Where to Stay at Disneyland - Customer Reviews and Comments
Had to comment that we agree on the Best Western Park Place right across the street from Disneyland. All the hotels/motels along this stretch of Harbor Blvd. seem to have the same design - small frontage facing the road and then a deep property that stretches way back from the road. The BW Park Place is literally across the street from the park - you just veer left as you come out of the Disneyland gates, walk about 400 yards along the bus and shuttle parking area, cross Harbor, and bang, you are home. We've stayed at a few of the Disney properties before as well, including the Grand Californian and the old Disneyland Hotels, and unless you are taking the monorail out of the park (which will get you pretty close to the older Disneyland Hotels at the far side of Downtown Disney), these properties along Harbor are about as close as you can get.
The rooms at the Best Western were clean, everything worked, nothing to complain about. In the past we've heard some noise in the halls, but we were on the second floor (out of 3) and never heard anyone in the surrounding rooms or halls during the night. Room rates are still around $150 a night, which gets you 2 queen beds and a pullout queen sofa, which allowed us to fairly comfortably house our 6 travelers, though fortunately 2 of them were little girls small enough to share the couch with no complaints. The front desk was happy to hold our luggage both on arrival (got there at 10AM, room not ready until 3PM) and departure (needed to check out in AM, spent day at park, taxi to Orange County Airport at 5PM). While there is no grocery store in easy distance to Disneyland, there is a mini market just one hotel up Harbor which sells cereal packs, milk, juice, bread, some fresh fruit, etc (about the size of a 7-11) - not bad for picking up a few small items for snack meals or on-the-run breakfasts. There is also an I-Hop restaurant right next to the Best Western, a Tony Roma's, and a McDonalds and Quizno's within a 30 second walking distance, so you do have some choices besides Disneyland food.
Motels and Hotels along Harbor Blvd - Disney Experience
So unless the Disney property prices don't scare you off, try out one of these hotels along Harbor close to the entrance. Our most recent trip to Disneyland was late July of 2007. Though summer is usually the worst, most crowded time to visit, we did OK. The new Finding Nemo Submarine Ride is great, assuming you skip it. You see, it acts like a magnet that draws thousands of people away from all the other rides, keeping them safely out of your path for 2-3 hours - YEAH! We saw tons of people in line for that, but never heard a single person talking about how great the ride was in 3 days we were there -- we say skip it until the hype wears out and go when the lines are reasonable. By far the best system for maximizing your ride experience is to get up early and be at the park before the gates open. We were able to go on more rides before noon than most people do all day (and that includes all the big ones, which we managed with FastPass tickets). Sleep in when you are at home in the summer - get up early when you are at Disneyland, and take a nap at 3PM if you are tired!
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