On property advantages?

[SL6827]

Are there any advantages to staying on property at Disneyland vs. at a Good Neighbor Hotel?

 

[smercerdiemont]

Extra Magic Hour for Disneyland hotel guests, as well as staying in the Disney "bubble".

 

[Sparky McGrew]

Are there any advantages to staying on property at Disneyland vs. at a Good Neighbor Hotel?

1. If you stay at GCH, you have a private entrance into DCA and are steps away from DL.
2. Extra Magic Hour.
3. Superb Disney service.
4. Disney "bubble."

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you are comparing the "Disney Bubble" to what you experience at WDW, it isn't quite the same. The "bubble effect" at DLR is much smaller, and for many people, it isn't worth the hundeds of dollars extra over staying off site. Good MP skillz can make up for EMH and most 3+ day tickets come with one MM to DL, so while the EMH perk for staying on site is very nice, it isn't a total loss for off site guests. And the Good Neighbor designation doesn't mean much at DLR. There are very good hotels that have it and not very nice hotels that have it. And there are very good hotels that don't have it and not very nice hotels that don't have it. Don't use the GN designation to choose your hotel.
There are much better ways to choose a hotel here:
"HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862
"Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You" www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/

 

[Epicnemesis]

I am of the opinion (having only stayed at GC out of the 3 hotels) that on property is very much not worth it. EMH is great and all, but you get a day with it on a 3 day pass as well. Plus, you don’t really need it. Especially for California adventure. If you get there at park opening you can do every single ride in the park by early afternoon.

As for the Disney bubble...meh, not as big a bubble as Disneyworld.

If you are looking to splurge, and you put a lot of value on a pool or on being a 2 minute walk as opposed to a 5-15 minute walk then go for it.

I feel like Grand Californian is literally double what it should cost. I think it was 500 for us, the room is nothing special, and we never went to the pool because when you are at Disneyland...go to Disneyland.

Our go to in the area is the Hilton, we can usually catch a weekend price of around 100 or so. It’s a mile away so the walk kind of sucks, especially the way back, but it’s a cheap fun escape. Never tried the harbor places I hear they are fine. I have a mental hurdle when it comes to motels. I just can’t do it.

 

[typhoondoubloon]

I prefer to stay onsite. I'm in looooove with the Disneyland hotel. I actually prefer it over the GC. For me it is so special. It's one of those places in the world that just tugs at my heart-strings. I am an early riser so the extra hour in the morning always gets used. I can nearly ride everything I want in that first hour before the general public is allowed in at California Adventure. I feel like that is a huge value. I love the tropical landscaping and the ambiance music, too....The sounds for some reason are always a huge part of my Disney experiences.


But to be fair, when I stay offsite, I stay close, not "nice" so my stays offsite are pretty basic. And I always have a great trip when I stay offsite, its just not quite as good.

 

[wench]

If you’re staying onsite, you can have packages sent back to your hotel. If you buy a lot on the parks, like I do, this is huge!!!!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

I am in the same boat as above, the premium costs are not worth the benefits. Even though we fly each time, we could still do two family trips instead of one by staying off property.

That being said, I have stayed onsite multiple time as a splurge or as part of a conference add on so it is not as big a draw for me anymore. We have done WDW twice and the bubble is much more present there. I have been lucky enough to have conferences at either DL or PP hotels the last five years and always tack on a few days at the discounted group rate-so I get my onsite fix at a discount.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Not getting mugged

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Not getting mugged

Who's gotten mugged off site (within what most of us consider walking distance of the gates)? Personally, I've never had any trouble walking to/from an off site hotel (going as far down Harbor as the TS lot). And that's whether I'm with a group, with DH, or alone -- at all hours, from 4:30 am to well past midnight.
ETA: I know you meant this as a joke, but we get a fair amount of posts from non-locals asking if the DLR area is safe (especially from solo female travelers), so your joke could be taken the wrong way by more people than you think.

 

[Aurora0427]

In my opinion, it comes down to budget. I’ve said this on multiple threads.... we come up from San Diego monthly, and usually stay at the Park Vue Inn. We’ve stayed at the Disneyland Hotel once. If I were a very wealthy person, I’d stay on property every time. I love being on property- even though the bubble isn’t quite the same as WDW, it’s still a bubble. No homeless people, no protestors, no people trying to sell stuff and you really do feel immersed in the magic. I’m a sucker for a Disney Hotel, and the pools at the GCH and the DLH are fantastic. If this is a one time trip, and you don’t have to give up days or activities to make the numbers work, I’d stay on property every time.

That being said, we’ve had excellent experiences each time we’ve stayed at the Park Vue, and the one time we stayed at Hotel Indigo. My choices for off property would be Park Vue, Tropicana, Fairfield, Courtyard Marriott Theme Park. All of these are nice and recently renovated and extremely close to the parks. The walk from the direction of the Marriott is much nicer than the walk from the Katella hotels. I did talk to one couple in line when we were there during ski week- they usually stay at the Park Vue but it was booked so they tried Tropicana, and they prefer the PV. FWIW.

Lucky Rabbit is correct that you can definitely make up for the lack of EMH if you rope drop and utilize maxpass. For me, staying on property is all about the Disney ambiance, not the other stuff!

 

[HydroGuy]

Here is Disney's list:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/resort-hotel-package/

 

[ellbellthomps]

The bubble is real. However, I hardly pay to stay in it because of the price. It's nuts.
I usually stay in walking distance, so I'm still sorta in the bubble but for 3/4 of the price.

 

[LilyJC]

Who's gotten mugged off site (within what most of us consider walking distance of the gates)?

I can’t remember where I saw it...maybe on a FB AP group, but in the past week or two someone saw a homeless man getting arrested after running out and punching a lady. I believe it was in the Katella/Harbor area. I haven’t done any research to verify, so take it with a grain of salt. The poster did have pics of the man being arrested though...

 

[ChrissyLou]

Sure there are advantages, others have mentioned them, you just have to determine if those advantages are worth several hundreds of dollars per night to you or not. I've not been to WDW, but from what I've heard the advantages to staying onsite at DL are less and the bubble is certainly not as pronounced.

We are from Seattle area so our visits include airfare and aren't as frequent as if we lived closer. We've stayed onsite once at Paradise Pier (our first trip with kids), it was fine-it's the least upscale and more affordable of the three Disney properties, but it IMO it is still quite expensive and we haven't done it since. I would much rather stay at a moderate hotel on Harbor or Katella and be able to go to DL more often than splurge and stay on site, but that's me. If I was spending the money to stay at the DLH or GCH, I'd want to stay in my room or at the pool all day to "get my money's worth." That isn't why we go to DL, we go for the parks. Now if money was no object, sure I'd stay on site and not think twice about it.
.

 

[SL6827]

Well from what I have read I just don't see the extreme advantage of onsite vs. a GNH. So let me ask you this, what is your favorite GNH and why?

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I can’t remember where I saw it...maybe on a FB AP group, but in the past week or two someone saw a homeless man getting arrested after running out and punching a lady. I believe it was in the Katella/Harbor area. I haven’t done any research to verify, so take it with a grain of salt. The poster did have pics of the man being arrested though...

I didn’t hear about this incident, but I agree it should be taken with a grain of salt and I am sure this is a very rare occurrence.

A fight broke out in Toon Town last year. Whether you stay in the bubble or outside the bubble, you are still in a place with other people, some of which are unpredictable.

 

[lindyv321]

I’m with those who say it’s not worth it. We’ve stayed at DLH twice and off-site many times. We can’t justify the cost difference to stay onsite. We’ve stayed at Best Western Parks Place Inn and Suites which is decent, has a good free hot breakfast, and is closer to the entrance than either DLH or PP. Since I now have two teens we’ve outgrown the rooms offered there and now stay at Desert Inn and Suites which has bigger rooms available. The breakfast isn’t as good but that’s not a deal breaker since the rooms are actually cheaper than BWPPI! We get more treats and souvenirs with the money we save by staying offsite and that is a HUGE perk to me.

 

[craigkerstiens]

Piling on with everyone else. I'll almost never stay off property at WDW, on occasion perhaps Swan/Dolphin. But for DL, the benefit just isn't there. Some hotels are a shorter walk than Disneyland Hotel (well I think that qualifies for maybe 2 hotels only). EMH is not as key as WDW, just leverage MP and you're all set and save a few hundred dollars a night.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Well from what I have read I just don't see the extreme advantage of onsite vs. a GNH. So let me ask you this, what is your favorite GNH and why?

We stay at the Hilton just because I have status with them and because you kind of know what you are getting with all Hilton’s. We walk fast so it’s like 15 minutes from hotel to park. Annoying but not a deal breaker.