Paradise Pier hotel...worth it or NOT worth it.

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serendipity_ci

New Member
Original Poster
Hello, I thought I would ask the Disneyland experts out there about their experience with Paradise Pier hotel.

I have two trips planned next year. The first trip is in the summer, we are staying across the street. It's all about the rides. Easy Peasy.

The second trip I think I would really like to stay on site because it will be during the holiday season. It's all about the Christmas decorations. I don't think I have enough in the budget to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. (and really not at the Grand) I've never stayed at Paradise Pier hotel and was wondering what peoples experiences with it were. My first reason for considering Paradise Pier Hotel is that two of the three park days we have will be on the weekend and I feel like maybe the lines on the resort side wont be as bad. Plus walking through Downtown Disney might be kind of magical at that time of year?

Or is it just better to save my dough and stay across the street? Will the lines to get into the park be awful in early-mid December (weekend)?
 
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serendipity_ci

New Member
Original Poster
Yeah, its probably the last on my list of all the Disney owned hotels, including the values at WDW (at least those are very affordable.) I just don't want to miss out any of the Christmas magic when we go, which is why I am considering it. Plus the lines at the gate worry me. I've never gone during the Christmas season, I bet they get bad.
 
Darkbeer1

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Want to avoid the Harbor Blvd. Security lines, which can get to be 45 minutes or more in the morning?

Option A Stay near the Toy Story Lot, and walk to the bus pickup area. There will be security checks there, so hopefully quicker. When the buses get to the Transportation Plaza, there will be a special pathway that skips the Security there.

Option B. Stay near the corner of Ball and Disneyland Drive, walk to the Parking Structure Trams or the Downtown Disney north security check.

Option C Stay near the corner of Katella and Disneyland Dr/West Street (Street changes names at Katella). Walk to the DTD West or North security check.

Option D Drive from the Hotel to either Parking area and go through security there.

Staying offsite saves money in many ways, lower room rate, possibility of using frequent Hotel Points, many offer a free breakfast, some offer a happy hour of free drinks and light snacks. Easy access to off site restaurants and shopping, etc.

So yes for staying on site at WDW in Florida, and NOT staying onsite at the DLR.
 
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serendipity_ci

New Member
Original Poster
Darkbeer1 said:
Want to avoid the Harbor Blvd. Security lines, which can get to be 45 minutes or more in the morning?

Option A Stay near the Toy Story Lot, and walk to the bus pickup area. There will be security checks there, so hopefully quicker. When the buses get to the Transportation Plaza, there will be a special pathway that skips the Security there.

Option B. Stay near the corner of Ball and Disneyland Drive, walk to the Parking Structure Trams or the Downtown Disney north security check.

Option C Stay near the corner of Katella and Disneyland Dr/West Street (Street changes names at Katella). Walk to the DTD West or North security check.

Option D Drive from the Hotel to either Parking area and go through security there.

Staying offsite saves money in many ways, lower room rate, possibility of using frequent Hotel Points, many offer a free breakfast, some offer a happy hour of free drinks and light snacks. Easy access to off site restaurants and shopping, etc.

So yes for staying on site at WDW in Florida, and NOT staying onsite at the DLR.
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You're blowing my mind here lol
 
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Eeyorenot74

Member
It's been a few years since stay at Paradise Pier. For me it just doesn't have the magic of DLH. One thing I did like was it's outstanding views of DCA and surrounding area. I'd recommend offsite.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Paradise Pier Hotel is completely not worth it. I actually think its criminal how they get innocent tourist families to stay there at those prices and then give them crap.

There are much nicer corporate chain hotels on Harbor or Katella that offer equal or superior service/amenities to the Paradise Pier Hotel at much lower rates.

Best thing you could do for your family is go on Amazon.com and buy some cute, little Mickey Mouse shaped hand soaps and put them in your luggage, then when you get to your room at the Marriott or Hyatt or Hilton on Harbor or Katella put the Mickey hand soaps in the soap dish in your bathroom. Voila! You have now gotten the same Mickey Mouse amenities as the Paradise Pier Hotel, but with better service and much cheaper rates. You win!
 
mandelbrot

mandelbrot

Well-Known Member
If cost is not a consideration stay at the Grand Californian. It's by far the most convenient hotel to everything at DLR. For about the same price you could stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Better rooms and better staff but further away from everything. For a few dollars less you could stay at Paradise Pier. Tired, inconvenient, and still expensive. Pass. EMH or MM or whatever it's called these days is not a huge deal at DLR. Every day the first few hours are great no matter what.

If you want a great hotel that charges on average less than half of what Disney charges on a daily basis I recommend the Anaheim Marriott at the convention center. Great rooms, great service, an Uber ride to the parks (both ways) that costs less than Disney parking...always a great experience. It's where I stay when I go.
 
Stevek

Stevek

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Paradise Pier Hotel is completely not worth it. I actually think its criminal how they get innocent tourist families to stay there at those prices and then give them crap.

There are much nicer corporate chain hotels on Harbor or Katella that offer equal or superior service/amenities to the Paradise Pier Hotel at much lower rates.

Best thing you could do for your family is go on Amazon.com and buy some cute, little Mickey Mouse shaped hand soaps and put them in your luggage, then when you get to your room at the Marriott or Hyatt or Hilton on Harbor or Katella put the Mickey hand soaps in the soap dish in your bathroom. Voila! You have now gotten the same Mickey Mouse amenities as the Paradise Pier Hotel, but with better service and much cheaper rates. You win!
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We paid $129 a night...may have been a bit lower...many years ago prior to one of the DCA Halloween parties. That is the absolute max I would pay and is a bargain by today's standards.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Here's the photos taken in late 2018 of the Paradise Pier Hotel rooms easily going for $400 per night.

IMG_1817-1.jpg


And the luxuriously small bathrooms from 1986 in the rooms at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Whimsy!
IMG_1820-e1535329757606.jpg


I went on Amazon and found these adorable Mickey Mouse glove shaped hand soaps, which are actually way more themed than anything found in that Paradise Pier Hotel bathroom. They are $15 for two.
s-l500.jpg


You could buy those Mickey soaps, pack them in your suitcase, and then put them in your bathroom at the Courtyard by Marriott across the street on Harbor Blvd. Here's the rooms going for $189 on the same dates the Paradise Pier Hotel is asking for $400 per night.
courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance-marriott-disneyland-005.jpg


Place Mickey hand soaps here, please. Whimsy! This bathroom is large and from the late 2010's, for reference.
courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance-marriott-disneyland-007.jpg


Price breakdown is as such:

Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel
2 Nights at $400 per night
Total $800

Courtyard by Marriott on Harbor Blvd.
2 Nights at $189 per night
Mickey Mouse hand soap $15
Total $393
 
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Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
On the plus side, my family and I had a great time at the Paradise Pier Hotel last year.

1) We had an amazing view of DCA. It’s fun to watch the park “Go to sleep” and “Wake up” with you. That’s a unique experience.

2) Had a great, great character breakfast there. Wonderful staff and tons of character interaction.

3) No one broke a lamp with the plush beach balls.
 
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drizgirl

Well-Known Member
Rich T said:
On the plus side, my family and I had a great time at the Paradise Pier Hotel last year.

1) We had an amazing view of DCA. It’s fun to watch the park “Go to sleep” and “Wake up” with you. That’s a unique experience.

2) Had a great, great character breakfast there. Wonderful staff and tons of character interaction.

3) No one broke a lamp with the plush beach balls.
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The view of DCA is stunning. You can almost reach out and touch the park.

Also on the plus side is early entry into one of the parks every day of your stay. On the days that's at DCA, only onsite hotel guests are there (since Magic Morning is only at DL) so crowds are quite low.
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
Not sure if it's any different with Christmas decorations (doubt it), but my friend and I did a quick walkthrough last time we were there and based on that I don't feel the need to ever set foot in it again.

If you didn't know Disney owned it, you could easily mistake it for a pleasantly bland corporate hotel that put some Mickeys inside to "theme" itself to its popular neighbor. And the walk is a much longer one than most tourists on the Harbor Blvd block will make.

Save your money and stay somewhere else.
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
If you stay at Paradise Pier Hotel, you don't even have to bother with Downtown Disney. You just cross the street, walk through the Grand Californian and enter DCA. That's pretty convenient, especially not dealing with the people on the Harbor Blvd. side.
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
George Lucas on a Bench said:
If you stay at Paradise Pier Hotel, you don't even have to bother with Downtown Disney. You just cross the street, walk through the Grand Californian and enter DCA. That's pretty convenient, especially not dealing with the people on the Harbor Blvd. side.
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I had thought that they'd stopped allowing that and that now those guests had to enter Downtown Disney by the Disneyland Hotel.
 

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