When selecting the place to remain in your Disneyland trip, the primary large determination you have to 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 Resort, Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa, and the just lately reimagined Pixar Place Resort. Whenever you select one in every of these properties as your “residence away from residence” throughout your Disneyland trip, you will get entry to particular advantages you will not discover anyplace else.
Disneyland Resort resort fundamentals
Earlier than we get too far into the advantages, this is a bit of knowledge on every of Disneyland’s three accommodations that can assist you select which one is greatest in your trip.
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort dates again to 1955 — the identical 12 months that Disneyland opened. Although the resort feels refined and trendy, you will discover design particulars round each nook that harken again to Disneyland’s previous.
The principle 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 sights.
The Villas at Disneyland Resort, a brand new Disney Trip Membership tower, opened Sept. 28, 2023. The Villas at Disneyland Resort are available varied sizes, from studio rooms for as much as two visitors to three-bedroom villas that sleep as much as 12.
Room charges on the Disneyland Resort common round $600 per night time.
Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa blends conventional California Craftsman type with luxurious lodge facilities equivalent to an enormous stone fireplace fire, rustic furnishings and an outdoorsy shade scheme.
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This resort 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 need to use to entry the Monorail to Disneyland Park).
Room charges at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa common round $700 per night time.
Pixar Place Resort
Pixar Place Resort, previously Paradise Pier Resort, is the most recent lodging possibility at Disneyland. It is also essentially the most reasonably priced. At this resort, you will discover nods to every 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 Resort additionally has a personal walkway and entrance into the Paradise Gardens space of Disney California Journey Park. The rooftop pool deck is a major fireworks viewing spot, too.
Room charges at Pixar Place Resort common round $450 per night time.
Early theme park entry
Visitors at any of Disneyland’s three accommodations can reap the benefits of 30-minute early entry to both Disneyland Park or Disney California Journey Park (legitimate park admission required). This permits visitors 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 might 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 Move “skip the road” reservations sooner than different visitors as a result of Disneyland requires you to be contained in the park earlier than you start making experience picks.
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 rapidly within the morning or stroll again to your resort for a midafternoon break.
Visitors of the Disneyland Resort can comply with the walkway to the retailers and eateries in Downtown Disney. You possibly can 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.
When you’re staying at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa, you’ll be able to stroll straight into Disney California Journey Park via the resort’s non-public theme park entrance. You may additionally get pleasure from a a lot shorter wait at safety versus visitors who use the primary 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 Resort visitors 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
Whenever you keep at a Disneyland resort, 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 possibly can typically discover Bing Bong from “Inside Out” greeting visitors outdoors of Pixar Place Resort, and you may hearken to the musical stylings of Joe Gardner from “Soul” taking part in piano contained in the foyer.
Disneyland accommodations supply character meals at Goofy’s Kitchen on the Disneyland Resort, in addition to at Storytellers Cafe and Napa Rose on the Grand Californian. It’s possible you’ll be fortunate sufficient to fulfill with characters within the Disneyland Resort foyer, too.
There aren’t any scheduled instances for this shock meet-and-greet, however your greatest wager is between mealtimes at Goofy’s Kitchen when the characters make their solution to or from the restaurant.
When you love fireworks however your youngsters tire out earlier than nighttime, there are a number of fireworks viewing choices from Disneyland’s accommodations. When you keep on the concierge degree on the Disneyland Resort, 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.
Visitors on the Grand Californian can entry a viewing deck on the sixth flooring 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 Resort’s rooftop pool deck is a good spot to observe 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. Just a few of our favorites embody an academic strolling tour of the Disneyland Resort, free drawing courses at Pixar Place Resort and morning yoga overlooking Disney California Journey Park at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa.
You possibly can view a full resort exercise schedule right here.
It is not as costly as you would possibly assume
There are some useful methods to include bank cards or rewards factors into your Disneyland planning to pay much less out of pocket in your Disneyland resort keep. TPG has a full information on the greatest bank cards for Disney, however beneath are a number of of our greatest ideas.
When 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 possibility 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 guide Disneyland accommodations that approach. Your Citi ThankYou Rewards factors are value a flat 1 cent apiece while you redeem them for resort stays via the portal.
Equally, when you’ve got 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 fee of 1 cent every by way of the Capital One Journey portal for Disneyland resort stays.
When 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, guide your room or hotel-and-tickets bundle instantly with Disney or by way of a journey agent, equivalent to TPG’s associate Mouse Counselors.
The Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card has an identical $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} you could then redeem for Disney resort 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 usually affords reductions of 25% to 30% on resort stays. You possibly can 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 cut back the out-of-pocket value of your Disneyland trip.
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