During our last stay at the Paradise Pier (2012 August, concierge level), we made a move from the Howard Johnson to the PP. My wife and I got up at 7am, let our daughters sleep at the HJ, and we carried our luggage over to the PP, arriving around 7:30am. The room wasn't ready, but we received our keys, and the front desk encouraged us to head up to the lounge for breakfast. This worked out very well for us: we went back to the HJ, got the kids up, checked out of the hotel, went to the PP lounge for breakfast, stocked up on drinks and snacks, and then went to the park.
Had we been early enough, I'm sure we could have also taken advantage of Magic Morning at
Disneyland.