Disneyland 101: Where to Stay
March 04, 2019When looking online at Disneyland, I have heard so many people tell me it is overwhelming trying to decide where to stay.
In this post I will break down some of the hotel options and how you can decide where is the best place for you to stay.
Disneyland is unique in the way that it is set with an entire city surrounding it. People who are used to staying at Disneyworld often find it surprising how close the actual city streets and outside hotels are to Disneyland. When looking at Disneyworld, it is almost impossible to get that close to the parks without staying right on Disney property. This is not the case at Disneyland.
At Disneyland, it is totally an option to be close to the parks without staying in an actual Disney hotel. That being said, the Disney hotels are amazing.
Lets go ahead and start with those beautiful Disney hotels.
We will start with the most luxurious of the three Disney options, the Grand Californian Hotel. This hotel is just like it name says, Grand.
The lobby of this hotel is stately. Here you can find a huge fireplace with rocking chairs to enjoy a break from the parks or your morning coffee. Additionally, in the lobby you can order items from the Hearthstone Lounge which offers appetizers and drinks.
Other dining options for the Grand Californian are Napa Rose which is a Signature restaurant and is defininetly high end. Along with this, the hotel offers a character meal option and it is the only character meal that has Mickey present! You can find Mickey at Storytellers Cafe for breakfast, brunch and dinner.
One of the biggest draws to the Grand is the direct entrance to the park. Hotel guests of the Grand Californian enjoy an entrance to the park directly from the hotel. This is honestly the best perk of the hotel. We stayed there recently and running up to my room to change my shoes, or grab something I forgot literally took five minutes. Talk about convenient!
The next hotel is The Disneyland Hotel. This is the original hotel built for Disneyland. While it has stood the test of time it has gone over many many modernization and updates over the years which has brought it up to the modern luxurious hotel that it is now.
The Disneyland has sort of a old Hollywood glam mixed with modern decor. Think art deco meets glam. The pool here is the show stopper as it has two water slides that kids actually love. Also the rooms have magical light up headboards that show fireworks at the press of a button.
Food options include Trader Joe's which offers fun drinks and bites and Steakhouse 55, one of the best restaurants on property.
There is no direct park access from this hotel, but it is just a short walk to the monorail entrance which takes you directly into Tomorrowland.
Lastly, Disney offers the Paradise Pier Hotel is Disney's option for a more basic hotel. I am going to be honest, as I promise I always will here. We have stayed at this hotel twice and it is just not worth the price. If you are going to make the push to stay at a Disney hotel, I would encourage you to look at the others. Don't get me wrong, you still get those Disney perks staying here, but this hotel is not as special as the other two options.
They do have a great rooftop pool with wonderful views for the fireworks. They even pipe in the music so you can enjoy some Disney magic while you watch. Plus, that water slide is pretty fun.
Why stay at the Disney hotel options? There are definitely perks to staying on Disney property.
1. No break in the magic. The Disney magic is seamless going from park to hotel.
2. You can send any purchases from the parks right up to your room.
3. Magic Morning Hours. Hotel guests get into parks an hour early EVERYDAY.. This means riding rides without crowds. Its a game changer.
4. Disney service cannot be beat.
Good Neighbor Hotels
These hotels have the Disney stamp of approval but are not actual Disney hotels. They are all close by and generally you can buy your park tickets from them and often times you can get one Magic Morning hour on a three day pass.
A few options we have tried are The Castle Inn, Best Western Park Place and the Grand Legacy at the Park. There are some great options in many price points. Most of which was across the street from the park entrances. It is a bit further to walk each morning but if you are ok with that, it will save you a buck! (actually hundreds of bucks!)
I hope this helped clear some of your questions about where you should stay while visiting Disneyland Parks. The moral of this story is two of the Disney hotels are amazing, and if you can't swing that, you can find perfectly good options in teh good neighbor hotels nearby!
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