Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground
A retro family hotel near Disneyland offering spacious rooms, free parking, and an on-site water playground.
The verdict
Pick a traveller type to re-weight the scores and re-rank the rooms around what you actually care about.
This retro property provides a family-friendly home base within an eight-minute walk of Disneyland at a fraction of the cost of staying on-site. Guests highlight the elaborate water playground, free parking and WiFi, and quiet rooms with comfortable pillow-top beds. However, there is no free breakfast or on-site restaurant, and some exterior buildings and bathroom fixtures show their age. 10152312
Every line below traces back to something a traveler actually wrote — open a line to read the original sentence and follow it to the source.
What travelers noticed
- Guests consistently praise the location, which sits an easy eight to ten minute walk from Disneyland and right next to dining spots like Mimi's Cafe. 81015
- Reviewers appreciate the spacious rooms that offer plenty of space to spread out with strollers and luggage. 8
- Visitors also report getting a quiet night of sleep on comfortable pillow-top beds, along with perks like free parking, free WiFi, and views to watch the park fireworks. 81223
The catch
Who it's for
- — Disneyland visitors wanting an easy walk to the gates
- — Families needing room for strollers and luggage
- — Travelers who value free parking and pool amenities
Skip it if
- — Guests who want an on-site restaurant or free breakfast
- — Travelers looking for brand-new modern accommodations
Paying $6 more direct is likely worthwhile if you value Wyndham Rewards points, status credit, or on-property benefits.
Prices shown are an estimated range, not a live quote — the booking site confirms the real rate for your dates.
This sits inside our estimated range for this hotel.
Confidence: low · modelled estimate, not a live quote. Check the supplier for the real rate on your dates.
Score breakdown
How the 90/100 is built, category by category — each one with the strongest thing travelers actually said, and the source it came from.
Bathroom
91Nothing quotable yet on this one — the score leans on the rest of the coverage.
Location
95- “The hotel is extremely close to Disneyland - it's actually closer to the park than two of Disney's own hotels. On the Howard Johnson website it states that the hotel is an eight-minute walk away - I'm a fast walker though and I'm pretty sure I did it in five minutes or under. Fantastic location at a fraction of the cost of staying at a Disney resort.” 10
- “While the extra space was nice, I loved being able to walk to the parks vs. driving. It took quite a bit of our time up looking for parking, walking to the parks, security etc. Staying at the HOJO, we were a quick 8 minute walk to the park.” 12
Room
88Service
91- “The friendly woman working at the front desk happily set us up on the main floor, which was something of an upgrade because our room had a nice view of the hotel grounds. Our room was impeccably clean and the bedding was quite nice (no old-school polyester bedspreads!).” 23
- “The friendly woman working at the front desk happily set us up on the main floor, which was something of an upgrade because our room had a nice view of the hotel grounds.” 23
Bed & Sleep
89- “I stay here often because I love the rooms! The beds are always comfortable and I know I'm going to get a great nights sleep.” 8
- “I guess that's one of the benefits of 1960s construction. We enjoyed a quiet stay with no noise issues to speak of and the pillow-top beds were quite comfortable, which means we slept well throughout our entire stay (and enjoyed the benefits of well-rested children!).” 23
Where it is, how to reach it
Details checked 2026-08-28
Stay value
How this property reads against the hotels we cover alongside it. Measured on review evidence, not on a nightly rate.
On par with what $$ usually buys
Scores 1 point above the mid-range median of 89, across 500 hotels in the same bracket.
- This hotel
- 90
- Bracket median
- 89
- Index median
- 90
Based on 500 comparable hotels.
Which room to ask for
What reviewers say about where to sleep inside this building — by room number where one is named, and otherwise by floor, wing, aspect and position. Every line opens onto the quotes behind it.
No reviewer has yet described a room, floor or aspect specifically enough to act on at this property. Room intelligence appears here the moment they do.
Where travelers agree — and don’t
The topics reviewers split on most. A wide bar means your experience depends on which room you get — or whose opinion you trust.
View the 23 things travelers said behind this verdict▾
Quotes run exactly as travelers wrote them — spelling and all. We trim for length, never for tidiness.
- “The two main selling points of Howard Johnson Anaheim are its close location to Disneyland Resort (just over a 10-minute walk), and the hotel's elaborate water playground and pool area, which is slightly smaller than the one at the Courtyard across the street.” 15
- “While the extra space was nice, I loved being able to walk to the parks vs. driving. It took quite a bit of our time up looking for parking, walking to the parks, security etc. Staying at the HOJO, we were a quick 8 minute walk to the park.” 12
- “I've enjoyed every stay here, and the location is hard to beat-it's such an easy walk to the parks.” 8
- “Convenient shuttle stop & waiting area for all airport, tour, and resort trolley busses” 8
- “The hotel is extremely close to Disneyland - it's actually closer to the park than two of Disney's own hotels. On the Howard Johnson website it states that the hotel is an eight-minute walk away - I'm a fast walker though and I'm pretty sure I did it in five minutes or under. Fantastic location at a fraction of the cost of staying at a Disney resort.” 10
- “The location is not only convenient to the Disneyland theme parks, but it's also very close to lots of restaurants like McDonald's and Panera bread company, Mimi's Cafe is right next door and makes delicious bran muffins.” 8
- “The Howard Johnson is a short walk to Disneyland, about 8 minutes on average, which means you can get to Main Street U.S.A. in no time.” 23
- “Staying at the HOJO, we were a quick 8 minute walk to the park. We stayed at one of the newly remodeled rooms, and it was beautiful!” 12
- “The free WIFI is great and you can also utilize the free in-room laptop safe to keep your valuables and electronics safe while you're out Disneying it up.” 23
- “I love the spacious rooms, that have space to spread out. You'll have plenty of room for a stroller and your luggage.” 8
- “The bathrooms, especially the tile installations, are aging a bit but everything was in good repair and spotless. It was a spacious room, with lot of room to move around, store our luggage, and get ready in the mornings.” 23
- “The decor was so fun and just the perfect amount of Disney decor.” 12
- “The girls slept really well too, and our room was really quiet. Our room also overlooked the park, so it was the perfect spot to watch fireworks.” 12
- “A laundry room and convenience store are also available on-site, and the sprawling grounds are well kept. We like the spacious rooms and bathrooms, but, on the downside, the buildings are dated and have a few quirks, such as balconies that are only accessible through the closet.” 15
- “I guess that's one of the benefits of 1960s construction. We enjoyed a quiet stay with no noise issues to speak of and the pillow-top beds were quite comfortable, which means we slept well throughout our entire stay (and enjoyed the benefits of well-rested children!).” 23
- “The girls slept really well too, and our room was really quiet.” 12
- “I stay here often because I love the rooms! The beds are always comfortable and I know I'm going to get a great nights sleep.” 8
- “I guess that's one of the benefits of 1960s construction. We enjoyed a quiet stay with no noise issues to speak of and the pillow-top beds were quite comfortable, which means we slept well throughout our entire stay (and enjoyed the benefits of well-rested children!).” 23
- “The friendly woman working at the front desk happily set us up on the main floor, which was something of an upgrade because our room had a nice view of the hotel grounds. Our room was impeccably clean and the bedding was quite nice (no old-school polyester bedspreads!).” 23
- “The friendly woman working at the front desk happily set us up on the main floor, which was something of an upgrade because our room had a nice view of the hotel grounds.” 23
- “Another negative is the lack of a free breakfast, or any on-site restaurant, although Mimi's Cafe is a short walk away.” 15
What we still don't know
What we can’t tell you yet, said plainly. These close as we read more coverage of this hotel.
- No reviewer has named an individual room number here yet.
- Nothing reliable said about room types.
- Nothing reliable said about floor level.
- Nothing reliable said about building or wing.
- Nothing reliable said about which side it faces.
- Nothing reliable said about view.
- Nothing reliable said about position on the floor.
- 8 sources carry no publication date, so we cannot tell how current they are.
Ask about Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground
Answered only from the coverage cited on this page. If nobody has written about your question, it will say so rather than guess.
How much we read
Deep coverage · 20/100We read 0 sources for this property, covering 0 traveler mentions, boiled down to 0 traveler insights worth knowing. Last checked 2026-08-28.
Watch this hotel
We keep reading Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground. Tell us when you're staying and we'll follow it until then — you'll hear from us only when the verdict is rewritten, the score moves, or new reviews land. No daily mail, and the watch closes itself after your stay.
Sources
Everything quoted on this page, grouped by traveler insights, outlets, and video & podcast. Counts beside each group show everything we’ve read of that kind; no one kind can carry the score on its own.
5 of 5 summary lines above are traced to specific quotes. The rest summarise the read as a whole rather than any single document.
View all 24 cited sources▾
Everything quoted on this page.
- 11Review of the Howard Johnson Anaheim and Water ...familytravelmagazine.comReview site2025-12-03RecentRead originalfamilytravelmagazine.com
- 7Review of the Howard Johnson Anaheim Near Disneylandtripswithtykes.comReview site2025-09-30RecentRead originaltripswithtykes.com
- 13Review: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotelfamilyholidaydestinations.comReview site2024-09-29AgeingRead originalfamilyholidaydestinations.com
- 20Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water ...oyster.comReview site2024-08-12AgeingRead originaloyster.com
- 4Howard Johnson's with Waterpark, Thoughts?reddit.comForum thread2024-08-07AgeingRead originalreddit.com
- 22Howard Johnson (HoJo) Anaheim Hotel & Water Playgroundsparksofmagic.comReview site2023-09-02AgeingRead originalsparksofmagic.com
More in Anaheim
All Anaheim hotels →Craftsman-style Disneyland resort featuring private theme park access, upscale dining, and Monorail views.
A luxurious and highly service-oriented resort near Disneyland, though premium-priced.