Disneyland-area hotels, restaurants and coupons mini-guide

October 17, 6:57 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Sheraton Garden Grove on Harbor Blvd.

If you're heading to Disneyland and are looking for a place to stay or eat, here's a quick guide.

My recommendation would be to stay at one of Disneyland's three hotels. (Read more about them in a seperate story HERE.)

The area all around Disneyland is filled with hotels and restaurants within walking distance or shuttle distance from the park. There are dozens of hotels in a two mile radius of the Disney resort area. (You can see a map of the area HERE with all of the area attractions.)

A good bet is to stay somewhere on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim or Garden Grove (you really can't tell where one city ends and the next begins). The street is pretty busy so you won't want to walk along there with toddlers who like to run around but it is a safe area and very well lit even at night.

The Anaheim/ Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau is very helpful and has a great listing of all of  the area hotels HERE. They also have an expansive list of coupons for lots of area attractions including Legoland, Universal Studios, restaurants, stores, airport shuttle service and more. You can see the current list of coupons HERE.

On our visit last weekend, my family stayed at the Sheraton Garden Grove on Harbor Blvd. (Note: There are two Sheratons in this area. One is across from Disneyland and the other is under two miles to Disneyland's parking area. We stayed at the later.) It is at the end of the tourist area of Harbor Blvd.  A Target is across the street, which is nice. It's a new hotel with an outdoor pool. But it is lacking a few amenties that I look for in a hotel. There's no free in-room WiFi, no free parking and no in-room refridgerators. If you stay in the Club level breakfast is included but it's not with regular rooms. Still, it was safe and clean. But I did expect a little more from a Sheraton than I'd find at a Best Western.

If you want to eat in the area and get out of the Disney themed restaurants, Harbor Blvd. is also home to lots of great places, though mostly chains. But good chains. Among them -  Buca diBeppo, which is where we ate one night for dinner and would recommend any time, especially with tired children who can lay down in the over-sized booths (like my toddler did). The food is served in over-sized portions too and it tastes great. I particularly recommend the calamari and the tiramisu.

The Disneyland area is very near the Anaheim convention center and the ballpark where the Angels play. So you can fit a lot in your time there if you plan well.

This is a tourist video of Harbpr Blvd that gives you a decent look at what's along the street...