Monday, October 4, 2010

My Personal Hotel Review for Disneyland Vacations

Happiest Place on Earth


You have 3 things to decide:
-How close to the park do you want to be?
-How much are you willing to pay?
-Do you need/want NICE rooms?


We've stayed anywhere from Disney Resorts Grand California hotel down to one of the older off site hotels and have had good experiences with all. If you want to stay in one of Disney's Resort hotels (Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, or Paradise Pier) expect to pay about double for your ticket hotel package.

What you get in return for the extra money may be worth it to you. These hotels are newly built, newly remodeled or undergoing remodeling. They offer a slightly more "magical" experience and are a higher quality compared to many of the hotels in the resort area. Disney Resort customers also have the opportunity to board the monorail at Downtown Disney's station and enter California Adventure through an exclusive entrance. Our favorite Disneyland resort hotel is The Grand Californian:


Disney's Grand Californian Hotel


Also check out some of the new Signature Suites at Disneyland Hotel and here too

Off resort:

The Fairfield Inn by the Marriott is located across the street from the park's main entrance, and offers great views of the park (perfect for watching the firework show).


The Castle Inn provides a slightly more "magical" experience than many of the other off-resort hotels because of it's Castle architecture. It is a bit of a walk (maybe 10-15 minutes with sleepy kiddos), and when we went last (around 2005) the rooms left something to be desired.


The Del Sol Inn is my personal favorite. It is set back a little bit from the strip which adds a feel of more privacy and quiet. Like most of the hotels within walking distance, the rooms could use an update in furniture and decor, but for what it lacked, it made up for with it's rat pack era charm and salt water swimming pool. It's not for everybody, but those that appreciate quiet and charm might like this hotel.


The nicest hotel we've stayed at off-resort:
The Anaheim Hilton. In spite of the walk, the accommodations were worth it! This is for me one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in! The lobby is gorgeous and grand! The service is courteous! The rooms, which were renovated a few years ago, were modern and classy! I blame their ultra cozy beds and soft pillows for my sleeping in til 9:30 every morning! (A good night's sleep is valuable and sometimes rare on a Disney trip!)

They do have a shuttle available to the park for a small fee if you dont want to walk or do have children with you. We saw plenty of families walking to and from the park though.

My pictures of the hotel dont do it justice and I borrowed the picture of the room from the site...as the minute we stepped into our room we threw our luggage on the ground and flopped onto the bed. Rooms have a flat screen t.v. wif-fi available for a fee, a small fridge and microwave, in hotel restaurant and food court. Also around the corner and down the block is a 7-11 for grabbing anything you might need or have forgotten. It is within walking distance to the Garden Walk Mall where you can find a California Pizza Kitchen and a Bubba Gumps. And a drive down Harbor Blvd. Will bring you to the beach!

The folks at Get Away Today really know what they're doing! If you prefer beautiful cozy accommodations over a closer location, I definitely recommend this hotel!!! Just let them know I sent you (or Admiral Duke... my hubs.)


Anaheim Hilton

A Disneyland Vacation : Where I Would Start ...Your Travel Agency

There are many options out there for Disney Travel. There are some great packages available. If you have membership with a motor club company, are in the military or shop at a bolk warehouse type store, you may be able to find some sweet discounted deals!

Our absolutely favorite company to use for a Dinseyland trip is Get Away Today. Why? Well, about 7 or 8 years ago our oldest came home with a flyer from their company. A portion of the money spent with their company would go back to my kiddo's school. At the time we had a credit card with a very low limit... not enough to book a vacation on, but Get Away Today offered the option of paying straight from your bank account, which was perfect for us.

I really like their user friendly site too. Many travel agencies online require you give them your email address and sometimes phone number to receive a quote for a vacation. Not so with Get Away Today. I can sit for as long as I want and enter and re-enter information to figure out the best deal, time to go, specials, etc.

Also when you book with them they usually send you an official Disney Pin, which isn't anything super special BUT you can bring it with you to the park and trade it with any cast member for a more unique pin (more on that later)


GetAwayToday


A couple of years later I thought I would shop around for a better deal. Really all I found was that everyone else was either more expensive, less friendly, or relatively the same with a few differences...So we are staying loyal to our favorite.


Disneyland


Your budget for Disneyland depends greatly on how many days you will be there, how many things you plan on buying, and how much you DONT want to spend. I will be doing a post later about different tips to help you save money if your main goal is to create a "magical" trip for a family. Right now, just understand that the biggest part of your budget is probably going to be taken up by your park tickets. When you are booking with most agencies the price you see includes tickets. Your hotel room only takes up a small portion of that money. Often times you might find a deal for a free night which will help with up to $120 of your hotel budget. Also when you book tickets and hotel together(along with anything else like car rental and airline tickets) you stand more of a chance of saving a hunk of money than if you booked them all separately.

A couple of posts from now I will go over our typical first day at Disney, how we use our time, how we save money, and what we spend our money on and why. Next up: Hotel Review and How to Pick Where You Stay