The Disneyland Hotel

I’ve always been mesmerized by the Disneyland Hotel. As a kid I remember riding the monorail with my family and getting off at the hotel station (now called the Downtown Disney station) and enjoyed wandering around the grounds at the hotel. I remember seeing a small water fountain show there as a kid and I remember doing a character breakfast with my family there.

I’ve always wanted to stay there. It seemed magical to me, like you never really leave the park. This past trip we got the chance to stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

Let me start with the positives. It was magical. The moment we walked into our hotel room our kids figured out there was something different about the headboard behind the beds with the Disney castle carved into it. My son flicked a switch and a music box version of “A dream is a wish your heart makes” came on and lights flickered around the castle forming stars and fireworks. We all smiled at the magic of this headboard and also enjoyed that the song only played once and didn’t keep playing over and over again.

Other magical touches to the Hotel also included the large pools which included two monorail themed water slides, toon gloves that hold up the lights in your bathroom and tasteful Disney themed artwork in your room.

The staff is also first rate. The housekeeping staff was excellent and even had some fun with our kids’ blankets and stuffed animals. One day we came back and our daughter’s blanket had been formed to look like Minnie’s bow on her bed. It brought a huge smile to our daughter.

The beds were comfortable and the day bed, which our daughter slept on, was adequate. There was also plenty of space in the room itself. The bathroom (which we will get more to in a minute) was smaller but the room was a good sized. Our family of five did not feel cramped or on top of one another during our stay.

We had an amazing view from our room. We booked through Costco Travel which was offering premium pool view rooms. I expected us to have a second or third level room with a view of the pool. We must of lucked out and got a ninth level room that did have a view of the pool but also had an amazing view of Disneyland. From our window we could see the peaks of Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. To add to it, the view for the fireworks was also spectacular. We found ourselves on a Sunday night, with our kids asleep, laying in our own bed looking out the window enjoying a full view of the fireworks show. If our kids wouldn’t have been asleep we would have turned on the TV so we could have the music from the park to go with the fireworks.

Ok, I don’t want to call anything negative because I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the hotel. But if there is something to set your expectations for, it is the bathroom. Now don’t misunderstand, our bathroom was clean, the handles for the sink and tub had mickey ears on them (just to add a little Disney touch) and the towels were fresh. The only thing to be prepared for is the bathroom is on the smaller side, at least ours was. Everything about the Disneyland Hotel is four star, and part of what you expect with a four star hotel is a good sized bathroom, this was a regular hotel sized bathroom. Again everything was clean and just fine, I would just warn you to not expect a large soaking tub to enjoy after a day at the park in your bathroom, unless you upgrade to one of those amazing signature suites, then maybe you can get a larger tub.

Now as far as the cheapskate father in me, the question I’ve gotten most from friends is, “was it worth it?” I can’t answer the question for everyone. For me, the money we spent at the hotel was worth it. I can’t say every future trip we make to Disneyland will include the Disneyland Hotel, but I would definitely stay there, or one of the other two Disney owned hotels, in the future. If you love Disney and you want to feel like you are still in the magic of it all, it is worth it. If maybe you’re still on the fence about Disney, then you may want to save your money and stay somewhere else. There are plenty of great hotels near the park and you can find one that fits you and your family, I’m confident of that.

One final other thing to consider about the hotel is if you don’t have a car, you are a little more beholden to the food at the hotel, the parks, or in Downtown Disney. Which can all be great but also is a little challenging with your younger kids who maybe aren’t ready to eat all of the yummy things you can find immediately close to the hotel. We did find ourselves doing an Uber Eats order one morning just so we knew our kids got food they would eat and we saved a few bucks on that meal.

Overall, I would say we had an excellent experience at the Disneyland Hotel. Four stars all the way. Great service, friendly staff, a good touch of Disney but it isn’t overwhelming. Can’t wait to do it again someday.