When selecting the place to remain in your Disneyland trip, the primary large choice it is advisable make is whether or not to remain in an official Disneyland resort or one of many a number of accommodations within the surrounding space.
Associated: The perfect accommodations close to Disneyland: The place to remain on- and off-property
Disneyland has three on-site accommodations: the Disneyland Lodge, Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa, and the not too long ago reimagined Pixar Place Lodge. While you select considered one of these properties as your “dwelling away from dwelling” throughout your Disneyland trip, you will get entry to particular advantages you will not discover wherever else.
Disneyland Resort resort fundamentals
Earlier than we get too far into the advantages, here is a bit of data on every of Disneyland’s three accommodations that can assist you select which one is finest on your trip.
Disneyland Lodge
The primary pool’s waterslide is modeled after a Monorail automobile, and the outsized chairs within the foyer resemble the Mad Tea Social gathering teacups. Murals within the visitor room towers depict traditional Disneyland sights.
The Villas at Disneyland Lodge, a brand new Disney Trip Membership tower, opened Sept. 28, 2023. The Villas at Disneyland Lodge are available numerous sizes, from studio rooms for as much as two friends to three-bedroom villas that sleep as much as 12.
Room charges on the Disneyland Lodge common round $600 per night time.
Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa
Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa blends conventional California Craftsman model with luxurious lodge facilities akin to a large stone fireplace fire, rustic furnishings and an outdoorsy coloration scheme.
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This resort can be the closest to Disneyland. It affords a non-public entrance to Disney California Journey Park and a separate entrance to Downtown Disney (which you need to use to entry the Monorail to Disneyland Park).
Room charges at Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa common round $700 per night time.
Pixar Place Lodge
Pixar Place Lodge, previously Paradise Pier Lodge, is the latest lodging choice at Disneyland. It is also essentially the most reasonably priced. At this resort, you will discover nods to each Pixar film, together with a meet-and-greet with Bing Bong from “Inside Out” and a “Discovering Nemo”-themed waterslide and splash pad.
Pixar Place Lodge additionally has a non-public walkway and entrance into the Paradise Gardens space of Disney California Journey Park. The rooftop pool deck is a first-rate fireworks viewing spot, too.
Room charges at Pixar Place Lodge common round $450 per night time.
Early theme park entry
Friends at any of Disneyland’s three accommodations can make the most of 30-minute early entry to both Disneyland Park or Disney California Journey Park (legitimate park admission required). This enables friends to get a head begin on fashionable sights earlier than the park opens to common daytime guests.
Which park opens early varies per day, however the present schedule is as follows:
- Disneyland Park: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
- Disney California Journey Park: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Thirty minutes could not sound like a lot, but it surely might imply the distinction between ready solely 5 minutes versus an hour to get on Area Mountain. At Disneyland, you’ll be able to start making Lightning Lane Multi Cross “skip the road” reservations sooner than different friends as a result of Disneyland requires you to be contained in the park earlier than you start making experience choices.
Handy entry to the parks
All three of Disneyland’s on-site accommodations are inside strolling distance of the resort’s two theme parks. Because of its walkable footprint, you’ll be able to attain the parks shortly within the morning or stroll again to your resort for a midafternoon break.
Friends of the Disneyland Lodge can observe the walkway to the retailers and eateries in Downtown Disney. You’ll be able to both stroll all through Downtown Disney to the esplanade between Disneyland Park and Disney California Journey Park or take a shorter stroll to the Downtown Disney Monorail station for entry to Disneyland Park.
In the event you’re staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa, you’ll be able to stroll straight into Disney California Journey Park by the resort’s personal theme park entrance. You may additionally get pleasure from a a lot shorter wait at safety versus friends who use the principle entrance. In the event you’d fairly go to Downtown Disney or Disneyland, there’s a separate walkway and entrance.
Final however definitely not least, Pixar Place Lodge friends can use a devoted walkway throughout the road from the resort to entry Disney California Journey Park or stroll out of the resort’s again entrance towards Downtown Disney.
Fireworks, characters and enjoyable actions
While you keep at a Disneyland resort, the enjoyable would not cease while you go away the parks every day.
You might occur upon your favourite character with out stepping foot inside a park. You’ll be able to typically discover Bing Bong from “Inside Out” greeting friends exterior of Pixar Place Lodge, and you may hearken to the musical stylings of Joe Gardner from “Soul” enjoying piano contained in the foyer.
Disneyland accommodations supply character meals at Goofy’s Kitchen on the Disneyland Lodge, in addition to at Storytellers Cafe and Napa Rose on the Grand Californian. You might be fortunate sufficient to satisfy with characters within the Disneyland Lodge foyer, too.
There are not any scheduled instances for this shock meet-and-greet, however your finest guess is between mealtimes at Goofy’s Kitchen when the characters make their technique to or from the restaurant.
In the event you love fireworks however your youngsters tire out earlier than nighttime, there are a number of fireworks viewing choices from Disneyland’s accommodations. In the event you keep on the concierge stage on the Disneyland Lodge, you’ll be able to view Disneyland’s fireworks from the E-Ticket Membership lounge. The lounge additionally serves complimentary meals and drinks all through the day.
Friends on the Grand Californian can entry a viewing deck on the sixth ground that has spectacular views of the World of Colour at Disney California Journey Park. These staying in a club-level room can get a partial view of Disneyland’s fireworks from the concierge lounge balcony.
As talked about above, the Pixar Place Lodge’s rooftop pool deck is a superb spot to look at the Disneyland fireworks. The property even pipes in music from the present to offer you a more in-depth expertise to what you’d get contained in the park.
Every resort additionally affords a calendar of weekly actions, starting from health courses to arts and crafts. A couple of of our favorites embody an academic strolling tour of the Disneyland Lodge, free drawing courses at Pixar Place Lodge and morning yoga overlooking Disney California Journey Park at Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa.
You’ll be able to view a full resort exercise schedule right here.
It is not as costly as you may suppose
There are some useful methods to include bank cards or rewards factors into your Disneyland planning to pay much less out of pocket on your Disneyland resort keep. TPG has a full information on the finest bank cards for Disney, however beneath are just a few of our greatest suggestions.
In case you have a card that comes with entry to the Citi journey portal — just like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see charges and charges) or a no-annual-fee choice just like the Citi Double Money® Card (see charges and charges) or the Citi Rewards+® Card (see charges and charges) — you’ll be able to typically e-book Disneyland accommodations that approach. Your Citi ThankYou Rewards factors are value a flat 1 cent apiece while you redeem them for resort stays by the portal.
Equally, if in case you have a card just like the Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card, the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card, or the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit score Card, you’ll be able to redeem Capital One miles at a price of 1 cent every through the Capital One Journey portal for Disneyland resort stays.
In case you have a card that comes with an annual journey credit score, you’ll be able to apply it towards purchases that code as “journey.” For instance, you need to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s annual $300 journey credit score on a Disneyland resort if the cost codes as journey. To make sure it does, e-book your room or hotel-and-tickets package deal straight with Disney or through a journey agent, akin to TPG’s companion Mouse Counselors.
The Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card has the same $300 annual journey credit score, however you’ll be able to solely use it towards bookings made by the Capital One Journey portal.
With the Disney® Premier Visa® Card and the Disney® Visa® Card, you’ll be able to earn rewards {dollars} which you could then redeem for Disney resort stays. One rewards greenback is value $1 towards your invoice.
Along with numerous methods it can save you utilizing factors, miles, and journey credit, Disneyland repeatedly affords reductions of 25% to 30% on resort stays. You’ll be able to view the most recent affords right here.
Backside line
There isn’t any denying that Disneyland’s on-site resort choices are dearer than most off-property accommodations, however nothing can match the sensation of staying in the course of the magic. The advantages of staying on property are clear, and with a little bit of factors and miles pixie mud, you’ll be able to scale back the out-of-pocket value of your Disneyland trip.
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