Loved Disneyland! Finally got to go there for the first time last year. We stayed at the Howard Johnson, and were amazed how close we were to the park entrance. Like you mentioned, the monorail went right by the property, and we could see the fireworks at night. There was something special about the closeness of everything in Disneyland....in the hotels, at the parks, and even on the rides. Always felt like you could just reach out and touch the magic, and so much history. My dad told me for years I wouldn’t appreciate Disneyland after so many trips to Florida...so glad I finally went out on that limb. He was sooooo wrong