New to Disneyland...

[Kennywife]

I'm looking into booking a trip to Disneyland in August. It will be just me and hubby. We've been to WDW only and would like to work this trip around our Vegas trip.

I was thinking of an off-site hotel. We would like to stay for four days. What off-site hotels would you recommend? What places should we eat at? What are things we should do?

Anna

DL trip Aug. 22-26, 2008?
June 18-25, 2006 honeymoon WDW/cruise
Next trip to the world:
in progress!

[NotaGeek]

Hello there. There are quite a few threads regarding Good Neighbor hotels going presently in Accommodations/Dining ... here's ONE that is exactly what you are looking for.

As for dining, here's ONE that is also on track with your question that is in the Dining forum.

A good idea to find out hints on what to do can be found all over other threads in Vacation Planning ... or of course by taking a read in the Trip Reports thread.

[tinkwest]

In August I would suggest you find a hotel with a nice pool and decent air conditioning. Temps during your visit will probably be in the high 80s and 90s. Be sure to figure some down time in to your schedule to relax & cool off.

[MatterhornMiss]

What I love most about DLR is being able to do things not at WDW: the Matterhorn (My favorite!), Alice in Wonderland, the submarine ride, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (still at DL!), Pinnochio, Enchanted Tiki Room, Casey Jr's Train, Storybookland Canal Boats, Indiana Jones. Even some of the rides the parks share are different at DL (I think both Space Mountain and Pirates are better at DL). And you can still catch the Electrical Parade (although somewhat abreviated) at DCA! Besides the Matterhorn, I also have to recommend Billy Hill and the Hillbillies (playing at the Golden Horseshoe). My favorite team is Billy Gold because it contains 3 of the 4 orignial Billys. There are websites that tell you which days which teams perform which days, if you are interested.

[Kennywife]

Ok. Here's what we are thinking.

We have narrowed it down to:

Candy Cane Inn
Carousel Inn
Ramada Inn Maingate
Anaheim Plaza
Jolly Rodger Hotel
Camelot Inn

Of those, what would be the ones you'd suggest? We are on a budget, so some of them may not be do-able.

Anna

[tinkwest]

My

Candy Cane Inn - Have never stayed there. Heard great things. Hope to stay there some day.

Carousel Inn - Stayed there once. It was fine. Nothing fancy. Just a bit worn. Nice staff. Within walking distance of Resort entrance.

Jolly Rodger Hotel - Stayed there once. Hated it. Wouldn't go back. Admittedly this was pre-DCA, about a dozen years ago, so maybe it has improved??

[Kennywife]

We decided to do Days Inn Disneyland West and stay there a week instead of going on to LV.

Anna


1st trip to the World:

June 18-25, 2006 Disneymoon!

1st trip to the Land:

Aug. 22-29, off-site at Days Inn Disneyland West.

2nd trip to the World:

in progress

[tinkwest]

I think from that Days Inn you can walk to the parking structure and take the tram in to Downtown Disney.

[Kennywife]

We booked Extended Stay America for Aug. 24-29 out of hotwire.com We got a fabulous deal and I am so excited!!!!

Anna

[Marla]

I am really sorry to tell you this. If the Extended Stay America is off the 91 FWY, I hope you have a good expierence there. We stayed there once when we could not find a room on Harbor. By, "extended stay" they expect you to have your own soap, etc.. This hotel was fairly new so we were surprised to see the abuse to this room. Like chipped formica and carpet stains. The worst part was when I turned down the bed I found Cheerios!

[Kennywife]

The one we have is the one at the Anaheim Convention Center. I checked on the website and it looks to be pretty close to teh park. We don't spend a lot of time in our hotels. We are out most of teh days exploring where we are.

Anna

[seanyred]

We are also staying at the Extended Stay near Anaheim Convention Center in July '08. I've stayed at other Extended Stay's and they are not super fancy but you can't beat the price, especially through hotwire. Besides the way I see it I'm there to spend my money at the parks...not at a hotel that I'm only there to sleep.

[Kennywife]

Hubby has inventory (he works at Wal-Mart in the kids dept) during the time we will be gone. So, we are moving the trip to the end of September. I am using MJ and think I got a better deal!

Anna

[tinkwest]

Although the hours will be shorter I think you will discover that the parks in late September will be delightfully uncrowded compared to summertime months.

[Aisling]

But it can still get super hot! Bring sunscreen and layers - the nights get chilly.

I love the park in September!

[Carol]

If you are used to tolerating the weather at WDW - Disneyland will be a dream.

I visited Disneyland in August last year and cannot complain and I am someone who hates the heat. Having low humidity makes the world of difference. I traveled to WDW in October last year and it was horribly humid.

Hence I've been to Disneyland 5 times to WDW's one in the past 2 years.

You'll be fine. Enjoy.

[Kennywife]

We will be going Sept. 30-Oct. 5th. (Staying two nights beforehand at Palace Station (just a place to sleep for us we'll be too busy going all over) in Vegas...I'm a Travel Writer btw and this is part of an assignment!)

Anna

[GloMonkey]

Ok. Here's what we are thinking.

We have narrowed it down to:

Candy Cane Inn
Carousel Inn
Ramada Inn Maingate
Anaheim Plaza
Jolly Rodger Hotel
Camelot Inn

Of those, what would be the ones you'd suggest? We are on a budget, so some of them may not be do-able.

Anna

The Anaheim Plaza has a HUGE pool. About the limit of the walking distance. BW Anaheim Inn, is fine. Desert Inn and BW Park Place are all fine, ( super close)I have not heard good things about the Jolly Roger. Desert Inn and Park Place Inn both offer breakfast.