When selecting the place to remain in your Disneyland trip, the primary huge resolution it is advisable make is whether or not to remain in an official Disneyland lodge or one of many a number of resorts within the surrounding space.
Associated: The very best resorts close to Disneyland: The place to remain on- and off-property
Disneyland has three on-site resorts: the Disneyland Lodge, Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa, and the not too long ago reimagined Pixar Place Lodge. If you select certainly one of these properties as your “residence away from residence” throughout your Disneyland trip, you may get entry to particular advantages you will not discover anyplace else.
Disneyland Resort lodge fundamentals
Earlier than we get too far into the advantages, here is a bit of data on every of Disneyland’s three resorts that can assist you select which one is finest to your trip.
Disneyland Lodge
The Disneyland Lodge dates again to 1955 — the identical 12 months that Disneyland opened. Although the lodge feels subtle and fashionable, you may discover design particulars round each nook that harken again to Disneyland’s previous.
The primary pool’s waterslide is modeled after a Monorail automobile, and the outsized chairs within the foyer resemble the Mad Tea Occasion teacups. Murals within the visitor room towers depict basic Disneyland points of interest.
The Villas at Disneyland Lodge, a brand new Disney Trip Membership tower, opened Sept. 28, 2023. The Villas at Disneyland Lodge are available varied sizes, from studio rooms for as much as two company to three-bedroom villas that sleep as much as 12.
Room charges on the Disneyland Lodge common round $600 per evening.
Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa
Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa blends conventional California Craftsman model with luxurious lodge facilities resembling a large stone fireplace fire, rustic furnishings and an outdoorsy shade scheme.
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This lodge can also be the closest to Disneyland. It affords a personal entrance to Disney California Journey Park and a separate entrance to Downtown Disney (which you should use to entry the Monorail to Disneyland Park).
Room charges at Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa common round $700 per evening.
Pixar Place Lodge
Pixar Place Lodge, previously Paradise Pier Lodge, is the most recent lodging possibility at Disneyland. It is also probably the most inexpensive. At this lodge, you may 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 personal walkway and entrance into the Paradise Gardens space of Disney California Journey Park. The rooftop pool deck is a primary fireworks viewing spot, too.
Room charges at Pixar Place Lodge common round $450 per evening.
Early theme park entry
Friends at any of Disneyland’s three resorts can reap the benefits of 30-minute early entry to both Disneyland Park or Disney California Journey Park (legitimate park admission required). This permits company to get a head begin on fashionable points of interest 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 might not sound like a lot, however it may imply the distinction between ready solely 5 minutes versus an hour to get on House Mountain. At Disneyland, you’ll be able to start making Lightning Lane Multi Move “skip the road” reservations sooner than different company as a result of Disneyland requires you to be contained in the park earlier than you start making trip alternatives.
Handy entry to the parks
All three of Disneyland’s on-site resorts are inside strolling distance of the resort’s two theme parks. Due to its walkable footprint, you’ll be able to attain the parks shortly within the morning or stroll again to your lodge for a midafternoon break.
Friends of the Disneyland Lodge can comply with the walkway to the retailers and eateries in Downtown Disney. You’ll be able to both stroll right 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.
When you’re staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Lodge & Spa, you’ll be able to stroll straight into Disney California Journey Park via the lodge’s non-public theme park entrance. You may additionally get pleasure from a a lot shorter wait at safety versus company who use the principle entrance. When you’d somewhat go to Downtown Disney or Disneyland, there’s a separate walkway and entrance.
Final however definitely not least, Pixar Place Lodge company can use a devoted walkway throughout the road from the lodge to entry Disney California Journey Park or stroll out of the lodge’s again entrance towards Downtown Disney.
Fireworks, characters and enjoyable actions
If you keep at a Disneyland lodge, the enjoyable would not cease while you go away the parks every day.
It’s possible you’ll occur upon your favourite character with out stepping foot inside a park. You’ll be able to usually discover Bing Bong from “Inside Out” greeting company outdoors of Pixar Place Lodge, and you may take heed to the musical stylings of Joe Gardner from “Soul” taking part in piano contained in the foyer.
Disneyland resorts supply character meals at Goofy’s Kitchen on the Disneyland Lodge, in addition to at Storytellers Cafe and Napa Rose on the Grand Californian. It’s possible you’ll be fortunate sufficient to satisfy with characters within the Disneyland Lodge foyer, too.
There aren’t any scheduled instances for this shock meet-and-greet, however your finest wager is between mealtimes at Goofy’s Kitchen when the characters make their technique to or from the restaurant.
When you love fireworks however your children tire out earlier than nighttime, there are a number of fireworks viewing choices from Disneyland’s resorts. When 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 flooring that has spectacular views of the World of Shade 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 observe the Disneyland fireworks. The property even pipes in music from the present to present you a better expertise to what you’d get contained in the park.
Every lodge additionally affords a calendar of weekly actions, starting from health courses to arts and crafts. Just a few 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 lodge exercise schedule right here.
It is not as costly as you may suppose
There are some helpful methods to include bank cards or rewards factors into your Disneyland planning to pay much less out of pocket to your Disneyland lodge keep. TPG has a full information on the finest bank cards for Disney, however under are a number of of our greatest ideas.
You probably have a card that comes with entry to the Citi journey portal — just like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see charges and costs) or a no-annual-fee possibility just like the Citi Double Money® Card (see charges and costs) or the Citi Rewards+® Card (see charges and costs) — you’ll be able to usually e-book Disneyland resorts that means. Your Citi ThankYou Rewards factors are value a flat 1 cent apiece while you redeem them for lodge stays via the portal.
Equally, when 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 charge of 1 cent every by way of the Capital One Journey portal for Disneyland lodge stays.
You probably 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 should use the Chase Sapphire Reserve®‘s annual $300 journey credit score on a Disneyland lodge if the cost codes as journey. To make sure it does, e-book your room or hotel-and-tickets bundle immediately with Disney or by way of a journey agent, resembling 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 via 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 can then redeem for Disney lodge stays. One rewards greenback is value $1 towards your invoice.
Along with varied methods it can save you utilizing factors, miles, and journey credit, Disneyland recurrently affords reductions of 25% to 30% on lodge stays. You’ll be able to view the most recent affords right here.
Backside line
There is not any denying that Disneyland’s on-site lodge choices are costlier than most off-property resorts, 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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