Is the $600-a-night Disneyland hotel worth it? Actually, yes.

Even if you’re not staying at the Disneyland Hotel, you can experience plenty of magic. The lobby features “Alice in Wonderland”-style teacup chairs and large displays of vintage Disney memorabilia, dating back to the company’s early days. And Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, in the hotel’s courtyard, is open to the public.

The hotel itself is beautiful: The pool, with its monorail-themed fountains, and Trader Sam’s have four shiny walls of hotel rooms. Throughout the park there are other Disney features, such as the Mickey and Minnie topiary and the Old Faithful geyser in front of the Frontier Tower that erupts every few minutes. On the walkway that connects the hotel to Downtown Disney, there is a giant Sorcerer Mickey hat, decorated with twinkling lights, with Tinker Bell flying nearby.

Disneyland Hotel room rates

I wouldn’t call any of the Disneyland locations cheap. The cheapest hotel, which is currently being converted into Pixar Place, is very expensive, at more than $400 per night for a standard room. Rooms at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa start at around $800 per night. On average, Disneyland Hotel rooms start at around $600 for a standard room. Being recent, I paid about $500 on a Thursday night, but that was after the Magic Key discount.

The hotel’s luxury suites, with themes like Mickey Mouse and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 per night. The same is true of the under-construction Disney Vacation Club tower, which tops out at $5,800 per night for a three-bedroom, multilevel suite with an indoor/outdoor fireplace.

Standard room rates are high but, in a way, reasonable. Walt Disney World has luxury hotels where you can find rooms for as little as $150 a night, but this place has unlimited room for growth. Disneyland did not. Resorts in California have a lot of middle ground problems.

There are three hotels on the Disneyland property, and all of them are comparable to Walt Disney World hotels. Because space is limited, and because there will always be people willing to pay a lot of money to stay at a Disney property close to the benefits.

The best neighborhood hotels – those that aren’t Disney but have the Disney stamp of approval – in the Anaheim resort area can be very affordable. Most of them come with free parking and free breakfast within a 10 or 15 minute walk to the parks.

The benefits of staying at Disneyland

I’ve stayed at a few neighborhoods near Disneyland, and they’ve all been great for the price – but there are real benefits to staying on-site. Disneyland hotel guests enter the parks early, half an hour before day guests are admitted, to jump start the Genie + Lightning Lane reservation. And when you shop in the parks, you can have a package delivered to your hotel for next-day pickup instead of lugging bags around or renting a locker.

Cast Members (as Disney calls its employees) at the front desk can also help with issues that often cannot be resolved when you are a day guest. I’ve heard stories of people in the game solving reservation issues, like when one family member can’t make a reservation with the rest of their group to get into a different reservation, and helping with difficult restaurant reservations, even for me. ‘I never personally asked for help.

For me, the best part of staying at Disneyland – besides having a nightcap at Trader Sam’s – is the easy access to the parks. The Disneyland Hotel is located next to the monorail, which goes to Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park. The Grand Californian has an entrance gate to the Grizzly Peak area of ​​Disney California Adventure, which does not wait to go through security. (Even if you’re not staying there, the Grand Californian’s lobby is the perfect place to relax and get out of the park for a while.)

Are Disneyland Hotel rooms worth the price?

Inside the rooms, there is some real magic. The hotel has Fantasy Tower, which contains Fantasyland; Adventure Tower, which has an Adventureland theme; and Frontier Tower, leading to Frontierland. I have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel several times over the years but always in the Fantasy Tower. I love Magic Kingdom so much that I can’t wait to try another room.

The sconces and lamps are handled by Mickey’s clad hands. The carpet is a pattern of fireworks with hidden Mickeys in it. The artwork is all vintage Fantasyland. And the sign in the whole room is Walt himself: The bathroom vanity, the toilet tray, and a little card with a picture of Walt Disney park, which says “Neat and Ready.” For my Disney history-loving heart, it was a sweet and thoughtful touch. The best part, however, is the wooden carvings above the beds, which depict Sleeping Beauty Castle. When you flip a switch, fireworks light up, and it plays “Dream and Desire Your Heart Makes,” a song that shows pillows on the beds, with the same lyrics.

These rooms also have bathrooms, which none of the Walt Disney World hotels offer at that price point. Another special offer: room service until midnight, with surprisingly strong offerings such as classic burgers and pizzas as well as Kurabota pork chops, wagyu ribeye and shrimp scampi, plus cocktails and bottles of wine.

However, I skipped serving in the hotel’s rooftop breakfast room, the Polynesian-themed Tangaroa Terrace. Trader Sam’s is a fast-casual restaurant with a great breakfast menu. That morning, I went to cook thick and fluffy Japanese pancakes, filled with star fruit and guava.

So in short, my answer is, yes, it’s worth the splurge, if you can afford it. For longer stays, you may want to go with the good neighbors and add a night at the Disneyland Hotel to the end of your trip. I love the convenience and proximity of Disneyland, but more than that, I appreciate the feeling of still being immersed in the magic of the parks, even when I’m sleeping. The monorail waves don’t hurt, either.