Our family recently returned from our annual Disneyland trip here in California. It started 28 years ago with our first born and now is a new tradition with our first born grand baby who is now
4 years old, by the way it was his second trip and was tall enough last year to ride ALL the rides except Indiana Jones AND he rode them all "the big white mountain" (Matterhorn) was his favorite last year this year it was Star Tours :-)
When we started our tradition 28 years ago it started with the "Disneyland Hotel" over the years we have stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel as our family grew we also tried the Hyatt Hotel down the road both very nice.
However this year We decided to go back to the original "Disneyland Hotel" AMAZING!!! The rooms were recently newly renovated, one of the MUST mention change in the room is the headboard over the bed, one push of a button on the light on the nightstand AND AMAAZINGLY the headboard lights up with FIREWORKS AND A SOOTHING musical song plays, you can leave the fireworks on as a nightlight, the music only plays for a little while long enough to relax after a very exciting day at the parks, LOVED LOVED LOVED!!! The room is so clean, the new pools and hot tub were perfect after walking from opening to closing of both parks!
I have to say making reservations were so easy and the staff so helpful including directing me to a trip planner to help make this trip as special as our first one EACH time we go :-) I asked if there was anything they could suggest to make this trip special for our grandson? They suggested different ideas, BUT I want to share the one we choose. First it does cost an additional amount however if your able to do this it was well worth it for us as grandparents.
We purchased the Birthday welcome package it included the following and so much fun to send our grandson Myles down the hallway to find his room on his own AND find it he did very easily. There it was a beautiful Welcome banner across the door ( made from felt and satin) as he walked into the room there were Micky's footprints all over the floor were Myles could see Mickey had been in the room preparing to welcome him. There were balloons with one Mylar that when Myles touch it, it sang Happy Birthday. On the window another banner saying Happy Birthday with a Tinkerbell flying over it lit up with an led light, on the nightstand a Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse ear hat with "Myles" stitched on the back,a book autographed and personally signed "To Myles, from Mickey and all the other characters" with a pen for Myles to take to the park with him also a HUGH beautiful box on the bed a present from Mickey and his friends for Myles with a picture frame with Mickey on it along with spinning Tinkerbell light toy, a find the hidden Mickey's in the park book AND a large plush MICKEY MOUSE with a light up lanyard draped over his
neck for Myles! The reaction of watching our grandsons face light up and him saying " Whaat? This is from Mickey for me?" PRICELESS!!! Thank you Disney planning staff for the recommendation.
I also want to thank the Disneyland Hotel for trying to get us into our room early due to one of our family members having a migraine, because you were able to at least get one room for our party of seven our family member was able to lay down for a little while and was able to get rid of her migraine so we ALL were able to have a fabulous vacation!
We will choose "Disneyland Hotel" for many years to follow in the future as our family continues to grow along with our families annual traditional trip to Disneyland and memories continue to grow :-) !!!

Thank you to the staff of the Disneyland Hotel, planning department and of course Mickey and his friends! :-)

Stayed in a 2 bedroom suite which is actually a 1 bedroom suite with an adjoining room. The living room was very spacious with plenty of room for all of us (5 adults) as well as pack n play for baby. Bathrooms were super clean with great smelling bath products and great plush towels. Adorable Mickey fxtures added a special touch to the elegant rooms. Beds and bedding were very comfy and nice. Light up firework headboards were a special touch. Stayed in fantasy tower and had great view of the evening fireworks from our room. Easy walk to Disneyland or California Adventure. Many restaurants and lots of shopping. Only minus is there is not much lighting (but there is plenty of space) for putting on makeup outside of bathroom. Highly recommend.

Pros: Proximity to parks and monorail, perks, early entry everyday of your stay, recently refurbished, nice pools, outstanding service.

Cons: Price


For those of you who hesitate between the Grand Californian and the Disneyland hotel: We stayed at both and perfer the Disneyland hotel simply because the rooms are larger and newer. Also, the Disneyland hotel is closer to the monorail. The only thing "grand" at the Grand Californian is the lobby.

For those of you who hesitate between a good neighborhood hotel or one of the 3 official Disney hotel: Splurge and go for the Disney hotel if you can afford it! Well worth the extra cost. This was our 4th visit to Disneyland and we stayed in good neightborhood hotels before which are advertised to be "across the street". They are close but not close enough to go back for a jacket, the sunglasses that you forgot in your room or an afternoon nap. The Disneyland Hotel is close enough that you can do that.

Also, the early entry to the park is a great perk if you are planning on visiting "Cars land". We took advantage of the early entry to California Adventure (reserved to hotel guests only) and by the time the park open to general public, the wait time to spring racers was already over 1 hour and people were lining up for the fast pass. All fast passes were gone less than 1 hour after official park opening! We were able to walk right into the ride with no wait using early entry.

The Disneyland hotel is steps away from the monorail which is another great way to beat the crowds from the main entrance in the morning. The monorail takes you directly to Tomorrow Land.

The Disneyland Hotel would be our one and only choice for future visits.

I have not stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for about 6 years. It was a surprise to see all the updates to the hotel that had been made. The hotel now looks new, clean and bright. We stayed in the Frontier Tower, in a suite on the 9th floor and had a spectacular view of the parks and the to the east. We watched the fireworks display every night from our balcony, with the music channel on the TV. The headboard in our bedroom was carved with disneyland and lights that looked like fireworks and music that would play when you turned it on. All the fixtures in the bathroom had some Mickey design, such as the handle on the tub, tiles, lights, etc. The first night turn down service included a plate of mickey & minney cookies with a carafe of milk. The following nights with chocolates on our bed and our room straighter up. (new towels and trash emptied) The kitchen/breakfast area was spacious and we had a wet bar and a refrigerator. Service staff was wonderful and always pleasant.