West Coast Mickey Review: Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water Park

We love Hojos! This hotel has a special place in my heart. When I was growing up my family only went to Disneyland once and when we did, we stayed at the Howard Johnson. My parents chose our accommodations well. The Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Park has been a haven for Disneyland guests since 1965 and they know what they’re doing. Going back as an adult with my family in 2017 was a very special experience and I would recommend it highly to other Disney families.

Castaway Cove – A Pirate-Themed Water Park Onsite!

The most spectacular amenity at this hotel is easily Castaway Cove, a pirate-themed water park. It’s just so much fun for your whole family. There is a 30-foot pirate ship with slides, cannons, and a 200-gallon drench tank, for starters. Watch out! I got drenched, more than once when I wasn’t looking and you really feel 200 gallons of water on your head. There’s a toddler spray and play area and even a hot tub for adults to relax in. We went every day we stayed at the hotel and it never got old. We visited the hotel in October 2017 and it was HOT. The temps were hitting 108 degrees on a daily basis. Make that CRAZY HOT.

The water park was a great way to cool off and expend what was left of our kid’s energy after a busy day of park hopping. The water park had a lot of shade in the evenings, which I loved for relaxing with a cool drink. My husband raced the kids down the water slides and I got shot more than once from the deck of the pirate ship. Fun for the whole family!

Our Hotel Room

First off, we were given a street level room at my request. While I often walk the stairs to get in some extra cardio on vacation, we had an exhausting trip and I just wanted to stay at ground level and skip the stairs and the elevator. 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!). 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. 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!).

I really enjoyed the sixties vibe the hotel uses as for some of their décor and marketing campaigns. You can see an example of the cool 60’s graphics on our room key above. Groovy, right?

Great Hotel Amenities

You’re going to love all the freebies at the Howard Johnson! Let’s start with the free parking. This is just an unheard of benefit when you stay this close to Disneyland. As I’ve mentioned before, free parking is huge when it comes to meeting your budgetary goals on vacation. 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.

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. My young son did fine walking back and forth to the park each day and we really enjoyed the convenience. There are lots of hotel gift shops and quickie marts on the way to the park so you can grab anything you’ve forgotten and the Howard Johnson’s gift shop had a great selection of merchandise, including kid’s clothes, key rings and magnets, and adult clothing, in addition to drinks, snacks, and sunblock.  It was fully stocked and we used it almost every day we were there.

The hotel also has a large Garden Pool (separate from Castaway Cove) that is open all day and into the evening. The day we used this pool it was quiet and serene. We floated, swam, and dove for Ariel dive sticks for a good hour and a half before we were joined by another family. The pool, and really all the hotel grounds, are spotless.

You can watch the Disneyland fireworks every night they explode from Castaway Cove. When we took advantage of this excellent hotel perk, we brought drinks and snacks and settled into our lounge chairs in for an incredible show. There was a small crowd and we met lots fellow Disney megafans. You could even have the kids wear their jammies and head right off to bed afterwards. What a perfect night!

Nearby Restaurants

Mimi’s Café, a nice family restaurant with a French cottage theme, is located a few steps from the hotel. The restaurant has a charming décor, friendly staff, and some of the best muffins we’ve ever tasted (and you can buy them To Go too). They have a nice kids menu and I can definitely recommend the French Onion soup and the air conditioning, which is just heavenly after a hot day of walking many miles at the park. You can also take advantage of the many restaurants lining Harbor Boulevard, which cater directly to the crowds leaving Disneyland, which means they are very family (and picky kid eater) friendly.

Highly Recommended

The Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel and Water Park is the most highly recommended Disney Good Neighbor hotel in blog post after blog post after blog post. After staying here, I can see why. This hotel is the perfect mix of reasonable rates, great freebies, convenience, and fun. My family and I can’t wait until our next stay at the Anaheim HoJo’s!