Disneyland Hotels

October 16, 11:25 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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In all my years of being a Disney tourist both to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, I learned that there's one superior choice in where to rest your head at night - a hotel owned by Disney inside the resort. You save so much time and hassle... plus there's perks like special hours inside the parks. Not to mention they really make for a fantastic experience because they're always clean and fresh with good food and the friendliest staff and all of the fun Disney themed room accents doesn't hurt either.

Of course, you need to book early if you want to get in on staying at one of the mouse's houses. I did not do that on my recent trip, so my family missed out and had to shuttle back and forth to Disneyland. It's a pain quite frankly. Next time, I'm planning our trip around hotel availability. (I'm that serious about how much staying at Disney adds to your family vacation!)

I did take a tour while I was there of all three of Disneyland's hotels, which combined have about 2500 rooms. They have something really for everyone and a wide variety of price ranges.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

This is the premiere hotel of Disneyland and the newest. They're even expanding it as we speak to make room for more visitors like me who love staying at the park.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel features a spa (open to anyone, not just hotel guests but reservations are required) and two restaurants - the Napa Rose a five star dining establishment and wine lovers dream and the more relaxed Storytellers Cafe. (We ate at a character breakfast on this trip at the Storytellers cafe and the food was top notch. Read my story on Disneyland's character breakfasts for the details.)

The Grand Californian has a special guests only entrance right into Disney's California Adventure and guests facing the park have views of the park out of their windows. Every room has a good view in this hotel whether it is of the park, the Downtown Disney shopping area, or just a garden area. There's also a special entrance into the Downtown Disney area from this hotel.

The hotel itself will look familiar to anyone who's been to Disney's Wilderness Lodge in Walt Disney World. It was designed by the same architect and has the same beautiful over sized boulder and timber features throughout. It may be outdoor themed but the accommodations are anything but rugged. The Grand Californian features H2O toiletries too.

Read about the recreation activities at the hotel HERE.

This YouTube gives you a good look at the Grand Californian...

Disneyland Hotel

The Disneyland Hotel is the mid range hotel at the Disneyland resort. It consists of three towers of rooms all with rooms facing an inner courtyard. The rooms on the other side of the towers have views of the area. The main tower's rooms on upper floors that face into Disneyland have the added bonus of being able to watch the firework show right from the windows - complete with audio piped in through the hotel.

Another cool feature of the Disneyland Hotel are the new character themed rooms. They're so popular that the hotel is adding even more. These rooms have to be booked as part of a 2-room package. There's no extra charge for them, though they do book up quickly. You can read more about them HERE.

The pool at this hotel is Peter Pan themed. You can read more about he recreation at the hotel HERE.

The Disneyland Hotel is home to Disney's most popular restaurant - Goofy's Kitchen. The food here looked absolutely fabulous. I wish my trip was longer so I could have eaten here. This is definitely on the itinerary for next time already! (Read details about the character dining at Goofy's Kitchen in my story HERE.) The Disneyland Hotel also has an old Hollywood themed steakhouse called Steakhouse 55.

This YouTube slide show gives you a great look at this hotel...

Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel

This is the most relaxed (and cheapest) of the hotels at Disneyland resort. It's got a California surfer theme from the lobby and through the rooms.

It has two restaurants  - the casual PCH Grill and the more upscale Japanese restaurant Yamabuki.

The recreation here includes a pool and a mini theater for the kiddos to sit back and watch cartoons.

There are some good views from the rooms here too. Though it's not attached to Downtown Disney like the other two, it's just a short walk across the street.

This YouTube video gives you a good look inside a suite at the hotel...

If money was no object, I'd stay at the Grand Californian. It has a luxuries feel and top amenities. When I go back, I will opt however to stay at the Disneyland Hotel in a room facing the Disneyland park on a floor high enough to see the firework show. That's a fantastic bonus!