Figured I'd post a review of HoJo's Anaheim in case anyone is interested. We did our first family trip to DLR/DCA last week (stayed 4 nights, May 4-7). We decided to stay at the Howard Johnson after seeing the MouseSavers deal and seeing they had a great splash pad area (my kiddos love those!). We got a deluxe queen room (2 queen beds). We stayed in Building 2, 3rd floor.
Overall, I must say I was pretty pleased, especially for the price. The rooms and lobby areas are nothing super fancy but it was more than good enough for us As it turns out, we actually didn't spend that much time in the rooms themselves..we spent almost all our time at the parks
Except for the first day we arrived when we spend the morning playing in the pool and at Castaway Cove (more on that below), we pretty much just used the hotel for showering/bathing and sleeping 
-Location-
I personally thought the location was pretty good. It is right across the street from Mimi's (we had brunch there the first day) and then McDonalds & IHOP are right on the way to DLR so good for breakfast. DH & I were actually kind of shocked how close it was (it seemed like a 10 min walk?). Sure, the Best Western Park Place Inn and Park Vue Inn are definitely closer....but for us, it didn't seem to make a big difference. I don't know..we figured, if we are going to be out walking for ~10 hours a day, what is an extra 5,10 minutes, KWIM? Again, I guess that is just us...given the relatively short park hours, we really wanted to maximize our time at the parks, so we didn't go back to the hotel for breaks and were typically there everyday from rope drop to closing. We rented a double stroller for our kiddos, so they could rest/sleep in it whenever they got tired, and it worked out pretty well for us.
Also, I should add we were in Building 2, facing the pool. I initially was a bit worried about the noise given the proximity to the freeway, but it actually was super quiet! The only thing that was loud was the fireworks the first night we were there (but kids were dead asleep by that point!)
-Amenities-
Our room had a small fridge as well as a microwave which was super useful as my kids (3 and 4yo) still really like to have hot milk in the morning and before bed. We just bought milk at the gift shop downstairs, which was pretty handy (it is open pretty early/late..i think like 6am to 11pm or something). THe room had a safe and it was totally big enough for 2 iPads ( with survivor cases), 2 ipods, plus a laptop.
-Castaway Cove-
On the first day (Sunday) we arrived at the hotel around 9:30am, and our room wasn't going to be ready until 3pm. It was okay though since DS saw the top of Castaway Cove from the taxi (LOL) and was BEGGING to play in it. So they held our luggage while we got a bag with all our pool stuff and got changed. Castaway Cove does not open until 10:00am, but the regular pool opens at 9:00am, so we just played in the pool for a bit first, which the kids also enjoyed.
As other posters have said in other threads, the Castaway Cove is great for younger kids.. though i saw a lot of older kids (10+) having fun there too There is also a hot tub in that area too, which was nice It does have showers and bathroom/changing areas there which was convenient. The kids got a kick out of the huge dumping bucket (a bell rings when the bucket is full, to "warn" everyone, then it pours out).
Anyway, overall I would totally recommend staying at the HoJo, esp if you can get a deal. Even if you don't make use of the Castaway Cove (we only used it one morning) it still is pretty good. It would have been cool to have a view of the fireworks from our room (i think that is only select rooms that cost more), but that was only 1 night of our stay, and but at that point my kids had been dead asleep anyway Plus, from what I've read you can actually see the fireworks from Castaway Cove or the parking lot (someone correct me if I'm wrong!)
Also, if you are considering renting a stroller, CityStrollerRentals does deliver directly to HoJos (and picks up from there too) which is super convenient. Even if your room isn't ready they just deliver it to the front desk. I cannot recommend having a stroller enough
Overall, I must say I was pretty pleased, especially for the price. The rooms and lobby areas are nothing super fancy but it was more than good enough for us As it turns out, we actually didn't spend that much time in the rooms themselves..we spent almost all our time at the parks
Except for the first day we arrived when we spend the morning playing in the pool and at Castaway Cove (more on that below), we pretty much just used the hotel for showering/bathing and sleeping -Location-
I personally thought the location was pretty good. It is right across the street from Mimi's (we had brunch there the first day) and then McDonalds & IHOP are right on the way to DLR so good for breakfast. DH & I were actually kind of shocked how close it was (it seemed like a 10 min walk?). Sure, the Best Western Park Place Inn and Park Vue Inn are definitely closer....but for us, it didn't seem to make a big difference. I don't know..we figured, if we are going to be out walking for ~10 hours a day, what is an extra 5,10 minutes, KWIM? Again, I guess that is just us...given the relatively short park hours, we really wanted to maximize our time at the parks, so we didn't go back to the hotel for breaks and were typically there everyday from rope drop to closing. We rented a double stroller for our kiddos, so they could rest/sleep in it whenever they got tired, and it worked out pretty well for us.
Also, I should add we were in Building 2, facing the pool. I initially was a bit worried about the noise given the proximity to the freeway, but it actually was super quiet! The only thing that was loud was the fireworks the first night we were there (but kids were dead asleep by that point!)
-Amenities-
Our room had a small fridge as well as a microwave which was super useful as my kids (3 and 4yo) still really like to have hot milk in the morning and before bed. We just bought milk at the gift shop downstairs, which was pretty handy (it is open pretty early/late..i think like 6am to 11pm or something). THe room had a safe and it was totally big enough for 2 iPads ( with survivor cases), 2 ipods, plus a laptop.
-Castaway Cove-
On the first day (Sunday) we arrived at the hotel around 9:30am, and our room wasn't going to be ready until 3pm. It was okay though since DS saw the top of Castaway Cove from the taxi (LOL) and was BEGGING to play in it. So they held our luggage while we got a bag with all our pool stuff and got changed. Castaway Cove does not open until 10:00am, but the regular pool opens at 9:00am, so we just played in the pool for a bit first, which the kids also enjoyed.
As other posters have said in other threads, the Castaway Cove is great for younger kids.. though i saw a lot of older kids (10+) having fun there too
There is also a hot tub in that area too, which was nice It does have showers and bathroom/changing areas there which was convenient. The kids got a kick out of the huge dumping bucket (a bell rings when the bucket is full, to "warn" everyone, then it pours out).Anyway, overall I would totally recommend staying at the HoJo, esp if you can get a deal. Even if you don't make use of the Castaway Cove (we only used it one morning) it still is pretty good. It would have been cool to have a view of the fireworks from our room (i think that is only select rooms that cost more), but that was only 1 night of our stay, and but at that point my kids had been dead asleep anyway
Plus, from what I've read you can actually see the fireworks from Castaway Cove or the parking lot (someone correct me if I'm wrong!)Also, if you are considering renting a stroller, CityStrollerRentals does deliver directly to HoJos (and picks up from there too) which is super convenient. Even if your room isn't ready they just deliver it to the front desk. I cannot recommend having a stroller enough
