Hiya, Katherine!
Staying at a
Disneyland Resort hotels is definitely my preferred way to visit the Happiest Place on Earth. I love being able to stay right inside the magic. It keeps us close to the parks and grants us
early access to either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park each day of our stay. I really appreciate amazing theming and details in the hotel designs. And our children love the amazing pool areas. The Monorail Waterslides and Mickey and Minnie spas of the Disneyland Hotel are my favorites.
That said, I fully understand your situation. The largest standard rooms of the Disneyland Resort Hotels can accommodate parties of five guests or fewer. For safety reasons, guest registrations must account for all members of a party lodging in each of the hotels' rooms. So, with our four children, my family has also outgrown the standard rooms of the Disneyland Resort Hotels. A stay in a suite would be a dream come true! Though, frankly, it is beyond our budget as well.
So, we have found ways to adapt. One way we do that is by visiting the Disneyland Resort Hotels with a smaller part of our family. Realistically, that has mostly turned out to be in the form of
romantic anniversary getaways with just my wife and myself! Now that some of our children are older and have other activities going on in their lives, we have also enjoyed taking just some of our younger children with us to the Disneyland Resort. But we do still love our whole-family vacations. For those visits, we pick a
Good Neighbor Hotel that has larger rooms to accommodate our family. We prefer to choose one that is within a close walking distance to the parks. With so many options available, I think you'll find accommodations within your budget that suit your family's needs.
Have a magical time, Katherine!
~Tony