The Hotels of Disneyland

The Hotels of Disneyland

There are three hotels on the Disneyland Resort property. They are the Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

There is the original Disneyland Hotel that has been rebuilt. This hotel is the mid-priced hotel of DLR. One wing of the Disneyland hotel is what is left of the original hotel. The Monorail use to run through the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel when it was first built. That area of the hotel no longer exists and the Monorail station is still in its original location but is not in Downtown Disney.

Each of the three wings of the Disneyland Hotel is themed on a land in the Disneyland Park. There is Fantasyland, Adventureland and Frontierland. The pool has a fantastic Monorail theme and kids can slide out of Monorail Red or Blue into splash pools. There are cabanas to rent and lots of deck chairs to relax in.

It is just a short walk to Downtown Disney where you can hop the Monorail to get into Disneyland. You can also walk through DTD and enter the Esplanade and head into either park or go through the Grand Californian to enter Disney California Adventure Park.

Paradise Pier is located across the street from DCA. It is behind and across the street from the park. Paradise Pier has a California beach theme with a Disney touch. This is the least expensive of the 3 DLR Hotels. Overall simple in design and theme with lots of Disney touches.

Paradise Pier has a pool on the roof of the hotel. In keeping with the general design of the hotel it is simple with a fun waterslide for the kids. You can also sit on the roof and watch the Disneyland fireworks. The music is piped into the area so you can enjoy it. Just ask where to go if you wish to see the fireworks.

To get to the parks you can either walk past the Disneyland Hotel to DTD and hop the Monorail or walk to the Esplanade or you can walk across the street to the Grand Californian and enter DCA through there or continue through to DTD and the Esplanade.

The most expensive of the hotels is the Grand Californian. It is done in 1920’s artesian design with lots of beautiful woodwork. Wood statues adorn the entire lobby and in truth while walking around the hotel I feel as if I am in the Eastern High Sierra’s around or in Yosemite.

The pools of the Grand are themed to look like mountain ponds or parts of rivers. Overall the feel is being up in the mountains playing in the water round the trees.

You can enter DCA through a special gate for guests of the Grand. Only hotel guests can enter this gate early in the mornings. In the afternoon any guest with a pass/ticket can enter through the Grand gate to DCA. On busy days this gate may not be open to all guests, only those staying at the hotel may use it. You may enter this gate on busy days if you are a not a hotel guest if made a purchase at the hotel gift shop or you have eaten in one of the hotel restaurants.

The hotel you pick is up to you and your finances. Another good option is to stay at a non-Disney hotel in the area. Check the Disneyland.com website for Good Neighbor Hotels. These can be a significant savings over the DLR hotels. Look at a map before booking to see where they are located. The off property hotels can save you money and unlike WDW are close enough that you can walk from many of them to the hotel.

Disneyland Hotel Pool Area

Disneyland Hotel New Pool Area

            In 2010 I was sad to hear my most favorite pool was being rethemed. The Neverland pool at the original Disneyland Hotel was being rethemed. I loved walking around that area looking at all the Neverland touches. From Captain Hook’s Jolly Roger Ship with the waterslide plank coming off its side in the main pool, to the hidden Indian Village (in miniature) on the “hill” that lead to the big waterslide I loved every touch. Why not?! It made me feel like I was walking around Neverland for real!

            For the longest time I have been wanting to check out the new Monorail Pool at the Disneyland Hotel but just could not force myself to go over there. On our last visit to Disneyland we decided to take a detour over to the Disneyland Hotel and check it out.

            We took lots of pictures from outside of the pool area but I was not happy with the quality of the pictures. After walking all the way around the outside and taking in the new look of the three towers that make up the hotel my husband got to feeling brave. He walked up to Guest Services at the Hotel Desk and asked for permission to go inside the pool area to take pictures. We told him we are reporters for Walt’s Basement (WaltsBasement.yuku.com) and wanted to share how the hotel and in particular the pool had changed.

Nick waiting patiently as we took pictures.

            Nick was at Guest Services when we walked in. He quickly talked to his co-workers and made sure he was not needed for the time necessary to give us a tour of the pool area. He then took us into the pool area and told us about all the amenities and point out the best places to take pictures from. He pointed out how the new pool reflects back on the history of Disneyland.

            Nick’s tour helped take the sting of seeing such drastic changes in the Disneyland Hotel. I miss the water falls with the bridges and koi ponds. I miss the dancing water with colored lights, a precursor to World of Color and the radio controlled Jungle Cruise Boats. Nick’s joy of the history of the grand Hotel and the Disneyland Park helped me accept and in fact enjoy the changes.

            Thank you Nick for giving us such an enjoyable and informative tour!

To read more about the Disneyland Hotel Pool and see more pictures check out my article in Walt’s Basement Dateline Disney:

http://waltsbasement.yuku.com/topic/25827/master/1/