Good Neighbor Hotel

[blind006]

Hi All,

First post (and now in the right topic area), so please be gentle, haha. I'm planning a trip to Disneyland (my first ever trip there!) and have locked down the dates (mid May) and was wondering what you all consider to be the best overall Good Neighbor Hotel. The onsite hotels are just out of my price range. I'm trying to take proximity to the park/cost/room quality into consideration and have narrowed it down to a few choices (Desert Inn/Best Western/Park Vue/Fairfield Inn) Anyone have any experiences at these or other hotels near Disneyland and have any recommendations? If this topic has been brought up before, maybe a link to that thread as I was unable to find anything using the search option? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and I look forward to contributing to these forums!

[cy1229]

Hi All,

First post (and now in the right topic area), so please be gentle, haha. I'm planning a trip to Disneyland (my first ever trip there!) and have locked down the dates (mid May) and was wondering what you all consider to be the best overall Good Neighbor Hotel. The onsite hotels are just out of my price range. I'm trying to take proximity to the park/cost/room quality into consideration and have narrowed it down to a few choices (Desert Inn/Best Western/Park Vue/Fairfield Inn) Anyone have any experiences at these or other hotels near Disneyland and have any recommendations? If this topic has been brought up before, maybe a link to that thread as I was unable to find anything using the search option? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and I look forward to contributing to these forums!

I know Len90 stayed at one of the hotels across the street from Disneyland a little over a year ago. He's in medical school right now so he only pops in when he doesn't have to study his brains out preparing for exams, but I bet if you send him a direct message he can get an answer to you. Also, Wizzard419 lives in the area and might know.

Make sure you do a trip report after you get back! I've never been to DLR but really want to go sometime, even if only for a couple of days. Hubby and I almost went this past summer as an extension to a business trip I took to Pasadena, but it just didn't work out. Ah, well, maybe when we have these kids through college.

[Wizzard419]

I don't live in the area, that is the ghetto, I work nearby and live closer to the water.

Anyway, are you going to have a car while there and how do you anticipate getting into the parks? If you aren't at the hotel that is right across from the entrance on Harbor, you are going to either need to take a shuttle (which can be free if the hotel provides it or you will be spending several bucks a day for the bus), or parking at the resorts which can get costly as well.

[cy1229]

I don't live in the area, that is the ghetto, I work nearby and live closer to the water.

Relative to the rest of us you're nearby!!!

[Amy]

I don't live in the area, that is the ghetto, I work nearby and live closer to the water.

Relative to the rest of us you're nearby!!!

That is kind of what I was thinking...plus the fact that Wizz can have lunch meetings at DL is just awesome!

[MmeLeota]

Hi All,

First post (and now in the right topic area), so please be gentle, haha. I'm planning a trip to Disneyland (my first ever trip there!) and have locked down the dates (mid May) and was wondering what you all consider to be the best overall Good Neighbor Hotel. The onsite hotels are just out of my price range. I'm trying to take proximity to the park/cost/room quality into consideration and have narrowed it down to a few choices (Desert Inn/Best Western/Park Vue/Fairfield Inn) Anyone have any experiences at these or other hotels near Disneyland and have any recommendations? If this topic has been brought up before, maybe a link to that thread as I was unable to find anything using the search option? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and I look forward to contributing to these forums!

Welcome to the forums!
We have stayed at several places around the parks and have been quite happy. But we also don't like to spend a lot of $$$ on a room when we won't be in it much. A clean room with a clean bathroom is about all we require. That said, the only one we have stayed at out of the list you mentioned was Park Vue. We stayed several times, actually and it was fine. They have since remodeled the hotel, so I imagine it's nicer now. It is directly across the street from the walkway to the parks. I have heard good things about the HoJo right over there as well (especially if you have kids...apparently the pool is pretty great). As far as Best Westerns go, there are at least 3 in the immediate area (2 on Harbor Blvd, 1 on Katella that I know of), so be sure you know which one you're at if you stay there. We liked to stay at the Super 8 on Katella. It's no-frills and located about a 10-15 minute walk to/from the parks (we're slow walkers)...if you don't mind that. We have also stayed at the Travelodge on Harbor Blvd. The walk to the parks is longer, however it is just down the block from the Toy Story parking area. You can grab the parking shuttle from there directly to the parks. The Anaheim Resort Transit system has several stops so if you don't want to pay the parking fees ($15+ per day), but are staying too far away to walk, they have multi-day passes available. http://www.rideart.org/
If you have any questions, I would be happy to help you out as best as I can. I'm not on the boards as much as I used to be, but you can always send me a PM and I'll see it. We miss being able to hop in the car and be there in a few hours, so it's fun to get to help someone else out.

[blind006]

Thank you all for your replies! Sorry I have not been able to reply to these questions sooner, I was out of town on business and the hotel did not have free WiFi! Silly Chicago hotels! I will not be with a car. I would love to make the road trip from Virginia to California one day, but it will have to wait for more time/money. So far it is just me and my little brother so no children to speak of. I really do appreciate all of your suggestions and I will let you know what I decide. I can't wait to share my experiences! Thanks again!

[Amy]

Thank you all for your replies! Sorry I have not been able to reply to these questions sooner, I was out of town on business and the hotel did not have free WiFi! Silly Chicago hotels! I will not be with a car. I would love to make the road trip from Virginia to California one day, but it will have to wait for more time/money. So far it is just me and my little brother so no children to speak of. I really do appreciate all of your suggestions and I will let you know what I decide. I can't wait to share my experiences! Thanks again!

There were a ton of hotels right around the DL resort so you shouldn't have a problem at all finding something in your budget within walking distance. We also saw shuttles at several of the hotels as we drove by so I imagine you won't have any problem finding your way to the parks.
It is just so different with the town being built right up against the parks. So different from WDW!

[GeoffS]

If you're staying a bit out of walking distance and your hotel/motel does not provide a shuttle, OCTA local buses run routes from various areas. I do NOT recommend them, however, as they are not as frequent as the shuttles, and incredibly crowded during commute times (local employees use them extensively). A day pass is incredibly cheap, though, and gets you throughout Orange County (including John Wayne and Long Beach airports).
http://www.octa.net/Bus-Transit/Fares-a ... /Overview/

[Wizzard419]

If you're taking OCTA you can actually get to downtown LA as well (from Fullerton).