Dumb questions for you...

luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay, @raven24 and you other experts. I have a bundle of dumb questions.

I've been researching Walt's Park and have the 2013 UG. Can't get the Birnbaum book - it's $100 on eBay and $10,000 (I kid you not) on Amazon. I have to wait for the new one or just not get it. I don't know if there is another good book. If you know of one, let me know, please.

Are all the Disneyland Hotel rooms now the darker stuff? I've seen different pics, but read that it's been a bit since they started upgrading, so am assuming the lighter, brighter rooms are a thing of the past. Are they???

Do any of the Disney hotels guarantee a balcony?

Magic Mornings - I read in the UG that one of the parks will have one each morning. When I priced vacations on the Disney site, they include a ticket with a Magic Morning. I wouldn't need the magic Morning if I were staying in the hotel, right? Do ALL tickets just come with that?

Can you get tickets longer than five days?

Do APs save a lot on other things? How about discounts on hotels? Any good?

If I stayed in a non-Disney hotel and chose to drive, is it a long haul from parking to parks?

I'm not married to the idea of staying in a Disney hotel. They charge too much, IMO. Grand Californian looks a lot like WL and AKL, which I've been to many times...and the reddish rooms looks like more than i want to deal with. Disneyland Hotel looks ideal to me, but the rooms do seem dark. Paradise Pier has cute rooms, but I want a bigger pool. So, I'm thinking of going offsite, but can't seem to find anywhere with a big pool, which I really want a lot. Any advice re: Onsite v. Offsite would be appreciated.

Also - offsite - is it like near WDW, with tons of chain restaurants and fast food? And is it simply tacky or actually bad neighborhoods?

Where are good breakfasts? Not cool, new cuisine or anything. Just regular, good food, like Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey or Rainforest Cafe. Lunch and dinner, too. For regular, plain old American food, what do you like?

If anyone has actual park maps and/or Times Guides they'd be willing to mail to me, I'd pay the postage. They wouldn't have to be wrinkle-free, lol. Just shoved in an envelope and mailed. :)

Thanks for reading! I would not expect anyone to answer all the questions! Even one would be helpful!
 
J

jrlbc06

Active Member
luv said:
If I stayed in a non-Disney hotel and chose to drive, is it a long haul from parking to parks?

I'm not married to the idea of staying in a Disney hotel. They charge too much, IMO. Grand Californian looks a lot like WL and AKL, which I've been to many times...and the reddish rooms looks like more than i want to deal with. Disneyland Hotel looks ideal to me, but the rooms do seem dark. Paradise Pier has cute rooms, but I want a bigger pool. So, I'm thinking of going offsite, but can't seem to find anywhere with a big pool, which I really want a lot. Any advice re: Onsite v. Offsite would be appreciated.
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Check out the Good Neighbor Hotels. Most are within walking distance to the parks. Many are actually closer to the parks than the Disney Hotels.

I have stayed at both the Fairfield Inn and the Best Western Plus Park Place with good experiences at both. I vaguely remember Fairfield having a nice pool. Best Western is literally closer to the parks than any other hotel.

Disneyland Hotel has an amazing pool. If you're into that I would strongly consider it. I don't remember the rooms being dark but I stayed there about 7 years ago!

luv said:
Also - offsite - is it like near WDW, with tons of chain restaurants and fast food? And is it simply tacky or actually bad neighborhoods?
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The area seems just fine to me. There are like McDonalds, a little convenience store, IHOP, Dennys all in the area near the Fairfield / Best Western. I was completely comfortable walking around. As always, be aware of your surroundings at night and don't walk alone. But I felt completely comfortable and there was typically a steady stream of tourists.

luv said:
Where are good breakfasts? Not cool, new cuisine or anything. Just regular, good food, like Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey or Rainforest Cafe. Lunch and dinner, too. For regular, plain old American food, what do you like?
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I strongly recommend Goofy's Kitchen for a Chef Mickey like experience for breakfast. Also Storyteller's Cafe at the Grand Californian was also great. I have heard that there is good breakfast in Disneyland itself but I have never gone. I forget which restaurant it is, but I bet Raven will know!
 
J

jrlbc06

Active Member
There is also a Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney that serves breakfast!

And also I love La Brea bakery....sort of similar to Panera but with more options and better food. Similar idea to Panera at least.
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
You really don't need to stay on-site. If you really think you need it (doesn't seem like you do) or if you can drop $300-$500 per night on a hotel room without thinking about it (hey, can I borrow $20?), then the Disney hotels are quick, predictable choices. However, there are literally a dozen hotels on Harbor Blvd that are closer to the middle of the Esplanade than Contemporary is to the MK. The quality of each of these hotels seem to line up with their rates, for the most part... as long as you don't expect $200 per night service from the $69 per night Anaheim Plaza, you'll be fine. Use wikimapia.org ... it's the easiest way to see exactly what is where and it will get you to each hotel's individual website. I'd definitely recommend going to each hotel's website, because in my shopping I have found so many different options that you don't always get on the major booking sites... discounts for not bringing a car, Disneyland AP discounts at off-site hotels, bunk bed rooms, etc.

Also, don't discount staying a little further away and driving into the Mickey & Friends parking garage. If you find a hotel you like, go for it. Like @TP2000 says, the freeways in Orange County are spacious and free-moving. I myself drive from Torrance (45 mins away and basically on the ocean) every day when my family visits Disneyland and even that is a pleasant drive. If you find a hotel near the Artesia Freeway (91) west of I-5, you'd be basically guaranteed a worry-free drive. There's an exit basically right from the highway to the parking garage, then there's a short tram ride with the cool narrator voice guy doing the spiel or a 10 minute walk surrounded by tropical flowers.

Magic Mornings... on the longer tickets, you get one Magic Morning (possibly only in Disneyland?); if you stay at a Disney hotel, you get one park each day.

I'll be glad to send you some park maps and stuff when I go in October, but I have a feeling someone else will help you out before then.
 
teacherlady19

teacherlady19

Active Member
luv said:
Okay, @raven24 and you other experts. I have a bundle of dumb questions. I've been researching Walt's Park and have the 2013 UG. Can't get the Birnbaum book - it's $100 on eBay and $10,000 (I kid you not) on Amazon. I have to wait for the new one or just not get it. I don't know if there is another good book. If you know of one, let me know, please.
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Almost anything in the UG or Birnbaum's can be found either here or at MiceAge/MiceChat. Read the boards for a little while and you'll get more tips than the UG will give you!

Can you get tickets longer than five days?
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Consider the purchase of the appropriate annual pass -- it could easily be cheaper in the long run, even if you would never use it again this year. Compare prices! The premium pass offers the highest discounts; the SoCal pass offers a smaller discount. An AP holder will have to tell you what the discounts are good on, other than in the stores and restaurants in the parks.

If I stayed in a non-Disney hotel and chose to drive, is it a long haul from parking to parks?
I'm not married to the idea of staying in a Disney hotel. They charge too much, IMO. Grand Californian looks a lot like WL and AKL, which I've been to many times...and the reddish rooms looks like more than i want to deal with. Disneyland Hotel looks ideal to me, but the rooms do seem dark. Paradise Pier has cute rooms, but I want a bigger pool. So, I'm thinking of going offsite, but can't seem to find anywhere with a big pool, which I really want a lot. Any advice re: Onsite v. Offsite would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

We went through this same quandry about 4 or 5 months ago, and finally decided to stay at a Good Neighbor hotel off-site. Big pools aren't really common, at least not in the places we've stayed off-site. Our most recent stay was at Candy Cane Inn, which is near the corner of Harbor Blvd and Katella, on the southeast corner of the Disney park. You can see the back of the CarsLand facade from the parking lot at Candy Cane. We liked the place and would stay there again. It was around $140 a night, I think, with the AAA discount, for the "standard" room in summer months. Candy Cane Inn offers a shuttle every half hour, but it could be easily walked in 10 minutes.

Also - offsite - is it like near WDW, with tons of chain restaurants and fast food? And is it simply tacky or actually bad neighborhoods?
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My husband felt comfortable enough in the neighborhood of Candy Cane Inn to walk over to a convenience store for some beer to share with our BIL. We walked over to get pizza at a small strip mall with 3 places to eat in it. Down the road there were several chain restaurants, including an IHOP and a Denny's.



Donna
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
luv said:
Okay, @raven24 and you other experts. I have a bundle of dumb questions.

I've been researching Walt's Park and have the 2013 UG. Can't get the Birnbaum book - it's $100 on eBay and $10,000 (I kid you not) on Amazon. I have to wait for the new one or just not get it. I don't know if there is another good book. If you know of one, let me know, please.
...

Thanks for reading! I would not expect anyone to answer all the questions! Even one would be helpful!
Click to expand...
$10,000.00 ????

try $13.28

http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Wal...UTF8&qid=1376836862&sr=8-1&keywords=birnbaums
 
J

jrlbc06

Active Member
Although there are listing for 10-20 dollar 2012 Disneyland guides. The 2013 guide isn't being released until 9/24? At least not in paperback. Maybe that explains some of the crazy prices.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
First, I'd like to say don't bother with an onsite hotel. They're expensive and the benefits aren't that great. Pick something offsite. Speaking of offsite hotels, there are plenty to choose from that are close by that are much cheaper, some even closer than the Disneyland and Paradise Pier Hotels. Lots are in walking distance and if you have to drive, it'll usually be a five to ten minute one.

Magic Morning tickets are separate from regular tickets.

The max number of days is five. You won't need to spend more.

Annual Passholders receive hotel discounts. Premium and Premier APs receive twenty percent off food and fifteen percent off merchandise. A Deluxe AP will get ten percent off food and merchandise.

I haven't stayed in many of the offsite hotels, but I've heard good reviews about the Annabella Hotel. Here's the pool, I don't know if you consider this big or not.

Photo15.jpg


Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort Pool:

Crowne_Anaheim7.jpg


Tropicana Inn and Suites pool:

photo_pool.jpg


Courtyard pool:

courtyard-by-marriott-anaheim-disneyland-anaheim-pool-3062.jpg


The area around the Disneyland Resort is not shabby at all. It's surrounded by hotels, homes, a convention center and a shopping center (Garden Walk). Unlike WDW, it doesn't sit in its own land.

Garden Walk:

homeimage1.jpg


As fast food goes, there's a McDonald's and a Subway across the street. There's also an IHOP and a Denny's.

This is the McDonald's that sits across the street (with a good neighbor hotel in the background):

4389517636_282d331f26.jpg


Can the eateries include quick service as well? I can recommend and create a separate post on those alone.
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
raven24 said:
Can the eateries include quick service as well? I can recommend and create a separate post on those alone.
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Oh, yes, please! Any recommendation! And thank you SO much!
Cosmic Commando said:
If "pool" means "water fun", then HoJo's has a mini water park, but their actual swimming pool is average-sized.

19662_98_b.jpg
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Nope, water fun doesn't count. Pool. To swim in very early in the morning. That is a great picture! Did you take that?
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I know. @raven24 is the Man! Thanks again!

And @unkadug - as soon as I saw your first link, I ordered the book. Then I came back to the thread and saw it was the WDW book THAT I HAVE and didn't even notice, lol. So, back to amazon to cancel. Then I ordered the DL book. Thanks so much for finding that link.

I'm kind of loving those Crowne Plaza pics.

I just really want to pick the right place as I plan to spend a lot of time there, chilling out.

I'd forgotten how hard planning a Disney trip can be. THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

Please let me know if I can ever help you with WDW maps or Orlando coupon books or whatever.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
luv said:
I know. @raven24 is the Man! Thanks again!

And @unkadug - as soon as I saw your first link, I ordered the book. Then I came back to the thread and saw it was the WDW book THAT I HAVE and didn't even notice, lol. So, back to amazon to cancel. Then I ordered the DL book. Thanks so much for finding that link.

I'm kind of loving those Crowne Plaza pics.

I just really want to pick the right place as I plan to spend a lot of time there, chilling out.

I'd forgotten how hard planning a Disney trip can be. THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

Please let me know if I can ever help you with WDW maps or Orlando coupon books or whatever.
Click to expand...

I will hop on that dining post as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I have jury duty tomorrow (WHY?!?!), but I will do it ASAP.
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
raven24 said:
I will hop on that dining post as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I have jury duty tomorrow (WHY?!?!), but I will do it ASAP.
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Puhleeze don't feel pressured! It's not your job! My son is in school, too. I know what a pain it can be.

My brother spent three years at UCLA and never once went to WDW. He also came to Orlando and had no desire to go to WDW. He got the deficient genes! ;)
 

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