How to get Deals on Hotels

When looking at going to Disneyland cost always is a factor. If not, you must be really rich. There really is no great way to get a deal at the Disneyland Resort Hotels unless you get an annual pass (check out my section on annual passes to find out more about this).

I have found the best way to get a deal at the non resort hotels is using Priceline. We have used Priceline the last two times we went to Disneyland and thought it was great. We stayed at very nice hotels for under $50 a night. One time we stayed at the Crown Plaza and the other time we stayed at the Hyatt Regency.

The Hyatt Regency and the Crowne Plaza

For those of you who do not know how Priceline works here it is: You pick the area, you pick the star rating, and then you bid a price. I usually do not start bidding until about two weeks before a trip. I know that might be hard for those who like everything planned months in advance, but when doing Priceline the more last minute the better. Now the con with this is that you do not get to pick the hotel you get to stay at, but one way you can see the choices they may give you is to look at the non bidding size of Priceline and just feel out the same info. It will show you what hotels they have available at their regular price.

an example of the Pricelien map, you chose one of those areas and the hotel they pick must be in that area.

When bidding I usually start out rather low. For a three star around $35, for a two 1/2 star maybe 30, and then maybe 20 for a two star. If they do not accept your bid you will have another chance in 24 hours to bid again. I suggest increasing it only $5 each time. If you get down to within 3 days of your trip you may want to go increase it a little more then that.

Like I said this is a great deal and you can not beat it, well unless you win a contest and get free hotel stays or are using frequent staying points. Another thing to keep in mind that by doing this you may get a hotel that is farther away then you like. If you pick the Disneyland area they are withing 2 miles of the park but you may not be able to walk. Both hotels we stayed at offered a free shuttle that we were able to use. Though sometimes we splurge and take a Taxi because of how crowded the shuttles can get.