Disneyland California - The Hotels
Disneyland has 3 official hotels on site, all of which offer something different. Each has their own twist on the classic Disney magic, with superb service and comfort. All are within walking distance to the park or either have bus or monorail access.
While the Disney hotels are amazing, they do come at a price, so if you can’t or don’t want to stay on site there are plenty of options off-site nearby, many of which are also within walking distance.
On this page we’ve provided a brief summary of each of the hotels to try and provide a flavour of what to expect and how they differ, as well as a handful of off-site options.
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
The Grand Californian is the signature hotel on site and is comparable to the Grand Floridian in Orlando or perhaps the Disneyland Hotel in Paris. However, unlike these hotels, rather than being themed around Victorian elegance, it’s more a case of the national parks lodge, mountain escape kind of feel, making it a really special and unique place to stay. This is also a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort meaning a portion of the rooms are reserved for DVC owners.
Rooms
The Grand Californian offers a range of rooms, from standard rooms all the way up to suites. Standard rooms generally sleep up to 5 adults and there are a range of different views on offer - standard, pool, partial, Downtown Disney and woods-courtyard. These have a classic woodland theme with little hints from Chip and Dale and Bambi and come with different sleeping configurations and layouts depending on your booking. Taking a step up you can book club level service for those extra perks, or you can go further a book a suite. These range in size but the biggest sleeps up to 13 adults, so there are some pretty incredible suites on offer here.
Rooms can obviously be booked as cash but DVC points are also an option if you’re a DVC member. These are hard to get unless this is your home resort, but it’s not impossible. The cheapest rate for a deluxe studio is 17 points per night going all the way up to a grand villa at 224 points per night.
Dining
There’s a great range of dining options available at the Grand Californian, including character meals, so something for the whole family.
Napa Rose
An amazing fine-dining experience offering California cuisine.
Also offers Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures - a brilliant 3 course breakfast with some classic Disney princesses.
Don’t miss the special Disney themed dim sum, offered on certain days of the week unless pre-booked.
Hearthstone Lounge
Located in a beautiful lounge by a crackling fire
Offers a full bar as well as light bites and burgers, fries etc.
GCH Craftsman Grill
A great spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner
Offers grab and go burritos, bagels, pizza, hot dogs etc
GCH Craftsman Bar
Poolside bar offering snacks and light meals as well as drinks to sip by the pool.
Storytellers Cafe
A fantastic BBQ buffet option with food that will appeal to the whole family
The second character meal offering at the hotel - you can meet Donald, Daisy, Clarabelle, Goofy or Pluto over breakfast and brunch.
Pool & Amenities
A brilliant array of amenities and activities await - in particular the pools which are strong here.
Pools: An amazing selection of 3 pools - Fountain, Redwood and Mariposa. The Redwood includes a 90-foot-long waterslide that curves around the giant stump of a Redwood tree and also has a mickey shaped children’s pool and whirlpool. The Mariposa pool also offers poolside cabanas for rent throughout the day meaning there are plenty of areas to take it easy and relax during your stay.
Fitness Centre and class: Being California of course there’s an excellent fitness centre as well as a range of classes including yoga, strength, stretching, aqua, meditation and aerobic classes.
Tenaya Stone Spa: An amazing full service spa to enjoy a little bit of you time.
Park access: Exclusive entryway to the California Adventure theme park, as well as early park access awarded to those staying at a Disney hotel.
Recreation activities: A great selection of activities on offer seasonally throughout the year.
Shopping: Just the one store here - Acorns Gifts & Goods - but enough to keep you going until you get into the parks.
Adventures x Paradise Review
Neither Adventures by Knapp or Paradise Falls Family have been fortunate enough to stay at one of the Disney resorts in California - although Paradise Falls Family have just purchased a new DVC contract at the Disneyland Villas and so will be changing that in the coming years! That being said we would all love to stay at the Grand Californian and have tried to book (unsuccessfully) using our DVC points several times. It really is the flagship hotel at the California resort and the theming, as well the character meals and pools make it perfect for a family stay.
Disneyland Hotel
The original Disney resort hotel offering a modern design complete with Disney theming and nods throughout. You can stay in the Adventure, Fantasy or Frontier towers — each themed to the park’s original lands. Alternatively a new DVC tower has now been built in which Paradise Falls Family have just bought a new contract. Lookout for a review when we finally get to visit!
Rooms
Offering sophisticated rooms with Disney touches throughout (including light-up Sleeping Beauty Castle headboards). Just like the Grand Californian the hotel offers standard rooms, deluxe rooms and suites. Again standard rooms sleep up to 5 with suites going up to 14. The signature suites here in particular look AMAZING - the Adventureland suite, Pirate suite, Big Thunder suite (now on Greg’s bucket list), Mickey Mouse suite and Fairytale suite, although they come with a hefty price tag.
Dining
Another stellar mix of dining options including character meals - there’s something for all the family here.
Goofy’s Kitchen
Another character meal option - this time with Goofy and friends
Open breakfast and dinner, buffet style so a great family option.
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
Brilliant tiki bar inspired by the Disney classic Jungle Cruise.
Offers reasonable meals as well as just drinks for lunch and dinner, including kids meals
Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill
Polynesian themed quick-service restaurant
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner - a great option to grab something quick around park time.
The Coffee House
A simple coffee shop - a nice spot to energise or re-fuel.
Broken Spell Lounge
A cosy lounge themed around Sleeping Beauty
A great spot for an evening drink or snack
Palm Breeze Bar
Located in the new DVC tower
A wonderful Disney themed bar offering light bites and drinks
Pool and Amenities
As per the Grand Californian, a brilliant selection of activities and in particular pools to cool off in the California heat.
Pools: With 2 pools on offer, plus another in the DVC villas, you’re not short of places to cool off. The E-ticket pool pays tribute to the park’s early days and has a couple of brilliant slides. The D-ticket pool is slightly calmer, ideal for a more relaxing experience, complete with whirlpools and poolside cabanas. The DVC villas then have the Palette Pool and Steamboat Willie Splash Area which look amazing and we can’t wait to try!
Fitness Centre and class: As per the Grand Californian there’s an excellent fitness centre as well as a range of classes including yoga, strength, stretching, aqua, meditation and aerobic classes.
Park access: No exclusive entryway like the Grand Californian, but the parks are within walking distance and early park access is again awarded to those staying at a Disney hotel.
Recreation activities: A great selection of activities on offer seasonally throughout the year including movie nights.
Shopping: There are 2 retail stores in the hotel —Disney’s Fantasia Shop and Small World Gifts & Sundries—perfect for all your merch needs.
Adventures x Paradise Review
Again, we’ve not stayed here yet but can’t wait to book our first DVC visit in the new tower. Staying in the original Disney resort will be something special and all the little nods to the past really look special here. It also feels a step further towards families with the different theming and pools, and the suites look out of this world. In short, another great option if you want to stay on site.
Pixar Place Hotel
The third hotel at Disneyland California, Pixar Place is the only hotel in the World to celebrate Pixar. Designed to immerse guests in the world of Pixar, the hotel offers fantastic theming and experiences. Located slightly further away from the parks, this is the cheapest of the 3 hotels but perhaps one of the most family friendly and fun.
Rooms
With Pixar themed rooms, families will love staying here. From the artwork on the walls, down to the Pixar lamp on the desk, these rooms look brilliant. Like the other hotels, standard rooms accommodate up to to 5 adults but with just a standard or premium view. Club level and suites are available going up to a maximum of 14 adults. While not quite in the same league as the themed Disneyland suites, these still look pretty special.
Dining
While Pixar Place does have some good dining options, it isn’t quite in the same bracket as the other two hotels and doesn’t at present offer a character meal.
Great Maple Modern American Eatery
Open for brunch or dinner, this is a fun relaxed sit-down option.
Offers American comfort food as well a cool cocktails.
The Sketch Pad Cafe
Pixar themed quick-service cafe
Brilliant for families - kids will love eating here and you can even buy pre-packed meals to eat on the go.
Small Bytes
Another Pixar themed quick-service cafe
Located on the pool deck serving quick meals and snacks
Pool and Amenities
Pixar Place offers a great selection of activities to keep the whole family entertained and is one of the big attractions to staying here.
Pools: Just the one pool here but it’s a belter - a brand new rooftop Finding Nemo inspired pool deck. It includes a 186-foot-long Crush’s Surfin’ Slide, as well as a Nemo’s Cove for the little ones and a whirlpool to relax in. Poolside cabanas are also available.
Fireworks: On select nights, watch the Disneyland Park fireworks and listen to a live synchronized broadcast of the soundtrack from the pool deck.
Fitness Centre and class: As per the other hotels there’s an excellent fitness centre as well as a range of classes including yoga, strength, stretching, aqua, meditation and aerobic classes.
Pixar Shorts Court: Enjoy interactive games like bean bags and shuffleboard where favorite animated Pixar shorts are brought to life.
Pixar Putt: A limited time offering, play mini-golf inspired by your favourite Pixar characters. An extra fee applies.
Shopping: STOR-E, a WALL-E inspired store selling all your usual Disney merch plus some Disney art as well.
Adventures x Paradise Review
When we’ve looked to stay on-site (without DVC points) this is the hotel that always grabs our attention. We LOVE Pixar and the hotel theming looks absolutely incredible. The distance from the parks does put us off, although isn’t a deal breaker, but you can book off-site hotels that are closer and cheaper. Having said that the hotel looks an incredible place to stay for families that we’d love to try one day.
Off-Site Hotels
As we’ve mentioned staying off-site is very much do-able and often much cheaper than staying on-site in a Disney hotel. Of course you don’t get that Disney magic or the Disney bubble, but you can save a lot of money without being too far from the action. In all our past visits, we’ve always stayed off site for this reason, although we do always look to try and stay on-site if we can! We’ve listed below a couple of hotels we’ve stayed at previously, as well as some others that we’ve had recommended or considered. There are literally dozens of options though, and in particular lots of the typical chain hotels, so take your time and pick carefully.
Park Vue Inn: Paradise Falls Family have stayed here twice now, once under it’s previous ownership. This is basically a motel but is right opposite the park gates so you can be in the park in just a few minutes. In fact it’s so close that on our last visit we sometimes came back to the hotel for a swim in the afternoon and popped back to the park again later in day. Rooms are basic but clean and perfectly fine if you’re spending all your time in the parks anyway, and the rates were very good. We’d definitely recommend this as an option.
Anaheim Marriott Hotel: Adventures by Knapp stayed here on their last trip and loved it. Around about a 20 minute walk to the main gates (shuttle buses are available), but that’s similar to the walk from some of the Disney parking lots! Offers lovely rooms, restaurant and bar, and a pool. It was the perfect spot to stay. It is directly opposite the Hilton as another option!
Howard Johnson by Wyndham Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground: Although we’ve never stayed here we’ve heard good things. It’s located very close to the park gates (just up the road from the Park Vue Inn) plus it has a waterpark so is brilliant for families.
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Anaheim by IHG: We love IHG and you can’t go wrong with a Holiday Inn which tend to be brilliant value. Most of the off-site hotels tend to be located down S Harbor Boulevard and beyond, whereas this hotel is located on the other side of the parks on S Walnut Street. However it’s still only a 15 minute walk to Downtown Disney so still a decent location.
