Disneyland Accommodations
 

Hi Everyone, I have another thread going regarding our upcoming trip to Disneyland in September but I wanted to start another thread specifically about accommodations. I'll be staying in LA so the plan is to drive to the Disneyland area on the afternoon of Monday Sept 16, spend the night and then get started in Disneyland first thing Tuesday morning. We're probably going to do 1-day passes at Disneyland and then another 1-day pass on the Wednesday at California Adventure. Here is where I need some help...

My kids will be just under 5 and 3 in September. The original thought was to save some $$$ and book a hotel on South Harbour Boulevard like the Best Western Plus or Park Vue Inn so we can just cross the street and walk into Disney. My first question is, how long of a walk is it from South Harbour Boulevard to Disneyland? I've heard even though we're just outside Disneyland, that it is still quite a distance to walk. Is that true? If so, are there shuttle buses from these hotels along that strip? I started looking at prices and we're being quoted around $300USD per night for a hotel room. Seems a bit excessive to me for a Best Western but of course it is just outside Disneyland.

Do you guys think I would be better off picking up a hotel about 10-15 minute drive away from Disneyland, drive and then pay for parking at Disneyland? Possibly even take an Uber? The convenience of staying at a hotel just outside Disneyland is nice so we can go back and take a break / nap mid-day or go for a dip in the pool, but it defeats the purpose if it's a crazy walk to get in and out of the park. Also not sure how crazy and jam packed the parking is at Disneyland getting in and out, so that will factor into my decision as well.

I would pick the BW Park Place Inn and Suites, it has a nice "expanded" continental breakfast (eggs, some meat, waffles, etc.) and about a 5 minute walk. It will be handy if the 3 year old still needs to nap midday and the kids can use the pool.
If you stayed further away, you would have to take the ART Shuttle back and forth which is $5pp per day. Parking at Disneyland is expensive, maybe $20 or more. Uber and Lyft will not provide car or booster seats which your children would need.

Parking at Disneyland may involve an even longer walk because you never know how far back in the parking structure you wind up..it's totally random. Those two hotels are directly across the street from the ART shuttle dropoffs. It's about 500 yards to the entrance plaza. Taking the ART Shuttle might save you half that distance but then you would have to add in walking to the shuttle stop from hotel, so possibly not. The only Disney hotel that puts you at an advantage is the Grand Californian but it's super expensive.

I don't know which of those close hotels across Harbor is better, but I'd go with one of them.

Candy Cane is quite a bit farther, I believe.

Am i correct that you have rejected the idea of staying in any hotel within the park because of costs?