TheMouseForLess Resort Reviews

TheMouseForLess members review Disneyland resorts.

Disneyland Hotel

Submitted By: Deepoodles

Name Of Resort: Disneyland Hotel

Date Of Stay: May, '07

Type Of Resort: Disney Deluxe

Rate Paid During Your Stay: $209/night plus taxes special conference rate only good for 2-3 nights during conference.

Room Sleeps: 5-6 room over crammed with furniture.

Please Rate The Following On A Scale From 1-10 (10 being the best):

Theming: 6
Room Size: 5
Amenities: 5
Quality: 5
Cleanliness: 8
Transportation: N/A
Recreation: 4
Value: 4

Over All Rating: 4.5

Don't Miss: For value family's on a tight budget can do much better staying at a less expensive motel or hotel and get free breakfast , less crowded swimming pool and free shuttle to the park....not to mention a bundle of cash. Everything at the hotel is way over priced...a coke is $2.49 at the little gift shop. However if you need a power chair for someone who has trouble walking long distances then this can be arranged to be delivered to the hotel rather than having to walk all the way to entrance of the park and hope there is one left. Ask at hotel services.

Room Location Suggestion: The front of the hotel faces the parking lot. We asked for a room that you could see the fireworks from only to discover after we checked in that in May they only have fireworks on the weekends not Wed. & Thurs.when we were staying there. The back end of the hotel faces the other hotels and pool area.

The Mouse For Less Tip: A great place to shop for gifts is at "Disney's Character Warehouse Outlet Store" 243 Orangefair Mall, Fullerton Ca.Run down Harbor Blvd. towards Orangethorpe...look it up on Mapquest. If you are staying several days you might check again to see if the got more stuff. They have a limited selection of discontinued clothes kids sizes mostly, and some adult clothing, plus an assortment of gift type things. Gold mouse ears were 99cents there but lots of bucks at the park. Look up www.ams.liquidation.com on the web.

Comments: The Room at the hotel was crammed with furniture not a whole lot of room to move around. No place to put your luggage except on the futon.There were 2 queen beds, a writing table jamed up against the queen bed and balcony wall. (Balcony maybe a foot in depth and not a safe place for kids.) On the opposite side of the room... table was jammed up against the wall and a futon jammed next to the entertainment center which held a mini frige...now that was nice....and the TV. the room was tacky diamond print on the wall with a tinker bell border at the top. Carpet was floral old, bedspreads a different floral also worn , furniture didn't match with different styles , colors and was old looking . the bathroom area looked like it belonged in another more modern era...the toilet was so low I thought I was sitting on the floor...great for toddlers not adults yet the sink was high. Everything was very expensive at the hotel. The furniture in the bedroom area was the same furniture as when I stayed there back in the mid '90's...only now it is really showing it's age. We had the window open the entire time we were there because the room had a slight stuffy smell.

We ate dinner both nights at "Joe's Crab Shack" great for kids and adults. affordable. Has a person who makes incredible balloon hats and funny items. About 10 minutes from the hotel. Look up Joe's Crab Shack on the net for directions.

City walk was a disappointment. It also contained over priced restaurants..even for lunch it was expensive $12-20 or more with extras like beverages, salad, etc. 2 pretzels cost almost $10.00. The majority of the stores don't open till between 9-10 am so if you walk to the park don't expect much. and the Disney stores are all the same$$$$$ prices. It's a long walk to the park entrance if you have arthritis. Of course the monorail was not working in the am either .

Would I stay there again...only if someone else pays the bill... Otherwise I will opt for outside the park with free shuttle, free breakfast, a pool that is open early for that dip before the park and after the park. and saving at least $2-300 including taxes on a 2 night stay..

Submitted By: The Valcarce Family

Name Of Resort: Disneyland Hotel

Date Of Stay: October 2nd, 2006

Type Of Resort: Disney Deluxe

Rate Paid During Your Stay: $259.90 - this includes a 10% discount from AAA. Breakdown as such: $11.50 Resort fee. $216.00 Room rate. $32.40 tax.

Room Sleeps : We got a King Sized bed, plus a Pak 'N' Play, so 2 adults, one child who will sleep in a crib, I guess.

Please Rate The Following On A Scale From 1-10 (10 being the best):

Theming: 8. The room is done up with Disneyland history - sketches of pre-production DL are all over.
Room Size: 8. Fine for a family our size; don't know if the 2 queen sized rooms are bigger or not.
Amenities: 8. Great pools, gardens, waterfalls, restaurants, and shops. No soda machines at all in our Tower, which I find odd. I wrote that on the guest comments card.
Quality: 9
Cleanliness: 8 - we did find a penny on the floor. Rather, Lorien found it and put it in her mouth.
Transportation: Usually a 10 because of the monorail, but it's being rennovated now, so an 8.
Recreation: 9. There's a lot to do here. The Remote Control Jungle Cruise boats are great!
Value: 7. This is a pricey hotel.

Over All Rating: 8

Don't Miss: If you're in the mood for a splurge, dinner at Hook's Pointe was fantastic. I'm still rhapsodizing over the beurre blanc sauce. They specialize in mesquite grilled seafood and meats.

Room Location Suggestion: We had room 2051 in the Sierra Tower. It worked great for us. We were close to the elevators.

The Mouse For Less Tip: Water bottles sold at the Lost Bar cost less than those in the vending machines.

Comments: I rate the three DL hotels like this: Grand Californian 1st, DL Hotel 2nd, and Paradise Pier Hotel 3rd.

Submitted By: Borreani Family

Name Of Resort: Disneyland Hotel

Date Of Stay: September 25-29 2006

Type Of Resort: Disney Deluxe

Rate Paid During Your Stay: We booked a AAA package, which was about $200 per night.

Room Sleeps : 5

Please Rate The Following On A Scale From 1-10 (10 being the best):

Theming: 9
Room Size: 7
Amenities: 9
Quality: 8
Cleanliness: 9
Transportation: 8
Recreation: 9
Value: 6

Over All Rating: 8

Don't Miss: The best feature about this hotel is the Neverland Pool and the coin operated Jungle Cruise boats.

Room Location Suggestion: There are 3 towers; Sierra, Bonita and Marina. We stayed in the Bonita tower, but I wish we could have stayed in the Sierra Tower. Sierra is closer to DTD, and after a long day of walking that extra 100 yards is a killer. Also, Goofy's kitchen, front desk and the gift shop is located in Sierra.

The Mouse For Less Tip: There weren't too many "values" at this hotel, but the highlight for my kids was receiving "surprise" desserts when we returned from the park. I ordered them ahead of time thru Vacation Planning (which they screwed up) so I had to reorder with room service.

Comments: This was my kids' first trip to DL, so staying at the DLH was a must. Next time we will probably stay across the street at Best Western. We were hardly ever in our room, so $200 per day seemed like such a waste of money.

Disneyland Hotel

If I were listing some adjectives that sum up our stay at the Disney Land hotel, I would include charming, playful and serendipitous. You can almost feel Walt's personality shining through in this hotel. There are little surprises around every corner. If you have the opportunity to stay here keep your eyes open and look for the magic.

The Disney Land Hotel is actually broken up into three towers. The Bonita, Marina and Sierra Towers. The Lobby is in the Bonita tower and includes some sitting areas stores, and a nice little gallery area featuring pictures of the celebrities that have visited Disney Land, and lots of pictures of Walt too.

The rooms are a very nice size, and nicely decorated too. The Disney Land Hotel has recently gone through extensive remodeling/redecorating, and everything felt crisp and new.

Those special Disney touches are everywhere, although very subtle and classy. The furniture features the original maps showing how Walt once envisioned Disney Land. The bedspreads, upon close inspection, show scenes of popular Disney Land attractions. The lights in the bathroom are held by very famous gloved hands (no,not Michael Jackson LOL), and of course the rooms are filled with those famous Disney soaps and other amenities. One of the most charming features is a Tinkerbell pixie dust border that encircles the top of the room. The best par is that the pixie dust actually glows in the dark. We found ourselves delighted by little touches like these through out our stay. Standard rooms have two queen bed and a day bed, desk and chairs, and armoire with TV and refrigerator.

We had paid extra for a nice view, and were rewarded with the best view in the whole hotel. From our large sliding window, we had a beautiful view of the downtown Disney area, the California Adventure park, and we could see the top of Disney Land attractions. The view was wonderful any time of day, but even more wonderful at night with everything lit up.

There are two swimming areas at the resort. A themed Never Land pool complete with skull rock, a crocodile, suspended bridge and Treasure map. The slide is a huge hit with our daughter, and we were very thankful that the pool was heated to a very comfortable temperature. There is also a Cove beach area complete with sand volleyball court and another pool.

The grounds are very lovely with many hidden areas and surprises. There is a lovely Koi pond with some extremely well-fed Koi, and a beautiful waterfall, that is lit in the evening. A special water show, the Fantasy Waters show, occurs a few times each night, and features lights and water set to classic Disney music. There is also a great arcade, and a spot where you can try driving your own miniature Jungle Cruiseboat.

The restaurant choices are many, including Goofy's Kitchen, a character meal where we met the Geenie, Baloo, Pluto and did the Macarena with the Goofster himself. This is an extensive buffet. There are some fine dining options as well including Hooks point which looks out over the pool area, and Granville's Steakhouse. There are also a few places to grab a quick meal, and a coffee spot.

Transportation from the resort is very easy. Although there is a monorail station nearby, the walk is not far at all. Being from the east coast, we never did make that switch to California time, and we were up at the crack of dawn (or before) every day, so we found the walk was very pleasant. To get to either Disney Land or the California Adventure simply walk through Downtown Disney.

We had a wonderful stay at the resort, and I wouldn't hesitate to return.