I will write a post (or three) solely on Disneyland, don't you worry! This post is just on Anaheim hotels so it doesn't get lost in the Disneyland buzz.
Rough Driving times from Anaheim
To LAX (Los Angeles airport) is approx 45 mins to 1hr.
Las Vegas is approx 4hr 10 mins
San Diego is approx 1hr 43 mins
The Travel Concierge tip: The traffic on the LA freeways is unpredictable. Depending on peak hours, traffic accidents or on days ending in "y" the traffic can be bumper to bumper. Allow PLENTY of time if you are heading to the airport or have a booking. TSA (security) at any airports these days is very time-consuming, but a few places like LAX are even worse so allow more than the usual hour to be at the airport before a domestic flight.
There are two types of accommodation choices at Anaheim- Disney Resort hotels and Good Neighbour hotels.
Disney Resort Hotels
The original hotel was the Disneyland Hotel. It is past both theme parks and Downtown Disney- the opposite side to where most of the Good Neighbour hotels are. It has Goofy's Kitchen inside. (A character meal restaurant.) For those who want to stay at the hotel that Walt Disney put in place, this is it! The website with cost is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The light up sleeping castle bed headboards, Goofy's Kitchen and the pool area.
Pacific Pier was a chain hotel that Disney brought out during one of their many expansions. It is the most basic of the three resort hotels but still has the perks of staying in a Disney Resort hotel. It also has a character meal restaurant (Surf's up)here based around a beach theme. The website with costs is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The rooftop pool area and the view of the fireworks with the synchronised music piped in on the third-floor pool deck.
The Grand Californian is the flagship hotel of Disneyland Resort, It has its own entrance into California Adventure. It is the most expensive of the three hotels. Why we stay here is because the rooms are larger and they fit 5 in the room with a queen bed and a bunk/ trundle bed configuration. We also love the foyer area with the HUGE fireplace, groupings of chairs and rocking chairs. We have stayed here a number of times, and the two Christmases we stayed here were extra special with the multi-storey Christmas tree and the visits from the Big man in red himself coming to pose for photos in front of the tree. The atmosphere year round is great and worth every penny. The Storyteller's Cafe is a great Chip and Dale-themed breakfast. At night, it is not a character meal, but the buffet and a la carte options are great. The website with costs is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The foyer area, the large rooms, Storytellers Cafe, the great pool and slide area and the private entrance to California Adventure.
Why do we enjoy staying at a Disney Resort?
Disney Resort hotel guests get the following perks;
1. Early entry to one of the theme parks every day of your stay. You get in one hour before the general public.
2. A private entrance to California Adventure
3. Access to be able to charge at all theme parks and Disney Resort hotels using your room key and to be able to have purchases made in the theme parks delivered to your hotel.
4. Close access to the parks and Downtown Disney.
5. Access to free activities run in the hotels.
Good Neighbour Resort Hotels
Disney has very high standards, so any hotel that is a part of the Good Neighbours hotels have to meet those standards. To be honest, most of the hotels are pretty much the same. You just need to decide on the following when choosing one of them
1. Is it just going to be a bed for you OR do you plan on spending a lot of time at your hotel?
2. Are you going in a season where you might use the pool? Will you be paying extra for a themed pool you won't use?
3. How long a walk do you want to have after being at the theme park all day OR how long do you want to have to wait at the end of the day with every other guest from your hotel to get on a shuttle bus or miss out on room and have to get the next one?
4. Will you have a car? What do they charge for you to have your car parked at the hotel? This has been a really big thing in the last 10 years. Before then most places parking was within the cost, now some hotels charge a large amount for you to have your car sitting in their lot while you theme park it.
5. Do you have points you can use at one of the hotels?
Personally, in Anaheim,we have never stayed at a hotel that we need to get a shuttle to. We prefer to just walk home when we are ready. At Disneyland, we get up first thing in the morning and are hard at it until night. Our children theme parked till they dropped. We took our own stroller for comfort and when they were babies, we made sure they were used to sleeping in it so we could just keep going and do a 'baby swap' on rides so one of us could keep riding while the other rode and then not have to line up again. Some of you will be able to do this. You need to think about if your child/ren won't sleep anywhere else other than a bed in a quiet room, and need a day sleep, how you will manage this while still getting value for your Disney buck! Likewise, think about whether if you are paying for extra perks and activities whether you will really use them or whether you are better to book one of the hotels that will cost less and have fewer perks if you are not going to use them.
A starting point for Good Neighbour hotels is found on the Disneyland website here. Look to get an idea and then if you want, you can start trying to get the cost lower yourself.
Booking Disneyland tickets/ hotel/ packages
I book all my own flights and accommodation and have done for over 15 years. When it comes to Disney, though, I book through a Disney travel agent that charges no commission. which means more money in my pocket! Contact me here and I can give you her details. The perks of booking through her are that you get a lanyard and free pin (Disney Badge) for Disneyland and luggage tags for Disneyworld. The other amazing perk is that after you book if there are specials that go on sale after you have booked, she applies them to your booking!
The Travel Concierge tip:
If you are booking a good neighbour hotel on your own, get your best price and then go to the hotel website and contact the hotel directly to see if they have a manager's special that beats your lowest price. 99% of the time I will make a saving. It may be only $10 a night or $50 depending on the hotel.
Hotel Card keys
It is easy to look at the little plastic card and not be too concerned about it, but your hotel card key has all the details that you have given for your booking- this can include your name, address, and credit card number with expiry. It also unlocks your room which has all your belongings in it. Many places now allow you to charge things to the card, so it is essentially an extra credit card. If you lose it, let the hotel staff know immediately and ask them to cancel that card. At the end of the stay, I never give back the card. I always tell them that I collect them, so can I keep it and have never been denied. Even though they might wipe the card, as you know you can’t truly delete information, so I don’t want anybody else having access to my private information, especially when I am overseas not looking as closely to my banking statements. I do actually collect them. They make a great conversation piece when guests see them inside my glass table.
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