The first thing you'll need to decide is whether you'd like to stay in one of the three Disney-owned hotels. There are benefits to staying at a Disneyland Resort, of course—the most notable of which is the Extra Magic Hour, which gains you an hour's early admission to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park, depending on the day. Here is the schedule:
- Disneyland Park: Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays
- Disney California Adventure Park (including access to Cars Land): Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays
There are three Disneyland properties in Anaheim.
Photo Credit: Disneyland website
The Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel and Spa is the most expensive, with rooms starting from $380-$420 a night. It is also, however, the closest of the Disneyland hotels to the parks themselves, situated near Downtown Disney and with its own private entrance to Disney California Adventure Park. There's plenty to do at the resort itself, including relaxing by a pool complete with a waterslide curving around the stump of a giant redwood tree, booking an appointment at Namara Spa, or learning how to draw Mickey Mouse. The big restaurant located on site is Napa Rose, which is a little on the pricey side but is meant to be a serious restaurant for serious foodies and features—as could be surmised from its name—vino.
Photo Credit: Disneyland website
The Disneyland Hotel is the middle option as among the three Disneyland properties, with rooms starting from $330-$360 a night. This is the oldest of the Disneyland hotels and has themed towers (Adventure, Fantasty, or Frontier), as well as (for a pretty penny) "Signature Suites" with the following themes: Adventureland, Ambassador, Big Thunder, Fairytale, Mickey Mouse Penthouse, and Pirates of the Caribbean. It is located across the street from Downtown Disney, so while it's close to Disney, it will take you at least ten minutes to get to the park gates. There are a couple of different pools and waterslides located at this resort, and there are even poolside movie nights (specific movie information and times available during check-in). There are a few restaurants located here, but I'll put in a plug for Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar (review to come).
Photo Credit: Disneyland website
The cheapest official Disneyland option is Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, with rooms starting from $259-$275 a night. Although this hotel overlooks Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure Park, it's actually the farthest of the three hotels from the park gates. You'll need to walk at least 15 minutes or take the monorail (which is still a short walk away and isn't always operational). The dining "highlight" here is a character breakfast available daily at Disney's PCH Grill. (Note that there are character breakfasts available at the other two Disneyland properties as well: the Chip 'n' Dale Critter Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian and Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel.)
Here's the thing. While I would advocate staying at a Disneyland property while visiting Disneyworld in Orlando, I'm not sure it's particularly worth it to do so in Anaheim. With only two parks a hop away from each other, the extra hour in the park isn't as crucial. Plus, unlike in Orlando, there are actually a ton of non-Disneyland properties that are very close to the parks—in fact, they are often closer than the Disneyland properties themselves. Disney also offers a slightly discounted package on their Park Hopper tickets if you stay at any of these Good Neighbor hotels.
I perused several travel blogs (the standout was Disney Tourist Blog's comprehensive hotel review round-up, which you should definitely check out if you want to read more in-depth pros and cons of all the hotels near Disneyland) and review websites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor before settling on the Park Vue Inn ($140-199 a night, with discounted rates to $100 at times), which is located almost directly across the street from the parks and comes with free wi-fi (though so do the Disneyland properties), free parking, and free hot (and cold) breakfast daily. There's also a heated pool if you need a break from the park and want to relax with a soak or a swim.
We stayed in a double queen room. The beds, pillows, and linens were all clean and comfortable, and there was plenty of room for the both of us, with a large desk and a flat-panel HDTV as well as an in-room refrigerator and microwave.
The toilet and shower/tub combination are separated by a door from the sink, which is convenient for getting ready in the morning or at night.
They have plenty of other room options, including suites with a sleeper sofa and kitchenette, and even a deluxe king room featuring a giant in-room jacuzzi, which I imagine is perfect for decompressing and soothing sore, tired muscles at the end of a long day at the parks.
I'm skeptical that the Park Vue Inn can be beaten for value, given its proximity to the parks and convenience. We definitely snuck back to the room for a pick-me-up our second afternoon. And the complimentary hotel breakfast is a huge time and costsaver in the area, although there are plenty of other options nearby, like the 24-hour iHop, Denny's, or McDonald's, all on the same street. And, of course, the Disney character breakfasts at any of the Disneyland properties.
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