Where to stay

[Tinkerbell]

Like others WDW is worrying me for next year re crowds

Having read a few threads I'm going to price up Disneyland.

I'd like three nights onsite ... Sufficient to stroll around parks I don't want to be rushing around.

I'd also like to do Universal studios. How many days ?


Then basically 7/10 nights beach based... Possibly San Diego region or San Francisco... Again any ideas

Thanks
T

[KarenG]

Hi Tink

You don’t need to be onsite at Disneyland - there are hotels closer walking distance to the parks than at least one of the ‘onsite’ (very spendy) ones.

There is a wide range of really affordable, close to restaurants, hotels in Anaheim.

Do you have a nightly budget in mind and do you want a hotel or suite ?

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Hi Tink

You don’t need to be onsite at Disneyland - there are hotels closer walking distance to the parks than at least one of the ‘onsite’ (very spendy) ones.

There is a wide range of really affordable, close to restaurants, hotels in Anaheim.

Do you have a nightly budget in mind and do you want a hotel or suite ?

See more...

Not thought about budget but I suppose a moderate suite would be good.

[gjdjud]

I’ve just booked 6 nights in Anaheim. I spent a fair amount of time researching. There are 3 onsite hotels but have decided against any of them. At the moment there are no perks to staying at them and the prices are WAY more than the offsite hotels. Many offsite hotels are actually a closer walk to the parks. The 3 are, Disney Grand Californian, looks amazing and has its own entrance in to Disney California Adventure but it’s very pricey. Disneyland Hotel I’ve had to fight myself not to book and Paradise Pier, this doesn’t appeal at all.

In the end I’ve booked offsite. I’ve gone with the Howard Johnson which is about a 10 minute walk away but is a standard hotel room rather than suite. Definitely not as many suites around as Orlando. There are quite a few motels in the area but they don’t appeal as much as a hotel for us. The other place I considered was Hyatt House at the convention centre. That looks really nice and is about 15 walk minutes away. It has some bigger room options.

One thing I noticed that prices and rooms for lots of hotels aren’t available to book until 6 to 9 months out.

[jdouds]

Hi for the west coast we would suggest to go that far it would be good to see a few places. There is so much available. Keep in mind west coast accommodation is much more expensive. You could also check out Airbnb or home away. We have used Airbnb on 2 west coast trip now and it’s our first port of call

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbell

Not thought about budget but I suppose a moderate suite would be good.

See more...

There are a few suite type options

George (who posted just above me) has had a few threads running over the last couple of weeks with lots of accommodation advice - might be worth having a look at those as a starting point? Super happy to help with any questions I can answer

[KarenG]

And your other question which I’m so sorry I ignored! San Diego has some lovely beaches, quite a few attractions including Sea World, and is a lovely relaxing (but full of stuff to do) place. It’s a two hour or so drive south of Disneyland. If you don’t want to drive there is the Amtrak (I’ve never done it but looks straightforward).

I love San Francisco also but it’s very much a city break kind of place. LOADS to do.

[maidmarian]

Anaheim is your best bet, good value and you can walk to the park
Universal, not sure as we drove there and then explored LA too
Then drove across the Mojave desert to Vegas
It was as amazing trip, spent 3 weeks 🤗

[marypoppins38]

San Diego is my favourite place ever. I can highly recommend the Marriott Marquis as it is in a perfect location and the rooms overlooking Coronado Island with balconies are just amazing. Its very easy to get over to Coronado using the little ferry that goes from just at the back of the hotel. Cheesecake Factory and Seaport Village are just a 5 minute walk away and there are lots of lovely restaurants in the Gaslamp district just by the hotel. The pool area is really lovely and tropical, it almost feels like you are in a resort, which some of the other hotels didn't really have.

View from our balcony over looking the island.

[Buzz242]

We also love San Diego, we’ve stayed at a few different places but our favourite is the Manchester Grand Hyatt. It’s right on the waterfront next to Seaport Village and there are tons of places to eat within walking distance. We generally try to end our trip in SD as it’s such a restful place compared to SF, LA and DL.
We’ve never stayed onsite at DL as there are so many hotels nearby which are a lot cheaper and within walking distance.