I’ve gotten lots of questions about the benefits of staying “on property” at the Disneyland Resort. Staying “on property” allows guests to be close to be close to the parks making naps and more leisurely trips to the park easier. Disney-owned hotels allow guests to extend the magic and Disney-level of guest service beyond their adventures in the parks. This summer, I have had the opportunity to stay in two of the three Disney-owned hotel properties at the Disneyland Resort–the Grand Californian and theh Disneyland Hotel.
In the early summer, my family and I stayed at the beautiful Grand Californian. This hotel is known as the resort’s “high end” hotel and is located the closest to the parks. In fact, guests can access Disney’s California Adventure directly from their hotel. The hotel is designed in the craftsman style and boasts several great restaurants and really nice bar for relaxing with a drink after a long day in the parks. The lobby has a television with Disney cartoons and comfortable seating for adults and families. If you are looking for more affordable food at the hotel, you can get lesser expensive quick-serve food at the Hearthstone Lounge and White Water Snacks.
The rooms at the Grand Californian are very pretty and feature high-end H2O Plus soaps and lotions.
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| Double vanity in the bathroom. |
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| Entry area of the room. |
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| Our little balcony. |
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| Our view |
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| Ok, well it doesn’t look that pretty in this picture. I honestly never have a chance to take a picture of the room before me mess it up! We are always in a hurry to get to the parks. |
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| Close-up shot of the shower curtain. Cute, huh?! |
The hotel offers lesser expensive food options at The Coffee House (not just coffee–it serves sandwiches, breakfast items, etc.). If you are looking to make a major meal splurge full of Disney magic and delicious food, I recommend the character meals at Goofy’s Kitchen. You can get current prices and reservations at Goofy’s Kitchen by calling (714) 781-DINE.
Our problem is that we have 5 adults + a baby… and the disney resorts and the good neighbors all say they can accomodate 5 people total. last time we stayed at the GC we fit just fine with the pack n play and snuck the baby in, but now that he’s bigger (1.5 yrs) “sneaking” him in makes us more nervous…
Suggestions?
I honestly wouldn’t sweat it. I don’t think they have any idea who is coming and going from your room–especially at the bigger hotels and Disney property hotels.
I agree with the size of the rooms at DLH being able to accomodate 6 space wise. But the reason they quote 5 people to a standard room is occupancy limits. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend ‘sneaking’ into a room is in case of an emergency. If the hotel needed to be evacuated, I would want them to know exactly how many people were in my party. I’m not saying that nobody sneaks people in, I’m just stating a different point of view as to why you might not want to do that.
Excellent point! I didn’t think of that.
Hm… So if we wanted to follow the rules and stay at a place close (I mean close, 1400-1500 block of harbor) that accomodated 6, would you have any recommendations?
Been to DLR so many times, but not with the extra little one 🙂