Where to Stay Near Disneyland, Anaheim

When researching for places to stay at Disneyland I was confronted with two issues. One was cost and the other location.

Previously we had stayed at the Anabella. It was a lovely hotel with a promising walk of about 10 minutes to the park entrance. Which is great for two adults, but then the park entrance is like another 10 minutes to the actual gates, if not more.

So while I had that place in the back of my mind I started looking for other places to stay. (Note: Agoda had Annabella cheaper then the hotel itself). The Disney hotels look great, but they also come with a very hefty price tag that we just couldn’t justify when spending all day at the park.

Finally I had settled on Tropicana, which is opposite the entrance. While reading the reviews, I discovered the breakfast was more of a snack amongst a few other problems and someone suggested the Park Vue Inn next door.

It seemed perfect. It was cheaper than any of the others I had seen. It included wifi, breakfast and was across the road from the entrance of Disneyland. Technically it is even closer to Disneyland than the Disney hotels. It was a great location we realised when we got there and again, Agoda was cheaper than the hotel itself. 

The lobby was toasty warm with a fireplace, free apples and drink. We were checked in fairly quickly and made our way to our room. It’s one of those inns that you see in the movies. A walkway on the outside that everyone passes so you have to keep your blinds closed, but other then that served it’s purpose well. Now by cheap I mean still costing $180 per night after the original $146 price has all the ridiculous taxes and resort fees that they charge over here.

Our room had a king bed and a bunk bed – which we paid a little more for. It’s fairly basic, but clean and best yet it really is opposite Disneyland. We walked out of the hotel, crossed the road and straight into Disneyland. At night I could watch the fireworks from my window and the breakfast dining hall was just a few doors down.

Breakfast is average with mostly microwaved eggs and stuff. They did have waffle machines which my husband loved and I was happy with toast. They also offered fruit, yoghurt, choc milk and bagels. It was enough to get us started.

A few doors down was Denny’s, which is super cheap. And also a mini-mart, which is not cheap, but the only place to get nappies that didn’t require a 20 minute drive to a shopping centre!

We spent some time relaxing before calling up one of the many shoe outlet brochures, which offer shuttles to their store. They picked us up within 20 minutes and we are soon browsing the sneakers in search of shoes that will provide comfort and support for the next 3 days of theme park fun.

The promotion of buy-one-get-one-free left us with 4 pairs of brand name sneakers for $120! The kids both have shoes with flashing lights and are over the moon.

As always when travelling the world with only a suitcase if something new goes in, something old comes out and we say goodbye to all our old sneakers… Mine sentimentally were bought in 2007 on our last trip to Disneyland!

When we arrived home there was a lovely gift waiting for us from the Mia hotel. and I were pretty stoked with the present - a mug full of chocolates. All the chocolates went, the mug stayed at the hotel. There is no room for things like that in a travelling families suitcase. 

We tried to get an early night, but had to sleep after 9pm as the fireworks are crazy loud. Finally I drift off into dreamland, tension and anticipation at an all time high. Not because I’m going to Disneyland, no. Because my kids are, and I can’t wait to see the awe and innocence on their faces reflecting every little discovery they will make!