Reviews of the Howard Johnson Plaza hotel please - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I am looking into staying at the Howard Johnson on our next trip. The pool/water slide stuff looks very fun for DD. Just looking for some reviews. I tried to search the boards for previous ones but I guess I don't know how to put in the right criteria. Let me know what you think. I can get a good rate. I keep trying the AP rates and specials for the Disney hotels but it is almost double per night so I can't justify it right now.
I think I am going to book with them. Any info on which building is better? Some are listed as 'freeway side' or something like that and I'm assuming that is to be avoided ;-)
Thanks!
I think I am going to book with them. Any info on which building is better? Some are listed as 'freeway side' or something like that and I'm assuming that is to be avoided ;-)
Thanks!
Yes, they have the side that is on the freeway and then rooms towards the Disney side. I don't know if they consider those "premium" rooms or not. I'm hoping it won't be busy in October and we'll be able to get one of those rooms.
Good luck and if you're going before October, please let me know how you liked it.
I stayed there about 18 months ago and can only give it a mixed review. It was a great value for the money but I wasn't not overly impressed with their service.
I will say the security measures while in some ways reassuring in others were more concerning. For example, (since I am an eastcoaster) I arrived late at night. I would say it almost midnight their time. At that point the lobby, which is it's own building, is locked for security. You have to stand outside and register via a little window. My room was very spacious (and I had a space mountain view!!) but as someone that works when I travel, poorly designed. There were no power outlets near the internet outlets. The internet service was horrible. Three service techs to the room over 2 days before they were able to make it work! They do have free computers in the lobby though.
I was also disturbed by the lack of management on site. While it is a short walk to DL, I had a problem with my foot and decided to take the bus one morning. You need to prebuy your bus pass if you want a round trip, the drive only sells one way. The front desk does not have access tickets at any time there is no manager, so I was going to miss parking opening! Also, when the fire alarm went off at 3am and fire trucks actually came, it was poorly handled and not even a "we are sorry for the inconvenience letter under the door. There were also many building maintenance issues while I was there (ie elevators down and people stuck in them).
While it was cleaning and I am on the fence if I would stay again for the big savings, I have decided for "on site" next time. I do think if you go in with lower expectations you would be happier. I had been reading great reviews and so was very disappointed.
We stayed there in July 2007 and really enjoyed our stay there. The room was very spacious. Myself and 3 boys. They gave us a cot for one of the kids and we had a Twin airmatress for the other. ( none of them will share a bed anymore) I had booked us a MK view and we were originally put on the Highway side, but I corrected them right away and we were then assigned on the 4 or 5th floor,corner room. View ofMK and CA. Our last morning we watched from our balcony something being airdropped into the MK. So later my youngest Nephew and I searched for it when we got there. We could kid of tell by location that it was dropped near Frontierland. We found it on the Tom Sawyer Island , which is a Pirate island now. It was behind a fenced area. The location and the hotel were very nice, we never really used the pool or anything. Everyone was always too tired from long days in the Parks. Oh and you don't want the highway side, its traffic all day and night. But the Harbour Blvd side was not really very noisy at all.
__________________
Aug,1978- LBV;Apr,1987-Disneyland;March,1993-offsite;Jan,1997-offsite;Aug,1999- CBR;Sept,2000- ASMo;Aug,2001- ASSP;Aug,2002- ASMU/AKL;Jan & July 2003-POR;June,December 2004- PC;January 2005- ASMU; Aug 2005-PC;Dec 2005-AKL;Jan 2006-CBR ; July/Aug-Saratoga springs; Dec. PC;April 2007- Disneyland;Aug 2007-Disneyland & So Cal;Dec 2007-POFQ; Aug2008-POFQ & Nov 2008 PC,Y&B May 2009 ASmu, June 2009 PC ; Nov 2009 WL & POFQ;Jan 2010 BW & WL; June 2010 POFQ ; Aug 2010 Poly ;Oct 2010 WL; Jan 2011 PC
I think I will stay there in late April so I will post a review after that. We stayed at the BW Anaheim Inn last time which was a little 'tough' after the DL hotel but so much cheaper.
I can get a cheaper rate at the HoJo and with their waterslide pool, I thought I would give it a try.
We just got back and I really really like this hotel! I got the AP rate which made it cheaper than the BW Park Place where I have stayed several times. It is quite a bit nicer I think than the other more 'motor-coach' type ones down the street. The extra bit of walking is worth it for getting a nice pool and landscape throughout the hotel area. It is also more of a hotel, we were in Bldg 2, with actual hallways. I like having a sliding door/window that opens to the garden instead of to a walkway. The rooms were very clean and very comfortable and didn't smell like industrial cleaners. This is my new hotel of choice (when not at a Disney one of course.) The pool area and the Castaway Cove water 'park' area are a huge upgrade to what the BW Park Place and Anaheim Inn have to offer. The front desk staff was also very friendly and we were able to check in early. Plus they offer AP specials throughout the year. I'm sold!
FYI:
Bldg 1 is the one closest to the freeway but if you are on the 'garden' side, it faces the hotel. It is a multi-story hotel type building (maybe 6 stories or so)
Bldg 2 is a four story bldg that is at the corner of the property. All the rooms face the garden area. We were in this Bldg in a room with two queen beds which were very comfortable. The room also had a microwave, mini fridge and Kruege (?) coffee maker (cartridge type.) We didn't hear the freeway really at all.
Bldgs 3-5 are the 'pavilion' rooms. I think they look super cool-- like 50s Howard Johnson style. The upstairs ones definitely looked better with domed ceilings and clerestory glass. I asked about these and was told they are only two double bed rooms. The front desk lady also said if you want those in particular, call the hotel directly rather than the national number.
The grounds and rooms seemed very well kept.
Enjoy!
I stayed at HoJo Anaheim in April. I had deluxe 2 Queen bed room in Bldg 2. The room was very clean and comfortable. Balcony faced pool and you could see some of the fireworks from it. Could not hear freeway at all. The internet line is between the beds on the nightstand - so not well placed if you are trying to work. THere are two computers in the lobby for use - I printed out my boarding passes there- but there are no rules for use and you may have to wait a while -through several teens checking their Facebook pages. The lobby also has wifi. I paid the entertainment book rate of $69 a night for this room and you cannot beat it for that price. I stay here if this rate (also an annual pass rate) is available for my dates. If that rate is not available, then I prefer the Candy Cane Inn. It does not have the Pirate themed water play area for kids, but it does have a pool and a "hot" spa and lovely grounds. No chance of freeway noise as you are on opposite side of Harbor Bld toward Katella. CCI has a free breakfast and its own designated shuttle to and from the park. It is about the same distance from the entrance as HoJo's and you do not have to cross Harbor Blvd. I found the walk far more pleasant than the one to HoJo's as it is shaded and not so close to traffic. I find the Staff at CCI to be wonderful- the staff at Hojo's to be pleasant and efficient.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
