Disneyland Costco packages - good prices?

[twowhat?]

Just chiming in to say that we have stayed at both the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian ... our family much prefers the Disneyland Hotel. Their new pool area with the monorail water slides is AWESOME! So much better than the Grand Californian. The new remodeled rooms are really nice ... the light up headboards are cool (per my DS2) and the beds were SO COMFY! If given the choice between the 2 hotels our whole family would choose the D-land Hotel.

I am starting to think the Grand Californian isn't worth the $$ since it's the most expensive of the 3...but what turned me off of the DL hotel is they say it's the longest walk to the parks. So now I'm thinking Paradise Pier...really, how the heck do people decide??

Book now if you want a kids suite at HoJo. They book up fast! I got ours 10 months in advance!

Yikes!!! OK, I will!! One question though - is that top bunk safe for a 4.5 yo??

eta: just made reservations at the HoJo since there's no deposit and no penalty if I cancel in time - got the kids suite!! Still have no idea whether bunk beds are safe for 4.5 yos, but at least we have SOMETHING reserved while I look into on-site hotel options

[BayGirl2]

Just got back from a week there with 2 kids. We loved the Disneyland Hotel. Its right next to the Monorail, so you can always use that to go back and forth from DL. But you have to fold your stroller, that was a PITA for us so we only used it once with the kids. DLH is closer than Paradise Pier by a little bit, and definitely has more Disney theming. The whole hotel just feels magical to me. We actually spent a day at the pool and got a cabana, really nice way to relax. Will your kids nap/rest in the stroller? We didn't go back for naps (our kids get crazy in the room but pass out in the stroller) we just planned for down time in the afternoons and they slept in the park. DS and I used that time for the adult rides or sat around and watched shows in the AC.

GCH is a closer walk, no question. But the rooms at DLH are bigger (from what I hear) and that made a difference to us. We didn't really mind the walk through downtown Disney, in the morning we would grab a Peet's coffee from Hagan Daas and in the evening I would have been wiped out no matter where we walked.

If I were you I'd book all the options you are considering now, don't prepay, and note the timing for cancellation. You can compare the Costco package options to the individual options - sometimes they are better sometimes worse, I think it would have been about break even for us.

ETA: I believe the Hojo kids suite has 2 bunks and a single fold out. So you could use the bottom bunk and the foldout and keep the girls out of the top if you feel they aren't ready.

[tny915]

I am starting to think the Grand Californian isn't worth the $$ since it's the most expensive of the 3...but what turned me off of the DL hotel is they say it's the longest walk to the parks. So now I'm thinking Paradise Pier...really, how the heck do people decide??

If your choice is DL Hotel or Paradise Pier, pick the DL Hotel! Granted, I have never stayed at Paradise Pier, but my walks through the lobby have not impressed me. I've also heard problems with their limited # of elevators causing long waits in the morning when you're trying to get out the door. The walk to the parks is farther than Grand Cal, but I personally enjoy the walk through Downtown Disney, and like PP said, you can use the monorail.

If you want more of a splurge at the DL Hotel, you could get a Downtown Disney/theme park view so you can see the fireworks at night from your room, using the fireworks music soundtrack from the tv.

Or, if you REALLY want to splurge, you could get a concierge/club level room. The rooms are on the top 2 or 3 floors of the theme park view tower, and you get all day access to the concierge lounge where they offer free fruit, food, snacks and drinks all day and little hot appetizers and wine in the evening. We did this our last trip, and it was SO NICE! We grabbed breakfast to go in the morning (pastries, eggs, bagels, milk, juice), headed out to the parks, came back for snacks in the afternoon (homemade chips and salsa, veggies and dip, Uncrustables, crackers), swam, napped, then back to lounge for snacks (ravioli, empenadas, quesadillas) before heading out to the parks at night. Then right around bedtime, we'd head up to the lounge to watch the fireworks with the music piped in through the lounge speakers, grab cookies and tarts for a sweet treat before bedtime. Pricey, but SO worth the splurge for us. We always go back to the hotel to rest when we visit DL, so that allowed us plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the lounge.

[Tondi G]

The walk to the parks is slightly longer from the Disneyland Hotel than the Grand CA but not by that much .... the walk really isn't bad through Downtown Disney! AND the Monorail station is closest to the Disneyland Hotel. It only takes you into Disneyland (tomorrowland) no stops in DCA. The walk into Disneyland from the Paradise pier is definitely longer.

My vote is still the Disneyland Hotel.

[pomegranate]

If money isn't an issue, I'd stay at the Grand Californian. We stayed there about 4 times when DS was younger. Really nice hotel. The character breakfast doesn't have the main characters, but for that we just ate at the Park Plaza inside Disneyland. Convenience was awesome, especially if you'll have hopper tickets. There's a separate admission into CA through the Grand Californian and sometimes to get to Disneyland I would just cut brought CA. If you want something cheap and really close, we now stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn on Harbor right across from the entrance at the stoplight. HoJo is a big block north and I would only stat there in the summer to take advantage of the swimming area.