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View Full Version : Looking for advice from the experts ( you ! ) Hotels & DLand in Feb ...



bekky
01-16-2006, 04:54 PM
Hi there ...

Im just starting to plan a trip down south (were up in nor-cal) for a quick Dland trip.
I have a couple of questions today & Im sure before we go I will have a few more ... so I signed up & here I am :)

First off ..

we stayed at the Marriott near the convention center a couple of years back & were pretty happy with it, so I started out there in looking for hotel rates / availability.

The first week I put in they were sold out but the Marriott Suites were available (says on their website they are about 1 mile from the park )
Another date had both hotels available - but the suites were cheaper !

I cant find any info really on the suites ... any idea why they would be less than the other one ?
Any opinions or reviews on either ??

Also - the Hilton / convention center keeps popping up in my searches as a great place to stay.
They are all in apx. the same price range - so now Im just gonna ask you all where the best of the three would be to stay.
We have 5 yr olds & are also traveling with in-laws who are VERRYYY picky about hotels.

Next question is on the dates ... we have a couple available - one happens to be the week of Valentines.
The other is the last week of Feb into the first week of March.

How are the crowds during this time ?

Any clue if they stay open late enough for Fantasmic , Electric Light Parade or Fireworks ???

Thanks SOO much in advance for any tid-bits you can offer me.

spectromen
01-16-2006, 05:52 PM
Marriott Suites are oftentimes cheaper than full service Marriotts, so it's not your imagination playing tricks on you :) The Anaheim Marriott is what is considered full service, i.e. valet parking, room service, pools, concierge, multiple restaurants, etc. The Suites are more limited in service and with a much less exciting pool, but the tradeoff is the rooms are almost brand new, bigger, and the parking is free. Even though they are farther up the road, I would give them a try, especially with the kids, you get more privacy with the separate living room area.

The Hilton and Marriott are both great but they do have killer parking fees which irks me every time.

MermaidHair
01-16-2006, 05:56 PM
Hi Bekky,

I cannot help you much with the hotels except to tell you that you should check out the hotel reviews section of this site and others (like tripadvisor.com). Also, perhaps the Marriott Suites is not as nice as the Marriott, that's why it is cheaper?

As far as crowds/schedules/etc goes, Check out the calendar at Disneyland.com. It should tell you what parades, etc. are happening each day & the park hours each day. If the park is open longer hours they are expecting heavier crowds. Also, the Anaheim Convention calendar can be a help - when big conventions are in town the crowds at DLR can be increased. Check out http://www.anaheimoc.org/convcalendar/index.cfm?mnth=3&yr=2006#top

BTW, Electric Light Parade is on hiatus.

Have fun! And hang out here for a while, there is tons to learn!

zandy
01-17-2006, 06:08 PM
How does one tell how big the conventions are at the Convention Center? There will be two conventions ( one one-day, one two-day) when we're at DL, but I have no idea whether they will be "big" or not and affect our lives in any way.

serendipityaey
01-17-2006, 06:25 PM
I think the number next to the event is how many people are expected.

Edit: Just double checked, there's a key at the top of the page. For example Feb 1-4 is the Maya Tea Company (sounds interesting) :) estimated attendance 300, which is not very many people at all. If there are two numbers the first is est. attendance/ the second out of town attendance. Hope this helps :)

bekky
01-18-2006, 03:55 PM
Ive got A GROWING stack of papers here with all the research Im finding out .. Id better quit looking and BOOK something before they're all sold out - yikes !

Oh - & NOW Im leaning more towards going not just midweek, but on ending our hopper days on a Friday - since its only on the weekends that they seem to be having fantasmic & fireworks ... wouldnt want to miss that

MsYumiBr
01-18-2006, 04:29 PM
Ive got A GROWING stack of papers here with all the research Im finding out .. Id better quit looking and BOOK something before they're all sold out - yikes !

Welcome to the madness.... :( :p

DisneyLynn
01-18-2006, 06:00 PM
I've stayed at all 3 properties and like each for different reasons.

Marriott Suites - Nicest rooms. Big & New!! great when traveling with kids, we put our daughter on the sofa bed in the living room and have the bedroom to ourselves, there are french doors seperating the 2 rooms. Free parking. Didn't like that it is pretty far from DL.

Marriott - Since you've stayed here I won't say too much other than this is probably my favorite property other than on site at DLR. I like being able to walk to the park and have enjoyed a nice view of the fireworks from the right room. Parking is high.

Hilton - VERY nice hotel, I'd say probably a little nicer than Marriott, we had a big corner room when we stayed there. What I don't like about this hotel is that it is huge, you can easily get lost there!!

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these hotels.