Are you looking for the best hotels near Disneyland for families? For us, the best family hotels are the ones that make our tadpoles hoppy too. Happy kids make for happy parents. Amenities such as extra sleeping space, bunkbeds, a sport court or play area, splash pads, waterslides, a kitchenette or free breakfast go a long way to adding fun to your stay, saving money (more reasons to be happy) and making us feel comfortable away from home. Here are some of our favorite kid-friendly family hotels near Disneyland.
These are hotels that are within walking distance from the theme parks or one of the parking lots with shuttles. This will save you $35 on parking. Plus, if you have a stroller, it's much easier to walk than to remove your child and belongings from it, fold it up and schlep it all on a bus or tram (especially at the end of the night when you have added souvenirs, sticky lollipops, balloons and sleeping kids to the mix). So, we ideally look for kid-friendly hotels within walking distance to the parks.
For families with older kids, the hotels near the Toy Story lot and convention center work well. You can hop on the free bus to the parks from the Toy Story lot, and before noon, you can even go through security before hopping on the bus to bypass the security lines near the park.
The Best Hotels Near Disneyland for Families
Disneyland is a much smaller property than Disney World, which means there are many hotels right outside the parks. Some of them are just as close a walk as some on-site hotels. You do leave the Disney bubble, which means crossing busy intersections and being aware of your surroundings, but we've felt safe walking to our hotels as we are usually around many other Disney park-goers. Some of the sidewalks have a buffer between them and the traffic. That's why you'll see us mentioning hotels that have an interior hallway. Those hotels require a room key to get into the hotel at night to give that extra layer of protection.
Staying outside the bubble also means you can save money on your room. You'll pass stores to pick up drinks, snacks and sundries on your way to and from the parks. There are a lot more restaurants to try. Some of these hotels offer fun amenities for tadpoles. Of course, no matter where you stay, there are a ton of places to dine and shop in Downtown Disney.
Marriott Courtyard
The Courtyard Marriott is a longtime family favorite within walking distance of Disneyland. It's located across the street and down a block. The oversized room sleeps six comfortably, with two queen beds and a set of bunk beds. The hallways are inside the building.
If you have several little tadpoles, they can bunk up together (Sleepover! Fun!). The bathroom works well for a group, with one large open sink and a mirror area with two separate doors. One leads to a shower and toilet, and the other leads to a bathtub and toilet. Plus, the kid-friendly waterslides, pool and splash pad area are great for the tadpoles.
Ask for a room with a view of the fireworks to add some extra sparkle to your visit.
Howard Johnson
This popular location is just across the street from the Courtyard Marriott (and across from The Matterhorn at Disneyland). It is about a 10-minute walk to Disneyland parks. It also offers some fireworks views. Tadpoles love the on-site pirate water playground. Here's a look at the pools and fun:
- Castaway Cove — a water playground featuring slides, water cannons and a pirate ship
- Speedy's Playground — splash fountains and toddler pool with beach-style entry
- Whirlpool
- Garden Pool — secluded swimming pool surrounded by gardens and trees
- Game Room
The buildings offer interior hallways. Some of the rooms have been recently refurbished (with a mid-century retro look) and some have not. Buildings 1 and 2 have been renovated. There are a few themed rooms. You can book a two-bedroom, two-bath pirate-themed suite that sleeps up to eight people. All rooms come with a rubber duck!
Westin Anaheim
The Westin is a higher-budget choice for families who want a more luxurious stay. A lot comes with the price tag. This is one of the few luxury hotels in the Anaheim area. It’s a large property with a beautiful pool area. The rooms are stunning with high-quality pillows and beds. The Westin is directly across the street from Disney California Adventure and offers views of Cars Land and Pixar Pier. It is about a 15- to 20-minute walk to the main gates or Downtown Disney. There is a delicious restaurant in the lobby, a full gym and a coffee shop right outside the main doors. The RISE Rooftop Lounge has a fireworks view.
Another higher-end choice in the area (near Clementine and Katella) is the JW Marriott. If you also want to visit the beach, it has a shuttle (for a charge)! The hotel has four restaurants and room service (during limited hours). You can walk to Disneyland or hop over to the Toy Story lot to take the free bus.
Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center
Also, on Clementine, the Element is a very popular spot to stay, especially if you have a bigger family or party. Most of the rooms come with two queen beds, a double pull-out bed and bunk beds. Plus, the layout breaks up the space for privacy. When you walk in, you enter a sitting area with a couch, TV and bunks. Along the wall is a partial kitchen with dishes. The bathroom is located in the middle and the other side has another TV and two queen beds. The Element also offers suites with closed rooms and an even bigger kitchen.
This hotel is a newer build, so the design and feel are new and fresh. The Element has a delicious breakfast included with tons of options (including gluten-free items) and a large dining area. All the amazing amenities make the 12-15 minute walk to the park gates feel worth it. There is a pretty outdoor patio space with a small pool available as well. You'll walk along Disney Way to get to the parks.
Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort
This place is a screamin' deal when you book through Undercover Tourist. We've saved hundreds of dollars per night on stays here and were really happy with it. For a runDisney weekend, we paid $185 per night through Undercover Tourist, but to book through Marriott, the same room and night would be $719! Yes, we do feel smug sitting by the pool next to someone who paid $534 more than us for their identical room. This hotel is within walking distance of Disneyland or the Toy Story Lot. It's also conveniently close to shops and restaurants to grab coffee, drinks, snacks and sunscreen. Rooms open to an interior hallway for safety.
While the rooms are not large, they have recently been updated and have tables and balconies. The pool area is surrounded by palm trees and is quite relaxing (you can order food and drinks there). Plus, the pool area offers some lawn games for family playtime.
Ask for a pool-facing room for the vacation-vibe views. There is a decent gym for the parents. We use it to stretch and roll out before and after our races or theme park visits.
Homewood Suites By Hilton Anaheim Convention Center
Just a little further south on Harbor Blvd. from the Sheraton and across the street is this gem. We love a lot about this hotel near the Toy Story parking lot. It's an all-suites hotel. The larger family suites have bunk beds (ribbit!) and a sofa bed, so you can spread out a bit when sleeping. The daily buffet breakfast saves on meal costs. Plus, you can fill up on small plates and wine at the complimentary evening social on select Monday through Thursday nights. The hotel has guest laundry facilities (because spit-up happens), a gym and grills outside in case you want to BBQ.
Suites feature fully-equipped kitchens, also helping to save on food costs. With a pool, kiddie pool, arcade, game room, putting green and basketball court, this is a good hotel for families who have a lot of energy. We like to stay at this hotel for trips with extended family because there are so many fun places to hang out together, and it suits everyone's budget.
This location is about a 10-minute walk from Disneyland. What we like is that it does not require crossing any major traffic intersections to get to Disneyland as it's on the same side of the street. It has a variety of rooms that work for larger families, including a two-bedroom suite, suites with bunk beds and suites with kitchens. It's conveniently located on the corner of Harbor and Katella, with shops and restaurants nearby. Save money with the daily free breakfast!
Get your bottled water and snacks at the drugstores on the corners to save money compared to buying in the park. This hotel is also a short walk from Anaheim Garden Walk. It does have a strict one-car-per-room parking limit.
We stayed there and have a whole post on this location if you want to learn more. It's a budget-friendly location that we definitely consider a great kid-friendly hotel near Disneyland for people on a budget without feeling like you're on a budget.
You'll find a kid area in the lobby and a scavenger hunt. The rooms open to interior hallways, a buffer from the outside that always makes us feel safer. It does have a pool, but it's certainly not as exciting as the hotels with splash pads and water slides.
Great Wolf Lodge Anaheim/Garden Grove
It's time to put your wolf ears on (you'll get them at check-in). This hotel is a little farther down Harbor Blvd. from Disneyland but is still just a short drive away. Plus, it has free parking! This hotel is all about families. It's a destination in itself, so it's a great place to stay if you like to take a break in between park days! With over 600 suites, you can get a room that houses up to eight people.
The tadpoles won’t want to leave this hotel. There are several kid-friendly restaurants. It's a great place to celebrate a tadpole's birthday.
It has a mostly indoor water park, arcade, bowling alley, mini golf, MagiQuest adventure, laser maze and more. The water park has 14 waterslides, four pools, a lazy river, multi-level water forts and more. You can meet characters here as well!
Cambria Hotel Anaheim Resort Area
This hotel is located just off the 5 Freeway, so it's a farther walk to Disneyland, but you can take a bus there. It's located near Starbucks and restaurants. It has waterslides in its 30,000-square-foot water park as well as a putting green, basketball court, outdoor movie wall and BBQ area. Some of the suites have bunk beds and a larger refrigerator. You can save money in the morning with the free hot breakfast.
Disneyland Resort Hotels
Disneyland Resort has three on-site hotels. They keep you in the Disney bubble and off the streets of Anaheim if that's a concern for you. All of them are kid-friendly, but the most kid-friendly of them are Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel. All three offer larger suites with bedrooms if you need to spread out. Disneyland Hotel has a new DVC Tower with Villas that anyone can book (and we have discounts!). Read up on the new Disneyland DVC Villas to see the types of rooms and decide if this is the right place for you to stay. The Disneyland Villas have all the comforts of home, including full kitchens and a washer and dryer.
The hotels take turns hosting Disney movie nights for hotel guests. All three have water slides. Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel have themed splash pads for the smallest tadpoles.
The on-site hotels are generally going to cost more than the other hotels outside of Disney. But they do immerse you in the Disney magic and come with great service and amenities. Read up on the benefits of staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel (including getting to enter a theme park 30 minutes early without the crowds). Plus, Disneyland Resort beds are so comfortable that we bought the Disney mattress for our own home because we always sleep so well on-site!
Many rooms have a couch that converts to a comfy bed, making those rooms perfect for a family of five.
Disneyland Hotel and Disneyland Villas
Disneyland Hotel has Goofy's Kitchen for character dining and the best hotel pool (with two shallow splash areas and a Monorail-themed waterslide. This nostalgic hotel offers a lot of Disneyland Magic. Plus, you can get Dole Whip at Tangaroa Terrace or fun tropical drinks there or at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar for adults. This hotel gives tropical vacation vibes with the palm trees.
Speaking of going to bed, our tadpoles love the light-up headboards that play music at the Disneyland Hotel. It's always fun to take the Monorail from Downtown Disney into Disneyland Park in the morning.
Pixar Place is nice and compact. We appreciate that smaller footprint after hopping about theme parks all day.
You might run into Bing Bong in the lobby or Joe Gardner from "Soul" playing piano, and there's a ton of fun to be had.
Let the kids play in the Pixar Shorts Court, sit around a fire pit and let the littles splash in the Finding Nemo Splash Pad. In the lobby area, let the kids search for hidden Pixar characters on the floor or play with color shapes at the indoor play area.
Just hop across the street to use the dedicated entrance to Disney California Adventure in the morning and use that close exit to get back later in the day.
If you choose a room with a theme park view, you can watch World of Color from your room in your PJs before bed. You can get the music played on your TV! Find out more in our guide to the Pixar Place Hotel.
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
The Grand Californian is also kid-friendly, but it has the sophisticated and more mellow vibe of a mountain retreat. It also offers character dining. If you have louder, busier kids, the other on-site hotels are going to be the place where you feel relaxed and fit in better when the kids let loose in the pool. We love cozying up to the fire in the Great Hall. The Great Hall does get seasonal treats for sale and sometimes characters or seasonal decor.
It's a huge hotel with long hallways. Choose this hotel if you are a family that wants luxury and a convenient hotel entrance right into Disney California Adventure Park. Read more in our guide to Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Do you have any favorite kid-friendly hotels near Disneyland? Let us know in the comments below the best hotels for families near Disneyland that you like to visit. You can save some green when you book hotels near Disneyland or at Disneyland Resort through your favorite froggy friends. Just choose Los Angeles and narrow down your search criteria on the left. We also book hotel rooms near Universal Studios Hollywood.
Related: Best Los Angeles and Anaheim Hotels for Large Families
Related: The Downtown Disney Restaurants and What's Opening Soon!
Hoppy planning!
