Hiya Roberts! Welcome to planDisney. You've brought us such a great question and I am happy to help get you an answer that hopefully will get you one step closer to a visit to Disneyland Resort.
If you are booking a stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel there are two ways you can make a reservation, a room-only stay or a Disney Resort Hotel Package, and each has a different cancellation policy. If you book a
room-only stay, this means you would be booking your room and
tickets separately. These reservations can be canceled up to five days before arrival to avoid forfeiting the one-night stay deposit. Multi-day theme park tickets are non-refundable, however, tickets purchased this year have an expiration date of January 12, 2024. If you book a
Disney Resort Hotel Vacation, you will be booking your tickets and hotel stay together as a package. You can receive a full refund for your package if you cancel your package at least 30 days before arrival. If you cancel between five and 29 days before your arrival, you will be subject to a $200 cancelation fee. These packages are not refundable if you cancel less than five days before arrival. These cancellation policies could change at any time, so I recommend double-checking the policies at the time of your purchase. If you need more flexibility for cancellation I would look into travel insurance options, which could be an extra layer of protection since you do have a family member who needs that extra flexibility in their plans.
Reservations have not yet been released for 2023, but I'm hopeful we will see the calendar open up in a month or two, so keep checking back for that.
I think an on-property stay is a great idea if you have someone in your party who would benefit from being extra close to the parks and may need to take breaks and head back to the room. Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa does have its own entry into Disney California Adventure Park and just recently Paradise Pier Hotel got its own entrance into this park as well. Disneyland Hotel does require a walk through Downtown Disney District, but halfway through you can hop on the monorail to be dropped off right inside Disneyland Park near Tomorrowland.
Roberts, thank you again for stopping by with your question. Please come back and see us again!
Carrie