After hours of walking, a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland is a must. Looking to stay at the best hotel within walking distance of Disneyland for large families? You will want to check out this review of the Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance.
We toured this room with our travel partner Get Away Today.
This post contains our personal, unbiased impressions of the Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance.
This post contains affiliate links, which provide us with a small commission on your purchase,
at no added cost to you.
Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance Quick Review
WHAT WE LIKED
- Five to eight minute walk to main gate
- Large rooms sleep up to six
- Large water for play area for kids
- Bathroom with two showers + a real door
WHAT WE DIDN’T
- Nightly stays at this hotel can get pricey
- Valet parking is expensive + makes accessing car a bit difficult
- Guest room carpet
This newer hotel opened it’s doors in 2015, so it’s still relatively new. It was built from the ground up (replacing a parking lot!) and the designers got this one right. The high-rise property offers 221 guest rooms with over 500 square-feet of living space. It is the best hotel within walking distance of Disneyland for large families.
We visited during the holidays and the hotel was decorated beautifully. It would be a wonderful place to spend time with family over the Christmas break.
Booking a room at the best hotel within walking distance for large families
“Deal” isn’t a phrase we’d use to characterize a stay at this hotel, unless you’re comparing it with a Disneyland Resort property. This is on par with a moderate or deluxe Disney hotel.
Regardless, you will get the very best price booking with Get Away Today. Use our partner link to get a discount on the hotel’s parking fee and use promo code TE10 for an additional $10 off any two night (or longer) stay.
You will want to book well in advance of your trip. Due to the location, this hotel fills up fast. If you’d like to stay at the closest hotel to Disneyland, book your trip at least three to six months out.
Where is the Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance located?
Although you can’t get closer than Disney’s Grand Californian, there are a number of hotels located right across Harbor Blvd. that are closer than Paradise Pier and Disneyland Hotel. The Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance is located directly across Harbor from Disneyland and offers magical views of the Matterhorn and Monorail.
You can book a theme park view, which will provide a fantastic view of the fireworks.
What are the rooms like at the family-friendly Courtyard Marriott?
Well, we’ve already mentioned that the rooms are quite large, but let’s talk about what the rooms actually look like!
A majority of the hotel’s rooms are Two Queen Guest Rooms, through it has a small number of King Guest Rooms and a handful of suites. Regardless the size and style, each room has bunkbeds.
Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance Two Queen Guest Room
We’re showing you a standard Two Queen Guest Room, which sleeps six. You can arrange for a crib, but rollaway beds are not available at this hotel.
The bright cheery colors and fun ocean-themed wallpaper give these rooms a slightly modern feel. As much as we loved the room’s design, we don’t love carpet (even fun, industrial-style carpet) in a family hotel.
One perk you will experience in a Courtyard Marriott room is free access to Netflix, without a personal account.
Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance Bathroom
The true star of the Courtyard Marriott’s rooms in our opinion are the very generous bathrooms. Each bathroom has a double sink vanity and not one, but two showers!
One one side of the vanity is a room with a tub/shower combo, while on the other is a walk in shower (just say no to shower curtains!!!). Honestly, I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see the bathroom layout in this hotel. It’s not something I’ve ever seen outside of a suite-level room before.
This is a great feature for families, especially those with older tweens and teens who tend to spend a more than average amount of time in the bathroom (ask how we know).
Other Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance In-Room Amenities
Though there is no kitchenette, each room comes equipped with a coffee maker, mini fridge and microwave. Pick up groceries on the way into town or have a handful delivered, this park is close enough for a quick snack/lunch stop during the middle of the day.
Enjoy your bites at the cute banquette set in the corner of the room near the balcony.
Speaking of balcony, we recommend steering clear of rooms located adjacent to or eye level with Surfside Waterpark. The water play area can be quite noisy, which can impact your hotel room via the large balcony doors.
The best hotel within walking distance of Disneyland for large families has a waterpark
Though not a traditional waterpark in terms of size, the Surfside Waterpark offers an array of fun water activities for kids including 30-foot water slides, a 400-gallon drench bucket, water cannons, a kids pool, a full swimming pool and a hot tub.
We’ve been asked about a poolside bar. We didn’t see one on our visit, but there was a lot of nice seating on the patio for parents visiting the water play area with kids.
If you’re booking off-season dates, note that Surfside is closed every January for maintenance.
What other amenities are there at the Courtyard Marriott?
The Courtyard Marriott has all of the amenities you’d expect in a well-appointed hotel, from a traditional Courtyard business center to a large fitness center.
This is a popular spot for breakfast before hitting up the parks and this large dining space fills up during peak hours.
Off the main lobby you will find The Bistro, which is great for grabbing a bite in the morning or even pizza at night. There’s also a large gift shop, filled with fun items and basic sundries.
Just outside the hotel, there are a number of fast food locations and a few restaurants. The hotel actually shares a parking lot with Mimi’s, while McDonald’d, Panera and even IHop are only a few steps away.
How is the staff at the Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance?
This hotel has hundreds, if not thousands of comments online referencing the helpfulness of the staff at the Courtyard Marriott.
We enjoyed our welcome and conversations with the hotel lobby staff.
Would we stay at this hotel?
Maybe. The hotel is amazing. It’s hard to find something wrong. With just the three of us, we don’t need the large number of beds the Courtyard Marriott provides in each room. However, the layout in the King Guest Room, with bunkbeds down the hall, would be a great option if Owen were bringing a friend.
Our biggest complaint was the valet parking. The daily fee is pretty high and the lot isn’t as secure as the one at our favorite luxury hotel a few blocks away and using your car for storage isn’t a strong option.
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