Is staying on property worth the cost?

[larina]

As said, it is different for everyone. We stayed at the Paradise Pier in May and I'll never stay offsite again! it is totally worth it!! Get a suite with a part view and you'll get the view of a lifetime!

 

[nancy drew]

3 trips to DLR. 2 off site, 1 on site. We will never, ever stay off site again. It is totally worth it.

 

[taaren]

It depends. We do one big trip a year and stay onsite in our villa. Totally worth it. The other trip(s) of the year we usually stay off-site to save $$ since we park commando those weekend-type trips, as opposed to lounging around the resort and wandering in and out of the park on our long trip ...
It gets harder to stay off-site once you've been on-site a bunch though ...

 

[Hootch]

Good to read the various opinions.

We're in heavy planning for our 4,400 mile road trip next summer. We go to WDW every other year and always stay onsite.

We are currently planning only one day in the parks. To make that effective we will have to spend almost all of that day in the parks. That is fine for us but changes my outlook on resorts.

At this time PPH is showing $300+ a night. That is about double the Hilton which is considerable since we're looking at two nights for that day. I have tried signing up for an account to try for a pin but the system seems down.

One question - I saw on Mousesavers that MM is on hold now. Is this common? We are planning a late July trip.

Thx

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We LOVE staying on site!!! That being said, for us it's not worth it. We are having our own internal debate with this very topic right now. HOJO $500 for our trip, PPH with a PIN $1200. I just don't think I can spend 1200 when HOJO is perfectly fine, across the street for 700 less. That's a huge difference!

 

[rentayenta]

It's totally worth it to us and one of the many reasons we purchased DVC. Yes, there are some closer hotels on Harbor but Harbor Blvd holds zero magic. I love strolling through DTD, grabbing a treat from Marceline's, window shopping. I heard the PP has undergone a refurb. We have stayed there twice and the walk is nothing to us. I'd check the prices on both the DLH and PPH if the GCH is out of the question.

 

[PrncesKMW]

I was contemplating this as well. Just got back from my first trip to "the Land," and I stayed at Stovall's.

With having to cross Katella, the Stovall's is a 6 minute walk to the Paradise Pier. PPH was $207 a night - Stovall's was $101 a night. This was a trip for just me, and I had a really hard time justifying spending double as I knew most of my time was going to be spent in the park.

That being said - if I were going to splurge, I would stay at DLH most definitely. Tangaroa Terrace is a fantastic counter service place, and the Tiki Bar there is a hoot. I would only ever stay here for 3 nights due to the cost - or maybe do a 3 night stay at a cheaper hotel and have one more relaxed day and then evening at DLH or GCH.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

Eh.
We've done it several ways & when it comes down to it I like to save my money for food & souvenirs. I like to make my own food because if I eat out the entire trip I'll gain 10 lbs & not to mention the additives, etc & what it does to a persons body on an already high stress week...I'm a Type A, I know you can smell it on me.
So...we've done the Desert Inn & Suites 2 times now & love it.

The rooms there are "good enough" that spilling a bunch of cash on site seems ridiculous.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the luxury of a 5 Star hotel, LOVE beautiful hotels...but at DL, it's not worth it to me.

AND let it be known the walk to the gates from DLH is LONGER than the walk from DI&S!! Google Maps told me so.

 

[cari12]

This is true, but - and maybe this doesn't matter to some people, but it does to me - it's a MUCH nicer walk through Downtown Disney. Especially in the evening, when there is lots of live music - DTD has a great vibe. I have only stayed at the Grand, not the DLH, but don't mind walking over to the DLH for dinner at Goofy's . . . plus it's not far from the monorail which takes you directly into Tomorrowland.

To me, aside from the proximity and feeling like you're on a Disney vacation, the perks are really worth it if you are going during peak season. Beginning of October, maybe not as worthwhile. We go in the summer and the extra hour in DCA and, this summer, the extra FPs were huge! You also get the MMs though we have yet to use them - it's nice to have the option!

I think you can have a great time no matter what, but there is a little extra Disney magic if you stay on site!

I also love the walk back through DTD. Especially if you have small kids, you do not need to worry about traffic or anything so they can be a little more free to run about. We used the MM and it is amazing how many rides you can do in an hour or so without line-ups.

 

[KitKat_Tink]

Sorry for the late update but we decided to stay at Embassy Suites. The extra money that would have been spent can now be used for the Halloween party, which I can't remember the name of right now, or extra souvenirs. We are only going to be there for 2 nights so a split stay wasn't worth it.

 

[Farmher78]

I wish I could afford staying on the property it looks glorious!

 

[aristocat65]

Sorry for the late update but we decided to stay at Embassy Suites. The extra money that would have been spent can now be used for the Halloween party, which I can't remember the name of right now, or extra souvenirs. We are only going to be there for 2 nights so a split stay wasn't worth it.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip. Embassy Suites is wonderful as you know and the 2 rooms are so nice to have. We had many great stays there

 

[Keurigirl]

As long as you're at Embassy Suites SOUTH, you'll love it!! North is pretty yucky.

 

[DisneylandForever]

I rarely stay on property at Disneyland, but mainly because I go fairly often and the off-properties are so close (some just as close as the on-properties). But if I didn't go to DL often I would probably pony up to get that "extra bit of magic."


That said, I go to WDW far less, and I always stay on property there.

 

[macfamily88]

If you plan on enjoying your hotel some, then yes, it is worth it! But if your hotel is just going to be a place you sleep for the night, look for other options. Only if you take in all that is the Disneyland hotel will it be "worth" it. One look at my kids' eyes always answers any doubt that i may have.

 

[Spassvogel]

Of course, there are lots of Good Neighbor hotels where you don't need a shuttle, and some are closer to the park entrance than the Disney hotels.

This is my feeling on it as well. Our first trip there with kids was only for a couple days and I wanted to stay in the Disneyland Hotel again (as I had when I was 7 yrs old) , but I was severely disappointed that the monorail had been removed from the building and it was actually a longer walk from the Disneyland Hotel than it was from many of the off-site hotels. The only advantage is that you can have your souvenirs sent back to your room, but to us it's not worth the *triple* per night cost.

We stay in the park from 9am to 9pm when we're there. The only exception is usually our last day when we do all the water rides and shopping, then come back to change/unload around dinner time.

I can't imagine ever staying in one of the Disney hotels again unless some really awesome deal comes our way or I win the lottery.

 

[DizMe]

For me, yes, absolutely. I love staying onsite and I HATE Harbor Blvd. It's a magic-killer for me.

That said, I do stay off site occasionally. I'd rather stay off site than not be able to go at all!

A couple of comments relating to what others have said:

*The walk from DLH (or PPH) is longer than from some of the Good Neighbor hotels. This may be *technically* true, but in reality is usually not true for me. Reason: traffic lights, crushes of people, and...well...some unpleasant realities of life (hawkers, street people, etc) almost always increase the time it takes to walk to a Good Neighbor hotel. As many have mentioned, the walk through DTD is not really comparable and for me, a lot more enjoyable.

*The monorail no longer goes to DLH. Again, technically true, but the reality is that the monorail has not moved. The addition of DTD changed the layout of DLH so that it shrank back towards the main lobby building. The monorail station is exactly where it used to be, but there is no longer the DLH shopping mall there; it is now DTD. It's still the same walk from most of the rooms.

*It is way more expensive to stay onsite. Sometimes it is, but often there are deals that make it more, but not outrageous, especially if you have an AP. I got my first ap so we could take advantage of good hotel rates--it more than paid for the pass. That was a lot of price-hikes ago, though.

We do love/need to be able to return to our hotel easily during the day, and we like to sit by the pool or grab something to drink. My girls and I like browsing through the shops and heading over to Haagen Dazs or Compass (though I will admit that my dh would rather have his chest hairs plucked out one by one than go shopping).

But sometimes staying onsite is a splurge that just can't be managed. I used to take my older kids to DLR when they were little and never once did we get to stay onsite. It is a nice thing now to have the resources to afford it, even when the rates are higher.

 

[nannyz]

I've never stayed onsite at DLR so I don't know what I'm missing. I've considered it a few times but when I look at the rates I think Disney must think I'm stupid. I know the hotels have nice amenities but nothing justifies what they charge. I would rather spend that extra money on my grandkids while they are in the parks.

 

[julie19979]

Staying on site is amazing, it will make memories for a lifetime!

 

[ValpoCory]

3 pages and no one has mentioned renting DVC points to stay at the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian. That is by far the cheapest way to stay on property. You get all the DLR resort guest perks for less than half the cost. For instance, we are going for 6 nights this January. We found an owner to rent out 107 DVC points at $10/point, and paid $1,070 for 6 nights, or $178.33 per night, with no additional taxes or fees.

$178 is expensive to most families, mine included, but it is much closer to the Harbor Blvd. going rates than the DLR Hotel rack rates or even the occasionally discounted rates. For us, renting DVC at the Grand Californian was the only way we could justify the cost of staying onsite. This will be our first DLR stay, but so far I highly recommend this method.