Is It Worth Staying at the Disneyland Hotel?

Stay as close as possible with kids that age. The walk is always longer than you think. Close proximity comes in handy if you forget something, need to go back to take a nap (essential with the littles) etc.

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Stay as close as possible with kids that age. The walk is always longer than you think. Close proximity comes in handy if you forget something, need to go back to take a nap (essential with the littles) etc.

it's convenience. I'd stay on the resort.

ETA: when I went to Disneyworld last year? We stayed on the resort. Busses took us to the different parks. We didn't have to pay for parking, wait for Uber, or anything else. IT was secure and it ONLY stopped at Disney resort stops.

The Disney busses have the room for strollers.
The Disney busses know EXACTLY where they are going.
The Disney busses will get you where you want to go.

Stay on the resort.

Yes.

Security. Safety. Easy access.

Disney is high on security and safety. Their properties are good, if not great.
Have you tried "walking across the street" in LA? With other people trying to get to Disney? Yeah. No. Stay on the resort. It will make your life much easier, especially with a 2 year old.

Does staying at Paradise Pier give you "magic morning" access? This is when you get in the park an hour before it opens to the public. If so, it is 100% worth it, in my opinion. Getting on a few key rides before the crowds get there will make a HUGE difference.

I just looked quickly at google maps and the walk from Paradise Pier vs Howard Johnson is about the same distance. The upside of Paradise Pier is that you're by Downtown Disney, so you have more restaurants to choose from, shops, dessert, and entertainment right outside the hotel. When we had season passes, we used to park at Downtown Disney and walk into the park. It was an easy walk, around 10 minutes max, so definitely not bad at all. It's faster to walk from there than to park in the main parking lot and take the tram. You can also sometimes catch the Monorail from Downtown Disney right into the park.

I've never stayed at any hotel around there since we live so close, but my instinct would be to stay at Paradise Pier. The kids will love the experience of being at a Disney-run property.

There's a shuttle to Disneyland if you stay at other types of hotels. We stayed at the Doubletree down the street and loved it. Saved a lot of money compared to the Disney properties and stayed at a very upscale hotel. We even walked it with young kids, before we learned of the shuttle. Not a hassle. It worked out fine for us.

ETA: We had our share of Disney just going to Disneyland and CA Adventure, so we didn't feel we missed out on anything not being in a Disney hotel. We gave Disney enough of our money and frankly, it was good to decompress from all that is Disney when we got to the hotel.

If you don't stay, you will not know the difference.

If you go there and stay on the resort, you may not want to down grade next time.

There are closer motels/inns than the Howard Johnson. The Resort hotels all have nice (expensive) food options inside. The food places near Howard Johnson are IHOP, McDonald and such. I think the Howard Johnson is popular because of their fun water area.

I love the way your survey divides along gender lines! Different priorities!

I've done both (not at Disneyland but at Disney World). As a couple, staying off site and taking the hotel shuttle made tons of sense. With kids (and we went with teens/tweens and also a toddler, then later with the toddler at age 7), we found that "on the property) made the most sense. We could come back after lunch for nap time, and take turns staying with the little guy while the other adult took the older kids off to do something. Sometimes they need to chill out and be in the hotel pool vs. the lines in the park. Then you can go back around dinner time if people have energy. It helped to have a fridge in the hotel room - great for breakfast and snacks.

Friends rented a house with a patio/grill/pool about 2 miles away, and they found they were done with the park by 3, and just wanted to come home and hit the pool/relax/drink wine/cook burgers. They may not have gotten their money's worth on park passes, but it worked for them and the 3 kids.

We also used the Disney babysitting service, with total confidence and delight. We'd come back after lunch, put the little guy down for a nap, and one of us would do something with the 2 older kids. One our 2nd trip, we didn't have the older kids, just the little guy - still used the same sitter. It was fabulous. My husband and I had some adult time and went on rides or to attractions not appropriate for young kids. Sitters are bonded, pass criminal background checks, etc., and are used to dealing with kids in hotels who are far from home.

Take an umbrella stroller if you can - easier than a park rental stroller (which even big kids use) because you will have it on the hotel premises.

With three young kids, it's probably worth it to stay at the resort.

Even at a Disney hotel you have to wait and take Disney buses to the parks. It's just a faster trip. We have gone twice. The first time we got a cheap hotel and spent one day at Disney World. The 2nd time we stayed at The Cabins at Fort Wilderness Lodge. We stayed 6 days and went to a different park each day. The best part was you take a boat into Disney World from the dock. It was so easy and pleasant! The kids loved it. For the other parks we had to take a bus...the wait was never too long. Since we were taking a Disney bus to a disney resort the travel time was much shorter than when we stayed off the whole complex. The other great part was if we were tired we would go back in the afternoon and just chill out at the pool and then do the Chip N Dale roast marshmallows thing in the evening. Our kids loved it so much if we ever go back again we might have to stay at The Cabins again. If you do stay in a hotel that is not a Disney hotel then look on google maps and try to pick the one that is the closest.

I've done both, and my preference is to stay at a Disney resort. At a Disney resort, part of what you pay for is convenience. And to me, it was worth it. Because the hotel staff at Disney resorts actually work for Disney, they were able to help us make the most of our trip. They even helped us with getting last minute character meal tickets.

When we stayed off site, I found that once we left the parks we were less inclined to go back that day. When we stayed at the Disney resort, we went back mid-afternoon for naps and swimming, and then returned to the park later. And because all of the resorts have Disney themes, it just seemed more magical.

I originally answered mistaking that you said "Disney World" instead of "Disney Land". Sorry about that. My experience is in Orlando, and the hotels at Disney World are wonderful.

Although you can get in one hour earlier on some days, I wonder if it is more worth the ~$500 to buy front of line passes instead of staying at that hotel, which you won't spend much time. Many hotels have free shuttle service. The hotel is also a little bit of walk (longer than being right there at the exit), but I do hear it is nice to access the park an hour earlier as well. good luck

If the price difference of the hotels is a concern for you then I definitely think that you (or your husband, if it's an all-dads conversation) might benefit from having a more *detailed* conversation with people you know who say it is not worth the money or who did not stay at the Disney hotels.

Rather than just "worth it - yes or no", talk to them about how they structured their day, navigated transportation, etc.

Plenty of people can tell you that staying at a Disney hotel is easy/magical/etc, but it might be equally nice to save some money to spend on another trip in the future!