Exactly.
WDW sits in the middle of a worthless swamp. There's no good reason for people to vacation in central Florida, except for the fact that Walt Disney bought up a bunch of land real cheap back in 1965. And almost 50 years later, there's still no good reason to go there, except for a bunch of late 20th century theme parks plopped in the swamp. (The parks are mostly great, the swamp is still worthless.)
Disneyland is very, very different. It sits in the middle of one of the biggest cities on the planet. It's an urban area that has cultural and natural resources that most other big cities only dream of. Disneyland management, living in SoCal and acknowledging the riches that are just beyond the Disneyland berm, knows this and responds accordingly.
Staying at the Disneyland Hotel for a week? You need to get out and see the rest of SoCal! Visit fabulous Palm Springs and ride up the mountain on the rotating Aerial Tramway, spend a few days in eternally sunny and perfect San Diego, visit the wealth of cultural options and museums and American cultural icons in Los Angeles, spend a day at the beach in Orange County and learn what the Beach Boys were singing about in all their hit songs, etc, etc. etc.
And if the freeway really does scare you that much, even in this amazing age of GPS equipped rental cars, just let the Gray Line tour take you there and back. But whatever you do don't think that a theme park, even the most fabulous park and the only one Walt Disney built himself, is the only reason to take a family vacation. Enrich your life and get out and see the real world, not just the fake world of singing pirates and talking cars.