Disneyland Hotel
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/hotels/disneyland-hotel/
(714) 956-6425

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The Disneyland Hotel is amazing. The pool is so much fun and there are so many dining options inside and immediately outside of the hotel. My husband loved that we had two QUEEN sized beds in our room (instead of just doubles), I loved that the whole hotel is nonsmoking, and we all loved getting into Disneyland an HOUR before the public!!! (Magic Morning Early Entry - check the Disneyland schedule.)
Amenities include: health club, child care, crib, internet access.

Everything's delicious! We ate at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel and would highly recommend it. The kids menu has salmon for $8! The next day, we ate at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ in Disneyland for all-you-can-eat served family style at your table.

Disney collectibles, apparel, character merchandise, plush toys, and, of course, classic Mickey Mouse ear hats embroidered with your name are available.

At California Adventure, we got to see the all-new World of Color lagoon show, featuring Disney music, stories and characters, plus over 1,200 fountains that shoot water more than 200-feet high. We need to go back to see the Fantasmic! show in Disneyland! We've seen the regular fireworks show before, but there will be a special fireworks show for the Mickey's Halloween Party dates in October 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29 & 31.

We drove to Anaheim and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel the night before our day at Disneyland. Self parking at the hotel is free. We checked out of the hotel on Saturday morning, but we were able to keep our car in the Hotel's parking lot all day on Saturday and took the tram to and from Disneyland. (Not only can you leave your car there the day you check out; you can also return to use the pool on check out day!)

Disneyland Hotel offers childcare, but we did not use it.

We were lucky enough to get a complimentary hotel stay; the hotel was so nice and we had such an amazing time getting in an hour early that my family agreed that it is worth paying for next time. Make sure you stay the night BEFORE a Magic Morning. (Check the Disneyland schedule for Magic Mornings.) The whole park didn't open an hour early, but we went on all the rides we could and when the whole park opened, we were right there to get into Adventureland, ToonTown, etc. before the crowds could reach them.

We spent one Saturday park hopping between Disneyland and California Adventure. It's Halloween Time Sept 17- October 31. With just one day, we didn't have time to just "hang out" at Tom Sawyer's Island (Disneyland) the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (CA Adventure) or see many shows, but we had a blast going on as many attractions as we could... getting in early meant that we would practically just walk on to each ride, so we went on a lot of rides twice in a row. Even when Disneyland opened to the public, the lines were short until 10am.

Pros Disneyland & California Adventure are so much fun. When my kids were little, we did less rides, but plenty of the shows and hanging out at Tom Sawyer's Island, etc. Now that my twins are 9, they still do not care for roller coasters, but they love almost any other ride. Favorites this trip were Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Captain EO & Soarin' Over CA. (Star Tours & Toy Story Mania were closed the day we went.) And whether you're ordering churros to clam chowder to dinner, everything you buy tastes delicious.

Cons It can be sunny and hot, so don't forget sunscreen, hats and water. I carried a backpack with our jackets, waters, and snacks. Putting the backpack down at your feet for most rides is not a problem, and many rides have a storage area at your knees or under your seat.

Disneyland Resort site: disneyland.com Disneyland Halloween Time: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/calendar/specialEvents/detail?name=HalloweenTime2010SpecialEventPage&int_cmp=?int_cmp=DLR_Homepage_halloween-time_Tile