Greetings, Brandon! Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question and I'm so thrilled that you and your family are about to enjoy a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth!
Whenever my family and I travel to the Disneyland Resort, we always try to stay at an official Disneyland Resort Hotel if possible. There's just something special about "staying within the Magic" and feeling like you've never actually left the Parks.
I think one of the biggest perks of staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel is the proximity to the Parks. Guests of
Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel can enjoy their own private entrance into Disney California Adventure that will place them right in the middle of the action at Paradise Gardens Park. Disneyland Park is a short walk away through the Downtown Disney District, or you may take the Monorail into Tomorrowland.
As a Guest of a Disneyland Resort Hotel, you'll enjoy
Early Entry into the Parks for 30 minutes before they open to the general public. If you plan your time strategically, you'll be able to get a lot done in that half hour and you'll feel like you have the whole Park to yourselves! Please note that not all attractions are available during Early Entry.
Some other amenities I would bring to your attention would be
Next Day Package Delivery,
Preferred Reservations for hotel table-service restaurants during your stay and
keyless entry to your hotel room with your smartphone via the
Disneyland Mobile App. Also, please be aware that Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel is undergoing
construction to be transformed into the
Pixar Place Hotel. During this time, Guests have access to the pools and the fitness center of the Disneyland Hotel.
For the Star Wars fans, I would recommend that you and your family devote some time to spend in Galaxy's Edge. Do NOT miss
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which I think is the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced. I've even heard tell of a secret "Chewbacca Mode" for
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run but I'll let you do your own research into that! One of my favorite things is to channel my inner Boba Fett and play
Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters with a MagicBand+. I recently geeked out over this and gave some fairly detailed
instructions on this game.
Brandon, I could go on for quite a bit but I hope you found this helpful. Please feel free to write back to
me if you'd like more details! There are so many hidden gems at the Disneyland Resort just waiting to be discovered!
“So hurry back, we would like your company.” - From the Haunted Mansion
-Al