Should You Stay at the Disneyland Hotel?

Disneyland Hotel photo credit to Disney

I recently stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and had a blast. However, staying at this fantastic hotel by the Disneyland Park may not be for everyone. In this guide, I’m going to cover the pros and cons of staying at the Disneyland Hotel, and when you might want to do it, and when you might not want to.

Pro: stay inside the magic

The biggest pro of staying at the Disneyland Hotel has to be the fact that you never have to leave the Disney magic. Unlike every other hotel off property (Disneyland Hotel and a few others are considered on-property), when you stay at the Disneyland Hotel you never really feel like you leave the Disneyland magic.

The hotel is entirely Disneyland themed with miniature scale models of rides and Disney-theming everywhere (including fireworks on display above the bed in the rooms that light up and sing to you), helping you maintain the Disney magic no matter where you go on the grounds.

Before the trip, I actually was a little nervous about this. What if it was a little too much? Maybe those midday trips back to the hotel room to sit or in the evening help you recharge away from it all.

Well, I had nothing to worry about. The hotel is far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the Parks that you certainly get a break while there, but it’s not accompanied by the hassle of crossing streets, taking shuttles, or driving/parking.

You get to be pretty anonymous while staying at the hotel – unlike in the parks there’s not lines or things like that so you’re able to really relax conveniently close to the park.

Plus, the pool is pretty awesome and also themed with Disney – including a Steamboat Willie splash pad for kids!

Con: expense

You can’t do a pro and cons list of staying at the Disneyland Hotel without mentioning the price. Staying at the Disneyland Hotel is certainly more expensive than other budget options. And that added expense might or might not make sense depending on who you are, how you feel about Disneyland, and even how often you go. Let’s break this section down a bit more because the expense of staying at the hotel is likely to be the main barrier for most people interested in staying at the hotel.

How much more expensive is it to stay at the Disneyland Hotel?

How much it costs to stay at the Disneyland Hotel varies drastically on when you go. I was able to get a nightly rate that was not a ton more than what I would pay at my usual hotel option. However, no matter what deal you get, almost always it will be cheaper to stay somewhere else.

So the big question is: is the increased expense worth it? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

How often do you go to Disneyland?

Is this your once in a lifetime trip? Do you go yearly? Do you go several times a year?

On the one hand, if you go to Disneyland often, staying at more budget-friendly hotels will add up to a lot of savings. However, ironically it may also make more sense to stay at the Disneyland Hotel if you go frequently. Chances are, if you don’t go to Disneyland very often, you’re going to want to soak up every minute you can in the park.

The Disneyland Hotel has a lot to offer but taking advantage of the pool, dining and even enjoying the rooms themselves means taking time away from the park. If you go to the park relatively often, you might enjoy the change of pace and having somewhere nearby the park to enjoy.

If you don’t go to Disneyland often, the opportunity cost of enjoying the hotel might not be worth it because that’s valuable time taken away from the park.

Last but not least, for some who may only go to Disneyland a few times in their lives, staying at a really nice hotel like the Disneyland Hotel while at the park might be the icing on the cake for their trip.

Consider the expense of the hotel and how much time you plan to spend there when deciding where to stay on your next Disneyland trip.

Pro: it’s in walking distance to the park

Being able to walk everywhere and not having to deal with transit or driving is one of my favorite reasons to go to Disneyland. For this reason, staying within walking distance of the park is certainly a massive pro for staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Additionally, the monorail is even closer to the Disneyland Hotel than the park, meaning you can easily take it into the park and cut down travel time further.

Con: it’s not as close to the park as you think

One thing that you might not expect about the Disneyland Hotel is that it’s actually not all that close to the main park entrance. Although it is certainly close to the monorail making that a convenient option for people entering the park, some hotels on Harbor are actually located physically closer to the park entrance, despite being across the street.

If your idea of being in the Disneyland Hotel is that you can wake up, walk out the front door and enter Disneyland via the main gate, think again. You will still be walking albeit not as far as other hotels to get to the entrace.

Pro: early entry to the park

Last but not least, staying in the Disneyland Hotel grants you access to an incredible perk which is early access to the Disneyland parks. These alternate based on the day between California Adventure and Disneyland, but either way having the park to yourself is a really exciting opportunity. That being said, it might not be as exciting as you think…

Con: early entry isn’t as great as you’d think

People waiting to get into the park from the early entry viewpoint.

Ironically, the advantage of early entry isn’t so much that there’s nobody else in the park as it is that you get to be in the park during the less busy time for longer. Disneyland pros know that early mornings in the park is usually the least busy time of day. For this reason, many people line up at the rope (called rope drop) waiting to get access to the park.

I was super excited to take advantage of early entry but honestly I was slightly underwhelmed by it. Because early entry is limited to only a few lands (Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land) the popular rides in those lands like Peter Pan still have pretty long lines comparable to the lines you get shortly after rope drop.

As awesome as early entry into the park is (and it certainly makes you feel like a Disney VIP), early entry alone is not worth staying at the Disneyland Hotel. You have to be excited about the other pros on this list and see early entry as an added benefit.

Should you stay at the Disneyland Hotel? Yes!

I would say if money isn’t an issue and you can swing it, I would recommend staying at the Disneyland Hotel at least sometime in your life. You certainly don’t have to do it every trip and there are other hotels just as close in walking distance. But living within the magic, taking advantage of the pools, and experiencing early access to the parks is all really exciting and I highly recommend it to anyone who really loves the Disneyland experience.