[Chat] Disneyland resorts : worth the money?

[vanisingh96]

My family will (hopefully) be making the trip to Disneyland in a few years and I'm trying to work out if the Disneyland hotels are worth the extra money. Coming from New Zealand, the airfares make this a rather expensive holiday (compared to other destinations) so it's likely to be the first and last time we ever go. I expected the Disney hotels to be at a premium cost however I wasn't expecting it to be approx $700 a night dearer. To put it into perspective, for the same amount of money, we could have a 10 night holiday at the Dis tutuappney hotel, or at a good neighbor hotel followed by flights/accommodation in Fiji for a week. If it's an amazing experience then sure we'd consider it - but it seems like an exceptionally expensive hotel, is it ACTUALLY worth it? appvalley

[MrGoat]

I've only stayed in the Disneyland hotel once, and neither of the others, but honestly I wasn't that impressed. It was nice, but not $700/night nice, by any stretch. Since then, we've stayed nearby and just walked to the park, and I loved it. That's just me For as much as we paid, I expected a more Disney experience, but for us, it was just a nice-ish hotel that happens to be adjacent to Downtown Disney. Save the money for food, etc. And maybe some for a trip to Fiji

[DisneyIPresume]

The hotels surrounding Disneyland are way over-priced. The only thing worth it is the convenience of being within walking distance of the park and you are immersed in that “Disney magic”. But for the same amount of money or even less you could stay at the luxurious Resort at Pelican Hill or the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, which is about 20 - 25 minutes away by car. And if you’re coming all the way from New Zealand I’m guessing you’re probably going to want to take in the other sites in Southern California so you would still be staying in an ideal location as it is central to Los Angeles (45 miles north) and San Diego (80 miles south).

[J. Thaddeus Toad]

Don’t waste your money.

Rent an entire house through air B and B within waking distance at a fraction of the cost. You can even get Disney themed houses.

This way you get more privacy, space, quiet. bathrooms, a custom experience... all for way less money.

[DisneyIPresume]

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[whoever]

I will NEVER stay offsite again. Just not worth it. Vacations are for enjoyment, not strife, and offsite = strife for me and lower quality to boot.

[Pips]

My family will (hopefully) be making the trip to Disneyland in a few years and I'm trying to work out if the Disneyland hotels are worth the extra money. Coming from New Zealand, the airfares make this a rather expensive holiday (compared to other destinations) so it's likely to be the first and last time we ever go. I expected the Disney hotels to be at a premium cost however I wasn't expecting it to be approx $700 a night dearer. To put it into perspective, for the same amount of money, we could have a 10 night holiday at the Disney hotel, or at a good neighbor hotel followed by flights/accommodation in Fiji for a week. If it's an amazing experience then sure we'd consider it - but it seems like an exceptionally expensive hotel, is it ACTUALLY worth it?

It's a great experience to stay onsite. You might call and ask around about packages that are marketed to your region. I had a nice chat with a man from Australia who was staying 10 days at DL Hotel at a great rate and he said that there were often really attractive packages for longer stays in order to encourage folks to make the long, long journey from your part of the world. Everything is different now with covid, of course, but still worth asking.

Whatever your choice, have a great vacation!

[mickdaddy]

There is something magical for me to stay on property, we have done the Grand Californian a few times. With that said though we usually stay off property at a hotel within walking distance it helps to keep the cost down and allows us to have more trips.

[linkeq2001]

I will NEVER stay offsite again. Just not worth it. Vacations are for enjoyment, not strife, and offsite = strife for me and lower quality to boot.

While you could make the argument in Florida regarding some of their resorts.....having stayed at all of the hotels on property and many of the ones offsite I would argue it's pretty disingenuous to suggest there is any substantial difference between Disneyland Hotel and a few of the nearby offsite properties, especially when you consider that the distance to the parks is nearly the same. I'd give the Hotel the pool, since it is pretty good, but in terms of individual rooms the DLH and PP are FAR from luxurious. The GCH due to its proximity and pretty astounding pool area and restaurants may be the exception.

To each their own, and there are certainly some perks, but "quality" ehhhhh DLR is lacking.

[vroomichael]

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the rooms themselves felt like any other hotel. While at WDW it makes more sense because there is a hotel for every budget and the entire resort itself is secluded, Disneyland is too close to a bunch of other hotels and restaurants that it makes little sense for me to actually stay on property. The Disneyland Hotel is just as far of a walk from the parks as the motels across Harbor.

I would probably splurge only if you were considering the Grand Californian. Other than that, I don't feel like you're missing out on any experience.

[Co Foo]

The only way I could justify the increased cost of staying at one of the Disney hotels is if it were my only trip that I was ever going to take and I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on anything.

Generally I'm a value conscious person (i.e. cheapskate), but once in a lifetime opportunities shouldn't be passed on.

[Jesser-pie]

Amazing no. If you go in expecting amazing and I fear you would be disappointed.

For the Disneyland Hotel: The Disney touches in the rooms and throughout the resort are nice. They keep you in the “Disney Bubble”; thus you don’t ever leave the magic. That is a close to “amazing” as a basic (but expensive) room gets, IMHO. You can make it worth it; like Coo Foo said, if this is special splurge, then it could make for a great trip.

However, in of itself, there is nothing that wows me The pool is nice and I loved the drink service as I lounged. I also love Trader Sams, but other than pool access, many of things I love, cost extra so I am not sure I consider them contributing to the room rate.

The room itself was somewhat dated and could be freshened up. It didn’t feel dilapidated, but at the cost, it was not amazingly kept.

Being close to the parks and walking via Downtown Disney (as opposed to a public street) is certainly nice and can be worth the money from a certain mindset. However, again, I don’t consider that amazing for the price.

[whoever]

While you could make the argument in Florida regarding some of their resorts.....having stayed at all of the hotels on property and many of the ones offsite I would argue it's pretty disingenuous to suggest there is any substantial difference between Disneyland Hotel and a few of the nearby offsite properties, especially when you consider that the distance to the parks is nearly the same. I'd give the Hotel the pool, since it is pretty good, but in terms of individual rooms the DLH and PP are FAR from luxurious. The GCH due to its proximity and pretty astounding pool area and restaurants may be the exception.

To each their own, and there are certainly some perks, but "quality" ehhhhh DLR is lacking.

I've stayed offsite 4 times now. Once as a family, twice solo, and once when we were only going to need the room to change clothes and grab 4 hours of sleep before we left. They were all beyond a let down. On-property is worth the price for a family or a couple who will spend any amount of time at the hotel (which we always do).

[whoever]

The only way I could justify the increased cost of staying at one of the Disney hotels is if it were my only trip that I was ever going to take and I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on anything.

Why would you want to miss out on anything during a vacation? Unless vacations are the norm for you and you won't value the experience as much? For me, vacations are so few and far between, I will never consider the cost into the equation. The experience is worth it.

Generally I'm a value conscious person (i.e. cheapskate), but once in a lifetime opportunities shouldn't be passed on.

Daily driver of a now 23 year old vehicle, grinds and brews his own coffee, fixes his own vehicles and houses himself.... I bring the word frugal to a new level. Vacations... that flys out the window.

[Co Foo]

Why would you want to miss out on anything during a vacation? Unless vacations are the norm for you and you won't value the experience as much? For me, vacations are so few and far between, I will never consider the cost into the equation. The experience is worth it.

Daily driver of a now 23 year old vehicle, grinds and brews his own coffee, fixes his own vehicles and houses himself.... I bring the word frugal to a new level. Vacations... that flys out the window.

Everyone has different financial considerations, judgments of value, and time to spend. These are all very personal considerations, so what's good for me or you doesn't really work for someone else in a different situation.

Personally, I do take plenty of vacations. Travel and dining out are my favorite things to spend money on. That being said, I can't spend all of my money flying first class, staying at five star hotels, and eating at the most expensive restaurants. Vacations aren't my only financial goal. I need to save for other long-term objectives like college for my kids or retirement. I do alright for myself financially, but I don't make enough money so that there are no tradeoffs. I suspect that this is true for most people.

I also drive a 23 year old car and brew my own coffee. But that's only going to take me so far given my situation.

[whoever]

long-term objectives like college for my kids or retirement. .

My children can work their way through college like I did (more likely the wife will decide we help them if she ever gets a job to kick in to the budget that is). Retirement, I'm doing pretty good, wish I had more, but if I make it to 70, I'm set. I love eating out. Last time that happened was October of 2019 though. I have a professional kitchen I custom built myself and the skills to match, so we get by pretty well...

[Eagleman]

Everyone has different financial considerations, judgments of value, and time to spend. These are all very personal considerations, so what's good for me or you doesn't really work for someone else in a different situation.

I also drive a 23 year old car and brew my own coffee. But that's only going to take me so far given my situation.

I Agree with your comments....except my car is bit older........
But being retire now......I do not have to drive as often.
Not everyone personal life ,is in same situation !

[Co Foo]

My children can work their way through college like I did (more likely the wife will decide we help them if she ever gets a job to kick in to the budget that is). Retirement, I'm doing pretty good, wish I had more, but if I make it to 70, I'm set. I love eating out. Last time that happened was October of 2019 though. I have a professional kitchen I custom built myself and the skills to match, so we get by pretty well...

I don’t really have a comment on that because those are your choices and just as valid as anyone else’s.

[bayouguy]

I have stayed in all 3 of the resort hotels and have stayed in motels surrounding the park...the prices of the Disney themed hotels were not as expensive when I stayed and it was a nice experience, even splurging for concierge service at the Grand Californian Hotel a couple of times...but the prices have pushed the resort hotels off my want list...but I will do one more stay at one of the Disney hotels for my daughter's sake since she hasn't experienced the hotel atmosphere...the other hotel franchises I've done have been the Marriott Residence Inns and the Holiday Inn Express hotels...they suit our needs the best...you would have to consider maybe splitting up the stay, perhaps a couple of days at a Disney hotel with a majority of the other days spent at a less expensive hotel...

[Starcade]

I think the onsite hotels are very much overpriced and borderline gouging. We have stayed on site at least once a year often twice for special occasions rotating amongst the three Hotels. We live within 20 min. of the park so for us it's more of a staycation. The main reason we would stay on site was the convenience of being able to change clothes and ride Grizzly River Rapids a couple of times and easily be able to change back into dry clothes or the ability to use our own private bathroom or the ease of taking a break in a private space in the afternoon during the dinner surge or to go back and get a jacket etc. We would often stay for 3 days 2 nights so we had that one magical day where we were in the bubble without breaking the wall for 48hrs.

That all being said the last wave of price hikes made us feel foolish to spend that much and get so lil in return as the rooms even at the Grand Californian are no better than many hotels we have stayed at for other reasons. We can afford to spend much more for a stay but even if I had millions I would feel a lil foolish spending over $700 for a room that would be $365 anywhere else where literally $400 a night just a couple of year before. There are some folks who feel spending more money or buying pricey things somehow makes them something, I am not one of those people.

If you're coming from NZ like others have said for the same price you could stay at a beach resort, rent a house nearby or somewhere central to where you could also see some other historical sites. If you're coming all the way here I am sure you would like to experience more of CA than just the Disney version of the Adventure.