Your Disney Hotel History

[AwallaceUNC]

Which Disney hotels have you stayed at? (Probably best not to include non-Disney-owned/affiliated hotels, because there are endless numbers of those). Which is your favorite of the ones you've been to?

Walt Disney World
Caribbean Beach Resort (2 times)
Dixie Landings/Port Orleans Riverside (3 times)
Coronado Springs
All-Star Movies (2 times)
Animal Kingdom Lodge
All-Star Sports

My favorite of these (and I'll limit myself to one, since we can have a ranking thread of some sort some other time) is definitely Dixie Landings/Port Orleans Riverside, for reasons that I've gone on about plenty of times here before.

-Aaron

[Raydawggie]

I stayed at the Contemporary once, the Polynesian 3 times, The Beach Club once, and the Yacht Club once.

[Loomis]

We stayed outside the Disneyland Park on both of our stays in Anaheim.

The two parks were Disney Good Neighbour Hotels: The Howard Johnson and the Radisson.

I'll post some comments I made on another board about these hotels:

We had an initial 5-night stay in the Howard Johnson, and due to a change of plans (i.e. we were originally mapped to go to New Orleans, which we didn't for obvious reasons) we found ourselves back in Anaheim a few days later, after a few nights in Las Vegas. The second time was a 7-night stay in the Radisson Maingate.

Howard Johnson was excellent, although people should be warned that accommodation is 'lodge-style'. That is, the hotel is laid out in a number of two-floor buildings. Wheelchair access seems limited, as there weren't any lifts in our building. This wasn't a problem for us, although lugging our bags up was a bit of a hassle. That said, the room was enormous, with two double beds (we only needed one, but this seems to be a standard in Anaheim). The room really seems to be designed for families, with another single fold-out bed in the huge walk-in closet. The bathroom was adequate with adjustable shower-head. A real plus was an extra sink and mirror outside the bathroom, which meant I could shave while my partner showered. I was surprised that mini-fridges weren't standard in US hotels, but the HoJo had one, pushing it above the line for me.

Getting to Disneyland was a breeze. For able-bodied people, it is only a few minutes walk to the main entrance. On the first afternoon, after a gruelling 13 hour flight and 45 minute shuttle from LAX, it was nice to just pop out to Downtown Disney and not have far to come back.

The Raddisson Maingate is a bit of a misnomer, since the move of the gate to accommodate California Adventure. It still proudly displays the Good Neighbour sign in the lobby. Having just flown in from the Luxor in Las Vegas, it was a step down (I was back on Planet Earth for starters), but the instant plus was that the hotel had a lift, giving it one up on the HoJo. No fridge in the room, but that doesn't seem to be unusual. Two double beds again, and while the room wasn't quite as spacious, it did have room for a lounge chair and a desk. Neighbouring bathrooms can be a bit noisy, and noise from other rooms is often heard. A big plus was that we got a $100 food credit, meaning that the whole time we were there (7 nights) we only spent an extra $16 on food. They deducted $100 off our room-service/restaurant bill at check-out, making it a bargain. Able-bodied people should take less than 10 minutes to walk to Disneyland's gates, which still makes this a very convenient location. The ticket concierge seems to close early in the afternoon, and doesn't open until 7:30am, meaning you may want to nab your Hopper tickets the day before if you want to be first in line for the 8am openings of the park. Also, our room overlooked the back of California Adventure, with a rear view of the Tower of Terror, and an unobstructed view of the fireworks.

Overall, I have very little to complain about, and would probably rate the HoJo above the Radisson, but only just. The proximity to the park and the large/quiet rooms pushed it over the edge, but Radisson does seem to have some better deals and the ease of access will be a plus for many visiting the latter.

If I ever get to WDW, I think that I'll have to stay at the Port Orleans hotel - it looks superb.

[Lord Yupa]

Walt Disney World Swan (9 times)
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort (2 times)
Disney's Yacht Club Resort (2 times)

[CJ]

I stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort during my first WDW trip and the All-Star Sports during my last WDW trip. I like the Caribbean Beach Resort the best.

[Kram Nebuer]

Ooh, cool thread idea, Aaron!

Let me try and remember...

Contemporary Resort (2 times...sort of)
All-Star Sports
Shades of Green

Downtown Disney Resort Hotels (are we counting these?):
Double Tree Guest Suites
Courtyard by the Marriot (I believe it is a Holiday Inn, now)
Hilton

I like them all for different reasons. The Contemporary is by far my most favorite. For Magic Kingdom and Epcot lovers, it is the most convenient! With the monorail going right through your temporary living quarters and Magic Kingdom a 5 (or 10, depending ur age, lol) minutes away, Contemporary is great! Also there's a great quick food place as well as the high quality restaurants and character meals! There is a whole floor devoted to food and shopping. Also the rooms are spacious and comfortable with funky modern decor. My only problem is that I think it's a bit overpriced. The other deluxe hotels are themed really well and the atmosphere takes you away to a another vacation in addition to WDW. Back in the 70s and 80s The Contemporary certainly must have seemed like "a hotel of the future" with its unique design and the monorail passing through. Now, it does not accomplish that affect as well as it used to. Though according to Escapay and Jane, Disney is working to make Contemporary the premier Disney resort it was meant to be.

I think the All-Star resorts are the best for budgeting families. They are themed like many of the other resorts and they offer the conevnience of services and facilites at a family friendly level. We stayed at All-Star Sports for my senior trip and it was perfect for an enormous (500) group of teens. We all could easily find each other and go and grab a bite to eat or swim without that much of a walk.

Okay I have to get back to math, so I'll say more later!

[Kram Nebuer]

If I ever get to WDW, I think that I'll have to stay at the Port Orleans hotel - it looks superb.

Yeah, it does look really great. We almost stayed there but by a stroke of luck my dad switched us to Contemporary since the FAA got us a discount! Anyhow, it looks awesome (the Disney hotel rep said Riverside looks like "Gone with the Wind" before the wind came, hehehehe), but the only problem is they're bus service isn't too efficient.

k i really got to do my hw now...

[Alan]

Okay, I might have forgotten some (I went to WDW world many times as an infant)

Polynesian Resort-1 time
Old Key West Resort-Many times (Forget exact number)
Wilderness Lodge 1 time
Beach Club-1 time
Yacht Club Resort-1 time

Thats all I can remember for now.

[yankees]

Cintemporay 1
Polynesian 1

and the other two times I was there I stayed outside of Disney
________
WEED NEWS

[Wonderlicious]

Disney World:
Port Orleans

Disneyland Paris:
Newport Bay Club
Sequoia Lodge

[Mr. Toad]

We always go for a pretty cheap alternative as we spend little time at our hotel as possible and as much time on property as possible.

So it comes down to paying for a bed, which is pretty much the same at every hotel.

Disneyland - in recent years have pretty much always stayed at the Super 8 to the NorthWest? Clean, fairly quiet and cheap.

I think most of the other Mom and Pop ones have been knocked down over the last twenty years.

DisneyWorld - stayed at All Star Movies. Definately the best themed of the cheap hotels especially if you have kids. The restaurant is pretty good too. Liked this one. Can not really figure out why you would stay at the more expensive hotels unless you are there for more than just Disneyworld.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Living in California for 12 years, everytime I went to Disneyland or DCA I went for the entire day only and went home! So I've never been to a hotel at the Disneyland resort.

Walt Disney World resort however, I've stayed at the All Star hotels! They were decent for "cheap" hotels, but REALLY expensive! Bottled water at All Star Music cost over $2.00!

[I am the Doctor]

Only been to Disney World once (in 1997), stayed outside the Disney property.

Disneyland, however, I've been to plenty of times. Probably the nicest place I stayed at was the Best Western Park Place, directly across the street. At the time (1998), they were just beginning to build California Adventure, and the Rocket Rods were the brand new ride. Returned this year (2005) for Disneyland's 50th anniversary, and wanted to stay at the Park Place again, but they wanted too much money. Stayed at a Days Inn down a bit from the park on Harbor Blvd.

Have never stayed in a Disney owned hotel at Disneyland, not really a reason to since most of the other motels/hotels are almost as close, most are just as nice and are usually cheaper (more money for the parks!).

[ckdish]

I stayed at the <b>Contemporary</b> when I was around seven. I loved it, of course, being the type of kid that loves big, neat, and contemporary hotels. I haven't really changed. My parents, on the other hand, weren't that impressed.

Recently (this summer) I, unfortunately, stayed in <b>All Star Sports</b>. It was small, ordinary, mass-produced, very used, and sorta gross looking. I'm going back this spring to stay in <b>Riverside</b> and I hear good things.

[brownie]

The only Disney hotel I've been to is Animal Kingdom Lodge. I loved that place. There were giraffes, zebras, and other African animals right outside my balcony! I could have spent days in that hotel without going to the parks and I wouldn't get bored!

Here are some pictures from there:
Giraffe
Me
Lobby (which looks GORGEOUS at night!!)

I'll definitely be going back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I'm a vegan and I HATE vegetables, so I tend to have a lot of trouble finding things to eat outside of my home, but there was a lot of food for me to eat! Next time I go, I'm going to ask for them to prepare some special meals for me.

[danamichelle]

Hotels I have stayed at when visiting Disneyworld:

Port Orleans - French Quarter (1)
The Contemporary (1)
Shades of Green (2)
and I will be staying at the Carribean Beach Resort in January

My favorite was the Contemporary. The monorail going to the hotel was extremely nice. Too bad the monorail hotels are so expensive.

[Loomis]

This seemed like the best place to post hotel-related news:

Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Paradise Hotel Become Non-Smoking

http://www.magicalmountain.net/WDWNewsD ... ewsID=1108

"Beginning March 1st The Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Paradise Hotel will become non smoking hotels. Disney's Grand Californian hotel opened in 2001 as a non smoking hotel and now all three hotels at the resort will be smoke free.

Designated smoking areas will be established outside the hotels within walking distance from each hotel. The decision to make the hotels smoke free was essentially one of no demand.

On an average no more than two requests per day come in for smoking rooms. The hotels will gradually take the smoking rooms out of use and begin the task of replacing drapes, rugs and doing thorough cleaning of those former smoke areas."

Take your pick - Accommodations for every level at Walt Disney World

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/travelN ... eid=123458

(Nice review of all WDW hotels)

[jwa1107]

My wife and I have stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort & All-Star Movies
She has also stayed at Dixie Landings and The Contemporary

[dizfan]

Walt Disney World
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort
Disney's All Star Music Resort
Disney's Pop Century Resort
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter

While I thought that Disney's Grand Floridian would be my favorite since it's the most elegant I found that it fell short when comparing to the hotel I stayed at in Tokyo. My favorite is Fort Wilderness at WDW.

Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo DisneySea Hotel Mira Costa

Absolutley, the best of the best in Disney accomodations. It cost about $2,000 for my four night stay, worth every penny. The view of Tokyo DisneySEA was amazing, the breakfast buffet incredible, the room was beautiful, the hotel has some of the best theming I've seen at an Disney hotel (most was the best), and the hotel's monorail station and private entrance to DisneySea were a huge plus. And of course, the best Cast Members on the planet!

Disneyland Resort Paris
Disney's Hotel Santa Fe

It was cheap and different for a Disney hotel. The theming was lacking, but what there was was interesting (a UFO, a cactus encased in glass, trucks sinking in quick sand, etc). Loved the walk to the parks, it was very beautiful. Free breakfast saved us lots of money to! Our room was next to the Rio Grande. Would have prefered to stay at the Newport Bay Club though.

Currently, I have reservations for future trips at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (WDW), Disney Ambassador Hotel (Tokyo) and Disney's Hollywood Hotel (HKDL).

[Loomis]

Currently, I have reservations for future trips at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (WDW), Disney Ambassador Hotel (Tokyo) and Disney's Hollywood Hotel (HKDL).

Hoping to stay at the Hollywood Hotel in HK come September. The photos and reviews I've read make it sound fantastic! It will be my first "Disney hotel" experience (I've only stayed at "Good Neighbour" hotels before).