Deciding on a Disneyland resort? Three things to consider

I love staying on-property at Disneyland. For me, it’s part of the fun of the park, the chance to sleep within the Disney universe and have easy walking access to all the attractions. Each of Disneyland’s three resorts—Pixar Place (formerly Paradise Pier), Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa—offers a distinct experience. Here are the three elements I always consider before deciding where to stay. 

Price and Experience

Each of the Disneyland hotels has its own price point. Pixar Place is generally the least expensive, Disneyland Hotel sits in the middle pricewise, and the Grand Californian is the most expensive.

Each hotel brings Disney (and Pixar) magic into the hotel and room design, with touches like concept art headboards and wallpaper featuring familiar characters.

The Pixar-movie-themed Pixar Place is the newest (it opened in 2024 after a rebrand and refresh from its Paradise Pier days) of the hotels. Its rooms are big, comfortable, and cheery, but not geared toward a luxury experience. 

At the Disneyland Hotel, room details like light-up Sleeping Beauty’s Castle headboards dial up delight, and the monorail waterslides in the pool area are a great place to cool off between park visits. The Disneyland Hotel is also home to the new Villas at Disneyland Hotel, geared to Disney Vacation Club members but also available to the general public. 

At the Grand Californian, national park lodge vibes mix with luxe touches for a comfortable and super-central stay (and the rooftop deck is an amazing place to catch the fireworks; the top photo in this story shows the daytime view). 

Distance

Pixar Place is a relaxed 15-minute walk from the gates of Disneyland. Disneyland Hotel is a little more than 10 minutes walking, and is also super close to the monorail, which you can take straight to Tomorrowland with a valid park ticket. The Grand Californian sits between Downtown Disney and California Adventure, with entrances to both directly from the hotel. The Grand Californian is a five-ish minute walk to the Esplanade entrance to Disneyland. 

One thing to note is that you’ll need to go through the security checkpoint to enter Downtown Disney from all three hotels (the same is true if you’re coming from any other entrance). These lines get long first thing in the morning, so you’ll need to budget that into your walk-time to the park. 

Access

The only hotel with a direct entrance into a park is Grand Californian, which has a California Adventure entrance (you’ll get into the park near Grizzly River Run). The monorail (at the Disneyland Hotel end of Downtown Disney) offers easy access to Tomorrowland at Disneyland as long as you have a park ticket. 

All three Disneyland Resort hotels offer early entry (30 minutes before the park opens) on select days. At the time I’m writing this, early entry for hotel guests is available at Disneyland Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; and Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at California Adventure. Check the park calendar before you book to verify early entry is available on your dates. Not every ride is open during these early park hours, but many favorites (like Peter Pan and Space Mountain at Disneyland, and Guardians of the Galaxy and Soarin’ at California Adventure) open bright and early.

Staying at an on-property resort also makes it easy to come and go throughout the day, and to get back to your hotel if you stay for an evening event like parades, fireworks, or the light and water shows.

Wildcard: Staying off resort

Though you don’t get the full immersion experience or the early park hours, there’s a lot to be said for staying at one of Disneyland’s Good Neighbor hotels. Many are just about as close walking as the Disneyland hotels, and there’s a wide variety of price points, including cheaper options at area motels. Another benefit is that if you’re in the rewards programs of a hotel brand like Marriott or Hilton, you can earn or use points for stays.

The Clementine Hotel & Suites earns high praise for its ultra-close location (about the same distance walking as Pixar Place) and roomy suites that can sleep up to eight people. The Westin Anaheim resort is about a 20-minute walk from the park entrance, but it has views right out over California Adventure and great fireworks views from its rooftop bar. And for a peaceful oasis that balances out the frenetic energy of the parks, JW Marriott Anaheim has luxe rooms and a cabana-lined pool area.