We are taking our two grandsons,8 and 10 year olds, to Disneyland in mid-July. We have pretty much ruled out the Disney properties due to cost. Have been looking into the Good Neighbor Magic Package which lists approximately 40 hotels. The package includes tickets, room, some little souvenir-type stuff and a FASTPASS. We would save a lot(almost $140 per night) by buying tickets on our own and just booking a room in one of the closer places. Is the FASTPASS a real advantage or not? Besides the Candy Cane(saw several recommendations when I did a search) what other closeby(walking distance) hotels/motels would you recommend? Or advise against? Don't need rock-bottom prices, but can't afford the big bucks either. Any tips regarding the Magic Kingdom, etc would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

I can only direct you to another website which is devoted to WDW, and also has a good message board for Disneyland: www.disboards.com

The Fastpass will be essential in the hot, crowded summer. It lets you skip the 60-120 minute lines for some of the most popular rides, Splash Mountain, Big Mtn Thunder RR etc.

Have a great vacation!

There are many hotels in the Downtown Disney Area that all provide bus transport to the Parks. We were there in february and stayed at the Hotel Royal Plaza and it was lovely. Got a fantastic rate thru expedia roughly 35.00 a night doubt that is avalable now. King room with sofa bed , tv, great bath and amenities, game room, pool, jacuzzi etc.
King room had coffe pot and mini bar, privcate patio and great staff. I also looked at the Grovesnor also in downtown Disney and it was gross.

You definitely want to get a Fast Pass. It makes the park much more pleasant. Your grandsons are of an age where they will probably want to do the type of ride that has the Fast Pass. If they were toddlers, it wouldn't matter. The pass is the difference between waiting in line for an hour (torture) and maybe ten minutes.

Great advice which many don't follow (and we often didn't either) is get to the park early. It's really worth setting the alarm and forcing everyone to get up! The difference in crowds between opening time and two hours later is huge.

Another good board is mousesavers.com. Radisson Resort Parkway gets lots of pos. reviews.

Thanks for the quick responses to my questions. A bit more help please. How does the FAST PASS work exactly? I have read what little info I have on it and it doesn't seem to tell me the basics.

Some of the replies above refer to DisneyWORLD hotels, not DisneyLAND.

Near disneyland you might want to check out the following (all are rated 3 stars by AAA)
anaheimdesertinn.com
holidayinn-ahaheim.com
portofinoinnanaheim.com
www.hyattoc.com
carouselinnandsuites.com
peacocksuitesresort.com
www.staybridgesuitesahaheim.com

We were there in February. Many of the rides have a little "station" near the entrance to popular rides. You insert your park pass and it gives you a little slip with a time on it for you to return. When you return, you bypass the line and go right in. I think I recall that you can only have one FastPass active at a time.

The process seems to work well enough, but we did this on three rides only to walk by the entrance and find we could go right in . . but that was February.

We stayed on site, and did like the convinence of being close.

Enjoy . . Rich

Hi,

I am not familiar with DisneyLand but if it is the same as WDW you do not have to stay at a particular hotel to take advatage of Fast Pass.
There are stands in front of the more popular rides where you get a "ticket" for the ride.

There is a specific time window on the tix (e.g. 2:45-3:45). You must get in the fast pass line during that time window. If you can be flexible it is wonder time saver

Ruby

Will you be going to the newest park, California Adventure? It's well worth a day. Lots of roller coaster type rides for the youngsters, and you'll enjoy the shows as well! They've got some great parades, and at night your ticket gets you into Disneyland to see the fireworks and Tinkerbell!

If you have AAA you can by the hopper passes without lodging. You get all the same stuff (unlimited Fast Pass,Espn zone etc.) but you need to purchase it a week before you leave. You are so right about booking your room on your own, we always do that and end up saving a lot. The Fast Pass is worth it big time, you save a lot of time by not waiting in line. When we were there I sat my husband and kids down at the ice cream parlor and went and collected Fast Passes for everyone w/out us all trecking around.
As far as motels go I love the Candy Cane but the Best Western Park Place Inn and the Park Inn are nice too. They are RIGHT across the street from the entrance to the park. The Candy Cane is close but it is still a ten minute walk which at the end of the day is very long. They have a great shuttle though.

Hello viamar or anyone aware:

We have been debating between the Candy Cane and Best Western Park Place.

Hubby thinks we'd still have to *walk* a bit to the BW anyway, thru the parking lot etc. and that we'd end up taking the shuttle there, too. Is he right? Is really possible to walk to the BW that quickly?

Also, which one has more of a *Disney* feel? Something you don't expect to want until you're there, ya know?

Thanks alot for all ideas!

We stayed at the Best Western Park Place and it was right at the entrance of the park. Got a great deal through www.hotelkingdom.com, $56 per night last October (Columbus Day weekend so it was busy). I think it took us about 5 minutes to walk to the parks. I can't imagine waiting for the shuttle even if they had one.

It really didn't have a Disney feel but honestly we were in the rooms only to sleep so I guess it didn't matter to us.

The BW had an included breakfast, you could either have a continental breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit, pastries) or whatever the hot meal choice was-waffles one morning, pancakes the next. It saved a bit of money as Disney food is expensive and the IHOP that is down the street is the most expensive IHOP I've ever been in.

And I think they also had free parking, not all of the hotels did.

Maybe there are two kinds (is there an unlimited version?)of FAST PASSES but all Disney visitors are entitled to FAST PASS. They should give you a leaflet at the entrance that explains it.

They sold Park Hopper passes (we got a 2 day one) at the BW, my nieces were really too young for most of California Adventure so I was glad we bought them so we could go back over to Disneyland.

Hi gmin, if you stay at the BW you won't need to take a shuttle at all. It is right across from the DL entrance. You just have to cross the street and then walk past were all the shuttle bus stops are to the entrance plaza. It's VERY close. As far as a Disney feel the Candy Cane does sort of feel like New Orlean's square at DL. You tend to feel like you are staying somewhere a little nicer than your basic chain hotel. They have beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, a cobblestone driveway, little fountains and the rooms are decorated almost like a B&B if you squint your eyes. They also have a great breakfast but they stop serving at 9, so you won't be sleeping in. Actually it forces you to get up and to the park early. We always take an afternoon break for a swim and a quick nap at the hotel. You'll feel nice and rested for an evening in the park. The BW is nice too but a little more basic. It really is a toss up between atmosphere and location. Maybe this will help... we stayed at the BW the first time we went to DL, then we stayed at the Candy Cane and we've stayed there ever since. ... Yes you can get the Fast Passes with the Hopper Passes that you purchase at the motels but with the AAA pass you get all the extra stuff plus UNLIMITED Fast Passes. That means you can collect more than one Fast Pass per person at one time. Also if you collect a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain you can't collect one for the Pooh ride until you've used the Splash M. one but w/ AAA pass you can. It really is worth it. If your grand kids want to go on a ride twice than you don't have to wait. Oh and if you want to go on Soaring Over California (you do) than get there early because they run out of Fast Passes sometimes by 12 noon!

I just wanted to agree about that IHOP - $65 one morning for breakfast and that was just pancakes and orange juice!

We stayed at the Best Western Park Place the first time we went and stayed at the Portofino Inn the second time. Even though it's a little further down the street (about 3 blocks rather than directly across from the entrance) the Portofino had french doors that closed off the kids' sleeping area from the adult area. It was a plus for us, but it might not matter to some people.

Three days would be plenty, in my opinion. One per park, and then an extra day to re-visit the favorite attractions. It's set up totally different than WDW, where you can walk between parks and to the hotels and restaurants outside of the parks. You don't feel quite as captive as you do when visiting WDW.

You don't need to stay within walking distance of Disney most hotels offer a free shuttle. Besides, the term "walking distance" is misleading when it takes 10 minutes just to walk across the parking lot. We stayed at the Hawthorn Suites, a Hyatt property, and used the shuttle. The shuttle gets you closer than if you were to park a car. Another hotel that is reasonable and closer is the Annabella.

http://www.hawthorn.com/

http://www.anabellahotel.com/anabella.htm