Disneyland Hotel or Some Other Anaheim Hotel?

I've gotten a few private emails lately with questions about hotels. That certainly is one of the biggest issues if you are visiting Disneyland and don't live close by. I don't think that I have made it any secret that my family by far prefers to stay at one of the resort hotels. We've stayed at both Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotel, and were not disappointed with either. We were downright thrilled after having moved mid-vacation from a noisy off-site motel. Our budget has not allowed us to stay at the Grand Californian, yet, but sometime we will stay there, and I am certain it will be wonderful. I get goosebumps just walking through the lobby! ( I have heard some folks say they do not feel it is worth the price, even though it is nice. Others feel it is worth it. This is totally going to be a personal preference thing for most.)

Maybe I will save comparisons of Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotel for another post. Yes, I will do that.

Why am I so passionate about staying at the resort? For the experience. I love being totally immersed in all Disney all the time. I love not needing to walk out onto the busy streets of the real world, or taking a shuttle to our hotel on those same busy streets. In the hotels, I get Disney staff, and hopefully, Disney service. Off-site - I had trouble getting someone to open a lobby door with which I was obviously struggling. It is so nice to not have to drive or hassle with a bus or shuttle schedules. I love walking to and from Disneyland to our hotel whenever it suits us.

Staying at the resort is wonderful, but I realize there is a drawback: the money factor. Staying on the resort will cost you more. It could cost so much more it could be the difference between going to Disneyland and not going. For us, we've decided the sacrifice is worth it and will only go when we can afford to stay on the resort. To us, it has become that big of a deal. We had years it wasn't - before kids, and before we'd tried it. Once we tried it though - there's just no going back to our old ways. Nothing against the many other good-to-great places to stay in Anaheim. There are wonderful hotels out there, with great staff and excellent amenities. They aren't Disney though. Enough said.