For thoses that have stayed at both DLR and Courtyard Theme Park-which would you advise?

[kittycruize]

Hi everyone,

We have a dilemma - we have never been to DL, so coming for the first time in August. We always stay on property at WDW. We are trying to decide between the DLH and Courtyard Theme Park. Money is the only reason to consider the Courtyard. We could save quite a bit. But, we are concerned about the walk outside of the magic, and not getting the ambiance of a resort. For those that have stayed at both, is it worth the extra money to get the magic, safety, and that whole resort experience? Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated! TIA!!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I haven't stayed at Courtyard, but to me it's only worth staying on property if I am going to use the early entrance to the parks. When you stay onsite, you get an hour early entrance to one of the parks. That is valuable time to do walk on for the big headliners in DCA. I am the only person in my family who will get up early enough to do that. If I had to wait for kids to wake up and I couldn't do that benefit, I wouldn't want to waste the money.

You won't have a far walk to the Courtyard and I don't think you need to worry about safety at all. There are lots of people walking all day and all night.

The Disneyland Hotel is nice, but you can visit it during the day. The hotel rooms are nothing special and to me are very small. I am not impressed with the rooms and think they should cost about 1/3 of what they cost. The actual hotel grounds are great and I like to visit them for a meal once in a while. You can't use the pools if you aren't staying there, but we don't bother with pools anyway since we are there for the parks.

 

[cinnaminny]

I always stay across the street, normally at the Best Western. (love their breakfast) This summer we are going to stay at the Disneyland hotel for the first time, for 6 nights. We decided to go all out. We really fell in love with WDW and wondered if it was due to our staying at the Contemporary. I have always loved Disneyland but that WDW was extra special. So we are going to see!! Plus we really wanted the early entrance because of the Galaxy's edge. I don't know when you are going in August but be aware they are having a D23 convention, that might make you opt for the DLH so you can get those extra hours before the conventioners make their way to the park.

It is a longer walk actually, from what I have read to get to the parks from the DLH than from the hotels directly across the street. More Disney ambiance, I don't know that it could have the same bubble feel as WDW does though. I've read a lot of opinions that go both ways.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I have stayed at both - last time I divided my stay between the two hotels. Without using the monorail to go into Disneyland, the walk from DLH and the Courtyard are close to equal. Going through security from DLH is faster than going through security from the Harbor side. The biggest benefit is the extra early morning hour in the parks. If you are early risers, this is a HUGE benefit. We never make it right when it starts, but last time we made it 30 minutes before DCA opened up to regular guests and were able to ride Guardians and Incredicoaster twice each before the park opened. AND if you have MaxPass, you can start pulling FastPasses before the park opens to everyone else. Because of this, we were able to ride every single ride in DCA (all of the headliners at least twice) before 11am. We then had lunch at the Lamplighter, rode 5 rides in Disneyland, and went back to the hotel pool for a few hours before returning to the parks for the evening.

As far as the two hotels compare, our room at the Courtyard was much larger than the one at DLH. The kids had a separate “nook” with bunk beds far separated from the room with the king bed so I could watch television without disturbing them. We also had a bathroom with a tub/shower combo in one room with two sinks and another shower in the room with the toilet. We were on the top floor with a balcony and a view of the park. The balcony was a bit of a disappointment because there was no patio furniture. The Courtyard room was definitely newer than our DLH room.

But I absolutely loved our room at DLH. DLH is my favorite hotel (I have stayed there at least 40+ times) and, if it is financially doable, I will always choose it over the Courtyard (but the Courtyard is now a very close 2nd). We have never had a bad experience with the staff, we have never experienced small rooms that others have complained about. In fact, it’s rare for us to not get upgraded. Last time, we had a room on the top floor overlooking Downtowns Disney and the parks. We also upgraded to Concierge level access which is always a pleasure for us at DH. And the rooms have that special Disney magical touch that I love.

If your family enjoys pools, both pools have their benefits. The Courtyard pool is more enjoyable for kids than adults, in my opinion. The bummer is that you cannot use the pool by yourself if you are 16 or under. My 14 year old and two 12 year olds were told they had to sit on the chairs and weren’t allowed in the water until I got there (I was finishing up packing up the room). This seemed a bit ridiculous to me but rules are rules. Because it is not on the ground floor and there are not a lot of plants/trees, we also found it to be quite windy and hot. The DH pool has more for everyone. Water slides for kids and teens (and if you’re like me, adults will enjoy them, too), two pools deep and large enough to swim in, and two large hot tubs. There is also food and beverage service at the pool. The DH pool also has fresh water showers to rinse off in. The Courtyard pool does not, which is a huge design flaw, in my opinion.

So... It just depends on what your family values and whether or not you will use all of the benefits that come with staying at a DLR hotel.

 

[720L]

Courtyard is a little quicker walk than DLH. Rooms are way bigger. You can see Space Mtn & the monorail across the street. If you get at least a 3 day ticket you get 1 magic morning. I don't feel like I'm out of the magic, you can see the park from the hotel and everyone walking around is going to DL. Also the pool looks really good but we don't use it because we spend all our time in the parks.

 

[katyringo]

Don’t base your decision off of “the Disney bubble”

Disneyland has a very different feel from world and the bubble even at the on site Resort’s isn’t the same. Disneyland has a diffferent vibe as 3/4 the people in the parks won’t be staying at a Disney hotel or live locally. Embrace that vibe and it will
Make the trip.

Someday I hope to stay at Disneyland hotel just because I think it’s super cool, but money always wins.

Is the water slides a big draw for you? There are lots of hotels there on harbor that will be even cheaper then courtyard. But none have the water slides. Hojo has a small water play ground, all
Of them seem to have pools.

The early entry to DCA is the perk of onsite. Any guest with a 3 day ticket gets early entry to Disneyland park so that early entry to DCA is exclusive. That being said, we always stay accross the street, arrive early and we’ve always been able to do everything- even during capacity crowds. So to me I haven’t been able to justify it. I use my money for dinning packages and shopping.

 

[mamapenguin]

I always stay across the street, normally at the Best Western. (love their breakfast) This summer we are going to stay at the Disneyland hotel for the first time, for 6 nights. We decided to go all out. We really fell in love with WDW and wondered if it was due to our staying at the Contemporary. I have always loved Disneyland but that WDW was extra special. So we are going to see!! Plus we really wanted the early entrance because of the Galaxy's edge. I don't know when you are going in August but be aware they are having a D23 convention, that might make you opt for the DLH so you can get those extra hours before the conventioners make their way to the park.

It is a longer walk actually, from what I have read to get to the parks from the DLH than from the hotels directly across the street. More Disney ambiance, I don't know that it could have the same bubble feel as WDW does though. I've read a lot of opinions that go both ways.

There is nothing like the Contemporary Resort. GCH has the proximity to the parks, but the Contemporary has larger rooms and Bay Lake....and really great cupcakes!

 

[cinnaminny]

There is nothing like the Contemporary Resort. GCH has the proximity to the parks, but the Contemporary has larger rooms and Bay Lake....and really great cupcakes!

It was almost too perfect. I struggle to choose somewhere else to stay now lol

 

[tink89]

I have not stayed at courtyard but if we couldn't stay onsite Courtyard would probably be a runner up. The only reason we have not stayed there is because prices are usually about the same as PPH.

I have heard that others don't feel there is a Disney bubble but we have mostly stayed off site and had no issue with it. We always stayed at the Hilton because that's just the type of hotel we prefer. When we first stayed on site at DLH it was supposed to be a one time thing before DD got any older. Well we have gone back a couple more times since then and have stayed on site each time. We do feel like there is a bubble. When I go with my teen siblings they can just walk down to the pool, the snack shop, or go DtD to shop and come back to the room by them selves. We all find it easier to just head to the parks at any time and back to the hotel as well at any time. I feel like I am at DL the whole time. We get much more park time especially with EMH which is a big reason we stay on site and the pool.

For me once i exit the park and I am on Harbor i feel like i left Disney. When I am onsite i can hear the Disney music the atmosphere the characters walking around the hotel or Goofys Kitchen.

I would suggest a split stay. Just make sure you end your stay onsite.

 

[Nevada Jen]

I was going to throw out there that you might also consider PPH. You get the onsite benefits (that DCA EMH is worth its weight in gold if you love any of the rides there), but at a cheaper price. My favorite is actually doing PPH club level. With 4 people in a room, I actually felt like that saved me money over off-site because of the free food and drink.