Is Disneyland’s $600

The pool complex at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., has monorail waterslides.

There are no two ways about it: Disneyland hotels are expensive. They’re also in high demand, regularly sold out or nearly so. But could the $600 price tag for a night at the Disneyland Hotel be worth it?

Even if you aren't staying at the Disneyland Hotel, you can experience a lot of its magic. The lobby has "Alice in Wonderland"-inspired teacup chairs and huge displays of vintage Disney memorabilia, dating all the way back to the earliest days of the company. And Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, in the courtyard of the hotel, is open to the public.

The hotel itself is beautiful: The pool complex, with its enticing monorail-themed waterslides, and Trader Sam's are walled in by four gleaming blue towers of hotel rooms. Throughout the courtyard are other Disney touches, like a Mickey and Minnie topiary and an Old Faithful geyser in front of the Frontier Tower that erupts every few minutes. Over the walkway that connects the hotel to Downtown Disney, there's an enormous Sorcerer Mickey hat, adorned with twinkling lights, with Tinker Bell flying close by.

The Disneyland Hotel's courtyard in Anaheim, Calif., is open to Disneyland Resort guests.

I would not call any of Disneyland's accommodations inexpensive. The most affordable hotel, currently being rethemed as Pixar Place, is still costly, upward of $400 a night for a standard room. Rooms at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa start at about $800 a night. Right in the middle, the Disneyland Hotel's rooms start at about $600 for a standard room. On a recent stay, I paid about $500 for a Thursday night, but that was after a Magic Key discount.

The fanciest suites at the hotel, with themes like Mickey Mouse and "Pirates of the Caribbean," can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 a night. The same goes for the currently under-construction Disney Vacation Club tower, which tops out at more than $5,800 a night for a three-bedroom, multilevel suite with an indoor/outdoor fireplace.

A sign with the vintage Disneyland logo greets guests at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif.

The prices for standard rooms are high but, in a way, understandable. Walt Disney World has value hotels where you can get no-frills rooms for $150 a night, but that resort has essentially infinite space to expand. Disneyland doesn't. The California resort has much stricter space constraints.

There are three hotels on Disneyland property, and they’re all compact in comparison to Walt Disney World hotels. Because space is finite, and because there will always be people willing to pay a premium to stay on Disney property for the proximity and the perks.

Good neighbor hotels — ones not owned by Disney but that have the Disney stamp of approval — in the surrounding Anaheim resort area can be significantly less expensive. Many of them come with free parking and free breakfast for the trade-off of a 10- or 15-minute walk to the parks.

The rooms at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., include fun Mickey details throughout.

I’ve stayed at a handful of good neighbor properties around Disneyland, and they’ve all been perfectly nice for the price — but there are some real perks to staying on property. Guests of the Disneyland hotels get early entry into the parks, half an hour before day guests are allowed in, so they get a jump start on Genie+ Lightning Lane bookings. And when you shop in the parks, you can send packages back to your hotel for pickup the next day instead of carrying bags around with you or renting a locker.

Cast members (as Disney calls its employees) at the front desk can also help with issues that are usually beyond fixing when you’re a day guest. I’ve heard stories of cast members resolving park reservation issues, like if one family member can't get reservations with the rest of their party for entry into one of the parks, and helping with hard-to-get dining reservations, though I’ve never personally asked for help with either.

For me, the best perk of staying on property at Disneyland — besides being able to have a nightcap at Trader Sam's — is how easy it is to get into the parks. The Disneyland Hotel is just steps away from the monorail, which goes directly into Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park. The Grand Californian has a gate into the Grizzly Peak area of Disney California Adventure, which almost never has a wait to get through security. (Even if you’re not staying there, the lobby at the Grand Californian is the absolute best place to take a rest and get out of the park for a while.)

An installation of Walt Disney's earliest illustrations in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., is part of the Disney 100th anniversary celebration.

Inside the rooms, there are some truly magical touches. The hotel has a Fantasy Tower, themed to Fantasyland; an Adventure Tower, themed to Adventureland; and a Frontier Tower, themed to Frontierland. I’ve stayed at the Disneyland Hotel a few times over the years but always in the Fantasy Tower. I love the Magic Kingdom touches so much that I can't bring myself to try another kind of room.

Walt Disney artwork is everywhere in the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., even on the toiletry tray.

The sconces are lamps held by Mickey's gloved hands. The carpet is a fireworks pattern with hidden Mickeys in it. The artwork is all vintage Fantasyland. And the signage throughout the room is pure Walt himself: On the bathroom vanity, with the tray of toiletries, is a little card with a picture of Walt Disney in the park, which says "Neat and Ready." For my Disney-history-loving heart, it was a really sweet and thoughtful touch. The absolute best part, though, is the carved wooden panel above the beds, which depicts Sleeping Beauty Castle. When you flip a switch, the carving's fireworks illuminate, and it plays "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," the song mirroring the pillows on the beds, which have the same phrase on them.

The rooms also have bathrobes, which no Walt Disney World hotels offer at that price point. Another unique offering: room service until midnight, with surprisingly robust offerings like classic burgers and pizza but also Kurabota pork chops, wagyu ribeye and shrimp scampi, plus cocktails and bottles of wine.

The illuminated carved wooden panel above the beds at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., features Sleeping Beauty Castle and plays a song.

I skipped room service, though, in favor of breakfast at the Polynesian-themed Tangaroa Terrace in the hotel's courtyard. The quick-service restaurant attached to Trader Sam's serves a great breakfast. That morning, I went for the thick and fluffy Japanese pancakes, topped with star fruit and guava.

So in short, my answer is, yes, it's worth the splurge, if you can afford it. For a longer stay, you might want to go with a good neighbor option and add one night at the Disneyland Hotel to the end of your trip. I love the ease and proximity to Disneyland, but more than that, I appreciate the feeling of still being immersed in the magic of the parks, even while I’m sleeping. The monorail waterslides don't hurt, either.

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Tangaroa Terrace, the quick-service restaurant in the courtyard of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., serves thick and fluffy Japanese pancakes.