Disneyland onsite or offsite hotel?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Onsite or offsite hotel for disneyland? How many days is too many days? What are people's thoughts on May for business? Or last week of August? Or October?

[FLA]

I can only speak to Disney World. We went a bunch of times and rented houses that were large enough to bring extended family, had their own pool and were 2 miles from Disney. When it was just me and the kids, we rented condos in the same developments. We rented a car. Last time we stayed on property in August, we hated it, the heat, the lines, the bus system. Early May and Oct are my fav for WDW.

[Like2Plan]

Onsite or offsite hotel for disneyland? How many days is too many days? What are people's thoughts on May for business? Or last week of August? Or October?

Given your 3 choices, I would pick October. Why? Disneyland has Halloween time during that time frame which I love. They install the Haunted Mansion Holiday Overlay (themed on The Nightmare Before Christmas). The park is decorated for the Halloween theme and they have special treats (Pumpkin Mickey beignets ). They also have a special MIckey's Halloween Party (a separate event ticket on select nights).

Onsite of Offsite--you can find really good options for both. Onsite will offer a few perks, but you'll pay big bucks to stay onsite. The Marriott recently opened a new property (I think it is Courtyard brand) that has an elaborate pool complex and the rooms have 2 bunk beds for the kids plus 1 king or 2 queens. It is pretty close to the main entrance. (I wish I had young kids because it looks like a fun hotel).
Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance 1420 South Harbor Boulevard Anaheim, California 92802
right next door (and slightly closer to the DL entrance) is
Fairfield Inn Anaheim Resort 1460 South Harbor Boulevard Anaheim, California 92802

[Like2Plan]

We've tried a couple of the off brands that are even closer to the Disneyland main gate and have been a little disappointed with our stay.
We've stayed at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim Resort 1460 South Harbor Boulevard Anaheim, California 92802. It wasn't a bad walk.

We have also stayed at
Anaheim Marriott 700 West Convention Way Anaheim, California 92802
Hilton Anaheim 777 Convention Way, Anaheim, CA
(I believe it was about a 20 min walk, but they are large hotels!)


DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Anaheim Resort - Convention Center 2085 South Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92802
Courtyard Anaheim Resort/Convention Center 2045 South Harbor Blvd Anaheim, California 92802
(A little bit longer of a walk--it's even longer on the walk home after a long day in the park! )

[Like2Plan]

On site The Grand Californian is the closest.

I like the Disneyland Hotel, but I would say it about the same distance to walk to the park as the Fairfield is on the opposite side of the park (although, you can take the Monorail option from the DL hotel--as a step saver)

The Paradise Pier Hotel is a few more steps further away.

The best perk IMHO is you get early entry into the parks whenever you stay onsite (for your entire stay). That can be really nice--especially for going on the Cars Land rides in California Adventure and The Fantasyland rides at Disneyland.

But, the multiday tickets can get you one Magic Morning early admission, too, sooo you can spend a lot less staying at an offsite hotel and still have a great time.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Some of my relatives stayed at the Grand California hotel and loved it being located onsite. They did a package deal thru Costco for about $3500 per person (airfare, hotel & park admission), originating from Hawaii. The hotel room per night breakdown was about $300 per night. Offsite can be had for a fraction of the cost at say $89 to $159. I live 40 miles away so I met up with them on a daily basis. I parked in the Anaheim neighborhood and rode my bike inside to avoid the $18 garage fee.

[dawnwes]

I would love to stay at the Grand Californian, but haven't ever done it. There are so many hotels nearby. But then you will need to pay for parking.

I vote for October. I love Nightmare Before Christmas at the Haunted Mansion.

I have not been in several years to DL. We used to live in SoCal and always had APs.

[disneysteve]

Offsite for sure.

DL is totally different than WDW. The offsite hotels are just as close and totally in walking distance. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn on Harbor Blvd. From our balcony, we could see the monorail going by and could watch the fireworks at night. It was a very nice 5-10 minute walk to the front gate of the parks. I see no reason to spend the money to stay "onsite" which is literally across the street.

[Like2Plan]

Some of my relatives stayed at the Grand California hotel and loved it being located onsite. They did a package deal thru Costco for about $3500 per person (airfare, hotel & park admission), originating from Hawaii. The hotel room per night breakdown was about $300 per night. Offsite can be had for a fraction of the cost at say $89 to $159. I live 40 miles away so I met up with them on a daily basis. I parked in the Anaheim neighborhood and rode my bike inside to avoid the $18 garage fee.

The Grand Cal. is a beautiful hotel (probably my favorite Disney resort property of all). We have a timeshare at the Grand Cal., so that is our preferred place to stay (when we are able to make our reservations far enough in advance). I love the convenience of the park entrance to the California Adventure right from the hotel and the amenities of the hotel. I especially love Christmas time there! (The decorations are awesome).

The rate your relatives got with their package plan was a pretty good one. So, that is a good tip to price out a package deal from Costco (if the main goal is to stay at the Grand Californian).

We've stayed at the Grand Cal since it first opened (I think in 2001). Before we bought the timeshare, we used to shop the discounts to stay at the hotel. Disney has a bunch of different discounts at various times--such as military, AAA, annual passholder, etc. (We used to be able to get some pretty good discounts, but I don't know if we just have stopped looking for them or they just aren't as good as they used to be, but we haven't stayed in the hotel part since the timeshare opened). The best discounts are of course non-peak times. I saw one recently for Dapper Days (a twice a year event) which I was told they had some pretty good discounts.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The room at the Grand Californian at Disneyland was very spacious. I recall seeing a king bed (brother & his wife), a queen sofa sleeper (for the MIL), and a bunk bed for the 2 kids. And the layout of the hotel itself was like a maze. When leaving the room I had trouble finding the elevator to get back down to the lobby. And the lobby itself is part of the entrance into the park on one side. The other side of the lobby will lead to the outside. And I may have underestimated the $300 a night room rate. It might have been $400 a night.

[Like2Plan]

The room at the Grand Californian at Disneyland was very spacious. I recall seeing a king bed (brother & his wife), a queen sofa sleeper (for the MIL), and a bunk bed for the 2 kids. And the layout of the hotel itself was like a maze. When leaving the room I had trouble finding the elevator to get back down to the lobby. And the lobby itself is part of the entrance into the park on one side. The other side of the lobby will lead to the outside. And I may have underestimated the $300 a night room rate. It might have been $400 a night.

Yes, IIRC I believe there are only 2 sets of elevators on the hotel side -- one set is close to the gift shop and the other close to the Napa Rose--which can be a long way to the a lot of the rooms.

We used to go for the standard view rooms which were floors right above the check in area and looked out over the front of the hotel. It saved us some money, but it was also closer to the elevators. (I thought the view was fine--I am tickled to see palm trees when I look out the window ).

We bought the Grand Californian timeshare as soon as they opened it. The economy wasn't great, so we got a pretty good deal. Now we only pay maintainence fees to stay-- we generally stay in a studio (which just has the queen bed plus queen sleeper). Sometimes we get a room with pretty magnificent views of california adventure theme park and a pretty good view of the World of Color show at night-that is always a thrill. We try to stay during off peak times- Our 2016 dues are $5.37 a point and it takes about 20 points a night (non peak times-slightly higher on weekends).

There are only 50 timeshare units of various sizes there. If we plan more than 7 months out, there is generally plenty of availability. But, less than 7 months the rooms are opened up to the whole DVC membership and the rooms are quickly booked up by other members. (we've had some scheduling misses recently, so we've had to scramble to find offsite accommodations).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

like2plan where else do you use the disney timeshare? I heard it's the only timeshare worth buying. How does it work?

[Like2Plan]

like2plan where else do you use the disney timeshare? I heard it's the only timeshare worth buying. How does it work?

Well, honestly, I don't know if it is as good of a deal today because the initial ownership prices are a lot more than when we purchased.

We try to use the Grand Californian points only at the Grand Californian. We have family that lives in the LA area and it serves as a good place for us to get together and see them. However, last year some of Grand Cal points were used at Disney's Hilton Head Island (off season) because we had a "last minute" schedule change. So far, we have only used our points at Disney properties. I have heard that the exchanges are not all that good relative to the high maint fees we have to pay for our Disney points.

[disneysteve]

I heard it's the only timeshare worth buying.

Well, honestly, I don't know if it is as good of a deal today because the initial ownership prices are a lot more than when we purchased.

high maint fees we have to pay for our Disney points.

I am 100% anti-timeshare. This includes Disney although Disney is rather unique in the timeshare world. It is the only timeshare I know of that actually has resale value.

Still, the numbers will never make sense. It will always be cheaper to rent than to own when everything is factored in between the upfront cost and the annual maintenance fee.

Especially in Orlando, there are so many incredible accommodation options that buying into Disney just doesn't make sense. You can get so much more for your money in other ways.

[dawnwes]

like2plan where else do you use the disney timeshare? I heard it's the only timeshare worth buying. How does it work?

You can use it at Disney's resort in Hawaii and Hilton Head. I am sure there are more, but I do know of those.

I agree with DS though, even the Disney one isn't worth buying.