LizzyS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2011
If you can manage to come at a time other than summer, go during Dapper Day. There is one in November and one in...March I think?...because the on site hotels are hugely discounted. But if you do that, be sure to dress up or get into the spirit and go to the Expo at the Disneyland Hotel. It's so much fun! The hotels are usually half price. Downside: you have to prepay one night's lodging and it's non-refundable. I believe Gay Days in early October also has discounted rooms available.
Im flying from MA to Disneyland for my first trip ever this Sat. I'm shocked at how much more expensive it is than going to WDW and I'm still irritated they don't offer something beyond a 5 day park-hopper.
Don't get me wrong, I am BEYOND excited. But unfortunately I do not see another DLR trip in the near future.
Just so you know, there is a Courtyard Marriott across from Disneyland that has an AMAZING pool. It is a 5-10 min walk. It's a full on waterpark.
We are locals, but for awhile we weren't. We lived on the east coast for a few years and came back to DL on vacation. Really, 5 days is more than enough. There are plenty of other things to do in the area on the other 2 days if you need to fill a week. Beautiful beaches, other theme parks, (including Universal Hollywood) museums, hiking trails, whale watching tours, etc. There is also a Great Wolf Lodge about 3 miles down the road from DL and it's excellent. They sell day passes now to the waterpark, if that's your thing. I know you already cancelled your trip, but maybe in the future you will come back here and see some things outside the Disneyland bubble.
Sounds like you might need to invest in a Disney cruise....
And I kept thinking how I just would be disappointed walking down Harbour Blvd past a McDonald's. I know it seems silly.
You might be pleasantly surprised by the end of your trip when you start mentally planning another trip while you are walking down Main Street towards the exit.
You sound like me lol!!!I don't think it seems silly at all. We all have different priorities, different things we value.
I far prefer the two- to five-minute walk (once you actually leave Disney property) past a few non-Disney businesses over waiting for and riding the monorail to a hotel at Disney World. But that doesn't mean you should feel the same about it as I do.
I prefer staying in a three star hotel for a quarter of the money of one of Disneyland's onsite hotels, and thus being able to take twice as many vacations a year as I would otherwise. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't value staying onsite less frequently (or spending a lot more).
Everything is a tradeoff -- comfort, convenience, price, "immersion." It's not silly to pick the whatever blend of those things is available that best suits you.
We stay there and love the Premium rooms. They bring you breakfast in the morning, have a small snack basket in the room, and rooms are quite nice. My favorite off site. But it is a motel layout.FWIW, Candy Cane Inn is a nice little hotel with a pleasant pool. It’s walking distance from the park but they also have a shuttle. I suspect it’s about half the price of staying at a Disney hotel and possibly even less. It might make your trip worthwhile. The last time we stayed there they offered a free breakfast. It wasn’t huge but it was quick and sufficient. We once stayed at DGC and it was quite nice but definitely not worth more than twice the price of CCI. Hope this helps.
Totally agree! And with 2 connecting Premium rooms, it gives us a sort of suite (with 2 bathrooms!) -- and saved us $600/night over the GCH the last time we did this. I can think of lots of ways to spend an extra $600 in the parks every day. Customer service at the CCI was great -- the staff helped my parents with everything, even getting in and out of the shuttle every time. But I can see the OP's point, too -- for someone set on staying on site, nothing else is quite the same.We stay there and love the Premium rooms. They bring you breakfast in the morning, have a small snack basket in the room, and rooms are quite nice. My favorite off site. But it is a motel layout.
It is one thing that has always upset me about Disneyland. It is pure and simply a locals destination. They give no thought to tourists coming from a distance.
Great advice. Maybe head to San Diego they have some great resorts down there and the Zoo is amazing.They do offer longer tickets for Australians for sure. Not sure about other countries.
Maybe it would help OP to re-frame their expectations of a DLR vacation to be less like an Orlando resort vacation. Spend fewer days at the parks (really 5 days should be more than enough for two parks) and then visit a more "resort" hotel destination somewhere else in California to fufill the hang at the pool part. Or even better- head on to Aulani for a few days (I know, that's hardly a budget option but...)
We usually stay at the Candy Cane Inn when we go. However, twice we have stayed at DLH. While we really enjoyed it and would love to do it more, it just isn't worth the extra cost. Yes, DLH made some things extra special and nice, but, we also have a magical trip staying at the Candy Cane. This December, I presented my DD with a reasonable budget (knowing how much park tickets, flights, food and hotel costs were). I showed her that we can stay more days for the same cost as staying a couple of days at DLR. The decision was up to her. She opted for the more days.
I think it is just a matter of personal preference and neither way is wrong or right. Just depends on where you want to travel and how you want to do it.