Whether it is the playful Pixar Place Hotel, nostalgic Disneyland Hotel or luxurious Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the hotels of Disneyland Resort are spectacular. They offer incredible recreation areas, lovely landscaping, charming themed guest rooms and outstanding service from cast members. If you have the opportunity to stay in a Disneyland Resort Hotel, we hope that you will make the most of it. Here are our five tips for making the most of your stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel:
Arrive Early and Leave Late
Guest rooms at all three Disneyland Resort Hotels are available after 3:00pm (Villas after 4:00pm) on check-in day, and check-out time is 11:00am. We do not suggest that you try to stay in your room outside of these times, but we do recommend using the other amenities at your hotel. As an hotel guest, you are able to use the common area facilities from 6:00am on check-in day until midnight on check-out day!
This is not some kind of sneaky loophole, multiple hotel cast members have been eager to share this information with us. We have been happy to arrive early, leave our luggage with bell services, and explore the hotel common areas until our room was ready (sometimes early)! On check-out day, we have enjoyed the pool late into the day and used the bathrooms on the pool deck to change. We recommend packing swim gear in an easily accessible place to take advantage of this wonderful perk. Guests can even access Early Entry on check-in and check-out days!
Schedule Resort Hotel Time
We like to schedule time just to enjoy our hotel. Maybe your check-in and check-out days will provide you with sufficient time to explore your Disneyland Resort Hotel, or maybe you will take our advice and schedule a rest day in between park visits. However you do it, be sure to dedicate time to the incredible amenities that make-up your hotel! The common areas are full of delightful surprises, like a scale model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a seasonal gingerbread house or maquettes from the latest Pixar film. Some perks are only offered during the day, like the chance to…
Take classes and tours
Disneyland Resort Hotels have their very own scheduled entertainment and classes! During our recent stay we greeted Bing Bong, listened to Joe Gardner playing piano, learned to play a song on the ukulele, made character bracelets and watched fireworks from our hotel pool deck (with the soundtrack)! There were also outdoor movies, learn-to-draw classes, hotel tours and fitness classes on offer.
All of this was happening over just a few days at the Disneyland Resort Hotels! Even if you do an online check-in, be sure to accept an entertainment guide and schedule from a cast member at your hotel’s front desk. This cast member should also be able to assist you with any questions about the offerings. If you see something you like, register for it by calling or visiting the front desk. Be aware that some offerings, like the drawing classes, do fill-up! We have also called in advance to speak with a cast member about this schedule. Tip: sometimes these offerings are posted on the Disneyland website calendar. You can always check there. However, we have found that Disney Resort Hotel cast members may know about future offerings that have not been posted.
Look at a map
Guests of Disneyland Resort Hotels have guest exclusive entrances to Disney California Adventure Park. Ask a cast member at your hotel for a map and directions for these entrances. The route to these entrances may not be immediately obvious. Cast members can also help you with the best shortcuts to reach Disneyland Park or paths to the wonderful dining.
A Pixar Place Hotel cast member gave us a custom map with information about the newly reimagined hotel and hand drawn directions to the parks. This was so helpful as we navigated this new space!
Use those slides and pools!
Disneyland Resort Hotels have some truly extraordinary pool areas. Pixar Place Hotel has a newly opened recreation deck with a Finding Nemo themed pool area and the one-of-a-kind Pixar Shorts Court. At Disneyland Hotel, we love the charming nostalgia of the pool deck, and our kids love the Steamboat Willie splash area and monorail-themed slides. When we visit Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, we feel like we have been suddenly transported to a redwood forest (with a great slide).
Do not miss spending time at these gorgeously imaginative pool decks. You can even enjoy the theming without getting wet. Each pool area offers food and drinks, and lounge chairs abound. Some guests also rent cabanas, pods and daybeds (we are always too busy splashing around to use these).
A note on pool and slide closures.
If the pools or slides at your Disneyland Resort Hotel are closed, you can use the pool area at another Disneyland Resort Hotel.
On our recent visit, Crush’s Surfin’ Slide at Pixar Place Hotel was unexpectedly closed on our arrival day. Fortunately, a helpful cast member directed us to Disneyland Hotel. There, we were kindly welcomed by the pool concierge. We were then able to use the monorail-themed waterslides and the entire pool area. The next day, Crush was surfing and sliding again, so we rode the waves with him at Pixar Place Hotel.
Whatever the circumstances may be during your visit, we encourage you to speak with cast members when you have questions. They will help you make the most of the magical pool areas.
We hope that you have a chance to stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel very soon, and we hope that you enjoy every minute of your visit.
If you found these tips useful, we encourage you to browse the rest of our articles. We have a step-by-step guide to preparing for your visit here. Furthermore, for a comparison chart of the three hotels, click here and for help choosing between the three, click here.