As you can see from my signature, we have been to DL 3 times in August (4 if you count our honeymoon in '99) and it is one of our favourite times to go! We try and time it for the week before Labour Day, usually doing Sat-Fri, with Sun-Thurs being our park days. Many of the US schools are back by then and by leaving Friday we miss the Labour Day crowds. We find that while it is hot, it is not HOT and if you are used to the humidity of Ontario summers, Anaheim will be a piece of cake for you. The hottest trip we have done so far was Sept 2013 when the temps hit the low 40's but expect low to mid 30's but not humid. This August, as you pointed out, is going to be much busier because of the 60th but as a rule, I would not plan a trip right when the CA APs are unblocked because those few days are busy with people fitting in one last trip before school starts.
Living on Vancouver Island, we never take direct flights, we have to stop somewhere, usually Seattle so direct flights are not really an option. I really do prefer flying into SNA, depending on when you land at LAX, the drive to Anaheim can be a beast. We have had a few trips where we land at SNA at 10:30am and including dropping our bags off at the hotel, we are in the parks before noon! You really can't beat that! Right now Googlemaps is predicting between 1.25 and 2 hours from LAX to Disneyland and that is at 2:30pm. Depending on your flight times, this may not bean issue but it is something to consider.
So, on to hotels. I'll give a few that we have stayed at with some pros and cons...sorry if this is wordy but I love to have as much information as possible so I tend to give others the same.
Park Vue Inn (PVI): We have stayed there 3 times.
VERY close, right at the crosswalk in front of the Disneyland entrance.
Hot breakfast is included, they have make your own waffles plus one protein (bacon or sausages plus either eggs or biscuits and gravy) Also, toast, fruit and cereal. Well regarded as the best breakfast buffet.
Free wifi, although not the best if you are looking at high usage. (DS likes to watch youtube videos or netflix instead of tv so the PVI wifi is a bit iffy for that)
The rates are higher than other places but they have a queen bed plus bunk bed set up that works really well for us if my sister in law joins.
Convenience store onsite that has inexpensive bottled water, a must for us since neither DS nor I will drink the Anaheim tap water.
Free parking.
Desert Inn & Suites (DI&S): We have stayed twice and are staying there again next month.
Also very close, right next door to PVI.
Breakfast is included, not as nice as PVI, includes pastries, hard boiled eggs, toast, cereal, fruit, oatmeal, bagels and muffins.
Free GREAT wifi. This is the only hotel we have stayed at in Anaheim that has really good wifi.
Amazing rate if you book early although they do not have rates up yet for next August but we can usually get the 2 Q room for around $110/night and returning guests get a discount. We are paying $99/night in Sept. They have great room setups if you want more space, everything from 1 room with 2 queen beds to their parlour suites that sleep up to 10!
Pool here is indoor but we have never used it.
They do add on a parking surcharge but if you let them know you do not have a car, they will remove it without a problem.
Castle Inn & Suites: We stayed here once for our other September trip.
We planned this trip in 3 weeks so we basically took whatever place we could find. This place was fine, perfectly serviceable but further than we liked especially given the 40+ heat.
No breakfast and in fact, no room service either.
I can't remember if there was free wifi but their website does not mention wifi at all.
You can also check out this site for other places:
Accommodations near Disney
If you are going to walk to the parks, definitely stay in the green area, although the places on Katella are a bit further than we would want to walk.
Hope that helps!
