A unique Courtyard with a fun water park. It’s also nearby Disneyland, though not quite as close as the name of the hotel suggests.

Booking

We wanted a little bit of a staycation for this trip and ultimately chose this Courtyard Marriott. Really? A Courtyard? Yes, under normal circumstances, staying at a Courtyard doesn’t inspire much aspiration. But this one is a bit different in that it has a full-functioning water park within its walls. It’s also located across the street from Disneyland (though it’s a bit more of a walk to get to the entrance of the theme park despite what the name of the hotel would make you believe.

Of course, that all makes this a much more expensive Courtyard than you would generally come to expect. We used up two 85k free night certificates here, and then had to further top off each night with 13,000 Marriott points. Cash rates were above $500/night for the weekend we chose. If you have flexibility on the weekend to go, rates are a bit cheaper in Spring than they are in Summer and early Fall. Still, we had an expiring 85k free night certificate and this felt like the best option for the kids.

One thing I should bring up (as a data point if nothing else) is that we’ve continued to receive 85k free night certificates after downgrading one of our Chase Ritz credit cards. The free night certificate is supposed to be offset by the hefty $450 annual fee on that card, but despite now sitting on the no annual fee Marriott card, the system seems to keep giving us that certificate. Score!

Earning Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn Marriott points quickly, you could look into picking up a Marriott credit card. Both Chase and American Express offer Marriott credit cards.

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase offers the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful credit card that gives a sign up bonus of 85,000 Marriott points for spending $4,000 in the first three months for a $250 annual fee.

Or you can turn your eyes to American Express:

• The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy (not an affiliate link) offers 85,000 Marriott points for $5,000 spend in the first six months for a $250 annual fee.
• The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (not an affiliate link) offers 100,000 Marriott points for $6,000 spend in the first six months. It also comes with instant Platinum status but with a higher annual fee ($650).

Since Amex credit cards are generally one-in-a-lifetime, it might be worth waiting for a better deal to come by.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at the hotel (traffic is never fun on a Friday) and found that parking here is valet-only. If you’re a hotel guest, it’s $35/night to park here. If you’re looking to park as an alternative to Disney, it’s $45/day for visitors. Hotel guests need to collect their car by 4PM on the day of checkout or they will be charged an extra $35 for parking. I’m not sure how many people would want to park here and not stay at the hotel–it’s $35/day for parking at Disney (theme park lots). Perhaps having another option is never a bad thing, but be sure to weigh your options. There aren’t any convenient free parking spots near the hotel.

Once inside the hotel, you’ll find some flavored water dispensers.

The front desk is very friendly, with agents that helped look for solutions to problems and willing to go out of their way to make guests happy. I have Titanium status while Jenn is just a Gold member, which plays into the fact that I booked one night out of my account and she booked the other night out of her account. Being Platinum or above, I could get a $20 food and beverage credit here, but Jenn could not. Technically, the credit could only be applied to the night tied to my account, but the front desk was able to get the credit to count for purchases made on both nights.

There are Disney movies playing in the hotel lobby, which is good in the event of a lengthy chat with the front desk (not normally needed but it was necessary in our case). The lobby was otherwise a bit sterile, with minimal Disney decorations and signage.

The Room

Our room for this stay was 502. We originally booked a room that was described as having “no view” on the website, but at check-in we were assigned a room that directly faces the theme park. This made it excellent for viewing the fireworks in the evening and a huge preference to being in the crowds at Disneyland. With the sliding door open, you could also hear the attendant at Autopia frequently reminding guests to continue to press down on the gas pedal—that doesn’t sound like a fun job to have.

The room itself was functional, with a set of bunk beds for the little ones by the sliding glass door.

I tried sleeping on the bunk bed one night and it wasn’t very pleasant for me, giving me sores from lack of support. But the kids didn’t seem bothered by it and enjoyed it.

As for the regular beds, the pillows are a tad flimsy and the sheets could be thicker, but it wasn’t a bad sleep.

On each side of the nightstand between the beds are electrical outlets, though I found one side to not function properly.

The desk is rather elongated, but I believe the intent is to store your luggage on top of the space above the drawers.

There is a little dining nook here, but the seating seemed like it got cut off to fit the room given the glass door next to it. Still, it’s nice to have especially if you’re here for an extended trip.

Also found in the room are a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a coffee machine. Sometimes it feels a bit luxurious to have that microwave in your room automatically.

The bathroom had both a tub and a shower, making it convenient to get everyone bathed in a timely manner. There was also a good amount of space inside the bathroom and it never felt cramped in here.

Toiletries were from 39° North, the typical Courtyard brand.

Directly outside was a view of the Matterhorn, which triggers memories of both visiting Disneyland and also seeing the real thing many years ago.

Turn your head to the left a bit and you can also see the back of Space Mountain and the Guardians of the Galaxy ride over at California Adventure.

As mentioned, the fireworks are in full display here, making this far a far more enjoyable view than being inside the park with all the crowds. You miss out on the music but it feels like a much more personal and private experience. If your room here does not include a view of the fireworks, you should still get a great view from the hotel’s water park.

From our balcony, we could also see the waterpark at the Ho Jo next door. I think we got the better option, but let’s spend some time talking about the water park here at the Courtyard.

Surfside Waterpark

Reservations can be made a month out on their website, though there seemed to be no problem getting reservations at the last minute. The hotel does hand out a welcome letter when checking in that explains the reservation system. There are three windows (early morning, midday, and late afternoon).

We showed up at the water park and the attendant checked our reservation and then handed out wristbands to each of us. We were then allowed inside. While you could show up at any time during the reservation window, I’d recommend showing up around the start of your window or you may find it difficult to get a chair inside. I assume the intent of the reservation system is to not have too many people in the water park at once, but wish they would have had enough chairs for everyone with a reservation.

The water park certainly pumps out a lot of water and there are a few staff members walking around to enforce the rules.

There is also a zero-entry pool, good for very young children.

The water park also features two water slides (one open-topped and one enclosed). Alex had a blast here. Just note that it can get a little windy on the stairs as you wait your turn to go on the slide. Thankfully, the lines for the slide weren’t too long.

For those looking for a regular pool, there is one of those here at the water park too. It seemed to be very popular and was perhaps the most crowded thing here at the water park.

The water park was also nice for people-watching. It was fun watching all the kids get soaked by the giant bucket of water tipping over. Our kids thought about it but decided it was more fun just to watch than to get wet.

Yes, you could order food here and have it delivered. We did not do it on this trip, but there are little cards at each table that show the QR code taking you to the website to order.

Odds and Ends

The gym is right next to the waterpark. It never got crowded in here and does offer some views of the water park while you’re working out.

There are guest laundry facilities on-site, costing a total of $9 if you want to do a load ($3 for wash, $3 for dry, and $1.50 each for single-use detergent and dryer sheets in The Market by the front desk). There is a TV on the wall, but it’s otherwise not a very comfortable stay if you want to be by your clothes as they are washed.

There is a store on the first floor if you want to buy anything Disney-related but don’t want to walk 15 minutes to the World of Disney store.

Dining at Disney

It’s a little difficult to avoid ending up at Disney if you bring kids to this hotel, and while we didn’t visit the theme park during this stay, we did dine at one of the restaurants. Knowing that Courtyard doesn’t provide free breakfast for Platinum members and above, we made a reservation at Storytellers Cafe for character dining at breakfast. Yes, it’s expensive ($65/adult, $36/child) especially considering it’s breakfast, but it gave the kids a chance for some interaction with characters without getting questioned on why we aren’t going inside the theme park.

The restaurant was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. The breakfast itself did have variety but based on food alone, I don’t think anyone will say it was a good value just for the food. The real reason to come here is the tableside visits from Mickey and Friends. You’ll find Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, and Dale here, though Minnie didn’t end up making her way over to our table.

Recommendation: Yes, but…

There are really two reasons to stay at this hotel. One is in the name of the hotel: to be close to the Disneyland Entrance. The other reason is for the water park. We went for the water park and thought it was overall a decent value. If paying cash, you might find it marginally better to go to the nearby Great Wolf Lodge, but that wasn’t an option for us given our expiring 85k free night certificates with Marriott. The water park was fun, though you might find it a bit boring if that’s all you do here. It was nice being able to walk a short distance to Downtown Disney and spend a little time there just for variety. As an extra bonus, being able to get what felt like a private showing of the nightly fireworks was simply fantastic.

But would I recommend this hotel if the primary intention is to go to Disneyland? No, I wouldn’t. The hotel is expensive and there are plenty of other options in the area that offer a comparable walk to the theme park. I’d say it’s worth checking out the price of the three on-site Disney hotels before committing yourself to come here if being close to the action is important for you. Or you might want to consider splitting up your trip, staying at a cheaper hotel for the convenience of going to Disneyland and then tagging on a couple of nights here to use the water park but still feel like you’re at Disney. The price of operating that water park is built into the base room rates, so it feels like a shame to pay for its operation but not actually use it. Yes, you could in theory go to the theme park and then come back to use the water park at night, but that seems awfully tiring if you ask me.

Where do you stay when you go to Disneyland?