Tell Me Where We Should Stay

[Kevin1281]

Hi All,

Our family of 5 (kids 13, 11 & 8) is headed to Disneyland for the first time this August. My wife and I were both there once, many moons ago. Our family has been to Disney World several times. We are excited to see how they compare to one another. First things first. Where should we stay? We will be there for three nights. Please take a look at the list below and reply with:

1) If you had to choose one place out of this list, which one would you choose?
2) Are there any places on this list that we should definitely avoid?

Grand Legacy At The Park
2 Queens, 1 Rollaway Bed
$723.06 + $20 + tax parking/night

Best Western Plus Stovall's Inn
2 Queens, 1 Rollaway Bed
$750.08 + $20 + tax parking/night

Anaheim Islander Inn & Suites
2 Queens, 1 Sofa Bed
$824.81 + Free Parking

Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites
2 Queens, 1 Full Sofa Bed
$778.05 + $20 + tax parking/night

Castle Inn & Suites
2 Queens, 1 Sofa Bed
$873.99 + Free Parking

Park Vue Inn
2 Queens, 1 Bunk
$891.54 + Free Parking

 

[disneychrista]

I would pick Desert Inn because of location alone. It is directly across the street making getting to / from the park very easy.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think those are all right across from the Park, with Park Vue probably being the absolute closest. We've stayed at Park Vue and liked it. Our last stay was at Best Western Park Place Inn which had the added advantage of a free breakfast, super handy with 3 teen/preteens. In my view all of those hotels are slightly overpriced for what they are but that is due to the distance, which can't be beat.

 

[Wedgeout]

Only one on the list we stayed at is Castle Inn & Suites. It’s one of our two outer rim choices when not at the Disneyland Hotel. Friendly, family owned. Stayed in both regular rooms and suites. Great location walking to/from parks. Good parking lot behind the castle walls with usually evening security parked on site.

 

[wabbott]

This may not be important to you, but last time we stayed at Desert Inn (Sept, 2023) the WiFi there was extremely buggy. Wound up having to use my cellphone hotspot for my laptop.

We've stayed there twice, and the Best Western Park Place twice. The BW is maybe a little newer than is the DI

 

[DizMe]

I'd say Park Vue but I'm not familiar with the configuration you mention with the bunk bed. If that's a larger room, I'd definitely choose that one because of the location, and the property itself is nice.

I like the Best Western properties, especially the suites. I wouldn't choose the option with a rollaway though unless it's a really good deal.

We've stayed many times at Desert Inn. That was our go-to when we were 2 adults and 3 kids. We liked having 2 queens plus a separate room that had a door you could close off from the other sleeping area, a sofa bed and TV. It's very close, too!

Not a big fan of Grand Legacy. It's ok, just not in my top picks.

I wouldn't choose Castle Inn. I stayed there last year and while it was fine as a motel, it was way too far away for my liking, especially when you're way in the back, where we were. There are too many other good options that are much closer IMO.

Those are the ones I'm familiar with from more recent stays.

My advice is to choose the closest property that has the most room for your family.

 

[Pluto468]

Park Vue Inn. It's right at the cross walk and has great reviews.

 

[monkeypat83]

I would also say Park Vue Inn. Give the kids an opportunity to not share a bed if they need that option with 2 in the bunk and one on the queen. The walk is great and granted my kids are younger but they get a kick out of staying in bunk beds. Also a very easy walk back for midday breaks which are a necessity in my book even before having little kids.

 

[crystal1313]

Another vote for park vue. We are looking At that exact room configuration for November. It’s SO close! And we will have a car this trip and the free parking is nice (and more and more rare in Anaheim now).

We stayed at Park Vue our last trip and it was so nice to pop back to the room if we needed something. We went in November so usually we would go back to he’s a heavier jacket as the sun started to set. In our experience of the 2 times we have stayed at this hotel, it’s been super quiet too (it’s technically a motel). And both time we were on the ground floor.

Have a fun trip! We love comparing the rides at DL and WDW and picking a favorite.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I always stayed at Best Western Park Place at that crosswalk until I discovered the Grand Legacy has Bar5 on fifth floor with view of fireworks
Keep that secret!
I think Park Vue had slight view of Castle for their continental breakfast
And Grand Legacy is maybe 5 minute further away from that crosswalk

 

[maleficent55]

I don’t wanna add more complications to your decision, but did you look into the family suite at the Camelot Inn? Downside is it only has one bathroom but there’s so many sleeping options and beds and couches and such and it’s right across the street. And the rooftop pool has Matterhorn mountain and firework views.

 

[Hyphen677]

We have stayed at Desert inn, Castle, and the Best Western. They were all perfectly fine with the exception of the Desert Inn bed being way too hard for my taste.

We've never stayed at Park Vue but it sounds like the room configuration would allow the kids to have their own individual beds and you would be so close to the cross walk. That would do it for me.

 

[wendlle]

Desert Inn because that is where we always stay and love it.
Right across the street, good basic breakfast included.
Nice indoor pool.
Clean and quiet.
Lovely staff at front desk.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Not sure about the ones on your list but I'd consider this if you don't mind doing the quick walk to the toy story lot and taking the bus into the park -

Homewood Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort - Convention Center
2010 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92802

It's got one of the best value "suite like" rooms near the park and we liked our stay there. Breakfast was better than most others we have stayed at in this class. For a family of your size I think you may find value in having a larger room.

As a side note, I've found that https://www.priceline.com/ is one of the few booking engines that will show you deals on larger "suite" class rooms.