If you’re planning a family trip to Disneyland and are looking for a luxurious, fancy hotel… click out of this post.
While I do enjoy lux hotels, we always stay at a budget hotel (2- or 3-star) when we visit Disneyland. Why? Because we use it as a place to sleep at night (plus midday naps!) – and that’s it.
In fact, we’ve pondered staying at ‘nicer’ hotels or even some of the Disney hotels, but we always decide it wouldn’t be a good use of our hard-earned cash.
Who are we? We’re a family of 5, including 3 kids (ages 4, 7, 11). We go to Disneyland and California Adventure every summer as a multi-generational group:
- 3 adults (me and my parents)
- 3 kids
Are you a Disney fan? You’ll want to check out
13 Disneyland Tips for Your 1st (or 13th!) Visit
Our Disneyland (& California Adventure) Basic Routine
Budget Hotels for Your Disneyland Trip
How to Daytrip to Huntington Beach from Disneyland
Tokyo DisneySea with Kids
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What We Look For in a Hotel for a Disneyland Vacation
This is what we look for. Your priorities may be totally different, or they may overlap some with ours.
Value for Money
This is a big one for our family. We really want to stay in a hotel that’s got most or all of the characteristics below, and at a competitive rate. We’re not interested in a fancy hotel with all the bells and whistles.
Regarding price, it’s all relative… so it’s hard to give an exact number here. Rates go up and down depending on the time of year, the room type. To give you an idea, we spent just over $1100 last summer (2025) for a 2-room hotel room for the 6 of us (3 queen beds).
Walkable to Disneyland
We like being able to walk to and from Disneyland/CA Adventure in the morning and evening. And, we also come back to the room midday to nap/rest/avoid the heat (we visit in the summer).
Free hotel shuttles would also work in this case.
If you’re wondering why we don’t take taxis or Ubers back and forth… we could, but we often end up in smaller groups and do a lot of back and forth, which would add up. We’re already spending a lot to get to Disneyland and enter the parks, so I try to keep the other expenses low.
2 Separate Bedrooms
My parents will tell you that having a separate bedroom and being able to shut the door helps them maintain their sanity. So, this is a must for us on our Disneyland trips. We stay for 5 nights, but if you’re making a shorter trip, I could see how this wouldn’t be as important.
Another option would be to get 2 separate rooms, but that usually brings the cost up.
Swimming Pool
Yes, we’re at Disneyland and California Adventure to spend time at the parks, but after years of visits, I can tell you we love having a pool at the hotel! It’s perfect for midday dips to cool off (for kids and adults), and we also like to go for a swim the day we arrive.
Dining Options Nearby
We often visit Disneyland without a car, so it’s important for us to be able to walk to restaurants, convenience stores, and if possible, even grocery stores. Our dining routine includes a combination of going out to eat, getting takeaway, eating inside the parks, and making our own meals with grocery store ingredients.
Parking Available
This depends on if we’re driving or flying (we do both). If we’re driving, we look for a hotel that has parking available, that’s included in the rate, and that has enough parking that we’re guaranteed spot for the entirety of our stay (not a given at all hotels).
Breakfast Included
While not having breakfast at the hotel isn’t a dealbreaker, I really do like it when we can eat at the hotel before heading to the parks. It’s easier for everyone and I prefer it. But, it’s not always an option. If we don’t have breakfast at the hotel, I try to make sure we have a mini fridge and hopefully a microwave. That way we can get to the grocery store and stock up on yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, etc).
Budget Hotels Near Disneyland That We’ve Stayed At
We have stayed at each of these hotels, often more than once.
Alpine Inn
This has been our go-to for our last few trips to Disneyland.
What we love about the Alpine Inn:
- 15-minute walk to the security lines for the parks (just outside the entrance), .7 miles
- Friendly, helpful staff (before and during the trip)
- Swimming pool
- 2-br hotel room options
- Plenty of restaurant options within walking distance
- Refrigerator and microwave in room
- Great value for money
- Parking available in front of rooms
Why the Alpine Inn may not be for you:
- No breakfast
- Rooms are basic and small, without much space to unpack and ‘spread out’
- Some rooms are upstairs and need to be accessed by stairs (a pain if you’ve got a stroller)
Helpful Tip: Reserve one of the 2-br rooms as soon as possible, as there are on a couple of them.
Good To Know: If you want to grocery shop, the best option we’ve found nearby is Target. If you don’t have a car, it’s walkable (bring your stroller). You can also ask your airport driver to drop part of your group off at Target after leaving most of the group at the Alpine Inn.
Alpine Inn -> more info and rates.
Castle Inn
We’ve stayed at the Castle Inn a couple of times and have enjoyed our stays. We haven’t used them lately because we feel it’s really similar to the Alpine Inn and the Alpine Inn has given us a better rate.
What we love about the Castle Inn:
Why the Castle Inn may not be for you:
Castle Inn -> more info and rates.
Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn
We’ve stayed here but haven’t lately as the prices have crept up.
What we love about the Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn:
- You can walk to get to the parks’ entrances (25 minutes, 1 mile), and the walk goes through Downtown Disney. You can also take the public bus (but I don’t have experience with it, as we chose to walk).
- Hot, buffet breakfast available, and we always saw it refilled. Plenty on offer, including eggs/potatoes/bacon, cereal, yogurt, bananas.
- 2 swimming pools and hot tubs
- Parking available
- Restaurants, convenience stores, and pharmacies nearby
- Rooms sleep up to four people, and the hotel has connecting/adjoining rooms
Why the Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn may not be for you:
- It’s a 25-minute walk to get to the parks’ entrances – which may be too long for your family, especially if you plan to walk back for a lunchtime break.
- Breakfast is busy
Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn -> more info and rates.
Other Hotels I Have Considered (& We May Use in the Future)
Park Vue Inn – Right across the street (less than 5-minute walk to the security lines); you can watch the fireworks from the roof; no breakfast; rooms recently renovated; they have multiple rooms that sleep up to 6 people; pool and hot tub; parking available; close to food options
Park Vue Inn -> more info and rates.
Candy Cane Inn – 10-minute walk (1/2 mile) to the security lines to enter Disneyland and CA Adventure; or you can take the hotel’s free shuttle trolley (goes every hour); plentiful hot/cold breakfast; parking available; swimming pool and hot tub; adjoining rooms available; close to food options; priciest option on our list so I won’t book unless we can get a great deal
Candy Cane Inn -> more info and rates.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites – 12-minute walk to the security lines; hot breakfast; pool and hot tub; rooms here have more space than the other rooms we stay in; parking available; connecting rooms available; hotel backs up to freeway and the front desk won’t agree to a request to not be in that part of the hotel
Holiday Inn Express & Suites -> more info and rates.
Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites – Next to the Park Vue Inn and also less than 5-minutes away from the security gates on foot; indoor swimming pool and hot tub; can see the fireworks from the roof; continental breakfast; excellent choice for big groups as they have rooms that take up to 10 people; parking available; food options nearby
Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites -> more info and rates.
I hope this helps you find the perfect hotel for your family that’s in your budget. Maybe we’ll see you there!
