Overview
Where should you stay on your Disneyland trip? Here we cover hotel options for different budgets and how we think about it. Our recommendations are based on our own experiences. We have not stayed at every hotel near Disneyland, but we have tried many over the years.
This decision has a huge impact on your budget and the quality of your trip. Seasonal hotel rates vary significantly and this can impact your hotel decision. Summer, Spring Break, and Christmas Holidays are the most expensive. If there is a large convention in Anaheim, then hotels are more expensive. Large conventions can happen throughout the year.
Use a Travel Agent – They are Free!
Travel Agents that specialize in Disneyland can be very helpful with hotel advice and more. Disney and the local hotels pay them a commission so they are FREE to you! They are trained by Disney so they are excellent helpers. We DO NOT recommend booking a travel package through the Disneyland Website. You will not get the same level of trip support if you do that. It’s the same price to book through an expert travel agent as it is through the Disney website. It can even be cheaper depending on where you stay.
Maybe you think you can get a better rate direct from the hotel. You probably can’t – seriously they get good deals. Always check of course. We have and we found that it was the same price or cheaper to use a travel agent.
A lot of Disney-qualified travel agents focus on Disney World and don’t know as much about Disneyland. We can recommend Just Off Harbor – they are Disneyland experts. We have planned several trips using them and they’ve been wonderful and completely free of charge. We are not affiliated with them in any way and get no commissions to recommend them. We recommend them because of our own wonderful experiences with them.
If you have a budget range, the Just Off Harbor team can give you pros and cons of different choices. They can often get discounts on non-Disney hotels that aren’t offered if you book yourself. For Disney hotels, you pay the same price if you use them or if you book on Disney’s website. Use them! They offer trip planning advice and support.
Bottom Line – most people should use a Disneyland expert travel agent. There are more benefits than we mention here. See our full article on Why You Should Use a Travel Agent for Disneyland.
Below are the Main Criteria we use to choose hotels:
- Proximity to the Parks
- Value for the price point
- Quiet
There are other criteria to consider. The three above are the most important to us.
Proximity to the Parks
This is the most important factor to us. We prefer to stay in hotels that are within a 10-15 minute walk to the security entrance.
There are close hotel options for different budgets. We always take an afternoon break at the hotel to recharge before going back into the Parks at night. A short walk makes all the difference.
At the end of a long day, we want a short walk. It’s such a relief to be close. Getting on a shuttle or doing a 20 minute walk takes more energy when we are so tired.
You can take a shuttle from many hotels. We have not found an option here that we like. We decided years ago to stay away from shuttle rides to get to Disneyland, so we don’t have much recent experience with it.
Rideshare is a good option to get to and from the Parks if you stay farther away. We recommend you don’t try to get picked up at the designated rideshare pickup location. It’s way too crowded there. We walk across the street to another restaurant or hotel to get picked up for rideshare.
Value for the Price Point
There are price point options and they key here is to get the best value for your budget.
The Disney hotels are the most expensive and provide the best experience. We stay at these hotels often. We love them but they don’t fit everyone’s budget.
The closest hotels are on S Harbor Blvd. across the street from the Disneyland entrance. Most of properties are older, but many have been remodeled. They are expensive for their quality level because they are close to Disneyland. If we don’t stay at the Disneyland hotels, then we stay here.
There are many hotel options on S Harbor Blvd for different budgets.
Quiet Hotels
There are noisy roads all around Disneyland. Many hotels are motel-style where doors and windows face parking lots and outdoor walkways. We consider noise proximity when choosing a hotel.
Quick List of Our Favorite Hotels
Our Top Hotel Picks are below. Click each hotel name for more information on that hotel.
The three Disney hotels are the best and our top choice. They are all 4-star hotels. They do offer discounts at different times of the year. The starting price points below are approximate and are the cheapest we’ve seen them (includes tax). The prices can go much higher.
- Grand Californian Hotel ($600 and up)
- Disneyland Hotel ($450 and up)
- Pixar Place Hotel ($450 and up)
The hotels on or near S. Harbor Blvd. that are within a 6-15-minute walk of Disneyland are our second choice if we don’t stay at Disney hotel. There are plenty of hotels to choose from here. Below are our favorites.
- Top pick overall – Candy Cane Inn ($300 and up). About a 10 minute walk.
- Top pick for families – Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance Hotel ($375 and up). About a 8 minute walk.
- Top budget pick – Anaheim Hotel ($200 and up). About a 8 minute walk.
- Special mention: Best Western Plus Anaheim ($300 and up). About a 6 minute walk.
There are a few hotels we enjoyed that are a longer walk away.
These are our favorites. There are so many other hotel options.
