When choosing a place to stay, disneyland The first thing you have to decide on your vacation is whether to stay at the official Disneyland hotel or one of several hotels in the surrounding area.
Related: Top hotels near Disneyland: On- and off-site accommodations
Disneyland has three hotels: the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and the recently renovated Pixar Place Hotel. When you choose one of these properties as your “second home” during your Disneyland vacation, you’ll have access to exclusive benefits you won’t find anywhere else.
Disneyland Resort Hotel Basics
Before we dive into the benefits, here’s a little information about each of the three Disneyland hotels to help you choose the best hotel for your vacation.
disneyland hotel
of disneyland hotel Its history dates back to 1955. This is the same year that Disneyland opened. The hotel feels sleek and modern, but there are design details throughout that evoke Disneyland’s past.
The main pool’s water slide is modeled after a monorail vehicle, and the oversized chairs in the lobby resemble the teacups from the Mad Tea Party. The guest room tower murals depict classic Disneyland attractions.
The Villas at Disneyland Hotelthe new Disney Vacation Club Tower opens on September 28, 2023. Villas at the Disneyland Hotel range in size from studio rooms that sleep up to two people to three-bedroom villas that sleep up to 12 people.
Disneyland hotel room rates average around $600 per night.
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Traditional California Craftsman style is blended with luxury lodge amenities such as giant stone fireplaces, rustic furniture, and an outdoor-inspired color scheme.
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This hotel is also the closest hotel to Disneyland. It offers a private entrance to Disney California Adventure Park and a separate entrance to Downtown Disney (which can be used to access the monorail to Disneyland Park).
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa costs an average of about $700 per night.
Pixar Place Hotel
Pixar Place Hotelformerly the Paradise Pier Hotel, is Disneyland’s newest accommodation. It’s also the most affordable. The hotel is filled with all things Pixar, including a meet-and-greet with Bing Bong from Inside Head and a Finding Nemo-themed waterslide and splash pad.
The Pixar Place Hotel also has a private walkway and entrance to the Paradise Gardens area at Disney California Adventure Park. The rooftop pool deck is also a great spot to watch fireworks.
Room rates at Pixar Place Hotel average around $450 per night.
Early entry to theme parks
Guests at any of Disneyland’s three hotels receive 30-minute advance admission to Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park (valid park admission required). This allows guests to get an early start on popular attractions before the park opens to regular visitors during the day.
Which parks open early varies by day, but here’s the current schedule:
- disneyland park: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Disney California Adventure Park: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Thirty minutes may not sound like much, but it can make a big difference between waiting five minutes to ride Space Mountain and waiting an hour. At Disneyland, you can start making them. lightning lane multipath Disneyland requires you to be in the park before you can select a ride, so you can “skip the line” and book before other guests.
Convenient access to the park
All three hotels on Disneyland property are within walking distance of the resort’s two theme parks. Thanks to the walkable grounds, you can arrive at the park early in the morning or walk back to your hotel for a mid-afternoon break.
Guests staying at the Disneyland Hotel can walk the sidewalk to the shops and restaurants of Downtown Disney. You can walk all the way through Downtown Disney to the boardwalk between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, or take a short walk to the Downtown Disney Monorail station to access Disneyland Park.
Guests staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa have direct access to Disney California Adventure Park from the hotel’s private theme park entrance. It also reduces wait times at security significantly compared to guests using the front entrance. If you want to visit Downtown Disney or Disneyland, there are separate walkways and entrances.
Last but not least, guests staying at the Pixar Place Hotel can access Disney California Adventure Park via a private walkway across the street from the hotel, or walk toward Downtown Disney through the back entrance of the hotel. You can.
Fireworks, characters and fun activities
When you stay at the Disneyland Hotel, the fun doesn’t end after you leave the park each day.
You may be able to meet your favorite characters without even setting foot in the park. Bing Bong from Inside Head can often be seen greeting guests outside the Pixar Place Hotel, and you can hear the musical style of Joe Gardner from Soul playing the piano in the lobby.
Disneyland hotels offer character meals at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, Storyteller’s Cafe and Napa Rose at the Grand Californian. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to meet the characters in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel.
There is no scheduled time for this surprise meet-and-greet, but it will most certainly be during meal times at Goofy’s Kitchen, where the characters will be traveling to and from the restaurant.
If you love fireworks, but the kids get tired before nightfall, there are several options for viewing fireworks from your Disneyland hotel. If you stay on the concierge level of the Disneyland Hotel, you can watch the Disneyland fireworks from the E-Ticket Club Lounge. The lounge offers complimentary food and drinks throughout the day.
Guests staying at the Grand Californian enjoy stunning views of the World of Color at Disney California Adventure park from the 6th floor observation deck. If you stay in a club level room, you can see some of the Disneyland fireworks from the Concierge Lounge balcony.
As mentioned above, the Pixar Place Hotel’s rooftop pool deck is a great spot to watch Disneyland’s fireworks. The facility will also play music from the show, providing an experience closer to what you would get inside the park.
Each hotel also offers a weekly calendar of activities, from fitness classes to arts and crafts. Some of our favorites include an educational walking tour at the Disneyland Hotel, a complimentary drawing class at the Pixar Place Hotel, and morning yoga overlooking Disney California Adventure Park at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
View the entire hotel activity schedule here.
It’s not as expensive as you think
There are several convenient ways to incorporate Disneyland credit cards and reward points to reduce the cost of your Disneyland hotel stay. TPG has Best credit card for DisneyHowever, below are some of the best tips.
If you have a card that gives you access to City Travel Portal — like Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (look Rates and fees) or options with no annual fee, such as Citi Double Cash® Card (look Rates and fees) or Citi Rewards+® Card (look Rates and fees) — You can often book Disneyland hotels that way. your City Thank You Rewards Points are worth a flat 1 cent each when redeemed for hotel stays through the portal.
Similarly, if you have a card that: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card,or Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Cardcan be redeemed capital one mile at the rate of 1 cent each via Capital One Travel Portal For staying at Disneyland Hotel.
If you have a card with an annual travel credit, you can apply it to purchases coded as “travel.” For example, you can use: Chase Sapphire Reserve®annual event $300 travel credit If the price is coded as travel at a Disneyland hotel. To guarantee your reservation, book your room or hotel and ticket package directly with Disney or through a travel agent like TPG’s partners. mouse counselor.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card has a similar feature. $300 annual travel creditHowever, it can only be used for reservations made through the Capital One Travel portal.
and Disney® Premier Visa® Card and Disney® Visa® Cardearn Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for a stay at a Disney hotel. A $1 benefit is worth $1 towards your bill.
In addition to the many ways to save with points, miles, and travel credits, Disneyland regularly offers discounts of 25% to 30% on hotel stays. Check out the latest offers here.
conclusion
There’s no denying that Disneyland’s on-site hotel options are more expensive than most off-site hotels, but nothing can match the feeling of staying right in the middle of the magic. The benefits of staying on-site are obvious, and with a few points and miles of Pixie Dust, you can reduce your out-of-pocket costs on your Disneyland vacation.
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