1st Timer to Disneyland - Hotel Advice/Suggestions

[lsumatt72]

Taking our first Disneyland trip with kids in February. We would like to stay within walking distance of the park since we will have a 8 and 5 yr old in tow. Where on S. Harbor do yall suggest, while also keeping cost in mind?

 

[Pluto468]

There are a number of hotels right across the street from the main entrance that would be a less than 5 minute walk. I think these are all usually under $300, depending on your dates and room choice.

Park Vue
Best Western Park Place Inn - Serve Hot Breakfast
Best Western Anaheim Plus Inn - Serve Hot Breakfast
Tropicana Inn
Camelot Inn

Closer to 15 minutes but maybe a bit nicer and more expensive:

Courtyard Marriott Theme Park entrance
Hojo (Howard Johnson)
Candy Cane Inn- They have a shuttle. - Serve Continental Breakfast

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

I always recommend the Hyatt House on Harbor and Katella because it has a QS place (Blaze Pizza), a real Starbucks (not one of those fake hotel “Starbucks” that don’t make anything right) and I think most importantly a Walgreens (cheap snacks and bottled water!) right on the first floor. It’s also an easy walk up Harbor to the parks (12-15 minutes to the ticket gate), it’s got a decent free breakfast, great rooms, and microwaves and fridges which I think are must haves for kids that age.

 

[Jesteraz]

Bring a stroller, and pack a ton of snacks. The best western across the way is fine (not amazing). But the extra 5 minutes less of a walk is real handy if you go back to the hotel mid-day.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

We used to stay in the hotels up near the Harbor/Katella intersection. The Residence Inn is very nice, and right at the intersection, so pretty close.

Then we tried the Fairfield Inn which is right across Harbor Blvd. it’s not as nice, but we’ve realized the proximity to the park can be a game changer. Have to go back to the room to grab something? No big deal. Tired from walking 20k steps during a full day? Once you get outside the parks, you don’t have time to even think about how tired you are before you’re back in the room.

We were going to stay at the Courtyard Marriott, but changed back to the Fairfield on our last trip. Didn’t make sense to pay extra for the waterpark facilities. Then my DD decided for the first time that 6-7 hours in the parks was long enough each day. We should’ve tried the Courtyard. Or we’ll try the Park Vue or Desert Inn - taking a break and returning later is much more attractive an option when you’re just walking across the street.

 

[SpaceMan5]

Pluto486 nailed it. Great recommendations. We have stayed at the Best Western Park Place Inn several times, most recently in Jan of this year. The rooms are a little tired but are clean and comfortable. It is really nice to have the breakfast included so you dont have to spend extra time in the parks searching out food. One of the adults can get the food and bring it back to your room while you are getting ready. And you can't beat the location! We are going to stay at the Best Western Anaheim Plus in Jan 2024 because it was cheaper than BWPPI and received positive reviews from those here on the boards.
We did have a 1 night stay at the Tropicana and it was nice. With a family of 4 you will be fine but with 5 ppl and a rollaway it was not the best, not much room at all. Glad it was only one night.
HOJO is nice as well but walking that extra 10 mins seemed liked 10 miles to me at the end of a long day.

 

[DizMe]

You've gotten lots of great advice. With 2 kids ages 5 and 8, I would absolutely opt for something on Harbor and close to the crosswalk for DLR. Your kids aren't going to care much what motel you are in, and almost all of those closest to the crosswalk are clean and decent. This is a pretty good roundup of what's available on Harbor https://www.pullingcurls.com/harbor-disneyland-hotels/

 

[Hobbes]

Anaheim Park Tourist on Youtube also have great videos on most of the hotels close by and Crystal is on here and always happy to help!

 

[jina]

another vote for hyatt house. I book a suite w a kitchen which comes in handy. we are rope drop, mid-afternoon break (and sometimes early dinner), then back to the parks for the evening. the hyatt house has been perfect for us, and we've stayed at the on site hotels as well (if I was rolling in $, I'd stay on site but for us it's not worth paying 2x just to be on site and get the 30 minutes of early entry.

 

[alleighboo]

I don't have kids, but we (my bestie and I) stayed at The Anaheim Hotel last time and really enjoyed it. It's about a 6 to 8ish minute walk that is completely off the main road (other than that first crossing) and shaded. The pool is huge, there is a nice and pretty reasonably priced gift shop with snacks and such, and we had a first floor room with a huge private patio that was super cool. It's right across the street from Guardians so it's a great view too! The rooms are older but have had cosmetic upgrades that were nice. We are the type of park goers that are just there to sleep anyway.

 

[redleader74]

I throw in my own vote for BWPPPI and BWPA, both for the proximity to park entrance and overall quality/value. Stayed at both on different occassions and had no problems.

If you don't mind the walk and the weather is nice (not too hot), then, as others have mentioned, the ones at the Harboer/Katella intersection is nice for proximity to Walgreens where you can get far more reasonably priced essentials (water, toiletries, "emergency clothing", snacks, etc.) than at any mini mart, corner store and definitely way cheaper than anything in the actual parks or in Downtown Disney.

Naturally, the further you are from the entrance, the further your dollar will go, as those located directly across from the entrance can often be older properties (Park Vue, Camelot, etc.).