Courtyard Theme Park Entrance vs. DLH Villa

[mattyp1123]

First time traveling to Disneyland (WDW regulars at Bay Lake or Beach Club) with my wife and 3 kids (7, 5, and 2). I thought I was all set with staying at the Courtyard Theme Park Entrance in a suite with a separate bunk room for the kids but recently found a 1 bedroom villa at the new DLH villas available directly through Disney...so I booked that without much thought and decided to figure it out later...which is now. The Courtyard looks perfectly nice and has a good location from what I've seen (my wife is a bit worried about leaving the Disney bubble during the walk on Harbor), but there's something about the villa that looks pretty amazing. However, the price difference is definitely not: DLH is over twice the price of the Courtyard. I think that's crazy but would love to hear if I'm being rational with opting for off property. The early entry doesn't work with our reservations / plans so that's not a bonus and we'll be staying 4 nights.

Thank you in advance so much for your thoughts!

 

[crystal1313]

Ooof. That is a hard one!!! Twice the price is SO much, but being your first trip and you being accustomed to staying in the Disney bubble, I might lean towards the villa. We toured the lobby of the new tower and it was so lovely! I would imagine the rooms are equally as nice! The pool area was also adorable.

The walk to the courtyard isn’t bad at all, but you are correct, you are no longer in the bubble. Our stay in November of 2023, I was shocked by the outdoor vendors along the sidewalks and the religious people screaming into PA systems about how we are all sinners and you will go to hell. It wasn’t the best start to our morning. To be fair, the religious people yelling were gone later in the day/evening. But it just didn’t give the magical vibes we were looking for to start our day. You will also most likely see homeless people, as that is an issue all over CA. Most will leave you alone, however we have had one scary incident in the past. It was not at harbor, but at the intersection of Katella and Disneyland drive. I’m not sure if all of this happens on a daily basis either, as we were there thanksgiving week, and it was very busy. We go again in a couple weeks and I can report back!

So I think you will need to decide if being in the bubble is worth the much bigger expense. It’s a hard decision for sure. If money was no object, we would always stay on property if we could. We mainly stay off property due to finances. Occasionally we splurge for a one night stay at a DLR hotel. Have a great trip!

 

[mattyp1123]

Thanks for the quick response! I've heard that the one block that we'll be on Harbor isn't quite like the corner of Katella, but I agree - not the best start to the day. I've also heard that it's actually a quicker walk to the Courtyard than to the villas - but the villas are through Downtown Disney.

If the price was just a bit closer I'd opt for DLH...but I struggle to spend $3,000 more on a 4 night stay.

Thanks again!

 

[crystal1313]

Thanks for the quick response! I've heard that the one block that we'll be on Harbor isn't quite like the corner of Katella, but I agree - not the best start to the day. I've also heard that it's actually a quicker walk to the Courtyard than to the villas - but the villas are through Downtown Disney.

If the price was just a bit closer I'd opt for DLH...but I struggle to spend $3,000 more on a 4 night stay.

Thanks again!

Holy cow! That is a lot of money. I would maybe opt for the courtyard for that. Lol. Wow!

Do you plan on spending a lot of time in your room? We have not stayed at the courtyard yet. It’s on our list. We have heard really good things. It is close to a lot of food as well, Panera, Mimi’s Cafe and McDonald’s.

If you watch this video, and skip to the 2:11 mark, that is the courtyard we walk through. And you can see how far the walk is.

 

[ParkHopper1]

So if budget allows there is tremendous value to saying on site IMO as the "Disney Bubble" is a real thing and just enhances the overall vacation experience...at least for me. Now the Courtyard is the nicest Harbor property IMO...so it all comes down to priorities.

My recommendation when this question comes up is that if staying on site will not cut into your budget putting limits on spending for any other days or experiences then you won't regret it...but if it is an either/or choice of staying on site vs any other discretionary spending or days in park than stay off site. A bed and shower is not worth having to skimp in other areas.

Many can make the argument that the walks may be the same if not shorter staying off site but walking through DTD vs Harbor are night and day...There is nothing wrong with Harbor but as soon as you step out you know you left the parks.

I stay off site all the time when we just need a bed and shower but when we do stay on site it 100% more feels like we are on vacation being more immersed in the Disney Bubble.

 

[Pluto468]

I'm with Crystal on this one. I would lean toward staying on property since that's what you're used to at WDW. The walk through DTD is so much nicer than Harbor, and I think the time would be similar. 15 minutes or so to either hotel.
The monorail is just a few minutes away from DLH, so you can take that to and from the park when it's running. The in-park stop is in Tomorrowland. You can also use the DCA back entrance near Pixar Place hotel. We left DCA through that exit and were back in the DLH lobby in 8 minutes.

I can't overstate how awful those people screaming into megaphones are. They're right at the crosswalk going into Disneyland from Harbor, so even if you're not at the Katella end you'll see/hear them. They carry big speakers, too, so their terrible speeches follow you practically to security. We saw them every day at park open AND close. I think they time it to be there when the biggest crowds are at the Disneyland entrance. They're so disturbing and loud and very upsetting. There are alot of homeless people, too. We would have to walk past sleeping homeless people on our way back to our Harbor hotel at night. After our last stay on Harbor we decided to always stay on property from now on.

Have you looked at a suite at DLH or GCH? Depending on your dates you might be able to get a discounted rate.

 

[crystal1313]

Also wanted to add, do you think you will utilize the kitchen in the villa? Maybe you could justify the cost of the villa more by being able to save money on food in the parks? I know you have littles who probably don’t eat a ton, but park food is so expensive!!

 

[MonocularVision]

Not sure if it might matter to you but it was of our favorite features of the Courtyard; the rooms have a separate bath and shower. The bath can still be used as a shower but it greatly increases the throughput of people getting ready. With how young your kids are though, it may not matter. It is a lifesaver with older kids that can independently get themselves ready. Almost like having two bathrooms.

 

[crystal1313]

Not sure if it might matter to you but it was of our favorite features of the Courtyard; the rooms have a separate bath and shower. The bath can still be used as a shower but it greatly increases the throughput of people getting ready. With how young your kids are though, it may not matter. It is a lifesaver with older kids that can independently get themselves ready. Almost like having two bathrooms.

I love that! The Cambria one bedroom we stayed in had the same thing. Made getting ready so much faster!!

 

[disny_luvr]

I can’t help you because I have yet to visit DL, but will be for the first time this summer. I always thought my family would stay onsite when we visit DL, but it is so expensive. After crunching the numbers, we decided to book a hotel on Harbor. It was a hard decision because we have never stayed offsite at DW, but I just cannot justify the cost to stay onsite.

$3000 is A LOT of money. To me, that’s just too much, and I’d rather use that money for other things or even put it towards another trip, but if you can afford it, I say go for it!

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[SFMommy]

Hi! That is A LOT of money for 4 nights. But we stayed in a 1-bedroom villa in January, so I thought I'd let you know what we thought about it. We LOVED it!

It is definitely the nicest place we have ever stayed at on a Disney trip. The queen Murphy bed is so much better than a sofa bed. We did laundry...in our villa. So convenient. Having 2 bathrooms was amazing. And the balcony, full kitchen, huge dining table...so much space.

We definitely utilized the kitchen. I had an Amazon Fresh delivery arrive between 2:00-4:00 on our arrival day. We got a full case of water, milk (for coffee & cereal), bread, bagels, cream cheese, deli meats, sliced cheese, cereal, lots of fruit and baby carrots. We had breakfast (including coffee) in our villa every morning. And my husband (who doesn't like to eat big restaurant dinners) usually had a sandwich and some fruit for dinner. So that was very convenient and a bit of a money-saver.

I'm really glad that we stayed there when we had the chance. Because I'm sure that those villas will sell-out in the next year or so. We also used a Disney Visa Discount which was a huge savings. I'm not sure if there are any promotions for your dates, but you can call and ask if any discounts can be applied to your reservation.

We have stayed on Harbor and down on Katella. And I would do it again, depending on the circumstances. But we loved our stay in the 1-bedroom villa.

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that the Courtyard would be the better option in your case. If money wasn't a consideration I would have said VDH, but since it is I have a difficult time saying the nicer walk and kitchen is worth $3000 extra.

We haven't stayed at VDH yet, but we have stayed at both the Courtyard and DLH. As mentioned the Courtyard is probably the nicest off-property hotel within walking distance especially if you have kids. While the walk from the Courtyard has some unpleasant elements to it, IMHO it's still very safe and it's not that much worse than the walk from VDH/DLH to justify $3000 difference. It's even harder to justify if you can't take advantage of early entry.

 

[twodogs]

We love staying on property at both WDW and DL. We have stayed at DLH many times (usually stay at GCH but have also stayed at PPH and DLH), but not in the villas (yet!). And we have not stayed at the Courtyard.

I agree with @crystal1313 that having the kitchen can save time and money, especially for us when our kids were this age, by making them breakfast or having some snacks there. Bottled water is also a plus if you have that delivered with groceries. Having the ability to do laundry in your villa at night after the kids are down might allow you to pack less, and therefore avoid checked luggage fees (and avoid more time at the airport).

One other consideration is if you think you and your wife might split up in the day time or in the evening, with one taking the younger kids back to the hotel while one stays later in the parks the older child(ren). If so, you would each be walking back to the hotel with a kid or kids, but alone (the other adult would have already returned to the room, also alone with kid(s)). I would think about how comfortable or not you might be under those circumstances. It does not seem dangerous because there are many folks going back and forth from the parks to that area, but only you know your comfort (or your spouse’s comfort) with the circumstances that OPs have listed above. Now that my DDs are older teens, I have to think about how I would feel with them walking back to our room by themselves if they decided to stay later or leave earlier than we did. For me, that means for now, we are in the GCH, DLH or PPH. But you may feel differently; just something to consider/discuss.

That is a big price difference for sure. I don’t think you can save enough on things that differ between Courtyard and Villas to make up that difference in dollars. You just have to decide about the other aspects and what works for your family.

 

[mattyp1123]

Thank you all so much for the feedback...although I was really hoping for a clear-cut choice

I don't mind spending the money if I perceive that I'm getting value out of it / it's worth it...and I'm not sure that the villas are 2x better than the Courtyard. At WDW I'm willing to pay the premium so we can walk to the parks...which is somewhat negated at Disneyland. That being said, the idea of dealing with protestors and a less than ideal (really, much less) is really a turn off. If our plans worked with the early entry that would definitely help. In the past at WDW we haven't really split up - our youngest is a pretty good napper in the stroller so that worked for us previously.

Sooo...is it 2x better?!? hah!

 

[foolish_mortals]

If you are looking for a nice hotel, for that price difference you could probably stay at the Westin or JWMarriot and use a rideshare to get to and from the park everyday and still pay less.

 

[mattyp1123]

Would love to, but with 3 kids - and one still in a car seat, I figure it's easier to walk. But I will check and see what type of ride shares are around with car seats. Thanks!

 

[BarlowFamily]

We loved Courtyard Theme Park Entrance a few years ago. Watching the fireworks from the pool deck was fun for all. Bunk beds were a hit with DS and my niece. Split bathroom was helpful. Waterslides were perfect afternoon activity. Walk to DL and DCA (even walk to dinner at GC) was easy peasy. We weren't too bothered by folks on the street, sounds like its gotten worse though. Renting points to stay in VGC for our next trip. It was $100 less a night to rent points vs. Courtyard again. For $3000 more I wouldn't stay at DLH though. Even a one bedroom villa.

 

[twodogs]

And to complicate your choices further, have you priced out the suites at PPH? It is undergoing a huge refurb, with many rooms done and pool/lobby/restaurant done. Super easy and quick to get to and from the parks (dedicated entrance to DCA is right across the street; walk through the key card gate to get into GCH to go to DTD and DL).

 

[mattyp1123]

We loved Courtyard Theme Park Entrance a few years ago. Watching the fireworks from the pool deck was fun for all. Bunk beds were a hit with DS and my niece. Split bathroom was helpful. Waterslides were perfect afternoon activity. Walk to DL and DCA (even walk to dinner at GC) was easy peasy. We weren't too bothered by folks on the street, sounds like it's gotten worse though. Renting points to stay in VGC for our next trip. It was $100 less a night to rent points vs. Courtyard again.or $3000 more I wouldn't stay at DLH though. Even a one bedroom villa

Thanks - the bunk beds are a huge selling point - and our room even has a bunk "room" so everyone has some space. I just worry about the walk based on some of these other comments. I honestly wasn't worried about it until I started posting...I was more worried about the "magic"!

 

[mattyp1123]

And to complicate your choices further, have you priced out the suites at PPH? It is undergoing a huge refurb, with many rooms done and pool/lobby/restaurant done. Super easy and quick to get to and from the parks (dedicated entrance to DCA is right across the street; walk through the key card gate to get into GCH to go to DTD and DL).

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately it's sold out for our stay - we're going during Spring Break. With the age range of the kids a single hotel room at GC or DLH won't work. Even doing 2 rooms is just about the same price without the guarantee of connecting. Thanks!!