If you are looking to save money on your trip to Disneyland, one of the best ways to do it is to take advantage of the proximity of hotels near Disneyland. You could stay at one of the Disney-owned resorts such as the Disneyland Hotel or the Paradise Pier, but both of those options will cost you much more than staying at a resort, hotel or motel that is not owned by Disneyland.
Because some of the main streets in Anaheim are so close to the park entrance, you’ll often find that the hotels that are on Katella or Harbor Blvd are conveniently close enough that you can actually walk over to the park. So this also saves you on parking fees and, most importantly, it saves you the long tram trip from the Disneyland parking garage to the park gate.
For those hotels that aren’t within walking distance, the majority of them offer free transport to Disneyland and California Adventure, so you can still leave the car parked at the hotel.
One other advantage of staying at any of the Disneyland area hotels is that you can then take breaks during your day. Walking around the theme parks can get pretty tiring and sometimes you want to take a mid-afternoon break. If you can walk back to your hotel, that’s very easy to do. You could even head back to your hotel for meals if you want to save even more money. Paying theme park prices for lunch and dinner gets pretty pricey.
One thing you will still need to decide is whether you want to rent a car or not, if you are flying in for your Disneyland vacation. You can probably get away with not renting a car, since there are several airports near Disneyland that are close enough for taxi rides or airport shuttles. But if you want to experience some of the other fun that Southern California has to offer, a car rental is a very good idea. For example, Universal Studios is less than an hour away in Los Angeles. Knots Berry Farm is even closer, maybe 15-20 minutes down the road from Disneyland. And then there is the San Diego Zoo and Lego World. They are about a two hour drive from Anaheim and would be a fun trip after you’ve finished with Disneyland.