When looking for a place to stay when visiting Disneyland, two things are important to me. First, proximity to Disneyland. Second, price.
The reason proximity is so important to me is because I want to be able to walk to and from my hotel room as often as needed. The way we plan our day involves getting to Disneyland 30 minutes before it opens, going back to our rooms in the middle of the day to eat lunch and take a nap, and returning to Disneyland to stay until midnight. We have found that this is the best way to get the most out of the less crowded times and avoid the hottest part of the day while also avoiding the most crowded times.
Price is important to me because every year, there are either 8 or 9 of us that go to Disneyland. That's expensive! So we look for a hotel that offers a good price.
The Tropicana not only offers both proximity and low prices but the staff was very pleasant to work with. In fact, part of the reason I decided to write this review was because I was so impressed with the interactions I had with the employees there.
This was our fourth time staying at the Tropicana. We have also stayed at the Del Sol inn, located just a couple of hotels to the south. In the past, the Tropicana had offered a continental breakfast which we were disappointed to hear was no longer offered but, as we found out on our trip, it actually allowed us to get to the Park earlier by eating a quick breakfast in our room rather than making the trek to what used to be the continental breakfast room.
We have to get two standard rooms to accommodate our large family and always put a request in to have adjoining rooms so we can feel more like a family and also to make meal times easier. We typically book our rooms in January for the summer but this year we waited until early July to book for the 17th through the 19th of the same month. We put in the request to have adjoining rooms but because we booked so close to our trip and since they were completely booked after our reservation, I didn't figure that we would be able to have adjoining rooms. Well, they figured it out and when I checked in I was pleased to hear that our rooms were indeed adjoining!
Parking is also always a challenge at any hotel near Disneyland but the staff allowed us to park in a registration spot and since nothing was open, the valet took care of our car and found a spot in the valet parking. The only negative about our entire trip is that our booking agent through getawaytoday.com mentioned that parking would be $12 per night. That's also what the sign said as we pulled into the parking lot. But at the front desk they said it was $14. I'm sure I could have raised a stink over it, particularly since $12 is what their sign said. but (a) I'm not that guy that does that and (b) it wasn't that important to me.
Below are some pictures of our room:
 |
| The Tropicana offers either two queen beds or one king bed in it's standard room. We always choose two queens since it's easier to sleep 4 people that way. |
 |
| The amenities are perfect for my family. A mini fridge to store all the food that my wife pre-cooked and loaded in coolers on the way down - and a microwave to re-heat that food during lunch and dinner. The TV we actually never use since we are always on the go or resting for when we are on the go! I would say that we never use the safe either but my 9 year old son used it to store his precious minecraft books in. It worked well until he forgot the number code he used for his password and I had to call the front desk to come unlock it for him... |
 |
| Our bathroom counter was always kept stocked with towels and shampoo, soap, body wash, etc. You can also see plastic cups and coffee cups by the ice bucket. On the left hand side of the picture, only partially visible is the coffee maker that we used to heat water to put in our cup-o-noodles. There is also a mini-hairdryer attached to the wall on the left. |
 |
| The bathroom was also kept well stocked with towels and the staff did a great job of making sure that it, along with the whole room, was cleaned well every day. |
Here are another couple of pictures of the area:
 |
| This is the parking area that you see when you first pull into the hotel. A valet stand is immediately to the left of where I was standing when I took this picture. The stand is where you stop to check in with the valet before parking your car or checking in at the front desk. The parking lot goes in a horseshoe shape, making a left at the end of the parking that is visible in this picture. There is also a swimming pool that is about half way down the parking lot. |
 |
| The orange sign indicating the Tropicana can be seen in the middle of the picture. This picture was taken just across the street (Harbor Blvd) looking back at the Tropicana on my way to Disneyland. From where I took the picture, it is just a couple hundred yards to get to the security check points. Walking to Disneyland from the Tropicana is literally the same distance, if not slightly shorter, than walking from the Disneyland Hotel. |
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Tropicana and will probably be staying there again soon! You can visit the
Tropicana website here. Also, for a look at some other places to stay near Disneyland, check out my
Where to Stay at Disneyland post here.
