A few weeks ago my family and I vacationed at Disneyland Resort. The trip began with a five night stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, {you can read about it here}, followed by a magical two night stay at Disneyland Hotel. Our stay at Disneyland Hotel was a magical extension to our time spent inside Disneyland Park. From the moment we caught a glimpse of Yensid’s hat, we knew magic was ahead!
Disneyland Resort has three hotels, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and Disneyland Hotel. Disneyland Hotel, which opened in 1955, is considered Disneyland’s original hotel. Walking through the lobby, and throughout the hotel, I quickly saw the hotel as a tribute to Walt Disney and the park’s history. In fact, all three towers of the hotel are named after three of the original five “lands”, Adventure Tower, Frontier Tower and Fantasy Tower.
The Fantasy Tower is home to the Front Desk and Guest Services. Guests can find Bell & Valet Services outside of the tower. The whimsical main lobby showcases these fantastic teacup attraction-inspired chairs. They look so much fun that I had wished my husband checked us “in”, so that I could have tested them out!
Just around the corner from the lobby are the hotel’s two stores, Disney’s Fantasia Shop and “small world” Gifts & Sundries. Disney’s Fantasia Shop sells a variety of Disney souvenirs and “small world” Gifts & Sundries is where you’ll find snacks, drinks and minor health & beauty supplies. Since our room was located within Fantasy Tower, my family ventured into these happy little stores quite a few times during our short stay.
Would you like to take a look inside our room?
Upon entering our room and looking to the right, we found a delightful little vanity area waiting to lend a helping Mickey hand!
As a mommy to an independent three-year-old, I appreciated the height of the sink. Victoria was able to reach this sink, unlike the sink at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. As an added bonus, the sink and bathtub featured Mickey Mouse faucet handles!
Just beyond the vanity and storage closet was a small desk featuring a Mickey Mouse-accented lamp.
The kids quickly pointed out that the magic of Mickey Mouse was everywhere in the room…even in the carpeting!
My family is a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) family. DVC rooms are known not only for their beauty, but also their convenience. The amenities, such as kitchenette, we have become accustom to having on a vacation. Disneyland Hotel is NOT a DVC property. Although we missed having access to a microwave or toaster, our Disneyland Hotel room provided us with a miniature refrigerator. It was perfect for our two night stay.
Wondering where in this gorgeous room you’d find our water bottles hidden? The miniature refrigerator is tucked nicely in the right side of the dresser unit pictured in the below photo.
The window to the right of the yellow arm-chair in the photo above, provides a view that takes up the width of the entire room! Here’s a look at our view.
The kids enjoyed looking out the window for quite some time each day. Who wouldn’t, right?
From our room in Fantasy Tower, we were able to see the Adventure Tower, located on the left side of our view and the Frontier Tower located to the right. The pools pictured in the above photo are called the E Ticket and D Ticket pools. On the middle right side of the picture you can catch a glimpse of the super-cool Monorail Pool’s slide.
One of the reasons my children enjoyed peering out of the window was to watch Daddy or me run for morning coffee, tea, pastries and fruit! Looking at the photo above, below and to the right of the unique shaped roof are three dining options, Steakhouse 55 & Lounge (Table Service), Goofy’s Kitchen (Character Dining buffet) and The Coffee House. The Coffee House offers quick breakfast items, in addition to espresso, lattes and specialty coffees. This place was hopping each morning! It opens early. When we visited they were open at 6 a.m. and closed at 11 a.m. If your family would like to eat a larger breakfast, Tangaroa Terrace offers a full breakfast menu. In the above photo, you can see Tangaroa Terrace at the foot of Adventure Tower. It has a roof that reminds me of Disney’s Polynesian Resort! This quick service dining option serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We chose The Coffee House each morning. The Cast Members provided quick service and we were back at our room with food and drinks in a jiffy!
Who wouldn’t want to spend few more minutes in their room with beds like this?
The light-up Sleeping Beauty Castle headboard is amazing! With a flip of the switch on the base of the light, music begins and a firework display becomes your nightlight!
The room’s decor hints back to the 1950’s with sharp, sleek lines and buttoned furniture, all saturated in hues of yellow and blue – colors popular to that era. From the sentimental photograph of Walt Disney on the wall, to the magical reminders of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Park, I absolutely adored the room’s theming.
Disneyland Hotel captures the essence of Disney PERFECTLY. It’s is my family’s favorite hotel of all three Disneyland Hotels. We loved staying in this magical room!
Have you stayed at a Disneyland Resort Hotel? Which was your favorite experience?
This past weekend my son, Gavin, and I saw Disney’s newest film, “Big Hero 6.” We loved it! Baymax was Gavin’s favorite hero. A funny robot with a kindness that’s pure with selflessness, Baymax has won my heart too.
Next I applied white icing to each cupcake.
