Just canceled - Bummed

[Captainkidd76]

So we just canceled our Disneyland Vacation for next summer. I just couldn't stomach the price. Coming from Massachusetts, to fly across country to only spend 5 days at the park just seems silly to me, and we wanted to stay on property. For 7 nights, to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in a Club Level room, was literally half the price of a standard room at the Disneyland Hotel. And we pay less for a Preferred Universal AP than a 5 day park hopper to Disneyland. It's very sad as we loved Disneyland on our 1st visit, but $7,000 for hotel and tickets is egriogous.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Bummer!! Yeah, summer can be pricey there for sure. If you needed to be on property, you're kinda stuck but maybe a deal would have come up? Although airfare from the East Coast can get high too!

Hope you make it back one day!!! It's the best!!

 

[midnight star]

So we just canceled our Disneyland Vacation for next summer. I just couldn't stomach the price. Coming from Massachusetts, to fly across country to only spend 5 days at the park just seems silly to me, and we wanted to stay on property. For 7 nights, to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in a Club Level room, was literally half the price of a standard room at the Disneyland Hotel. And we pay less for a Preferred Universal AP than a 5 day park hopper to Disneyland. It's very sad as we loved Disneyland on our 1st visit, but $7,000 for hotel and tickets is egriogous.

Hope you're able to make it back to the west coast one day! Who knows, with the way crowds have been going, Disney may have to release ticket deals next year in order to bring in crowds. Maybe that can help bring down the cost.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Hope you're able to make it back to the west coast one day! Who knows, with the way crowds have been going, Disney may have to release ticket deals next year in order to bring in crowds. Maybe that can help bring down the cost.

That's what the agent said, but I'm not the type of person who can pull a vacation together in 3 months. I book as far in advance as possible so I can start making payments. Disney World we could do it with, but none of us has any interest in going back there, not anytime soon. We really wanted to go to Disneyland again, but I won't stay off property. I know a couple of the motels across the street aren't bad, but it's not what I want. It's sad, but there are worse things in life. I'm just thankful I can go on vacation at all. 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.

 

[DizMe]

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.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

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.

And do more than just dress up -- actually buy tickets to the DD Expo (very inexpensive!) and buy some DD merchandise (on their website or at the Expo -- cute, inexpensive pins, etc.). Dressing up is fun, but it doesn't put a penny in the coffers to help pay for the convention. And you can imagine what a pretty penny Disney charges Dapper Day to hold their convention at the DLH! Supporting the convention by buying Expo tickets and merchandise prevents abuse of the convention discount rates.

 

[Kimpossible1]

I don't think you'd be as unhappy off-site as you think (I remember your concerns in your other post) I live 10 minutes from WDW but am really happy with the cost difference between staying off-site and on-site at Disneyland. I would imagine most people would not like to have to go park and take a bus to the park but that's not any different than WDW, so it was nothing for us. Sorry you cancelled but I wanted to let you know, I think you'd have just as nice a time if you actually stayed a little farther away than right on Harbor.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I don't think you'd be as unhappy off-site as you think (I remember your concerns in your other post) I live 10 minutes from WDW but am really happy with the cost difference between staying off-site and on-site at Disneyland. I would imagine most people would not like to have to go park and take a bus to the park but that's not any different than WDW, so it was nothing for us. Sorry you cancelled but I wanted to let you know, I think you'd have just as nice a time if you actually stayed a little farther away than right on Harbor.

Yeah, I get that, but I don't want to sacrifice anything. One of the huge things for us is staying onsite at Universal. Obviously, for Express, but because it makes it so much more enjoyable. I want a nice hotel to come and to go swimming at. And I don't see any hotels within walking distance with really nice pools. Plus, the 5 day maximum ticket thing annoys the crap out of me.

As for Dapper Days, I'd love to try and take advantage of that but we don't want to pull the kids out of school.

 

[Marshmelo]

You made the choice that makes you happier, so why be bummed? Everyone has unique priorities and preferences. For me, I can’t picture ever wanting to go to Universal Orlando again after our visit in 2015. I loved the old late 90s/early 2000s Universal which the new park(s) makes unrecognizable. It has a completely different feel to me that I don’t care for. I would much rather stay off site at Disneyland than onsite at US in even the most extravagant room. But I’m only at the hotel to sleep and shower, so I guess that’s the difference. If your choice made you happy, then be happy about what you’re getting, not sad about what you’re losing

 

[mamapenguin]

That's what the agent said, but I'm not the type of person who can pull a vacation together in 3 months. I book as far in advance as possible so I can start making payments. Disney World we could do it with, but none of us has any interest in going back there, not anytime soon. We really wanted to go to Disneyland again, but I won't stay off property. I know a couple of the motels across the street aren't bad, but it's not what I want. It's sad, but there are worse things in life. I'm just thankful I can go on vacation at all. 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.

For this reason I don’t stay at Disney hotels at DL. I usually pick a Best Western and the savings pays for my APs. I love HRH and Universal.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Should have stayed off-site!
We wont do anything else anymore and it's a fraction of the cost.

 

[mamapenguin]

Yeah, I get that, but I don't want to sacrifice anything. One of the huge things for us is staying onsite at Universal. Obviously, for Express, but because it makes it so much more enjoyable. I want a nice hotel to come and to go swimming at. And I don't see any hotels within walking distance with really nice pools. Plus, the 5 day maximum ticket thing annoys the crap out of me.

As for Dapper Days, I'd love to try and take advantage of that but we don't want to pull the kids out of school.

HRH pool is 3 1/2 feet deep. It isn’t great for swimming. I agree with the rest, but that pool was a disappointment.

 

[coldbeaver]

So we just canceled our Disneyland Vacation for next summer. I just couldn't stomach the price. Coming from Massachusetts, to fly across country to only spend 5 days at the park just seems silly to me, and we wanted to stay on property. For 7 nights, to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in a Club Level room, was literally half the price of a standard room at the Disneyland Hotel. And we pay less for a Preferred Universal AP than a 5 day park hopper to Disneyland. It's very sad as we loved Disneyland on our 1st visit, but $7,000 for hotel and tickets is egriogous.

Uhhhh ok

 

[Captainkidd76]

HRH pool is 3 1/2 feet deep. It isn’t great for swimming. I agree with the rest, but that pool was a disappointment.

It's definitely more for just playing around. The pool area itself I love.

 

[AndrewC]

For five days it's probably worth buying a FlexPass... that's what I'll be doing this fall, even though I live in Washington state. I know for you guys it's even harder to make a random trip out, but if you could get lucky once or twice in a year and take a Friday off work during cheap airfare sales and fly out Friday really early morning, spend half a day at the park and then all day Saturday and then fly home Sunday morning while staying off site during off peak times you might really make the FlexPass work for you for a couple hundred bucks a person. (Depending where you are I've seen airfare sales of like $149 for transcon flights and hotels off season can get to like $129/night).

But yes, doing it "right" for a big trip gets crazy expensive fast, especially when coming from the East coast. Previous to Disney I had never spent that much for a single hotel stay... now four years later and I've been back to the Disneyland Hotel three times and my forth will be coming up in about six weeks. I think I'm averaging about $475 night which is just painful, but holy cow there is something so amazing about being on property vs walking down the street. Disney certainly has captured the right stuff to make people pay the money.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

HRH pool is 3 1/2 feet deep. It isn’t great for swimming. I agree with the rest, but that pool was a disappointment.

It's definitely more for just playing around. The pool area itself I love.

Taking notes on this -- we haven't stayed there yet, but this will be going in the file for future reference!

 

[DarthGallifrey]

So we just canceled our Disneyland Vacation for next summer. I just couldn't stomach the price. Coming from Massachusetts, to fly across country to only spend 5 days at the park just seems silly to me, and we wanted to stay on property. For 7 nights, to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in a Club Level room, was literally half the price of a standard room at the Disneyland Hotel. And we pay less for a Preferred Universal AP than a 5 day park hopper to Disneyland. It's very sad as we loved Disneyland on our 1st visit, but $7,000 for hotel and tickets is egriogous.

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.

 

[AndrewC]

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.

Buy a FlexPass. The price is between 7 days and 8 days worth of Disney tickets (if they continued to extend the same per day price that a 5 day park hopper pass is)

If you can use it for 7 days you're almost breaking even, and probably will once you factor in some food/merch discounts. If you return once sometime during the year (wait for a cheap fare sale and book off property for just a long weekend by taking a day or two off work) and you're suddenly saving $200+ on Disney tix.

If you can afford it, then it's totally worth staying on property for a big trip, but there are a lot of area hotels that are within a safe five minute or so walking distance. If I was doing a second or third "cheap quick" trip during the year just to have some fun and make use of a FlexPass or other AP then I would be totally fine staying at one of those much cheaper hotels.... especially when I'm usually in the parks ~9am to 10pm or later.

The difference between WDW and DL/DCA is that it's absolutely easy walking once you hit downtown Disney. You're in the safe welcoming Disney bubble at that point and don't have to jump on a tram or cross any roads or anything else. So just look at Google maps and find a couple hotels in the surrounding area (some are literally across the street) and then check prices on some off peak times (late February or something). I think you'll be able to find $175 to $200/night easy and maybe even down near $129 or so at some hotels within half a mile of the entry. You can't really blame Disney for flight costs...

 

[Captainkidd76]

The difference between WDW and DL/DCA is that it's absolutely easy walking once you hit downtown Disney. You're in the safe welcoming Disney bubble at that point and don't have to jump on a tram or cross any roads or anything else. So just look at Google maps and find a couple hotels in the surrounding area (some are literally across the street) and then check prices on some off peak times (late February or something). I think you'll be able to find $175 to $200/night easy and maybe even down near $129 or so at some hotels within half a mile of the entry. You can't really blame Disney for flight costs...

True. But you can blame them for charging $600+ a night to stay at the onsite hotels (excluding Paradise Pier). Then again, there are those that pay it so not much can be done to change that.

 

[AndrewC]

True. But you can blame them for charging $600+ a night to stay at the onsite hotels (excluding Paradise Pier). Then again, there are those that pay it so not much can be done to change that.

Totally, I absolutely hate the prices the onsite hotels charge, but there are only 3 at DL compared to what, like 10 or something at WDW? If you want to do it cheap you've got to stay off site, which can still be VERY close, in fact probably closer then the walking distance from Paradise Pier and maybe even DLH. It would be nice if Disney could buy out three or four of the hotels along Harbor and build two or three Disney "on property" (connect with some walking bridge) hotels with more approachable prices (like $199/night or something)