10/2: Compendium Pt. III

[Al Lutz]

Part III: Kevin runs the Disneyland Half-Marathon and stays at the Disneyland Hotel, discuss them here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[KENfromOC]

I've been to WDW 8 times since 1978, and 5 of those times we stayed at Disney Resort, once at hotel plaza (HoJos at the time) and twice completely offsite. The last time I was there was in 2005 and we stayed at Old Key West (we are not DVC members, but wanted a suite). We were also married at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney (Disneyland) in 2005 and stayed a couple of nights at the Grand Californian. Despite the fact we live in south Orange County and went to Hawaii on honeymoon, we wanted the convenience and luxury of just walking down to our wedding.
All that being said, yes it is defiantly worth the premium you pay, specially if you have kids! The last thing I want to do is penny-pinch on vacation, and if it’s a Disney vacation (in our case Florida), then I want the full experience. If we can’t afford it, then we won’t go. But that has been our philosophy in general when it comes to vacations after too many times staying at, what turned out to be, a “dump” because we wanted to save money. What’s the point??? IT’S A VACATION PEOPLE! YOUR TIME TO RELAX AND BE WAITED ON!
Sure, when it comes to both WDW and Disneyland there are other resorts to stay at. And Kevin has commented on the Gaylord Resort just a couple miles from the WDW gates – and it does look fantastic. But what a hassle it must be getting over to one of the parks. And what if you and the kids want a hot-afternoon pool break? How long is that going to take you to get back to an off-property resort, and then back again for the evening? I admit Disneyland is a little easier, but most of the other large hotels cater mainly to the business and convention crowd, not families.

Spend the money…Have some fun!