By Tinker Belle Diva
Tinker Belle Diva feeding Koi in 1982
My first stay in the Disneyland Hotel was nearly 40 years ago. I was pretty young so I don’t have a lot of recollections of that trip, but I do remember feeding the koi in the ponds outside the Wonder Tower (now the Frontier Tower) where we stayed, and standing on the ~2 foot balcony to watch the Dancing Waters Show, which I consider a precursor to World of Color. Who also can forget the grotto and waterfalls! The Disneyland Hotel went through one of it’s biggest renovations from 2010-2012, where these were removed, the towers renamed, and so much was added – a brand-new pool, immersive water play area, a redesign of the Never Land Pool, and a new restaurant and bar.
Hotel waterfalls 2009
Since then, we have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel several times, most recently in June 2019. There are three “on-property” hotels to choose from at the Disneyland Resort – Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa – and they are priced similar to Deluxe hotels at Walt Disney World. Therefore, we don’t stay on-property often, but do enjoy being able to stay inside the magic every couple of years. You can read about our stay last summer at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel here. You will likely be paying anywhere from $200-800 more a night to stay on-property over non-Disney hotels, so I am going to highlight why we do decide (every once in a while) to splurge!
Hotel Grounds
The On-Property Perks – These benefits bring a bit of extra magic you can’t experience if you stay off-property. My favorite is the Early Entry each day that is ONLY open to on-property guests! This perk is to enter 30 minutes before regular park opening and allows us to ride Radiator Springs Racers, Incredicoaster!, and then jump into line for Toy Story Midway Maniajust as the time is ending. You also can receive in-room celebrations, preferred access reservations, and hotel package delivery. You can read a full description of each at the Disneyland website.
Location – There are other hotels, including many non-Disney hotels, that are closer to the entrances to the parks. But what I love about the Disneyland Hotel is it’s proximity to the Disneyland Monorail and walking through Downtown Disney (DTD) to and from the parks. I love spending time in DTD, so read my article about why. To get to the parks, enter through security just past the Adventure Tower. From here, you can take the Monorail on the left directly into Disneyland, or walk all the way through Downtown Disney to access the main gate into Disneyland or into Disney California Adventure (DCA) Park. Note that you cannot use the gate into DCA from Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, but you can use that gate to exit DCA though.
Disneyland Hotel – the headboard lights up with fireworks! (photo from Disney Magic Diva)
Resort Type Grounds – I absolutely love just walking around this resort hotel. The grounds are beautiful and so many things to see, including the World Famous Cats of Disneyland. The resort is bounded by the three hotel towers (Fantasy on the north, Adventure on the east, and Frontier on the south) and then the convention center on the west. When you walk around this resort, you feel immersed as you cannot see the outside world. There are several dining options too – Goofy’s Kitchen (read Superhero Diva’s review here), Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill, and Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. We really enjoy Trader Sam’s. We’ve had some amazing cocktails on the patio while musicians play and tiki torches burned. It’s a great place to relax at the end of the night.
Monorail Slides with Adventure Tower in the background.
The Pools!! – It’s hard to count how many pools they have at this resort! There is the E-ticket pool at the north end, the D-ticket pool just to the south, the Monorail slides next to the Frontier Tower, and then both a Minnie shaped and a Mickey shaped hot tub! My kids love the Monorail Waterslides. There are two slides with replicas of the original Monorail trains. The Red Monorail slide is 25-foot-high and 180-foot-long, while the Yellow Monorail slide is 13-feet-high and 80-feet-long. For the real littles, there is a 2-lane mini slide, pop jets, fountains and a surging waterfall.
Relax in a Tea Cup
The Hotel Itself – Where else can you stay in a room with a light headboard that flickers fireworks and plays songs?? No where that I know of! But you can inside your Disneyland Hotel room. The rooms are spacious. We have stayed in rooms with two queen beds, but usually have one with two queens and a futon sofa bed. The toilet has a separate door from the sink and that helps with getting ready in the morning. Each tower has a magical surprise – Frontier Tower has a model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Adventure Tower has items from Jungle Cruise, and the Fantasy tower as an incredible map of early Disneyland. When you are checking into the Fantasyland Tower, you can relax in the Tea Cup chairs and you might run into a character or too. Plus there is the Fantasia gift shop in case you forgot to buy souvenirs in the parks.
Ready to book your vacation! Be sure to contact Patricia at All For Dreams Travel for a free quote.
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