Disneyland Newbie questions

[Dano13]

Hi All,

After going to WDW religiously he last several years, we have also sprinkled in a pair of Disney Cruises, we are now looking into doing Disneyland for the first time either this summer or next.

I know there are not a dining plan options available so that is a big difference but I cannot see if there is a huge difference between staying at one of the 3 disney properties or staying at one of the affiliated good neighbor hotels. I am sure there may be differences but I can't find what they truly are. If anyone has some bullet points I would be eager to see them. I located a new hotel right across the street that has a water park not just a pool that looked tempting but I am also a huge fan of the Wilderness Loege so the Grand Californian looks tough to pass up.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[JWigs]

Hi Dan,

DCL doesn't have as many perks to stay on site as WDW does. So if you find a resort you like better and cheaper I say go for it. We've stayed onsite once at GC and then off site twice.

Definitely need the park hopper since it's a 3 min walk gate to gate and it's a lot smaller so you may want to hop back and forth more than you would at the World.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm going to move this over to the Disneyland board.

 

[Dano13]

Hi Dan,

DCL doesn't have as many perks to stay on site as WDW does. So if you find a resort you like better and cheaper I say go for it. We've stayed onsite once at GC and then off site twice.

Definitely need the park hopper since it's a 3 min walk gate to gate and it's a lot smaller so you may want to hop back and forth more than you would at the World.

Thank you! I am a huge park hopper at WDW so I can't imagine not having it in Cali. Thank you for the info!

 

[barbaraann]

Normally, I get the park hopper. However on my last trip, I saved the difference, on a 4 day hopper, and I just did one park each day. I still had an absolutely wonderful time. I spent my first day at DCA, and the remainder of my trip was spent at Disneyland. Only a few times during my trip, did I even think about jumping over to DCA for something like a ride on the Fun Wheel, which I love.

 

[Niltiac]

There are some perks for staying on site, but not many so a lot of people prefer the savings of staying off-site. The biggest perk is getting early entry, which would be helpful during busy seasons if you're a morning person. There are also some activities that are only offered to on-site guests, but small things mostly. It doesn't really save you any walking unless you stay at the GCH and get a room close to the parks.

 

[farmfresh]

Hi Dan

We like to stay onsite, but as others have mentioned that is a more expensive option. The key tangible benefit is early entry, especially for DCA which otherwise doesn't have a general EE day. It definitely makes doing Toy story and Carsland easier.

The other key benefit people often note is that you stay within the resort bounds. There are other decent places to stay, but the ambiance outside the park is a little lacking. So it depends how much you want to stay in the bubble.However you can find places that are as close and even closer to the parks than the resort hotels.

The GCH is a scaled down version of the Wilderness lodge. And of course there is no lake etc around it (so reset your expectations bit ) It is still a very nice hotel and is the closest of all the DLR hotels to the resort and has its own entry to DCA (Just don't use it for your morning entry of the day - the queue is long). However, (and maybe someone else will chime in here) it feels ready for a refurb. The classic DLH is a longer walk (5-10 mins) but has been recently renovated and is for now my pick of the hotels.And I'd say that the walk is far less painful than bus/boat/rail between parks anyway.

The closeness and compactness of DCA/DL means you should plan to hop between the parks. It's very easy. And you can return to your room easily during the day if you have kids that need a rest or need a change of clothes. So that makes it all a bit different from the WDW experience.

Finally as far is dining is concerned you can book some places in advance which is worth doing if you are planning on coming at a busy time. DLR does not have theme type restaurants that you may be used to. However, with DTD in the middle of the two parks it's simple to find places to eat even when you don't have bookings.

Hope that helps

 

[Dano13]

Hi Dan

We like to stay onsite, but as others have mentioned that is a more expensive option. The key tangible benefit is early entry, especially for DCA which otherwise doesn't have a general EE day. It definitely makes doing Toy story and Carsland easier.

The other key benefit people often note is that you stay within the resort bounds. There are other decent places to stay, but the ambiance outside the park is a little lacking. So it depends how much you want to stay in the bubble.However you can find places that are as close and even closer to the parks than the resort hotels.

The GCH is a scaled down version of the Wilderness lodge. And of course there is no lake etc around it (so reset your expectations bit ) It is still a very nice hotel and is the closest of all the DLR hotels to the resort and has its own entry to DCA (Just don't use it for your morning entry of the day - the queue is long). However, (and maybe someone else will chime in here) it feels ready for a refurb. The classic DLH is a longer walk (5-10 mins) but has been recently renovated and is for now my pick of the hotels.And I'd say that the walk is far less painful than bus/boat/rail between parks anyway.

The closeness and compactness of DCA/DL means you should plan to hop between the parks. It's very easy. And you can return to your room easily during the day if you have kids that need a rest or need a change of clothes. So that makes it all a bit different from the WDW experience.

Finally as far is dining is concerned you can book some places in advance which is worth doing if you are planning on coming at a busy time. DLR does not have theme type restaurants that you may be used to. However, with DTD in the middle of the two parks it's simple to find places to eat even when you don't have bookings.

Hope that helps

This was so helpful, I truly appreciate this information. I have never stayed off site in wdw and usually stay in a deluxe so when push comes to shove I need to "be in the bubble" so unless the savings would be off the charts we will probably stay on site

 

[bethwc101]

We stay at the Best Western across the street and it is usually cheaper, free breakfast, and a shorter walk to the parks

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets. We like to stay onsite because we like to be in the bubble like WDW. We have stayed at WL multiple times at WDW, and at DLR, we like to stay at DLH because there is nothing like it at WDW. GCH is beautiful, but to us, it is just a scaled down version of WL- no geyser and regular pool instead themed like WL. The up side to GCH is that if you really want to splurge, when they say theme park view, they pretty much mean you look out of your window onto the people walking down the paths of the theme park. Also, it does have its own entrance to CA, which is nice for entry and exit into the park- except you don't want to use it at rope drop. DLH is a short nice walk though DTD to the park gate. We really enjoy that walk.

There are several off property hotels that are very close to the park gates and much cheaper than being on property--- we almost stayed at the HOJO once, but we just couldn't quite bring ourselves to stay outside the bubble. It will feel like a regular street out there-- albeit still a touristy regular street!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

While there is no dining plan at DLR like at WDW, many guests do well using gift cards instead of vouchers. Budget the amount you want to spend on food (and round up!) and put that on Disney gift cards. Then use those cards to pay for all your dining needs. You will know how exactly how much you are spending and not have any budget surprises when you get back home.

 

[Minniekins]

I checked the prices for DLH vs the deal I got at the Tropicana, pretty much across the entrance to DL. The DLH was at least $2000 more so for me, even though I am a Wdw vet who always stays on site, this was off the charts for me, lol!

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I checked the prices for DLH vs the deal I got at the Tropicana, pretty much across the entrance to DL. The DLH was at least $2000 more so for me, even though I am a Wdw vet who always stays on site, this was off the charts for me, lol!

I felt the same way until somebody on DIS mentioned about Dapper Day. It happens to fall on the days I planned. I was able to book DLH at 50% off, almost the same price as Springhill. I did spend some of the savings on our Dapper Day outfits , but still a great deal.

 

[lorijohnhill]

For me, a HUGE difference between onsite and offsite is that the onsite lodging is Hotels vs the offsite Motels - meaning the availability of Bell Services.

I'm disabled and rent a scooter, which makes it very difficult to lug my bags up to the room myself. I love having the availability of Bell Services to help me out.

I also prefer the rooms with indoor corridors so that the room is opening to the hallway instead of outside with people walking by the windows at all hours.

I have also found a much higher quality of service onsite than I have offsite.

These are just preference things though....

 

[smellyia]

I'm in the same boat - WDW vet in recent years and although I spent my youth at DL I never stayed onsite. Now that I'm used to places like GF and BC staying offsite in DL is almost stressful to me! I did find - and booked the Courtyard Marriott Anaheim Main Entrance - that is newer and looks quite decent for about $1000 less than DLH. Don't know if I'll stick with it but as of now I'm committed! One thing I noticed was that the DL hotels while quite pricier did not seem to be as nice per se as GF or BC after their refurb and at the same or higher price point the DL resort hotels make it harder for me to spend $500/nt.

 

[hjgaus]

Time spent on rides is important to us so staying on site and using the Extra Magic Hours for BOTH PARKS Perk they provide is the BEST !!!!
We cannot stand the long lines and sometimes the fast passes are gone earlier in the day!
If dining is the 1 thing on your mind then off site places to eat are easier to find around Anaheim than just Downtown Disney or in the 2 parks.
We are DVC members and usually stay on the VGC side which has the BEST and ONLY up close view INTO California Adventure Park !!!!
Although we do SOMETIMES stay OFF SITE for 1 or 2 days..... its OK BUT once you spoil yourself it's hard to go backwards.

 

[Laz]

I have to agree that the biggest perks to staying onsite is the daily early entry and being within the Disney atmosphere. We love staying at the Disneyland Hotel just because it is Disney. I guess for us its "In for penny, in for a pound." If those things are not important to you, then you may get the best value offsite.

 

[disney-inspired]

I would wait for next summer, a lot of things will be down for rehab or expansion this year.
I just stayed at the DLH and the walk wasn't that bad, even after a long day. You always have the option of taking the monorail from Disneyland which will drop you in DTD, closer to the hotel. The early entry is great!

If you choose to stay offsite, Park Vue Inn is a good option. It's cheaper, free parking & free wifi, very close to the parks and includes free breakfast.

 

[HydroGuy]

Here is a list from the DLR website

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/hotel-benefits/

The value of EMH every days is real but be careful about how often you will actually use it. Our kids are now all young adults and when we go in summer they always stay out late and the only day we can get them up for EMH is usualy the first day of the trip. So the EMH is wasted in situations like ours. I think DW and I used EMH on two days out of four when we were there in 2014. Remember during high season the park hours are maxed out and they open at 8AM which means 7AM EMH each day. That usually means you need to leave your room by 6:30AM to get to the gates and be near the front of the EMH line.

If you visit at a less busy time when parks are open at 9AM (EMH at 8AM) or 10AM (EMH at 9AM) it would be a lot easier to make it to EMH and probably more valuable to folks like us. Plus the hotel rates are usually lower.

I would add that for the extra price paid for a DLR hotel you can often stay an extra day or two at DLR including all costs - hotel/park tickets/food. Is the extra EMH hour coming from a DLR hotel worth that much?