Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel Stay

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California is slowly opening up and things are starting to feel “normal” again. Woo Hoo! We went to Disneyland last week, our first time back in over a year, to celebrate our (me + Ronan) birthdays! Since we’re no longer AP members, it’s a tradition of ours to celebrate birthdays at the Happiest Place on Earth, you can read about it here.

This year, we made our recent Disneyland visit extra special with a one-night stay at Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel.

Why Stay at HoJo Anaheim?

Location:

The Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel is located on Harbor Boulevard – across the street from Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the GardenWalk entertainment district.

It’s literally an 8-minute walk from the hotel lobby to Disneyland Resort!

It was so nice to just walk to Disneyland, without all that traffic from the Disney & Friends Parking Structure, that’s where we always park. The hotel is close to everything. There’s restaurants a long the way like Mimi’s Cafe, IHOP, and McDonald’s if you want to grab something to eat before entering the area. Inside building #1 at the hotel, there’s Main St. Market to grab last minute items like bottled water, sunblock, snacks, etc..as well as souvenirs.

Since our one-night stay was before our Disneyland visit, we walked over to Downtown Disney for some shopping (we knew we’d be tired to do it after the park) and dinner at Splitsville Anaheim. I was so happy to see it open again, as well as their bowling alley! You can read about our past experience here. 

Parking (as of 06/22/21):

Each room is allowed one car ($20 +tax nightly charge). A valid parking permit will be issued at check-in. You may leave your vehicle in the parking lot until 12 Noon on your departure day, after which it will be flagged for towing. You should move your vehicle to a Disney parking location if you intend on staying at the parks past Noon. RV and oversized vehicles which cannot fit it one parking space are not permitted.  Parking is for hotel guests ONLY.

Family-Friendly Rooms: 

There’s been some amazing renovations at HoJo Anaheim. If you book a room in building #1, it was completely renovated in March 2018 while building #2 was completed as of April 2020. All rooms have a refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron/board, free WiFi access, free laptop safe. And most have dual sinks and a balcony. The rooms are bright, contemporary and spacious! We were very comfortable and it was so nice to wake-up to coffee before our big Disney day. When you walk into the bathroom, you’ll find a rubber ducky to keep! It’s a great little souvenir.

We stayed in a 2 Queens/Non Smoking Premium room in building #1, which had a great view of Disney’s Matterhorn. I just wished their fireworks was happening, we would have had the best seats! Next time.

With free WiFi, the kids got to complete their school work, comfortably with a view, before we headed to the pool area.

Water Playground/Pool: 

HoJo Anaheim has a large outdoor heated pool, Whirlpool spa, children’s pool, and Castaway Cove, a pirate-themed playground with a 30-foot pirate ship, slides and water cannons. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the 200 gallon drench bucket. When you hear the bell ringing, get away from that bucket! You’re welcome.

Once you book your stay, be sure to make pool reservations!

Important Pool Info: 

• Pool reservations are highly recommended and you can book 30 days in advance.
• Reservations time slots are: 10am-12pm, 12:30pm-2:30pm, 3pm-5pm, 5:30pm-7:30pm, 8pm-10pm.
• Pool areas are closed between reservations for cleaning.
• Kids not potty trained are required to wear swim pants, which HoJo provides complimentary if needed. 

We love Castaway Cove! It was the perfect place to kick-off our Disney visit. I reserved the 3pm slot even though check-in is 4pm. My intention was to wait for our room at the pool area since there’s a changing room to change into our swimsuits. Luckily our room was ready and the kids did school work there, instead of the poolside table. Not sure how much work would have been done if that was the case. LOL

Again, be sure to make pool reservations. Relaxing in the spa tub looked so good but unfortunately it was already booked up for the day. Only one family was allowed at a time.