join the folks crossing over from harbor at the light.

For breakfast we eat in the room a lot. We usually bring yogurt and such with us. You could grab some stuff from Target which isn’t too far a drive. We also like to grab a pack of muffins at Mimi’s restaurant across the street and then eat those for breakfast. McDonalds and Panera are close by too. Oh and Hojo has Keurig coffee makers in all their rooms which I like. But if you need Starbucks, there is one in the lobby of the courtyard by Marriott which is right across the street.

 

[kirstie101]

I am a big fan of Hojo and stay there for most of my Disneyland stays, over 40 times in the last 10 years. The customer service is great, the rooms are clean, the beds are comfortable. I prefer the interior corridors also over the nearby motel options. The walk to the parks is really not a problem, about 10-15 minutes depending on walking speed. Parking is free. The lack of breakfast doesn't bother us because we bring things for ourselves to eat in the room and can then be on our own schedule rather than scrambling with all the other guests in the morning to eat and get where we are going. Since you will have a car, you should be able to fit in a grocery run once or just bring along some handy breakfast foods to at least get some sort of food into everyone to start the day. There are nearby options as well such as Mimi's which in addition to being a full-service restaurant has lots of great carry-out options and a McDonald's (though I hear that can be a pretty crazy packed place) and a Panera down the street between the hotel and the parks. As for the rooms, do check which room type you are booking. I haven't tried the rooms in buildings 3-6 but do know they have smaller beds and possibly less floor space. The rooms we have had in buildings 1 and 2 are quite spacious.

Wanted to add that we’ve stayed in all the buildings and 3-6 are just as spacious!!! Room size is another reason we prefer Hojo. The beds in these rooms are a double but they are longer than your standard double.

 

[Didi8367]

Add me to the chorus of praise for the HoJo. We stayed there last summer and enjoyed it. It took us about 8 minutes to get to the gate of DL on the way there. Probably closer to 12 minutes on the way back, after a full day in the park (I logged 12 miles of walking on that day!). But, still, totally doable! The HoJo is also very easy on/off the freeway, for what that's worth. I think you made a great choice!

 

[tarheelalum]

Hojo is a good place and the walk is not bad at all. Have a great time!

 

[behappyJules]

Thanks for posting this - we just decided to stay here for our first Disneyland trip next summer!