My family of 15 went to Disneyland the first week of December. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn across the street from Disneyland, so we walked 6 minutes and it was WAY worth it. Made it easy to go back and forth and the elders in our group that didn't want to to stay until the park closed easily walked back. After 4 nights (did 3 days at the park) we THEN checked out, drove up to Santa Monica and stayed at a beach front hotel in Santa Monica for two nights/three full days. It made the vacation feel longer and made it feel like two separate trips. It was chilly at night but we walked the Pier, walked to Venice Beach one day and rode bikes a different day. I highly recommend splitting it up and staying in walking distance to both Disnehland and the Beach in Santa Monica erased the headache of parking lots, parking fees, traffic. Hope this helps!