Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel is Family Fun Near Disneyland

Castaway Cove Sign of Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground

Family Hotel and Water Playground that is Disneyland Adjacent

Most of the time that our family visits Disneyland, we wake up pretty early and take the hour-long drive from Los Angeles to Anaheim. On our recent trip, we decided to get a hotel room that was close to the theme parks so that we could get an early start to our family day at the parks without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Finding a hotel on or near the Disneyland Resort was the easy part as there are many to choose from. In addition to the close proximity to the theme parks, I was looking for a hotel with something fun for the family to do on that day before we went to Disney. After a bit of research, I found the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground which provided us with a great location near Disneyland and a fun place to stay for our family.

Hotel Amenities and Highlights

Location, location, location! As I already mentioned, we wanted a hotel that was close to Disneyland and that would allow us an early start to our day at the theme parks. Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel is literally across the street from Disneyland (see the image below) and is only a 10 minute walk to the front gates of either Disney theme park. In addition to the close location to the theme parks, the hotel is also walking distance to many restaurants and shops along Harbor Blvd. The close proximity to the park also provides you with views of Disneyland’s monorail, Matterhorn and the nightly fireworks show.

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel to Disneyland Walking Route

This is the walking route from Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel to the Disneyland front gate which takes about 10 minutes.

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel also provided many other amenities for our family visit that set it apart from the other hotels in the area. A favorite of the kids is Castaway Cove, the pirate themed water park area which features a large pirate ship, water cannons, slides, a wading pool and a 200-gallon bucket that pours down every few minutes.

Castaway Cove's Pirate Ship

The 30-foot pirate ship for the kids to climb on and that features water slides and a huge water bucket. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

Castaway Cove Water Drench Bucket

The 200-gallon bucket atop the pirate ship dumps out every few minutes to drench the kids below. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

Howard Johnson's Pirate Cove Water Slides and Fountain

Madi having a great time going down the water slides and hanging out under the water fountain. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

In addition to the Pirate Cove water playground, Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel also has a separate Garden Pool which is a normal sized swimming pool that is good for kids (if you can pry them away from the water playground) and adults alike. The hotel also offers a game room with video games, air hockey, foosball and more. Throw in complimentary Wi-Fi and parking, a laundromat and the on-site Main St. Market and you see why we chose to stay at this great family friendly hotel.

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel Game Room

Video games, air hockey and more at the game room on the first floor of the hotel. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

Main St. Market at the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

The on-site Main St. Market has snacks, drinks, Disney souvenirs, laundry products, sundries and much more. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

Why We Recommend Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel For Families

  • Walking Distance to Disneyland
  • Castaway Cove Water Park
  • Children’s Wading Pool
  • Separate Garden Pool
  • Bunk Beds for Kids
  • Free Parking
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi
  • Close to Restaurants
  • Games Room
  • Laundromat

Our Hotel Room

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel doesn’t rest only on the hotel amenities it offers for families. The hotel also has rooms that the family will enjoy staying in when not at Disneyland or at its water park. All rooms come with free Wi-Fi, a fridge, a Keurig coffee/tea maker, pillow-top mattresses, TV’s with premium channels and more.

The room we stayed in was the queen and junior bunk deluxe room. We chose the room because of the bunk bed that our daughter wanted to sleep in. Our room was very clean, had enough room for our family of three, provided very comfortable beds and pillows for a good night’s sleep and had all the other amenities to make our stay a very pleasant one.

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel Queen and Jr Bunk Deluxe Room

This was our queen and junior bunk deluxe room that we stayed in. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel Room Amenities

San Francisco Soap Company products, the bunk bed and a retro picture of the Enchanted Tiki Room from Disneyland. | Photos by FamilyVacationHub

HoJo’s Anaheim has a variety of rooms to choose from and a couple of them even have bunk beds for the kids to sleep in. The rooms range from the queen and junior bunk deluxe room all the way to the kids suite which is a two room suite with a king bed, twin bunk bed and twin sofa sleeper.

Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel Room Amenities

  • Jr Bunk Bed
  • Pillow-Top Mattress
  • Mini Fridge & Microwave
  • LCD TV with Premium Channels
  • Free Wi-Fi internet
  • Keurig Coffee/Tea Maker
  • Room Balcony
  • Laptop Sized Safe

After our wonderful day at the water playground, our dinner across the street and our restful night’s sleep we were ready for our day at Disneyland. We checked out in the morning with a quick phone call to the front desk, had breakfast on the walk down to Disneyland and arrived at the park right before it opened. It was a great way to start the day and we can’t wait to do it again.

Visit the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground website for more hotel information. The site even has a live video feed of Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure Parks as seen from their rooftop.


We were provided a complimentary night stay at Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground for the purpose of reviewing it on our blog. Regardless, we would only recommend places, activities or services that we would use/visit personally and that we believe will be good for our readers.

About Joe Filipowicz

Joe has had a lifelong passion for finding fun and exciting things to do, good restaurants and places to stay while traveling with his family and friends. Since it takes a lot of research and exploration to find these family friendly places, Joe started this website to share his findings with others to make it easier for them to plan their next getaway. Joe lives in Los Angeles but has also spent a lot of time in Las Vegas and Cancun. He has been visiting Las Vegas since he was a kid, so for over 35 years, and visits multiple times a year to enjoy everything it has to offer. Cancun has been his favorite vacation destination for the past decade, and he tries to take his family there once a year.

2 comments on “Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel is Family Fun Near Disneyland

  1. Sarah

    HI,

    Thanks for your post on the Hojo!! We have booked the Queen and bunk room for January for our family of four. Would you describe the room as small? Is there closet space? Is there a table or desk in the room? Did you have a view out your window? Was there enough space for your luggage. I appreciate any and all of your info.
    Thanks

  2. Joe Filipowicz Post author

    Hi Sarah,

    Glad to hear you booked a room at the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel as we thought it was a great family friendly hotel that has so much to offer their guests. With the great hotel and room amenities, the waterpark, garden pool, game room and being able to see the fireworks show from Disneyland, there was plenty too keep us happy. Below are the answers to your questions.

    Would you describe the room as small?
    Our room was smallish, but we felt that the room was well designed and had enough space for relaxing, playing/working and getting ready.

    Is there closet space? Is there a table or desk in the room?
    Yes, there was enough closet space as well as dresser drawers. Yes, there was a desk in our room.

    Was there enough space for your luggage?
    Yes, we had plenty of room for our luggage. Our luggage fit at the bottom of the closet as the room safe was on the top shelf.

    Did you have a view out your window?
    We were in building #1 which is where the Queen/Jr Bunk Deluxe rooms are located. Our building overlooked the freeway and the city of Anaheim. We couldn’t hear the freeway and the view was fine. We chose this room as our daughter wanted to sleep in a bunk bed, but if the kids don’t care about that, you can book a room facing Disneyland or the waterpark for a great view.

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