RV Camping Close to Disneyland in California

RV Camping Close to Disneyland in California
Review and tips for staying at Anaheim Harbor RV Park.

By: Kenny & Sabrina Phillips

If you know Sabrina and I, then you know we are Disney World fans. Our favorite place to stay while we are visiting the Florida theme parks is on property at the campsites at Fort Wilderness. The campsites are beautiful and worth a stay all on their own, even if you aren’t going to the parks! 

This year, we wanted to visit Disneyland and their California Adventure Park. Since we wouldn’t have our tow car with us on this trip, we wanted to stay as close to the parks as possible. Luckily, we found Anaheim Harbor RV Park, and their tag line is: “Nobody’s Closer to the Magic!” 

Our Stay at Anaheim Harbor RV Park

Anaheim Harbor RV Park is only a one-mile walk from the park’s entrance. (Note: The two Disney parks basically share the same entrance … turn left and you go into California Adventure, turn right and you enter Disneyland.) We chose this campground based on their location as well as the good Google reviews, and we were pleasantly surprised when we saw how nice it was. 

We have stayed at several California campgrounds and RV parks in the past. To be honest, most of them are disappointing for the price. They are often nothing more than parking lots with no room to even put a slide out. We have even stayed at California campgrounds where four sites would share one picnic table and a campfire. These campgrounds were always right around $100 a night. I mention this to show the contrast to the experience we had at the Anaheim Harbor RV Park!

The Campsite

We had a full-hookup, back-in site that included a picnic table with umbrella, a nice area of AstroTurf, and a space for a tow vehicle – which we didn’t need on this trip, but it did offer us more space between our neighbors. The site was also level and did not require any blocks. 

The campsite alone was so much more than what we usually receive from a California campground. However, the property offered very nice amenities such as a heated pool and shared green spaces with propane grills and covered picnic tables. The outdoor areas were nice to lounge around in and we also thought it was great that they had ramps for accessibility. 

The laundry facility was clean, and all machines worked. Just keep in mind that the machines do not take cash or change, instead you use an app on your phone to load credits on it from your credit card. Once the app was downloaded and we placed money on it, we found it easy to use and the prices were reasonable. 

Even though we did not need to use their bathroom or shower facilities, we peeked at them and found them to be modern and clean.

Nearby Shops and Food

We ate most of our meals in the RV or at the Disneyland parks, but one night I did walk down the street to a pizza place called Shakey’s. It is under a five-minute walk to get there from the campground, and I ordered a small pizza to take back to the RV. The restaurant was clean, with plenty of seating, and they had a large game room inside – perfect for anyone traveling with kids. 

Being that I am originally from Philly, I tend to be a tough critic for pizza, but I found theirs very enjoyable. If you are looking for a cheaper dinning option than the parks, I recommend this spot. 

I was also able to walk to a Walmart for supplies, this took just under twenty minutes and the route I took was all on sidewalks with crosswalks. 

Getting To and From Disneyland from the RV Park

We saw several families with strollers walking to Disneyland every morning from Anaheim Harbor RV Park. We thought about this as an option for us, but since we had our dog Belle (and she would be staying in the RV during the day), we wanted to maximize our time in the park, so we mainly used Uber for the trip. 

The average travel time by Uber was about six minutes, and because we wanted to come back to the RV at a mid-day point to check on Belle, we used the service four times a day. This is not the cheapest way to go as each ride averaged about seven dollars, plus tip. It was, however, incredibly convenient as the Uber drivers would pick us up and drop us off directly in front of our RV and at the entrance of the park. 

This was worth the cost to us as we saved so much time. Even if we had our Jeep with us on this trip, we would have been parking at the Disney lot and then taking a tram or walking two blocks to the park entrance. We believe the Uber option would be great for anyone with mobility concerns as well. 

If you are looking for a third option for transportation, we also saw several people riding their bikes to the park. We were told there is an area to lock up your bike at the park, but we did not see it for ourselves. 

We don’t know if we would feel comfortable riding our bikes back to the campground at night as traffic was a bit heavy. Although there are no laws in California against riding your bike on the sidewalk, it was busy with pedestrian traffic. If you are a confident bike rider you would most likely be fine riding your bike back and forth from the park at any time, but I don’t consider Sabrina and I to be confident bike riders in the street. 

Our Thoughts on Disneyland vs. Disney World

As long time Walt Disney World fans, we were curious if we would like Disneyland as much. When we first walked through the gate and saw the small castle, we thought there is no way it was going to be as fun. We were completely wrong. 

We thought Disneyland was more enjoyable than the Magic Kingdom. The rides like Pirates of the Caribbean or Peter Pan’s Flight are more thought out compared to their Florida counterparts and the park felt like it had extra details that Magic Kingdom for whatever reason just decided not to include. For example, we wre able to walk in the castle and through the towers and down some of its halls. We also found Disneyland to have better quick service food choices within the park and we enjoyed their sit-down restaurants as well. 

We also had fun at Disney’s California Adventure, especially since it is home to Avengers Campus. We had fun taking photos with our favorite Avengers. Yes, Sabrina and I are full-grown adults, but put us in one of the Disney Parks and we basically become big kids again. California Adventure is also home to Radiator Springs, which is a Pixar Cars ride, and it may just be the best Disney ride out of all the parks. Although, the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland is a close second.

Closing Thoughts

The Anaheim Harbor RV Park is a great choice to be close to the magic, with multiple transportation options. Disneyland and California Adventure are charming, fun, and interesting to explore and some of the rides are like their east-coast counterparts, but just different enough to feel like a whole new experience. 

We had a great time and plan to return to Disneyland again and stay at Anaheim RV Park when we do. 

Take care all, safe travels and let us know if you have any questions in the comments!