Disneyland Resort Hotels

[VoiceGuy07]

I was hoping to hear from some folks who have stayed at any of the Disneyland Resort Hotels. Family of four (kids 8 and 6) heading to Disneyland in '08 for a few days. This will be the first trip to the west coast in about 10 years.

Any recommendations or preferences?

 

[Skip]

If your budget allows it, do stay at the Grand Californian. My family of four with two kids (11 and 13) stayed there for two and a half days and loved it. The atmosphere, theming, service, restaurants, and convenience were all top-notch. Storyteller's Cafe was great for character dining. Plus, you get a special direct entrance to DCA.

Hope that helped,

-Skip

 

[davewasbaloo]

There are three resort hotels at Disneyland - Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian. The Grand is fantastic - designed by Peter Dominic of the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge fame. It is without a doubt the nicest hotel in the DL area and I like it slightly better than any on the Florida hotels. Wonderful but expensive.

The other two though are like staying at the Down Town Disney Partner hotels in Florida. Not that special really. However, the DL Hotel has Goofy's Kitchen which I rate higher than Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, and the lovely themed Neverland Pool. the Lost Bar has live music all the time too. Don't forget to feed the Koi, walk past the waterfalls, and look at all the original Disney art work.

Paradise Pier is largely forgetable, but the pool is ok.

 

[VoiceGuy07]

Thanks to both of you for the info. You're confirming what my wife and I were thinking! Any preferences on restaurants for a nice dinner? Big fan of Citrico's at the Grand Floridian. Anything close?

We'll probably be there three nights.

 

[Skip]

For the Grand Californian: Like I said above, Storyteller's Cafe is great for character dining as well as dinner, breakfast, and anything else. Great service, food, and atmosphere! There is also a quicky breakfast buffet right by the DCA entrance, I think it was called White Water Snacks or something... and then there was a far more upscale place that might suit your fancy, though its name escapes me. If I remember I'll edit.

EDIT: I remembered! It's the Napa Rose, it was very nice. Probably the closest to Citricos from what I've heard about it. Thumbs up. There's also the Hearthstone Lounge for a quick drink.

Hope this helped,

-Skip

 

[Nicole220]

You must go to Napa Rose at the Grand Californian!! It's simply amazing, the best food I've ever had!

 

[isitingood]

You must go to Napa Rose at the Grand Californian!! It's simply amazing, the best food I've ever had!

I agree the Napa Rose is a must.:wave:

 

[ingamba]

My gf (twist1980 on this board) and I will be eating at Napa Rose next week, on Valentine's Day. Of all of her countless trips to DL (she grew up on the west coast, and I on the east), she has never eaten at Napa Rose, so we're both looking forward to it.

To stay on topic about DLR hotels, we'll be staying at Disneyland Hotel. Twist has stayed there once before and loved it. In fact she says she'd never stay off site again. Myself, being a WDW veteran, say the same thing. There is nothing like being in the midst of the magic.:sohappy:

 

[davewasbaloo]

Sorry, I can't believe I forgot to talk about the Napa Rose. This is better than any of the restaurants in WDW IMHO. Best restaurant I have ever eaten at, with wonderful views of Grizzly Peak. Be sure to have the vintners board which is a wonderful sampler menu with appropropriate wine pairings. To me it beats V&A's and California Grill.

Storytellers is very good - an on par with Citricos, Spoodles etc.

However, if it is the menu at Citrico's you like, be sure to eat at Catal's in Downtown Disney, just steps away from the Grand.

For restaurants I recommend:

Napa Rose - Fine Dining at the Grand
55 at the DLH - great steakhouse
Yamabuki's - great Japanese at the Paradise Pier

At DTD:

Catal - mediteranian
Tortilla Joe's - Mexican
Naples - Italian and stone baked pizzas
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Cafe - creole

Also, we like the Rain Forest Cafe, House of Blues and even ESPN there too.

Disneyland - Blue Bayou and Plaza Inn
DCA - Tratorria and Ariel's, honourable mention to Corn Dog Castle for the best Corn dogs anywhere!

 

[MainSt1993]

The Grand is the only one worth the money. If you can't stay there, then go with a Good Neighbor hotel. If you buy a three-day passport, you get the early entry and Mickey's Morning Madness anyways, so the perks of staying at a DLR resort hotel diminish. Also, they haven't upgraded (at least since Sept 06) to the Keys to the Kingdom system that WDW has. BAH!!! If you can swing it though, the Grand is definitely worth it.

 

[MainSt1993]

Hey, does anyone know if Napa Rose will cater a dinner in your suite if you're staying at the Grand? I'm trying to think of something unique for my mom's b-day this year.

 

[mickster]

Pretty much echoing what others have said, the Grand Californian is far and away the best for your money, even though it's the most expensive. It's also the only one of the three that is truly an original Disney resort. The Paradise Pier used to be a hotel called the Pan Pacific when Disney purchased it back in the 90's. They changed the name to the Disneyland Pacific and then later changed it to Paradise Pier. Aside from the name changes and a few cosmetic upgrades, it's still pretty much the same old Pan Pacific. The Disneyland Hotel, contrary to popular belief, was also not built by Disney. It was built by Walt's friend, Jack Wrather, back in the 50's. Walt had no interest in the hotel business and so he gave his friend Jack Wrather exclusive rights to use the name "Disney" on hotels. The problem was that the Wrather company didn't have the same standards as Disney, and so the hotel kept getting more and more worn down. So Disney bought the Wrather company in the late 80's so that they could take over the Disneyland Hotel and also have the right to put the Disney name on hotels (if you look at old guidebooks from WDW prior to this time, you'll notice the hotels on property didn't have the word "Disney's" in front of them like they all do now). Once again, they did some cosmetic changes to the Disneyland Hotel, but otherwise it's the same old place. Grand Californian was the only one conceived and built from the ground up as a Disney Resort, and you can really tell a difference. It is the only one that really has any personality and charm. The others are basically just dressed up towers.

 

[Skip]

Pretty much echoing what others have said, the Grand Californian is far and away the best for your money, even though it's the most expensive. It's also the only one of the three that is truly an original Disney resort. The Paradise Pier used to be a hotel called the Pan Pacific when Disney purchased it back in the 90's. They changed the name to the Disneyland Pacific and then later changed it to Paradise Pier. Aside from the name changes and a few cosmetic upgrades, it's still pretty much the same old Pan Pacific. The Disneyland Hotel, contrary to popular belief, was also not built by Disney. It was built by Walt's friend, Jack Wrather, back in the 50's. Walt had no interest in the hotel business and so he gave his friend Jack Wrather exclusive rights to use the name "Disney" on hotels. The problem was that the Wrather company didn't have the same standards as Disney, and so the hotel kept getting more and more worn down. So Disney bought the Wrather company in the late 80's so that they could take over the Disneyland Hotel and also have the right to put the Disney name on hotels (if you look at old guidebooks from WDW prior to this time, you'll notice the hotels on property didn't have the word "Disney's" in front of them like they all do now). Once again, they did some cosmetic changes to the Disneyland Hotel, but otherwise it's the same old place. Grand Californian was the only one conceived and built from the ground up as a Disney Resort, and you can really tell a difference. It is the only one that really has any personality and charm. The others are basically just dressed up towers.

I'm going to have to agree with you there. They are basically just big decorated blocks. Grand Californian is an architectual marvel.

-Skip

 

[isitingood]

Pretty much echoing what others have said, the Grand Californian is far and away the best for your money, even though it's the most expensive. It's also the only one of the three that is truly an original Disney resort. The Paradise Pier used to be a hotel called the Pan Pacific when Disney purchased it back in the 90's. They changed the name to the Disneyland Pacific and then later changed it to Paradise Pier. Aside from the name changes and a few cosmetic upgrades, it's still pretty much the same old Pan Pacific. The Disneyland Hotel, contrary to popular belief, was also not built by Disney. It was built by Walt's friend, Jack Wrather, back in the 50's. Walt had no interest in the hotel business and so he gave his friend Jack Wrather exclusive rights to use the name "Disney" on hotels. The problem was that the Wrather company didn't have the same standards as Disney, and so the hotel kept getting more and more worn down. So Disney bought the Wrather company in the late 80's so that they could take over the Disneyland Hotel and also have the right to put the Disney name on hotels (if you look at old guidebooks from WDW prior to this time, you'll notice the hotels on property didn't have the word "Disney's" in front of them like they all do now). Once again, they did some cosmetic changes to the Disneyland Hotel, but otherwise it's the same old place. Grand Californian was the only one conceived and built from the ground up as a Disney Resort, and you can really tell a difference. It is the only one that really has any personality and charm. The others are basically just dressed up towers.

I will totally agree with you, Paradise Pier looks very cheesy