I chose a resort (the Tropicana) on Harbor right across from the esplanade walkway entrance. So I will have a little trek to the expo and the corrals (gotta walk past the parks and through Downtown disney), but a tiny trek to the actual parks. This was because my mom is also coming along with us and she's not worried about getting to the races...so I'm making the park walk easier on us all.
If I didn't care about expenses on this trip I would've booked the Disneyland Hotel. I actually think my walk to the park is shorter than staying there...but the expo and corral would be so close!
This sounds silly, but there are youtubes of people walking from different hotels to the main gates at DL. You just have to kind of search around
youtube for them. They are a bit boring to watch but give you the most accurate sense of timing.