Where To Stay?

[Benjo]

Hi Everyone,

We're planning our first ever trip out to DLR in July. While I'm a long time veteran of WDW, I'm looking for some input on which hotel to stay at. I'm thinking Paradise Pier since it seems to be the most affordable and looks nice. Also, how do you get to the parks from the hotels. They seem like easy walking distance on the map, but it's hard to tell.

Thank you for the help.

[skiyalater]

I stayed at the Paradise Pier, and would not reccomend it. It was okay, and we stayed concierge, but it was quite far from both parks. I would say go with the Grand Californian if that is an option. You may or may not be happy with the Paradise Pier though, that is just my opinion. So, i would say do either the Disneyland or the Grand Californian

[skiyalater]

Oh yeah, btw, Grand Californian has it's own entrance to DCA so it is very close to that park. The disneyland Hotel is about equal to both of the parks, whereas the PP, you have to walk across major intersections to get anywhere but downtown disney.

[Benjo]

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by "major intersections," and how is it different from the DLH. I think the GC might be out of our price range, so we're not really considering that.

[skiyalater]

Major Intersections meaning two lane highways going each direction. Also, the PP is not really Disney Themed, infact, if you were just dropped there and didn't know where you were, you would never guess that it was acutally a Disney Hotel. Unless they've updated it since I went. The Disneyland i think had just been refurbed when we were there three years ago i think, and it is totally non-smoking.

[disneydame2004]

All three of the Disney-owned hotels are in walking distance of the two parks, though it might be a longer walk from some. There was a cool article about this on MousePlanet http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as

I had a very pleasant stay at the Disneyland Hotel in 2001, with a room in the tower facing both parks. Technically, there is a monorail stop for the Disneyland Hotel, but you do have to walk a ways to get to it, if it is even running. Most days it was easier to just walk through DTD.

Unlike WDW, there are many "off property" hotels that are within walking distance as well, and they might be worth checking out, especially if you're just going to use it to sleep.

[Benjo]

Thanks for the article, it's a huge help. We might consider a non-disney hotel, but we're also looking to get the AAA enhanced FP's while were there, so we might have to cough up the extra fundage for that experience.

[skiyalater]

yeah our friends did that when we went out, and it was pretty cool, because only one of them wanted to go on the rollercoasters out of three and two out of my three wanted to go, so it worked out perfectly.

[MayBWeRMnt2B]

I just got back from Disneyland on the 8th. And we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. I also walked around and saw all the other hotels and whatnot, but if I would go again, i'd definitely stay at the Disneyland Hotel. They have monorail access just for Disneyland Hotel guests to get to Disneyland! Also the rooms are amazing and I've loved it ALL! So I would recommend staying there. It seemed a lot nicer than the other ones. :-)

Also when walking through Downtown Disney to the parks, it normally took 10-15 minutes it depends on whether your going into the park or out of the park. Out of the park if your tired, you'll walk a little slower. :-)