Planning a Trip to Disneyland in August.

Hi K., We went to Disneyland and stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites .We walked back and forth to the park.Maybe kind of long walk for small kids . Pretty inexpensive. There were lots of families there.It included breakfast. It backed up to the freeway so we heard traffic noise . But was very clean and nice . AAA discount. Have a WONDERFUL time!
K. P

The Candy Cane is a great place. Shuttle e/20 minutes to the park. We didnt stay in a suite but we did have adjoing rooms with a friend. Two pools - one larger and one smaller for little ones. Free breakfast - not eggs or bacon but toast, cereal, fruit, muffins, juice and the like. Very nice place and very nice people too. Even though we thought we packed ALL we thought we needed we made use of the little convienence store right next store on many occasions. Also, its a much better place to buy souveniers.

Hi! Check out this website and you can find resorts or condos in the Los Angeles area for around $150/night and many times they include a full kitchen, washer and dryer, etc. Click on villas and condos. A cool thing about this website - sign up as a preferred customer (which is free to do) and you get a lot of extra benefits like free flight insurance and 30 min. of concierge service every time you book there. So you can call and get restaurant recommendations, directions to the closest Starbucks, directory assistance, etc.
www.BrackTravel.com
Have fun!

We were there in '05 and stayed at The Anabella Hotel within easy walking distance of the parks. I think I used hotels.com and paid around $80/night for a "Casita Suite" with a separate, second bedroom with a sleeper sofa. It was clean, comfortable and again, withing walking distance. I'm sure prices have gone up, but that's where I would stay if I were going. Good luck and have fun!
www.anabellahotel.com

Years ago, we stayed at the Anaheim Desert Inn. It was right across the street from Disneyland, had a suite, swimming pool and mini frig for your own food as well as continental breakfast. Keep in mind (not knowing the ages of your kids), there are places that are farther away from Disneyland that may be cheaper but the shuttle bus may be a hassle especially if walking is not an option. You may also want to check out the "Unoffical Guide to Disneyland". It gives you an unbiased opinion of the attractions (ie. Star Wars may get you queasy, Pirates of Caribbean- good ride-might be scary for younger kids for the skelatons, how wet is Splash Mountian, etc.)
Have a great time,
J.

We just went to Disneyland and at first I wanted to stay at one of the Disneyland hotels too but I am so glad I didn't. We stayed at Marriott Residence Inn Front Gate. The hotel is about a mile from Disneyland and they offer a shuttle that arrives every 20 minutes. We took the shuttle both days.

The hotel is great because the rooms have kitchens and most have bedrooms so after you put the kids down you can get some alone time. We paid $250 for their nicest 2 bedroom unit but they also have one bedroom units for $150 and studios (not sure the price on those.) The prices may be different in August.

They also offer a GREAT breakfast in the morning for free. Hot pancakes, waffles that you can make yourself, yogurt, fruit, bread, cereal, eggs, and bacon. The breakfast has something for everyone and it is so easy with kids to not have to go somewhere else in the morning to eat. Another plus was being able to see the Disneyland fireworks from our hotel. My kids are still young and could not make it at Disneyland until the fireworks so we could head back to the hotel and get our jammies on and then look at the fireworks before bed.

If you are a AAA member, call Patti at their Capitola office. Doesn't matter that you are in Mt. View, she can handle everything over the phone, although a beach trip with the kids to help plan the Disney trip could be fun! We use her for all our Disney stuff. She is their Disney expert and has gotten us some amazing deals over the years. We once stayed at the Grand Californian (entrance directly into Cal Adventures) for only $150 a night! If there is a deal to be had, she'll know about it. There is no charge for her services if you are a AAA member.
Say hi to Mickey from us!

There are 2 hotels right on the outside of Disneyland that I have stayed at. I believe one is the Tropicana and the one next door is a Best Western. They were reasonable and within walking distance. They are right on Harbor Blvd.

I'm really torn about Disneyland this year. I'd love to go but we can't go late in the summer like we usually do, when its nice and quiet.

If we go, we'd have to go in August as well. Have you gone in August before? Is it totally crazy? We'd have to go while all the southern cal kids are still on summer vacation, I'm concerned we'd spend a fortune and it would be insanely crowded!

I love DL though!

Here are some top tips on Disneyland.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/780
I just visited and think it is worth it to stay at a Disney hotel especially if you have young kids and are going for a short period of time. If you are going for a week, then a condo might be better.

We stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn. It's RIGHT across the street and is a closer walk than the parking lot. A lot of the hotels have shuttles, but the shuttles are a PITA for anyone with kids in strollers. Having to fold and unfold and whatnot. The good thing about the Park Place Inn is that you can head back for a nap without having to wait 20 minutes for the shuttle, and it is reasonably priced (Ours was $119/night in Oct. '09). It's certainly nothing fancy, but the rooms were clean, good selection at the continental breakfast, and you really can't beat the location without being at one of the Disneyland Hotels.

Check out www.quikbook.com for good deals on Anaheim area hotels. You have a lot of nice recommendations but if you want to see what's in that area, and near Disneyland, this might help. The site buys hotel rooms in bulk and offers them at a discount. The hotels range from average to luxury depending on the city/area.

And yes, a suite is always worth it! ;-)

Sorry, I don't have a specific hotel but there are buses that run to Disneyland from many area hotels.........so look at those online. You will save!

There is an extended stay not too far from disney that is really nice and convenient. I think it's called Ameri-suites. It was good for us for a 5 day stay with 5 ppl. Had a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and baths. BBQ on site. They have a bus that goes directly to Disney multiple times per day. It was very reasonable. Hope that helps. T.

Check out deals at AAA and Costco. They have package deals where you get park hopper passes and rooms, along with other stuff. We did the Costco deal this year and also received a character meal for each member of our family. We always stay at Paradise Pier the cheapest of the 3 Disney hotels. It is across the street from The Grand Calif, which has an entrance into Calif Land. This is great for coming and going into the park. We start early and go back for pool and nap time, then back to park for more fun. AAA and Costco may have deals for the good neighbor hotels as well. Good Luck!

Once you have stayed at a Disney hotel, you will never want to stay at one of the "Good Neighbor" hotels again. Many require a shuttle to get you too and fro. The Anaheim Shuttle (which is used by most hotels) is the pits. It is a public transportation shuttle that is usually full and takes forever. We have stayed at many of these hotels only to find the time getting to and from the park (even walking or taking shuttles) a huge downer on our holiday.
If you can at all afford it, do stay at one of the Disney properties.

I'm including a link that shows that the Disney hotels are 40% off right now. It's a bargain for these properties if youc an do it.
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/reserve/...

In 2009 we stayed at the Desert Inn (mentioned below). Very easy walking distance, rooms weren't fabulous, but I don't need fabulous when we're not there much. We paid $105/night for a suite- 4 beds and 2 rooms for just 3 of us! And yes- having the fridge was great! Have fun!