Staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel is a magical experience. From the rooms, decor, and theming to the cast members and service, the Disney magic is all around you. Even after you have left the parks and returned to this hotel, you don’t feel like you have left any part of the Disney experience. I just got back from staying at The Disneyland Hotel for the first time. I am going to discuss the perks and my tips for staying at this wonderful place. If you are planning a Disney vacation book with Get Away Today to get the best deals.
The Disneyland Hotel
The Disneyland Hotel has a ton of magical experiences to enjoy.
Pools
Outside you can enjoy the sun by the pools, hot tubs, and Monorail themed water slides. There are 2 pools, the E-Ticket Pool and D-Ticket Pool. There is even a splash pad for kiddos.
Restaurants
Close to the pools, there are 2 restaurants, Tangaroa Terrace, and Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. If you are looking for a Character Dining experience you’ll want visit Goofy’s Kitchen. Here you will get to join Goofy for a buffet meal and visit with his friends while you eat. At the hotel there is also The Coffee House where you can purchase pastries, coffee, hot chocolate, teas, and other beverages. They also offer ice cream. We enjoyed playing at the pool and getting ice cream on our way back to our room. If you don’t find anything you would like to eat at these restaurants, the hotel is close to Downtown Disney and all of their restaurants.
Shopping and Snacks
Inside the main building of The Disneyland Hotel you will find a convenience store with snacks, drinks, and some essentials you might need. If you love to shop and purchase souvenirs you will also find a shop with some Disney and The Disneyland Hotel merchandise.
Cast Members
As normal, all of the cast members were kind and helpful with any of our questions. When we checked in we had a mix up with our room, but they were quick to fix it. They were kind and patient while we got it worked out. Any time we came across a cast member, they always greeted us with a smile. We celebrated my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary on the trip. The cast members at the front desk gave us celebrating and anniversary pins with special writing for the occasion.
Rooms
The Disneyland Hotel offers multiple different room types at different price ranges. On our last trip, we stayed in a Standard View room. Our room had a parking lot view. We personally didn’t want to pay for a room with a pool view because we knew we weren’t going to be in the room very much to need a nice view. The Standard View room had 2 queen beds. The beds are raised off the floor so you are able to store your suitcases underneath and out of the way. The room was very spacious. It had a nice sized closet to hang clothes in and dresser drawers. This room had a tub-shower combo that is perfect if you have little ones. The sink and counter is outside of the bathroom which is perfect for getting ready for your Disney day. It was wonderful and a time saver to be able to have someone doing their hair while someone else was showering. The theming of the room was so magical. There are Mickey ears everywhere and even Mickey hands holding the lights. The headboard has the castle and comes to life by lighting up and playing “When You Wish Upon a Star”. Overall this was a very nice room and was perfect for what we needed.
Early Entry
Early Entry is offered to all hotel guests staying at any of the Disney hotels. Early Entry begins at both Disneyland and California Adventure at 7:30 A.M. and runs until park opening at 8:00. To best utilize your Early Entry while staying at the Disneyland Hotel you will want to plan ahead. The security check point from The Disneyland Hotel to Downtown Disney opens at 7:00 A.M. every day. This security is located right outside of Sorcery Mickey’s hat before you get to any of the shops at Downtown Disney. The line for security gets really long the closer it is to 7:00. I recommend you get in line no later than 6:40 A.M. When we were there, 2 of us got in line at 6:30 everyday and were close to the front of the line. Only one person has to be in line before security opens to save a spot for your whole group. I would suggest sending 1 or 2 people down to get in line by 6:30 then the rest of your group can meet them closer to 7:00. This works great if you have little kids or multiple people getting ready in one room. Everybody doesn’t have to try to rush to get ready to be at security early. If you split up and only have a couple of people go down to security to wait in line, make sure the rest of your group is at security between 6:50 and 6:55. You don’t want to wait until the last minute and have the security line start moving before your whole group is together. This will be a stressful start to your day if you aren’t all able to make it through security at the same time.
Once you get through security if you are starting your day at California Adventure, you will have to walk through Downtown Disney to the gates. However, if you are starting at Disneyland you have the option to take the Monorail from Downtown Disney into the park. Personally my family and I don’t like to take the Monorail on our first day because we enjoy walking through the gates of Disneyland and down Main Street to start off our trip. But if this is not something that is must do for you, I recommend taking the Monorail to save some steps. These are my tips of how to get to the parks in time to enjoy your Early Entry.
Monorail
The walk from The Disneyland Hotel to the gates of Disneyland and California Adventure can be quite a distance, especially if you have kiddos or at the end of the day. The Disneyland Hotel is located at the opposite end of Downtown Disney from the parks. If you are starting the day at Disneyland I would recommend taking the Monorail. The Monorail station at Downtown Disney is located past the security check point just beyond the Star Wars Trading Post. It can save a lot of time and steps to take the Monorail into the park. Unfortunately, the Monorail doesn't stop at California Adventure. So if you are wanting to go to Disneyland the Monorail is a fantastic option. During Early Entry, the Monorail will start running around 7:20 A.M. After you go through security go directly to the Monorail station and wait by the gate for them to open. You will be in Disneyland before 7:30 so you will be able to enjoy all of Early Entry without having to hurry all the way through Downtown Disney. Since the Monorail station in Disneyland is in Tomorrowland you are fairly close to the rides that are open for Early Entry. The Monorail is wonderful to be able to use any time you are going back to The Disneyland Hotel or going to Disneyland. It was a feet and energy saver at the beginning of the day and was a relaxing way to head back to the hotel at the end of the night when we were tired. If you are staying at The Disneyland Hotel make sure to use the Monorail to save your feet and energy.
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