New MK Holders. Recommendations for areas not near DL?

[Dr. G]

Hi! My wife and I just upgraded to the Inspire MK last week since 3 of our kids have asked us to go to DL with them in the next year. We live in UT so have to factor in travel costs. Since the MK includes DL parking, we are considering staying further away from DL to save on hotel costs and hopefully squeeze in one or two extra trips. We usually stay withing walking distance on Harbor and love that, so this is new for us. So, a few questions:

1. Any differences in ease/speed between parking at DL at Mickey, Pixar or Toy Story? Do the garage entrances back up more than Toy Story in the morning? Or does it just depend on which direction you are coming from? Any difference between Toy Story shuttles or Parking Tram, especially at night?

2. Any recommended areas or cities to stay in? We'd probably like to keep the drive to 15-30 minutes, especially with adding on tram/shuttle time after/before the drive. Or if easier to answer, any areas/cities we should specifically avoid? Big issue for us is a safe area to park our car at night.

3. Any specific hotel recommendations, realizing this is very subjective? Ideally the hotel would be in the $100-$150/night range, maybe up to $200. But that soon gets into some Harbor pricing. On Harbor/Katella we've stayed at HoJo, Candy Cane (our favorite but prices way up since the remodel), Castle Inn, Desert Palms by 7-11, Fairfield. Further away we've stayed at Best Western Raffles and at Standford using ART. I'm guessing driving is more convenient than ART if available?

Edited to Add: 4. Any experience with the Best Western Plus Anaheim Orange County in Placentia? That is one we've seen for a deal and are considering.

Thanks in advance! We are excited to spend all our trip money these next 12 months at Disneyland.

 

[Girimama33]

1. Personally, I prefer parking in Mickey and Friends when I want to be there at rope drop. If it was closer to open or after, I might consider TS lot assuming M&F will have a lot of people trying to enter.
2/3. I am originally from the Anaheim area, but currently live in Northern CA. When we visit the parks, we usually see family and friends and prefer not to stay within walking distance. Lately, we have been staying in the city of Orange...specifically at the Embassy Suites. We are going in mid-June to celebrate our daughter's 16th birthday and got a rate there for about $170 a night. All of the rooms are suites, and they have a nice breakfast buffet.
4. I am not familiar with that hotel in Placentia, but I would avoid getting on the 91 freeway during any rush hour times.
Good luck!

 

[jcarwash]

We just stayed at the Ayres Hotel in Orange and visited Disneyland for two days during our visit. We parked at Toy Story on both days and it was very convenient. The drive took like 5-7 minutes. That Ayres location doesn't charge for parking. The Ayres Anaheim one does.

 

[disney-inspired]

I can recommend the Anaheim Islander Inn on Katella. Free parking, usually decent pricing and if you want, walking distance to the Toy Story Parking lot.

It's a smaller hotel/motel but always clean and rooms are spacious.

 

[ShoeCello]

Seconding the Embassy Suites Orange, as well as Ayres Hotel Orange (they're basically next to each other)! Both include free hot breakfast, which is a nice touch before heading to the parks. They're both a quick ~7 minute drive to the parks (depending on if you are parking in TS or M&F), but are also place you in close driving distance to downtown Orange and other places of interest if you were going to explore outside of DL.

 

[Steven G]

I like staying in Buena Park, you are then close to Knotts Berry Farm just in case, and there are lots of low $100 hotels there. It is typically a 15 minute drive.

 

[crystal1313]

We usually stay in orange if not within walking distance. The tax rate is lower there too. We like hotel fera (used to be doubletree) Ayers and Alo there. Hope that helps!

 

[Lisa24jks]

I stay in Buena Park a lot these days, because i have free parking with Inspire. Hotels are generally cheaper AND a lot of them offer free parking, which is extremely rare in the DLR resort area. So with Inspire and free hotel parking, I'm not paying at all to put my car somewhere and I love that. If you're staying near Knotts, it's usually a 15 minute drive in the mornings (20 at most). At least on weekends anyway.

I can't really give specific prices because I have a Hilton Friends & Family rate, but I like the two Hampton Inns in Buena Park (they actually have a decent free breakfast too).

As for parking, if I'm rope dropping or semi-rope dropping, I will usually park at Toy Story. I've only been there ONCE where it was extra busy in the morning and that was Super Bowl Sunday. Usually early AM, it flows really well. (Plus, I often come to the parks with a disabled family member and their disabled parking is right at security and it makes it so convenient.)

If I'm coming later in the day, I might park at Mickey & Friends, especially because they usually close security at Toy Story later in the day.

 

[ShoeCello]

We usually stay in orange if not within walking distance. The tax rate is lower there too. We like hotel fera (used to be doubletree) Ayers and Alo there. Hope that helps!

Oh, forgot about the ALO (which is run by Ayres). All three are in the same intersection, and the Embassy Suites Orange is a one-minute drive away from that. ALO is a bit more dated than the Ayres in my opinion but is likely a little cheaper.

 

[Dr. G]

Thanks so much everyone! This is so helpful.

 

[DizMe]

If you stay at the Knotts Hotel, they have a free shuttle to Disneyland. You can also walk to Knotts if you wanted to see it. Tickets were pretty inexpensive last time I went. We had free hotel parking at the time because a friend had a Knotts pass, and they also offer free parking with a hotel package. Otherwise, I think it's $20/day. Their annual passes were pretty cheap when I went.

 

[irlandaise]

If you stay at the Knotts Hotel, they have a free shuttle to Disneyland. You can also walk to Knotts if you wanted to see it.

And to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

 

[DizMe]

And to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

Oh yes! And my friends and I went to Afternoon Tea there once! Don't need a park ticket for that.

 

[Dr. G]

We've decided to try Ayres in Orange this time. Get Away Today had an acceptable deal at $160/night including tax. May try Buena Park next time. Thanks again everyone--this Board is the best!

 

[Gypsybear]

Ayres - Orange....every trip when we stay off property....very convenient, and there's a Target store on the way if you need anything for the room (ie: bottled water to put in the fridge, etc).