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View Full Version : Where to Stay not in Disneyland



Magic Smiles
02-04-2009, 08:15 PM
I was thinking about staying 3 or 4 nights in Disneyland and then another 3 or 4 nights off-site. Where would you recommend?

NotaGeek
02-04-2009, 08:39 PM
There are several threads going now with recommendations for off site hotels. Try looking for hotels on Harbor ... they are right across from the main entrance to the DLR and some are about 5 minutes to the gates.

My top 3 favorite:

1. Best Western Park Place Inn
2. Ramada Inn Maingate
3. Fairfield by Marriott

scoot241
02-04-2009, 08:40 PM
The Howard Johnson on Harbor was a decent hotel.

I would suggest staying offsite for the first portion of your trip if you plan to do this. You won't want to move down to the offsite hotels once you're in any of the DLR hotels.

Magic Smiles
02-04-2009, 08:55 PM
I would suggest staying offsite for the first portion of your trip if you plan to do this. You won't want to move down to the offsite hotels once you're in any of the DLR hotels.

Why would that be? I am looking at the Disneyland Hotel for part of the stay. Is there a big difference from staying on-site and off-site in Disneyland? We have only ever stayed on-site when in WDW, always at the Port Orleans French Quarter.
We will be driving to Disney from Las Vegas and then flying home from LAX.

NotaGeek
02-04-2009, 09:00 PM
Most of the properties around the resort are Motels ... so they are MUCH different than the Resort Hotels. I would also say try for staying on property at the end ...

If you don't mind being a bit further there's a really nice Marriott by the convention center that I have stayed at before... it's great and has a Starbucks! It's a drive ... or you can use the Anaheim area resort shuttle

mook3y
02-04-2009, 09:59 PM
I have to agree, big difference between resort hotels and the motels in the area. But... if you are spending all day at the park and just need a place to sleep and shower, then I recommend the carousel inn. It is literally across the street from Disneyland, has a free continental breakfast in a room with a great view of the parks. Its a fun way to start they day for a fraction of staying at the DLR resort.

For us personally, I would take Carousel Inn over paradise pier.

Magic Smiles
02-04-2009, 10:17 PM
We want to do 3 or 4 days in Disneyland and also go to Universal and Sea World and maybe something else depending on time. Really have no idea. A day to the ocean would also be nice. Normally when in WDW we stay on-site the whole trip but still do all the other places around, but the Disneyland Hotels are so much more expensive.
Originally planning 1 week in Las Vegas (a day for the Grand Canyon) and 1 week around Disneyland..........might have to re-think the plan, as the more I think about the ocean, the more I like the idea. If airfare wasn't so expensive for us, we would do 2 separate trips.

I NEED A MAP! Will have to pick one up tomorrow.

badkitty
02-04-2009, 10:46 PM
I agree with staying off-site first and then move to the Disney hotels. You won't want to spend very much time in your motel room unless you are at the Marriott. The non-Disney motel situation around DLR was one of Walt's biggest regrets and one of the reasons why he bought up so much land around WDW.

I have stayed at all of the off-site locations listed previous and agree these are the better choices. Beware some of the lower priced options. We stayed at one that we didn't research very well (I can't remember but it was behind either the Denny's or the IHop- I will have to ask my sister) and it was scary. I didn't want to take my shoes off! LOL! We still laugh about that.

Tinkerbellaella
02-04-2009, 10:53 PM
We have also stayed and the Fairfield by Marriot which was nice, and right across the street from the main gate.

Another one of our favorites is the Candy Cane Inn. The rooms seem to be a bit smaller but they are very clean, and it also includes an expanded continental breakfast. It is a reasonable walk to the gate, or you can take their shuttle for free.

I also agree, stay off site first then move to the DLR hotel. I would recommend either the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian as the Pier seems to be a Holiday in with Disney decoration added.

Magic Smiles
02-05-2009, 06:18 AM
I can just see which way this thread is going....we will probably end up broke, but in a Disney Resort for the whole week. I really need to get a map and found out where the other attractions that we want to visit are.
Thanks for everyones input. I was thinking that all the surrounding hotel would be great like in Orlando.

scoot241
02-05-2009, 10:38 AM
I can just see which way this thread is going....we will probably end up broke, but in a Disney Resort for the whole week. I really need to get a map and found out where the other attractions that we want to visit are.
Thanks for everyones input. I was thinking that all the surrounding hotel would be great like in Orlando.

We stayed at the Howard Johnson the entire week we were in California. It was a normal Howard Johnson; nothing special, just a clean room. My comment was simply saying that you would probably want to move up to the nicer DLR accommodations instead of down to the Howard Johnson (or similar).

We bought the Southern California CityPass when we went. It included 1-day tickets to Sea World, Universal, and a choice of the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Wild Animal Park. It also included a 3-day Park Hopper at DLR. We drove down to San Diego for a day and did both the zoo and Sea World, then spent most of a day going to Universal and Los Angeles, and spent the next 3 days at DLR.

The Howard Johnson is about a 5 minute walk away from the entrance to DLR on Harbor. It was nice to be able to walk to Downtown Disney when we felt like it. We took the Anaheim Resort shuttle once because we paid for the passes, but we didn't really need them.

mook3y
02-05-2009, 11:23 PM
Just some food for thought, I grew up in San Dimas California and there are a couple of nice hotels in the area (red roof inn for sure) It is a very nice and safe area and is about 30 minutes from Disneyland, 35-40 from Knotts, an hour from Magic Mountain, 40 minutes from Universal Studios. Not sure what other site seeing you want to do, but it is a pretty central spot.

That said, for more $ closer to the beach is always nicer. :)

Also, check out the last minute hotel reservation website, PM me if you not sure who i am talking about. You can pretty much figure out what hotel your going to get based by the ammenities and rating and you can save a lot of $. (this wont work for disneyland resort though).

Just some more options!

Enjoy!

Melanie
02-07-2009, 07:40 PM
I would recommend either the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian as the Pier seems to be a Holiday in with Disney decoration added.

I personally don't agree with your assessment of Paradise Pier at all. Much better than any Holiday Inn I've ever stayed at. I put it on par with any other Disney resort I've stayed at, certainly much nicer than the values at WDW.

As for off-site at Disneyland, I've stayed at both the Fairfield and the Best Western Park Place. Both very clean, convenient and good price.

Magic Smiles
02-08-2009, 11:49 AM
I know that with the 3 day or more hopper pass that you get 1 early admisison, but if you stay in a Disneyland Hotel, do you get early admission to a park every day? That for me would be the deciding factor I guess now after reading the comments.

bobpfef
02-08-2009, 01:02 PM
I know that with the 3 day or more hopper pass that you get 1 early admisison, but if you stay in a Disneyland Hotel, do you get early admission to a park every day? That for me would be the deciding factor I guess now after reading the comments.

No, early admission is on, I believe, Tues, Thrus, Sat and Sun

NotaGeek
02-08-2009, 07:09 PM
I know that with the 3 day or more hopper pass that you get 1 early admisison, but if you stay in a Disneyland Hotel, do you get early admission to a park every day? That for me would be the deciding factor I guess now after reading the comments.
You get early admission on any day it's offered.

Marilyn Michetti
02-10-2009, 01:22 PM
We've stayed at Candy Cane, and will be again in April. It's not HC accessible on the bus, so I ride over, and DH takes the shuttle. (he's getting old too).

Candy Cane has a nice breakfast, the rooms are adorable, and it's almost as close as Fairfield Marriott.:mickey:

mjm12000
02-13-2009, 02:14 PM
My last trip we stayed at the Camelot Inn right across the street from DL, we had a king size room with a view of the park. The room was your typical motel type room, nothing fancy but not gross either and with a great view and being right across the street with a view into the park you can't complain. I would stay there again or in any of the hotels along Harbour as they are all about the same price and style room and are as close if not closer than two of the Disney Hotels to DL and California Adventure.

gwfx1031
02-19-2009, 03:17 PM
I also vote for Cany Cane Inn. It is so clean, close, has a nice pool, and a decent breakfast.

Magic Smiles
02-21-2009, 12:40 AM
I am currently looking at 3 hotels, Sheraton Park Hotel, Sheraton Anaheim Hotel and the Ramada Plaza Hotel Anaheim-South.
Any opinions on these three? As we won't be going to Disneyland on the days that we are in this hotel, it doesn't have to be within walking distance of Disney. We have decided to stay at the Disneyland Hotel for our time in Disney.
Ramada has free parking which is a bonus. Not sure about the other 2.

delphinidae308
02-21-2009, 11:10 PM
I've stayed right next to the Ramada Plaza Hotel Anaheim-South before. Sorry I can't tell you about the hotel itself, but I can at least tell you the Garden Walk is within walking distance if you're interested in that. Last time I was there, there were little pizza and chinese eateries that had decent food at the corner of Katella and Harbor. And there is a stop in front of the hotel for the Anaheim Resort shuttle should you need to hop up to DL for some reason after all.

PhilHarHarMagic
02-22-2009, 07:39 AM
We're going to stay in Santa Monica for a couple of nights, and then go to DL - it breaks up the trip a bit and provides a chance for a little local "flavor".

Magic Smiles
02-25-2009, 06:32 AM
Well after going back and forth what seemed like a hundred times, we have finally booked a hotel. This sure ISN'T WDW :(
We have booked the Howard Johnson's. Just could not justify $2000.00 US CAA rate plus approx 23% exchange for 6 nights at the Disneyland Hotel. So instead of 6 nights, we are now staying in the HoJo for 9 nights, deluxe Disney view for $120.00 a night (plus tax & exchange). Could have opted for an even cheaper room, but decided on this one. I have to say that I am a little disappointed, but will live with it. I don't understand how the Disneyland Resorts manage to keep going at those rates in this economy.
So we have now booked our Las Vegas portion - Mandalaya Bay, our Los Angeles portion - Hilton Universal and finally our Disneyland portion - Howard Johnsons. Should overall be a great 2 1/2 week vacation. With the extra days in Anaheim, we will have lots of time to see Disney, beaches and lots of the surrounding areas. Might even have time to throw a shopping mall into the vacation.

Kennywife
02-28-2009, 09:19 AM
You will be amazed how much there is to do there! I absolutely love DL! It's smaller than WDW but so charming! When you walk in the gates at Disneyland Park, be prepared to feel it....you can feel Walt's prescence! At least I did. :thumbsup:

Here's what I would suggest for your trip:
Check out Anaheim Gardenwalk and go to the Rocky Mountain Candy shop I think that's what it's called. You can get a ton of chocolate candy for not a lot of $.

Be sure to try California Pizza Kitchen at the Gardenwalk....it is to die for! :cloud9:

At Disneyland, the rides not to be missed are: Splash Mountain, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (found only at DL), Pirates of the Carribbean, The Matterhorn (also found only at DL), and the tea cups. At DCA, check out Grizzly River Rapids, It's a Bug's Life, Cali Screamin, and Toy Story Mania.

Be sure when you're in Anaheim to go to this restaurant, Tiffy's. It is sooo good and the atmosphere is a turn of the century vibe. You can look up the location on the internet.

Universal is fun too. Citywalk is not to be missed! They have some great eateries and souveneir shops.

HTH.

Anna

Magic Smiles
02-28-2009, 10:37 AM
Here's what I would suggest for your trip:
Check out Anaheim Gardenwalk and go to the Rocky Mountain Candy shop I think that's what it's called. You can get a ton of chocolate candy for not a lot of $.
Anna
If the Rocky Mountain Candy shop is the same as the one in Banff, Alberta, then I can't wait. I love that shop. We have one in Ottawa, but it does not carry the same items as the one in Banff. I will keep my fingers crossed for my coconut brittle.

disneymama09
03-02-2009, 12:54 AM
I recommend the Howard Johnson or the Candy Cane Inn as the cleanest, safest hotels, in my opinion, Beside the obvious choice OF the Disney Hotels.

Tiggerlovr9000
03-02-2009, 10:37 AM
We were just there in Feb. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza resort on Harbor Blvd. It was a very nice hotel. The shuttle ran every half hour. The hot tub was awesome and the staff very helpful. If there was any noise we didn't hear it. The cleaning staff was great and always had our room clean as soon as we left the room each morning. Would definitely stay there again.

dtootsie42
03-07-2009, 09:22 PM
We stayed at the Howard Johnsons and really enjoyed this hotel. The rooms were nice and large and really clean!! We would definitely stay there again.

Magic Smiles
03-28-2009, 10:34 PM
Well after going back and forth what seemed like a hundred times, we have finally booked a hotel. This sure ISN'T WDW :(
We have booked the Howard Johnson's. Just could not justify $2000.00 US CAA rate plus approx 23% exchange for 6 nights at the Disneyland Hotel. So instead of 6 nights, we are now staying in the HoJo for 9 nights, deluxe Disney view for $120.00 a night (plus tax & exchange). Could have opted for an even cheaper room, but decided on this one. I have to say that I am a little disappointed, but will live with it. I don't understand how the Disneyland Resorts manage to keep going at those rates in this economy.

Okay, I couldn't justify paying $2000.00 for 6 nights so booked at HoJos. So out comes the pay for 3 nights get 2 free, so what do I do? I get Magical Journey's to book us 7 nights at the Grand Californian. We added 2 nights onto our stay in Los Angeles at the Hilton and took 2 nights off our DIsneyland stay. After discussing it with DH, we decided since we will probably never be back to DIsneyland, we might at well splurge. So goodbye Howard Johnson's, Hello Grand Californian! I must be out of my mind.
Now our vacation is 5 nights in Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, 5 nights in Los Angeles Universal Hilton and 7 nights at the Grand Californian. Should be a great vacation!

NotaGeek
03-28-2009, 11:11 PM
Okay, I couldn't justify paying $2000.00 for 6 nights so booked at HoJos. So out comes the pay for 3 nights get 2 free, so what do I do? I get Magical Journey's to book us 7 nights at the Grand Californian. We added 2 nights onto our stay in Los Angeles at the Hilton and took 2 nights off our DIsneyland stay. After discussing it with DH, we decided since we will probably never be back to DIsneyland, we might at well splurge. So goodbye Howard Johnson's, Hello Grand Californian! I must be out of my mind.
Now our vacation is 5 nights in Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, 5 nights in Los Angeles Universal Hilton and 7 nights at the Grand Californian. Should be a great vacation!
Awesome! I just stayed at the GCH for the first time a few weeks ago and I really loved it. It was SO nice to be a few steps from bring right inside DCA, and just a short walk in the other direction to get to the main gates of either park. Be sure and eat a lunch at White Water Snacks at the GCH ... it's a nice relaxing eatery and its right across from where the Miner 49ers play at DCA, so you might luck out and get some live music wih your meal! The nachos at White Water are outstanding!

Magic Smiles
03-29-2009, 03:32 PM
Awesome! I just stayed at the GCH for the first time a few weeks ago and I really loved it. It was SO nice to be a few steps from bring right inside DCA, and just a short walk in the other direction to get to the main gates of either park. Be sure and eat a lunch at White Water Snacks at the GCH ... it's a nice relaxing eatery and its right across from where the Miner 49ers play at DCA, so you might luck out and get some live music wih your meal! The nachos at White Water are outstanding!

Was just reading some of the reviews of White Water Snacks. Definitely sounds like our type of restaurant! Will probably frequent that place. Thanks for the suggestion.
Now to find a good character breakfast.

NotaGeek
03-29-2009, 04:51 PM
Was just reading some of the reviews of White Water Snacks. Definitely sounds like our type of restaurant! Will probably frequent that place. Thanks for the suggestion.
Now to find a good character breakfast.
IMO the best character breakfast is at Goofy's Kitchen ... good food, great character interaction and it's a total hodgepodge of characters. You never know who you're gonna see! My second choice would be the PCH Grill, lots of options and also great Character interaction.

wildernesslady
04-13-2009, 02:31 PM
You will love the GC. It was designed by the same architecht who did the Wilderness Lodge. It is beautiful. I've been to DL twice. Once we stayed at GC and the other Ramada Maingate. I will never stay offsite there again. You made the right decision. It sounds like you are taking the vacation we are planning for next summer. I can't wait to read your reports.

LittleSpirit02
04-14-2009, 04:55 PM
I would highly recommend the Candy Cane Inn. We've stayed there last summer and onsite at Paradise Pier the trip prior to that. We had a great experience at both hotels but the Candy Cane Inn was much better price wise. We had excellent service, our room was nice and the beds were incredibly comfortable which was perfect after all that walking in the parks. They offer a continental breakfast, a nice pool with a sitting area and private shuttle service to and from the parks. We ended up walking just because we enjoy it and it was a very short (and nice) walk into the parks. The walk was no longer than going from Paradise Pier. Walking back at night was fun, actually, cause the streets were lit and as you walk back you could see attractions like Tower of Terror lit. It had a nice atmosphere. We'd definitely go back to the Candy Cane Inn again - and I'm one who was skeptical of offsite hotels so that's saying something. :D