Hi Friends!
A few weeks ago we took a trip to Anaheim and did a few days at Disneyland while we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel! When we were walking into the hotel I knew I wanted to write up a full blog post on everything about the hotel and our experience there. There is so much inside the hotel that it feels like the hotel is an experience all on its own so I have lots to share! We have stayed at many hotels on Disney property in Florida but before this stay we hadn’t stayed on Disney property in California! It is on the pricier side but this hotel really feels like a place to relax and hang out, not just a place to crash after a long park day. This hotel feels iconic and it is one of the original properties at the resort which is pretty cool! The Disneyland Hotel is a really good mix of classic Disney nostalgia with nice and modern amenities. I will stop rambling but below is a full breakdown of what it’s like to stay here, from the rooms and pools to the restaurants and amenities!
Happy reading!
Location & Convenience
I feel like location is the best place to start with because one of the best things about the Disneyland Hotel is how close it is to the parks. The hotel is really just steps from Downtown Disney, which connects directly to both parks making for easy mornings. This means you can walk to the entrance of the parks pretty quickly without needing to get on a bus or even worry about complicated transportation. There is also a station for the Disneyland Monorail nearby, which will take you directly to the park! I imagine that would be a pretty fun Disney way to start your day, especially with kiddos! I think for families or really for anyone who wants easy park access or even access to Downtown Disney, the location is a huge perk of staying at this hotel!
The Overall Vibe
I feel like I blabbed on this part a ton back at the beginning of the blog post but just incase you needed a little bit more convincing, the Disneyland Hotel had a really fun and nostalgic atmosphere pretty much everywhere you were in the hotel. It’s themed around the history of Disneyland itself and it has subtle nods to the park throughout the property that you can see while you’re walking around. The hotel is made up of three different towers and each one has its own theme that is tied to classic Disneyland lands: Adventure, Fantasy, and Frontier. When you’re walking through the property feels playful and immersive, but it still manages to feel upscale and relaxing at the same time. In some of the hotels in Florida they have moved away from the fun touches of Disney in their rooms which is a bummer because I feel like that is one of the bigger reasons to stay on property in the first place! The Disneyland Hotel does a really great job at having a mix of whimsy and being more modern which is great!
The Rooms
The rooms at the Disneyland Hotel were so nice, they are spacious, comfortable, and filled with subtle Disney details which I majorly geeked out about! I can’t speak for all rooms but ours and our friends room had a really pretty themed headboard that light up with fireworks above the Sleeping Beauty Castle! There were lights and music that played from the headboard as well and it was such a fun touch to find in the room! It’s the kind of small detail that makes the experience feel extra special. As for room size we went with our two friends and their two kiddos and we got ajoined rooms but instead of there just being a random door in the middle of the room that connected to theirs, there was one door that you opened into a small hallway and then both of our doors were in that hall and only our keys opened that first door! It was nice to be able to have both spaces to hang out in. It was the perfect combination of being together and separate all at the same time. There were so many fun Mickey touches throughout the room, like the sink handles in the bathroom were Mickey shaped and so was the handle for the bathtub! The beds were incredibly comfortable and the rooms were also laid out really well. It was nice to be able to unpack into the closet and put our stuff in the dressers and then also have space for our suitcases under the bed. These aren’t revolutionary details but it’s nice when a hotel does spacing and layout with the guest in mind, especially if you are going to be there for more than just a couple of days!
The Pool
I think that if you are traveling with kids, or honestly just enjoy a fun pool, the pool area here looked like it would have been a ton of fun. We had planned to go in the pool on one of our days in California and it was either too chilly or other plans came up so we didn’t end up going in but we will next time for sure! The hotel had a couple of pools, there are two large pools called the E-Ticket Pool and D-Ticket Pool. One of the cool things it had was two monorail themed waterslides that looked like a lot of fun! There is also a children’s pool, a water play area for kiddos and then Mickey and Minnie jacuzzi/hot tub areas. I also saw a spot where you can rent a private cabana for the day which would be fun for a day by the pool between park days, especially once the weather warms up a bit! I think you could easily spend an afternoon relaxing by the pool if your trip has a break like that.
Dining at the Disneyland Hotel
There surprisingly were several dining options that they had in the actual hotel which made it easy to grab anything from a quick breakfast to a more fun themed experience without having to leave the hotel. One of the more popular spots is Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. This tiki-themed bar opened in over like 15 years ago at this point and from what I can tell it has become a fan favorite, we heard many people recommending us to stop here for a drink! It has a really fun tiki bar atmosphere and lots of fun tropical drinks to try out. They had other dining options around the hotel like Goofy’s Kitchen where you can see Chef Goofy while you eat, grab coffee on the go from The Coffee House, grab a drink from the Broken Spell Lounge or sit by the pool and have lunch at Tangaroa Terrace!
We actually had room service a few times while we were there, a couple of times for breakfast and one night we had a late dinner via room service! The room service was nice and convenient, we just called down and placed our order with Kiki who seemed to be working every time we called haha! There was usually over an hour wait but they told us our estimated wait time before we even started to order each time and all three times the food got to us much quicker than we were told it would be!
Amenities & Activities
Beyond the rooms and pools, the Disneyland Hotel offers a surprising amount of amenities for guests like:
A 24-hour fitness center with cardio and weight equipment
Fitness classes like yoga, stretching, and meditation
Guest activities like movie nights and seasonal events which are so much fun to attend
Concierge services and tour assistance if you need that
On site shopping and their iconic themed gift shop
The hotel also has digital check-in and mobile key access through the Disneyland app, which makes arrival really convenient!
There are even special in-room celebration packages you can add if you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or special trip.
Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the Disneyland Hotel. The rooms were comfortable, the pool area looked like it would have been a ton of fun, and the overall the vibes were just great and nostalgic which is exactly what I am looking for from a Disney hotel. The location couldn’t have been better, the amenities make it easy to relax between times in the park and the Disney details throughout the hotel made the experience feel just a little more special. I really feel like staying here is a big part of the Disneyland experience. If you’re planning a trip to the Disneyland Parks and want a hotel that feels magical, convenient, and full of Disney touches, this is absolutely one I would recommend. I think the Disneyland Hotel is especially great for families traveling with kids, Disney fans who love the classic nostalgia of Disneyland and anyone who is traveling that wants to stay on property to be close to the parks without the hassle of driving and transportation! Let me know if you have any questions at all, you can comment below or send me an email at tarynintotravel@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
Much Love,
Emma
WHAT TO READ NEXT!
