Making up my mind

[luvthemouse71]

Ha, I’m going through resort indecision. I have Fairfield Inn booked for January. I also booked Best Western-Stovall’s Inn. The BW comes out $200 cheaper and has free breakfast. The Fairfield Inn is closer though. I’m traveling alone so I want to cut down on walking through sketchy areas if possible. I’m not familiar with Anaheim.

Advice and opinions welcomed...

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Stovall's is not in a sketchy area at all, but the walk is definitely farther than the FFI. Stovall's is nice and many people here use it as their regular DLR hotel. The walk will take you north on Disneyland Dr. to the PPH, where you will turn left and follow the signs toward the DLH and the DLH bag check. You'll enter DTD there and go straight to the gates or you can take the monorail into DL (if it's running). On the walk back, you'll be able to cut through the GCH from DTD, exit the GCH to Disneyland Dr., and walk south to Stovall's.
FFI is a quick walk across Harbor to the Harbor bag check, then into the esplanade and the park gates (either park).
Both hotels are fine, but for a solo trip and a first time visit, I'd stick with the FFI just because it involves much less walking. If the $200 will be significant, then you won't regret staying at Stovall's, but there will be more walking. You'll be safe at either location.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I ended up going with Stovall’s Inn. Fairfield Inn was going to be more expensive and no free breakfast. I like to load up in the morning so I don’t have to spend as much on food. I got a real good rate for the BW too.

Hopefully, my years of traipsing around WDW will stand me in good stead walking wise.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I ended up going with Stovall’s Inn. Fairfield Inn was going to be more expensive and no free breakfast. I like to load up in the morning so I don’t have to spend as much on food. I got a real good rate for the BW too.

Hopefully, my years of traipsing around WDW will stand me in good stead walking wise.

If you're used to walking, you won't have any trouble! Look on Google Maps to follow the directions I gave you -- once you see it, it will all make sense. The walk is easy and totally safe. And, if you have the Starbucks app, you can place a mobile order for Starbucks Downtown Disney West II (the smaller Starbucks next to the Lego Store in DTD), and pick up your order right after you go through the DLH bag check.

 

[lalasmama]

I've stayed at Stovall's as a solo female traveler, and felt safe the whole way. It's a really easy walk! You walk out of your room, and to the stoplight to the right (east) (that's about 2 minutes). Cross north. You're now on Disneyland property. Keep walking north; pass Paradise Pier Hotel, and take a left (like 6 minutes). Turn right at the traffic circle (or just follow the crowds) (about 4 minutes). You'll end up right in front of security. Then you turn right, and walk the length of Downtown Disney (maybe 6 minutes). I don't think I'm especially fast or slow with my walking. What gives me comfort is knowing that Disney has 185,481,754,222,812 cameras, give or take. If anything concerning happens, Disney has it on camera. The walk way is well lit without being obnoxiously bright.

As far as Stovall's itself, they may offer you options of where you want your room to be. If you plan on using the pools/hot tubs, I'd recommend the eastern building on the eastern side. I stayed at the taller (western) building. I felt perfectly safe, but there's a hallway I had to walk through to get to the pools and hot tubs. I couldn't see what was at the other end of the hallway; if someone nefarious was hiding at the opening on the other side of the hallway, I would have had no idea. Also, there's 2 pools and 2 hot tubs. When I was there, a couple was, ahem, "canoodling" in the first hot tub, which meant I got the back hot tub. The back hot tub is around the corner of their pool building, and the lightening leaves a LOT to be desired. It felt a little too deserted for me, and I ended up only staying a few minutes because I felt vulnerable in the dark by myself.

Apart from the pool area, I felt perfectly safe and comfortable walking around the property and to/from the parks.