Hey there Mike,
Welcome to planDisney and thanks so much for your question! It looks like you're arriving at the Happiest Place on Earth later this week - how exciting!
I stayed at the
Disneyland Hotel on a recent trip with my son! It's my absolute favorite place to stay when visiting since it keeps that Disney magic going throughout the whole trip.
I'm happy to share that you'll only have to go through the security checkpoint one time when entering the
Downtown Disney District from the Disneyland Hotel (it's just as you leave the hotel area). If you're headed to Disneyland Park, this is definitely the best way to get there! You can either walk through the Downtown Disney District or you can ride the
Disneyland Monorail into the Tomorrowland station.
If you're heading to Disney California Adventure Park, you might consider entering through
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa (though you would need to go through security again if using this entrance). You'll enter the park near
Grizzly River Run.
In terms of wait times at the security checkpoints, in my experience, it does tend to be longer first thing in the morning. However, if you're staying at the Disneyland Hotel then you also can enter the parks before everyone else through
Early Entry. My suggestion would be to utilize this time to get in some extra rides on attractions!
When I visited with my son a few weeks ago, we just arrived at the security checkpoint about 20 minutes before Early Entry began. This gave us enough time to get through the checkpoint queue and get into Disneyland Park for the entirety of the Early Entry time!
Thanks again for your question, Mike! I hope you have a fantastic time visiting the Disneyland Resort.
Have a Magical Day,
Greg