DLH or SL
 

We have stayed at SL before but never DLH. Currently when we plan to go DLH is £800 more... for that £800 you get to stay at DLH rather than SL and you get premium half board dining including the character meals etc...

I priced up SL with character meals (paying for the extra meals) and it comes to around £300 cheaper - so DLH is basically an extra £300 just to stay at that hotel.

Do you think it is worth the price difference?

There will be 2 adults, 5 year old and a 1year old.

Just come back from our 4th stay at the DLH and in my opinion it's worth it.
Fantastic location, lovely hotel - rooms maybe just looking like a refurb shouldn't be too far away, but you are literally a couple of minutes from the park, if you have children that's a real positive.

I would say it is worth the extra, the interior of the hotel is a delight, and the buffet breakfast a real feast.

I would say it is not essential but if you can afford it, go for it. The location is the big draw.

If you can afford it then yes definitely! We stayed there in March with a 4 year old and it's so much more convenient!

I’d definitely do it.

We’ve stayed at SL and DLH before (two adults plus one child - 4yo the first trip, 5yo the next). I loved SQL but doing DLH did feel really ‘special’ plus it was super convenient being right next to the park. We could be slower getting out in the mornings, arriving and checking in (and then getting straight to the park) was quicker, getting ‘home’ tired after the fireworks was no distance at all. We went back to the hotel for a swim one afternoon which we totally wouldn’t have bothered with if we’d had a 10+ min walk each way. Easily worth an extra £300 IMO.

Really the distance is not that far. Compared to say Riverside at WDW all the rooms are close. Go for what you want

Everything is frustratingly slower with children in tow though! Honestly - my eldest is a great walker and can easily cover 10+ miles in a day, but even still we really felt the difference of being right at the park entrance vs the other side of the lake.

I wouldn't bother.

Personally I'd rather have the walk through the village everyday and spend the saved money on nice meals or merchandise...

For £300 extra, I would definitely go for the DLH. It was great being so close to the park - so easy to run back to the room for anything we’d forgotten, and to change our shoes after getting drenched in the rain one morning (we went in December.) We had a standard room and were put in one of the turrets, so we could see the train steaming into Main Street Station before the park opened up each morning. We used the ‘secret door’ by the exit turnstiles to get back in at the end of the day, and we were in our room within a few minutes of leaving the park.

We also loved the breakfast there, looking out over the park before we headed down there for the day. And if you’re doing Inventions for one of your character meals (we did it twice, in fact) then it’s handy for a quick change of clothes before dinner, as well as being able to just wander through the hotel back to your room afterwards.

Having said that, we do like the walk along the river when we’ve stayed in May, June and August, so some of those perks only count if you’re there in the colder months. If we had the money spare, I’d always choose DLH, but if it was a budget trip (like our last one) I’d go with any hotel we could afford and be very happy regardless!

i think for £300 more then i'd go for it. its my dream to stay at the DLH ... but for us we are looking at the Davy Crockett ranch and therefore the jump in cost is about £4k!

i'd do it. it will feel much more special!