Disney resort hotels or good neighbor?

[Emiems20]

hi all!

We just moved to CA! My hubby is stationed at Edwards AFB and since our house won’t be ready until after Christmas we thought about taking our boys to Disneyland the last weekend the decorations are up. We’ve never been to DL before and was wondering where we should book our hotel. Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BadPinkTink]

It all depends on your budget and what your style of touring the parks is and what your expectations of accommodation are.

Disneyland California has only 3 onsite hotels and they are all on the upper end of moderate to deluxe. All 3 are located on the downtown Disney side of the property and have a longer walk to the park entrance than some of the budget independent hotels.

Really the only advantage to staying onsite is having access to the early opening of California Adventures.

As Disneyland California is very much a locals park, the crowd levels up to mid day are comparatively low and the wait times only start to grow from lunch time onwards. So really having early access is not that big a deal.

The closest walking distance are the motels on Harbour Boulevard. They have outside corridors and limited breakfast options and limited pool amenities. Most charge for parking.

I have stayed at Motel 6 MainGate on Disney Way and Desert Inn and Suites on Harbour Boulevard.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Well being that you are a military family, you can pretty much handle what ever you can book at such late notice, be it walking or sub-standard lodging. The key would be what you would like in a swiming pool, BBQ, resort like vacationing lodging. I wish you could book the MRI maingate but at this point in time that may be full. It is very green and in contrast to your time at Edwards coming up. The motel 6 is great but not a place to relax but it is clean and modern updated and free from the crush of folks as it is three towers of lodging...and pretty much BOQ in my military experience. Howard Johnson offers the children a vacation resort theme. So we would need some info on Disney touring style, $ budget and lodging expectations in order to help you enjoy California before plunging into Edwards.

 

[aussiejen]

I have never stayed on site, I would rather put the extra money towards spending. I Have stayed at various hotels on Harbor blvd though & as the others have said it really depends what you are after & budget.
We have chosen to stay at Camelot Inn this time round because of the price & a suite for the space. We did have HOJOS booked bascially for the pool area for the kids but then decided since we wont be in the hotel that much & coming all the way from Australia we will probably be out all day everyday to see as much as we can.
So personally i like the Good Neighbour hotels......

 

[Captainkidd76]

Our 1st trip is this June and we opted for a Good Neighbor. I would love to stay in the Disney bubble, but their onsite hotels are ridiculously overpriced. I'd rather take that $400 per night savings and use it for another vacation.

 

[JeffB13]

first of all Welcome to the desert. My dad was stationed at Edwards his entire career on the NASA side of the house and I grew up in Lancaster.

I've stayed at the DL Hotel when I was a kid, the Grand Californian a few times as an adult and a few offsite hotels. This next visit (Jan 5-7) we are staying at Hotel Indigo which is within walking distance. With the onsite hotels you get a little more of the Disney experience, but they cost 2-3 times what the offsite hotels cost... so it really comes down to what you are looking for in your first visit. Whether you are wanting to go all out and squeeze every ounce of Disney joy out of your trip, or if you want to save a few $.
One benefit of the Disney hotels is you can have souvenirs that you purchased in the park sent to your room. And if I remember correctly, you can charge anything in the park to your room.

 

[smartlabelprint]

With kids we like a suite. There is the home wood suites, Spring Hill Suites. Hyatt House has bunks. Etc.

 

[SteveMP]

With kids we like a suite. There is the home wood suites, Spring Hill Suites. Hyatt House has bunks. Etc.

Never got a suite at any of those but always liked the Portofino kids suites.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I have stayed once at the Disneyland Hotel and once at the Grand Legacy on Harbor. Love the DLH but it's pricy! It's a splurge for sure but if you can afford it, a Disney hotel is very nice. Grand Legacy is a motel, but easy walk to the gate (quicker even than the walk from the DLH). Plus it was pretty cheap!

You don't need to limit yourself to "good neighbor" hotels, the designation doesn't mean much. This late in the game I would just search to see what's available and go from there.

 

[Suzyscuba]

I agree with other posters. My family (military so we got a discoubt) went to our first, and possibly only trip in October. We spent 3 nights at the Tropicana, a good neighbor motel which is recently remodeled, clean, refrigerator and microwave, and very close. Downside is the pool is nothing special and no breakfast. We then moved to the last 2 nights at DLH. Unfortunately the weather was too cool those 2 days to use the pool. We found we weren't in our rooms except to sleep, only 1 day we took a break before the Halloween party. Based on our experience I wouldn't spen the money on DLH again.

 

[tarheelalum]

The Disney hotels are nice but honestly they are way overpriced. Stay offsite and with the money you save you can go an extra trip!! But honestly the good neighbor designation is nothing special at Disneyland. It just means the hotel paid Disney for the ability to say it. Plenty of great hotels in the area probably don't have the designation. Ask any specific hotel questions in this forum and you will get lots of informed opinions.

 

[minnieralyks]

We're in the same situation, deciding offsite or onsite (as a splurge for my birthday). I'm one of those who is adamantly off-site, simply because we spend all of 8 hours sleeping in the hotel per day. All I'm looking for is a nice, safe, and decent hotel within walking distance. If you do decide to go off-site, I have a few recommendations. I would check out Desert Palms or Camelot. Camelot offers a nice discount for military families and is a safe, clean, basic hotel (or motel?) right across the street. Desert Palms is great because they offer free breakfast, it's a 10 minute walk to the front gates, and it has a nicer feel than many on Harbor. I believe they also offer a discount for military families.

You shouldn't have a problem booking less than a month out. We were able to book less than a week out for last weekend and got a fantastic rate. Most everytihing was still available to us and that was when it was starting to hit the Christmas season.

 

[ParkHopper1]

If you just need a bed and a shower, then off site.

If you want more of an immersive resort feel vacation, then on site.

All depends on what YOU value. To some it is worth the premium...to many it is not.

Both get to experience the same parks.