Airports: there are 4. LAX is the farthest, but often can have good rates for people coming from the east. Be sure to add in the transportation costs if you are considering this airport (its my last choice of the 4). The 2 closest are SNA (aka: john wayne, orange county, Santa Ana). About 15 miles away, lots of transportation options. A great midsize airport. Long Beach is about that distance as well- its a smaller airport, so might not be an option from your area. Ontario is the other options, its about the same distance as LAX, but its much shorter travel time because of traffic, etc.
Hotels: On site there are 3. The Grand CA, is the largest, newest and most expensive. It is the only on site property with direct enterence into either of the parks. It enters in to DCA (calif. Adventure). The mid priced is the classic Disneyland hotel. Its a few minute walk to the park. The cheapest is Paradise Pier. Nice hotel, but a bit of walk. You can cut through the GC, which makes the walk a bit shorter.
There are also a number of cheaper offsite hotels that are within walking distance. Everything in the Disneyland resort area is extremely close- not like WDW at all. You can get some hotel reviews at
www.tripadvisor.com. They currently have the Candy Cane Inn and Howard Johnson (hojo's) listed at the top couple properties in the area based on cost and overall guest satisfaction. Both are about 10-15 walk to the main gates. The candy cane is about the same distance as paradise pier, but candy cane offers a free shuttle, disney expects you to walk. Candy cane also offers breakfast.
July and August will be pretty warm. You can check average temps at
www.weather.com Its a drier heat then you are used to at WDW.