We need advice, please!

[Mom 2 Two]

Hi all, I am a fairly new poster to these boards, but a longtime lurker who needs some advice. First, a little background info. I would consider myself a WDW veteran. We have visited 4 times since 2000 and love WDW. We only stay onsite because we have young children(DD6 and DS3). We have a trip planned for December 2007. Well, last night my husband found out that he has an incentive trip (he is an insurance salesman) he has won to San Diego next April for the 2 of us. We will be in San Diego April 12-17 2007. That set my mind rolling--"What if we extend a couple of days and visit DL?" So, here are a few of my questions. Which hotel should we consider? It will just be the 2 of us trying to spend as much time in the parks as possible, so we want to be close and not depend on a shuttle to get us to and from the parks. We will have a rental car, but are not very sure we want to drive to and from the park because of traffic. Or do we? I can't find a website to quote a one night stay onsite. Can anyone give me historical rates? What hotels do you recommend? Can we realistically do DL in 1.5 days? Any advice would be appreciated. TIA!!
Karla

 

[hlbtimes2]

Those dates are going to be during spring break, so I would expect the parks to be somewhat busy. You'll be able to see a lot in 1 1/2 days, but not everything thing.

For hotels it depends on what is important to you. There are 3 onsite hotels. For that time period I doubt you'll see rates under $200 a night. Its possible, but I wouldnt count on it. But, the nice thing about DL is that everything is pretty close by! For walking distance hotels I would recomend: Candy cane inn (has a shuttle, buts 10 min. walk if you dont want to wait), Hojo's (howard johnson) also about a 10-15 min. walk, or the Fairfield inn (one hotel closer then hojo's). There are others, but those are the ones I can personally recomend. They will all run you about $100-130 a night. Most of the hotels in the area are older motels (doors open outside rather in to a hall way), that were built in the 50's and 60's. The 3 I recomend are all well cared for, and are a clean bed to sleep in and shower- nothing fancy.

 

[thmar]

I'm faily new to this post too...but have been to Disneyland many times. I would recommend staying at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel or the Disneyland Hotel. The Grand Californian is now considered Disney's premier hotel, but personally I still prefer the Disneyland Hotel just because it seems more "Disney" to me...I can spend nights at hotel like the Grand Californian more often. Go to Disney's official site

 

[mom2dzb]

Mom 2 Two, transportation at DL is nowhere near the nightmare it is at WDW. Of course staying onsite is "magical", but choosing any nearby hotel will be very convenient.

 

[Mom 2 Two]

Thanks for the info, keep it coming! We would not be at DL until the 17th. Is that still spring break? Ours here is April 2-6, but I know each state is different. How are the hotels broken down? All deluxe, or are some moderate? I do not mind paying $200/night if I am getting a nice "Disney" hotel that is convenient for us. I tried disneyland.com, but they will only quote 2 nights and I think we only can stay one. Any other sites that might give me a general idea of room rates? Thanks guys, the DIS is wonderful!
Karla

 

[hlbtimes2]

If you go to the Disney website, on the far left side you can click on "hotels" right below the disneyland logo. From there you can click on each hotel, and on "rates".

The time frame you are look at is considered "Holiday", so it's the most expensive time.
The starting, standard rack rates for 2006 were $400 for GC, $295 for DLH and $265 for PP. Rates are going up next year. Its not to say you can't find a cheaper rate, but that gives you an idea. Your best bet for a one night stay is expedia/ travelocity, etc.

They dont really classify them like the do at WDW. GC is the nicest of the 3. Its very close to the parks, and is the only one of the 3 that was built by Disney. The Disneyland hotel is next in line- its 2nd closest, and the "original" disney hotel. Although it was not built by Disney. PP is the furthest from the parks. Its about 15 min walk. The theme park view of DCA is awsome!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Oh, and Expedia is not showing any rooms right now, but that doesnt mean they are sold out. It probably too early for them to have their block of rooms from Disney. They dont usually have them this far out.

 

[MulanFan]

Consider a Good Neighbour hotel. It's as close as the property hotels. We stayed at the Tropicana and it was closer than the Disneyland Hotel. I think you can see a lot in a day and a half. Just hit the popular rides early in the day, use Fastpass and prioritize what you'd like to do. Have fun!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi Karla:

Wanted to make sure you were aware of my recent thread "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

As noted by others, it will be busy during your trip. You can do a bit in 1.5 days. You should do a bit of planning to get the most out of your time.

Have a great trip.

 

[my3kids]

It really isn't like WDW wit moderates, deluxe, etc. GC is considered the nicest. It is a lot like AKL, imo. DLH is older, but nice, comfortable and fun. Very Disney like. It would be considered a deluxe at WDW, I think because of 2 queens, super pool theming, room service, etc. Paradise Pier is the least expensive of the onsites. The rooms are large and you can get great park views. Everything is very different from WDW. I kept reading that here but until we went I didn't understand what everyone meant by saying that. Off site properties really are as close to the gates or even closer than some nsite ones. You walk everywhere. No parking lot hassles, no busses between parks. There is a plaza area and one side is DL and the other is California Adventure. You really can HOP from one to another.

 

[thmar]

WOW!!! Hyrdoguy...loved your insite (link in earlier post) As a person who loves Disneyland and definately wants to experience DisneyWorld, I felt that many people who had come to Disneyland after being a WDW vet were extremely harsh in what they thought of Disneyland...I even heard one uninformed soul telling his family that WDW was the first Disney Park, and that people on the West Coast had wanted something....so Walt Disney decided to build Disneyland, but the value of land was so expensive here they could only build it like this.

 

[Rella Bella]

Well, last night my husband found out that he has an incentive trip (he is an insurance salesman) he has won to San Diego next April for the 2 of us. We will be in San Diego April 12-17 2007. That set my mind rolling--"What if we extend a couple of days and visit DL?" So, here are a few of my questions. Which hotel should we consider? It will just be the 2 of us trying to spend as much time in the parks as possible, so we want to be close and not depend on a shuttle to get us to and from the parks. We will have a rental car, but are not very sure we want to drive to and from the park because of traffic. Or do we? I can't find a website to quote a one night stay onsite. Can anyone give me historical rates? What hotels do you recommend? Can we realistically do DL in 1.5 days? Any advice would be appreciated. TIA!!
Karla

That is just what we did in July! We arrived Friday afternoon, spent that evening, all day Saturday and Sunday from 10-3 and felt we saw pretty much everything... of course we couldn't "do" it all, but we did almost all the attractions that aren't at WDW and several that are at both.

There are so many hotels within walking distance! Of course the Grand Californian is the closest but Candy Cane & Castle Suites are about the same distance as DL Hotel & Paradise. We chose the Sheraton Park and it wasn't much further. Everything is so much closer together: the parks are smaller, the distance between them is shorter and the hotels are all so much closer.

The walk from the Sheraton Park to the Disney entrance was the same or shorter than walking from the back exit of Epcot to the Beach Club. It's very close.

Hey if you can swing the GC go for it, but we had a Deluxe King at the SP and it was delightful for our romantic get away. (We paid $119.00, at peak season. And added to that: Anaheim has a pretty steep room tax that you'll pay no matter where you stay and we paid for parking... also true at most hotels there.)

Have fun planning... it's half the fun!

 

[Mom 2 Two]

Thanks everyone for your replies. You have been very helpful. HydroGuy, your post is awesome! Thanks for putting all of that info together for us. Rella Bella, thanks for the distance prospective. We stayed at the Beach Club last July, so I know it is not a very far walk to Epcot's back entrance. I can't believe everything is so close together at DL. I am looking forward to that aspect of it. I always dread all of the transportation issues at WDW. Other than the Sheraton Park, what other Good neighbor hotels can anyone recommend? TIA!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Other than the Sheraton Park, what other Good neighbor hotels can anyone recommend? TIA!

Tell us about your needs and wants- rate them from most important to least important.

Room size? Walking distance or shuttle? Breakfast free or not? Number of pools/ size of pool? Wi-fi internet? Free parking? Suite or single room? In room microwave / fridge? Etc, etc. What do you need?