Where To Stay Near Disneyland: Top Hotels & Stays For Every Budget

Disneyland is in the sunny city of Anaheim, California. The theme park is full of wonder and magic, attracting travelers from all over the world. But figuring out which area of Anaheim to book a hotel can be tricky, so we’ve found the best places to stay near Disneyland to help! 

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Browse our epic hotels and find out everything you need to know about a trip to Disneyland. We’ve also included lots of other attractions in Anaheim and its neighboring cities, so you never run out of things to do on your holiday!

Best Areas To Stay Near Disneyland

Check out our breakdown of the neighborhoods around Disneyland and browse our awesome hotel choices to find your perfect stay!

The Main Neighborhoods Near Disneyland, Anaheim

Image via Blogpost.com by Henry Parker

1. Downtown Disney District – This fun Disney-themed area outside the main Disneyland Park offers a budget-friendly alternative! There are loads of shops and restaurants, and you can go to live events at Downtown Disney LIVE! Stage. 
2. South Harbor Boulevard – The boulevard cuts through Anaheim and passes directly alongside Disneyland. Go to the nearby shopping mall and sleep on the doorstep of Disneyland!
3. Convention Center – Check out the events at the Convention Center or hop on a shuttle bus straight to Disneyland! We love this area because it’s well-connected and has some of the coolest hotels in Anaheim.

#1 Downtown Disney District

What’s There And Why Visit

The Downtown Disney District is just outside Disneyland’s gates but is very much part of the park.

The beauty of this Downtown Disney is you don’t need to have a park ticket to enter (beyond a security check). This is a great way to see a bit of the magic Disneyland Resort for free!

Expect to find numerous shops, dining areas, and epic entertainment on your visit. There are even live performances and events throughout the day that you can get involved in. For anyone who doesn’t have enough time or the budget to visit Disneyland, this is our favorite area of the city.

Unique to Disneyland in Anaheim is that this is also where you’ll find the Disneyland Monorail station which can take you directly to Tomorrowland in a matter of minutes. Of course, you’ll need to have a ticket to access this but it can save you quite a bit of walking.

If you’re opting for an official Disneyland Resort Hotel, one of the distinct advantages that you get by staying here is Early Park Entry. The exact timing changes throughout the year but in most cases, you get a 30 minute head start at either Disneyland or California Adventure Park from those that are doing rope drop. All you need is your hotel key!

Suggested Hotels Near The Downtown Disney District

We’ve found 4 epic hotels – 3 that are part of the Disneyland Resort itself, and another that is right along West Katella Avenue.

Things To See In The Downtown Disney District

Go shopping – There are loads of cool shops you can wander around in Downtown Disney. Take the kids to the World of Disney, Star Wars Trading Post, LEGO Store or shop at Sephora. 

Pick up some Disney art at the WonderGround Gallery – The gallery has loads of Disney-inspired art that you can take home to remember your trip! It’s a great place to get souvenirs and postcards too. 

Trade your Disney pins at Pin Trading – Hoping to pick up a new Disney pin? Then head to Pin Trading, where you can trade your pins with cast members. There are loads of epic pins on sale, and pin trading is a must while in Downtown Disney. 

Catch some live music at Downtown Disney LIVE! – This cool stage in Downtown Disney has loads of live music and entertainment shows throughout the year that will get you in the mood to boogie. You can check out all their show times at Downtown Disney LIVE!

Getting There

The best thing is that all of the cool attractions and shops in Downtown Disney are within walking distance from one another. You won’t need to worry about wasting your holiday time getting from place to place, so you can relax and enjoy the day instead! All of our hotel options near Downtown Disney are also within walking distance. 

You can also reach it from the other side of Disneyland on the park’s monorail! If you’re traveling from further afield, then you can park your car at the parking lot just north of Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel.

Suggested Activities In The Downtown Disney District

• Booking the Los Angeles All‑Inclusive Pass by Go City grants you digital entry via app to 40+ top LA attractions, including major favorites like Universal Studios Hollywood (check out our one-day itinerary!) and the Warner Bros. Instant mobile delivery means you can skip ticket lines, plan your itinerary on the fly, and start exploring—no vouchers or physical tickets needed.
• Get picked up from Downtown Disney and head out on an epic day trip to Los Angeles! See all the coolest attractions and marvel at the Hollywood sign on this LA sightseeing tour. 
• The Best Beaches Tour from Anaheim gives you a perfect escape from the theme park hustle. Spend a leisurely day exploring three iconic Orange County beaches: stroll Laguna’s cliffside Heisler Park, soak in Newport Harbor and Balboa Fun Zone, and unwind at Huntington Beach with its surf culture and lively Main Street.

#2 South Harbor Boulevard

What’s There And Why Visit

South Harbor Boulevard is a long road that runs right through Anaheim and runs along the side of Disneyland.

Sleeping just across the road from Disneyland along South Harbor Boulevard means that you can be walking distance to the park, saving you on parking.

You’ll also be close enough to all the action that you can even see the Disneyland fireworks!

Suggested Hotels Near South Harbor Boulevard

Things To See Near South Harbor Boulevard

Shop at Anaheim Gardenwalk – Fancy an afternoon away from all the Disneyland-themed attractions? Then check out this shopping mall along South Harbor Boulevard. It’s within walking distance of all our top pick hotels. 

Visit Downtown Disney – You can either walk directly or if you’re in the park, take the Monorail right into one of our favorite areas in Anaheim!

Drive to Huntington Beach – This iconic beach city is outside of Anaheim, but it’s so close it feels like it’s not! Just half an hour’s drive from South Harbor Boulevard, you’ll find yourself in Huntington Beach. Spend the day lazing on the city’s 9.5-mile-long Huntington Beach Pier, which boasts white sand and a gorgeous pier. It’s an especially beautiful spot to watch the sunset.

Getting There

Anaheim Gardenwalk – The shopping mall is within walking distance of all our selected hotels. If you’re visiting from somewhere else in the city then the best option is to drive to the mall and park your car at their on-site parking lot.

Downtown Disney – You can reach Downtown Disney on the Disney Monorail with a park ticket. If not, you can drive there and park your car at the parking lot just north of Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel. It takes less than 10 minutes to get there by car, and about 15 minutes to reach it on foot. 

Huntington Beach – This awesome beach city, just a 30-minute drive away from South Harbor Boulevard is worth the trip! You can park your car right by the beachfront at Pier Plaza Parking. It costs just $3 per hour in off-peak seasons and $4 in peak season.

Suggested Activities In South Harbor Boulevard

• This full-day tour of LA, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills is a great day out to add to your itinerary! The best thing is that you can request to be picked up from your hotel in Anaheim, so you don’t need a car. 
• If you’re in Anaheim because you’re a theme park fanatic, combine your trip to Disneyland with this round-trip transportation from Anaheim to Universal Studios in Orlando! That way, you can visit two of the country’s most famous theme parks in one holiday.
• Book this airport shuttle from John Wayne Airport to your Anaheim hotel to save money getting to and from the airport. Shuttles are the most hassle-free way to get to and from the airport.

#3 Convention Center

Image via Unsplash by John Diep

What’s There And Why Visit

The Convention Center neighborhood is the area surrounding Anaheim’s epic Convention Center. Although it’s not an attraction per se, the center hosts events year-round, so it’s worth checking their calendar in case there’s something on, like a Comic Con, that you want to go to! 

The iconic WonderCon is often hosted there, so don’t be surprised to see comic fanatics dressed up as superheroes while you’re in town.

The area is home to loads of the best Anaheim hotels, and because it’s so close to Disneyland, visitors flock to the neighborhood.

Suggested Hotels Near The Convention Center

These awesome hotels are all easy to access from Disneyland:

Things To See Near The Convention Center

Buy local produce at the Farmers Market – Every Thursday Anaheim has a Farmers Market in its Downtown neighborhood. The market runs from 9AM to 1:30PM every week. It’s a great place to go and chat with the friendly locals and buy delicious local produce.

Go for a picnic at Yorba Regional Park – Spend a day relaxing in the sun and breathing in fresh air at one of Anaheim’s most popular parks. Situated along the Santa Ana River and with four lovely lakes, there’s loads to do whilst you’re there. The park has loads of lush picnic areas to enjoy a lunch al fresco!

Get your adrenaline pumping at Adventure City – Whilst Disneyland is without a doubt the best theme park in Anaheim, it’s also pretty pricey. If you can’t fork out enough money to go to Disneyland, don’t worry! Adventure City has been offering cheap thrills in Anaheim since 1994. Spend the day hopping on and off their many roller coasters and watching live shows!

Have fun with the whole family playing mini-golf at Camelot Golfland – The mini-golf course at Camelot Golfland isn’t an ordinary course; it’s the largest one in the US! Put your ball through safari-themed terrain, around castles, and through their jungly landscape. If you’re not a mini-golf fan, then join another of their epic activities. You can go on their Go-Karting course, play Lazer Tag, or try your luck at their arcade.

Getting There

Downtown Anaheim Certified Farmers Market – The Farmers Market is a 10-minute drive from the Convention Center. If you don’t have a car, you can also walk to the Harbor-Convention bus stop, then hop on the 43 Costa Mesa bus to Harbor-Lincoln, then walk another 15 minutes to the market. 

Yorba Regional Park – Yorba Regional Park is a 20-minute drive from the Anaheim Convention Center. Unfortunately, you will need a car for this trip as there aren’t any public transport routes that reach the park.

Adventure City – You can reach Adventure City in less than 15 minutes by car. If you have to take public transport, it’ll take about 40 minutes. Catch the number 50 bus from the Katella-Convention Center bus stop to the Beach-Katella stop. Then switch buses. Hop on the number 29 from Beach-Katella to Beach-Starr, the bus stop is just a minute walk from Adventure City.  

Camelot Golfland – Camelot Golfland is a 15-minute drive from the Convention Center. Unfortunately, it takes about 2 hours to get there using public transport, so it’s only a doable day out by car.

Suggested Activities Near The Convention Center

• If you’re flying into LAX International Airport, then book this airport shuttle from the Airport directly to your hotel in Anaheim. It also goes to nearby cities like Garden Grove which is handy if your hotel is a little further. 
• Get out of the city and visit the coolest beaches near Anaheim on this epic coastal tour! You’ll get picked up from your hotel in Anaheim, then spend the day exploring the white-sand coastline and whale watching from the shore. Huntington Beach Pier is one of our favorite stops on the day’s itinerary. 
• This tour is packed with attractions and stops at all of LA’s most iconic destinations. Walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see Venice and Santa Monica, and listen to your guide tell you about the local history! The best bit? You won’t have to go out of your way; you can get picked up from your hotel door in Anaheim.

Disneyland Travel Tips

Getting From Different Neighborhoods In Anaheim To Disneyland

Most of the hotels we’ve found are within walking distance from Disneyland, so you won’t have to worry about driving or flagging down taxis. But if you decide to stay at a hotel further from the park entrance, then you can always drive to Disneyland and park your car in their parking lot. 

Unfortunately parking isn’t free, so it’s worth checking out the parking prices ahead of time. Expect to pay around $35 per day for parking at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. 

If you don’t have a car, you’ll be glad to know that Uber and other pick-up apps like Taxi and Lyft pretty easily. If you’re traveling as a big group, it’s worth checking out SuperShuttle, as you can make reservations for up to 10 passengers!

For any guests thinking of staying at a Disney Resort hotel, you’ll be happy to hear that one of the perks is their free transportation system. You can use the monorail and bus to get from their hotels to the theme park. 

But even if you aren’t staying at an official Disney Resort hotel, some hotels have their own shuttle service, which you can use. 

Looking for the cheapest way to get around Anaheim and reach Disneyland? The Anaheim Resort Transit System goes to the main hotel areas and Disneyland. Their buses also cover the neighboring cities of Garden Grove and Orange. They offer super cheap day passes and multi-day passes. You can check their up-to-date prices and learn more about how it works here.

Getting Around Once You’re Inside Disneyland

Disneyland is huge, so getting from one place to another can take longer than you might think! Lucky for you, Disneyland saw this coming and quickly resolved the problem with the Disneyland Monorail. 

This high-speed train rockets its way around the Disneyland Resort. The train runs every 10 minutes, and there are 2 Monor

ail stations. If you have a park admission ticket, you can skip the Main Entrance and board the Monorail at the Downtown Disney District station, then hop on and travel all the way to Tomorrowland.

We timed how long it took to get from Tomorrowland to Downtown Disney and it was a lightning fast 4 minutes.

Plan Your Trip

Check the US VISA requirements ahead of your trip – Anyone who isn’t a US national should also be up to date with VISA requirements before organizing a trip to Orlando. You can find out more and check if you need a VISA or ESTA here.

Print out the Disneyland Guide Map or download the Disneyland App before your trip – It’s easy to underestimate just how big Disneyland is. Save yourself time getting lost with their app or guide map! You can get their PDF Guide Map here. 

Check out ticket options and decide what’s best for you – You can browse the different day passes and multi-day passes here. Remember, you can sometimes get your tickets cheaper through our affiliate links!

Visit outside of peak season to avoid the worst of the crowds – Disneyland is always busy, but if you visit from mid-September through to mid-Novermber or from mid-January through to mid-March, you’ll avoid the park’s peak seasons. 

Leave an extra day to visit other destinations – Whilst Disneyland is the star of the show and the reason most travelers come to Anaheim, there are other cool attractions nearby that you should make time for! Set an afternoon aside to visit the stunning Huntington Beach just half an hour away, or spend a day walking around Santa Ana’s charming downtown.

Not traveling with kids? Be selective about your hotel choice – Most people come to Disneyland with kids, so many hotels in the area are designed for families. If you’re traveling solo or as a couple, avoid being swarmed by kids at the hotel’s pool area by choosing a more adult hotel. A good option is Anaheim Marriott. 

Download the A-way WeGo app on your phone – The app is the Anaheim Transportation Network’s bus app. It will show you all the pick-up stops and helps you find the best route to get you where you want to go! You can learn more here. 

Anaheim Neighborhood Map

Check out this Anaheim area map to help you get your bearings and figure out where the city’s neighborhoods are in relation to one another:

Disneyland Packing Guide

This handy packing guide includes everything you need to think about bringing on your trip:

• Casual clothes: If you’re zooming around Disneyland for the day, prioritize comfort over style. Make sure you bring comfortable and casual clothes on your trip. Because of how hot it can get in California, we recommend packing a few pairs of shorts too!
• Pack a sunhat: California is blessed with sunny days year-round and mostly hot weather. Since you’ll spend the day outdoors exploring Disneyland and going on the awesome rides, you’ll need a good hat to protect yourself from the sun. 
• Bring plenty of sunblock: Keep a bottle of sunblock with you at all times. Add it to your daypack and reapply it throughout the day at Disneyland to avoid spoiling your holiday with a nasty sunburn!
• Your best camera: You’ll want to snap some pictures of your adventures in Disneyland to show everyone back home! To get the coolest holiday pictures with your favorite Disney characters, consider accessories like selfie sticks, too. For reflection-free photos, look into getting a lens hood. 
• Comfy walking shoes: Your trip to Disneyland will involve a lot of walking, so pack some comfortable trainers. You might want to consider bringing a pair of walking sandals to wear on those extra hot days.
• If you’re visiting from another country, remember you’ll need a travel adapter and a voltage converter. They use plug types A and B in the US, so maybe bring one of each just in case! 
• As the US runs on 120V electricity outlets, if you have electronics that run off 240V, it’s worth investing in a voltage converter. They’ll save your electronics from getting destroyed!
• Remember to bring along any Disney pins you have to swap at Pin Trading!

Add Some Magic To Your Life And Make Unforgettable Memories At Disneyland

There are loads of places you can choose to stay near Disneyland! We’ve picked out three different areas that are the best places to stay near Disneyland if you decide not to stay at a Disneyland Hotel. Even though the hotel areas are outside the park, it’s easy to reach Disneyland on foot or by shuttle.

Disneyland is a magical place where dreams burst into life, and there’s always another adventure waiting for you! Make the most of your time there by staying at one of our top-pick hotels, where you won’t have to worry about the rush of traffic and chaos on the morning of your visit.

Disneyland Frequently Asked Questions