Contributing photographer Jason of disneygeek.com shares some of his thoughts and observations from a stay at the newly renovated Disneyland Hotel He has a full set of pictures on his website as well as an extended look at the renovation progress in his Construction Progress Section dating back to March of 2009.

I had not stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in ages. Mostly since I can drive to the park and back home I do that to save some money or I stay at another local hotel. But I was lucky enough to get my quiz question in fast enough and won one of the 40 rooms the Disney Parks Blog gave away. The prize pack included the room, parking, and two one day park hopper tickets. The contest and prize redemption went extremely smoothly with no hiccups or hassles at all and I even ended up moving it a week to try and avoid some rain and go with better weather. Thanks Disneyparks Blog!!

Check-in was a breeze. I think it took me under 10 minutes from the time I parked until I was moving the car to the regular parking lot. Parking was not a big problem but I was a long long way from the lobby thanks to what I am assuming were guests at the fitness expo.

My room for the evening was a standard room on the 5th floor of the Fantasy Tower (lobby tower).

The room faced North so I could see the Mickey and Friends garage.

And if I looked a little to the right Disneyland. It would have been a great view of the Disneyland Fireworks had they gone off this evening.

The room featured two queen beds and a sleeper sofa, a chair, TV, and desk.

There was a separate alcove with a vanity and mirror.

There was also a closet.

There was complimentary wi-fi as well as a wired connection available in the room. We would have liked to have seen a sink (or the sink) outside of the bathroom so two people could in theory be getting ready at the same time. If one was showering and one at the sink.

The highlight of the room was the head board that spanned the two beds. When you turned it on it played a short tune and the embedded fireworks lit up. I thought this was a cool Disney touch!

The loss of a balcony, compared to the pre-renovation rooms, did not really bother us. The walls/floors did seem a tad on the thin side still. I swore we could hear the toilet flush two or three rooms/floors away. Also I thought the water pressure in the shower was miserable, but I am assuming that was due to flow restrictions?

Some perks of staying on-site, which due to the short time I was there and my other commitments/plans I really did not take advantage of, were:

• Early entry into California Adventure at 9:15am through the Grand Californian entrance. This allowed for you to get a World of Color Fastpass as well as ride the Little Mermaid.
• Magic Mornings at Disneyland where they open select Fantasyland and Tomorrowland attractions one hour early. This happens on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays normally.
• Classic Attraction Trivia Challenge – Wish I had seen this one earlier…. – You can get a trivia game to play when you visit some Disneyland Attractions (Jungle Cruise, Nemo, and Small World). You pick it up at guest relations then return it for something. (Guessing a button or something? Has anyone done this??)
• Art of the Craft Tour of the Grand Californian is a free walking tour of the hotel looking at some of the pieces and design elements
• When I checked in they also gave me two Fastpass exchange cards that were good for two Fastpass tickets each which I thought was a nice perk of staying on-site

Unfortunately due to my limited time and late arrival I did not have time to give the new pools a try…I was curious about the monorail slides… guess I will just have to go back someday!

I enjoyed my evening at the Disneyland Hotel and the convenience of being able to walk right to my room was great! The room itself was nothing over the top but had enough Disney touches that it was enjoyable.

The grounds of the hotel have come a long way with this newest renovation. The pool area and dining options are great.

The rooms are a step up from where they were in the early 2000s and the overall feel of the hotel is much more Disney than it has ever been in my opinion. I still miss some of the old (early 90s late 80s) hotel options such as the marina, dancing waters, water falls, larger shopping area with a the great art store, the Neon Cactus, the Monorail Cafe and of course the infamous Disneyland Hotel tram that was always an adventure to take through the Disneyland parking lot.

A question that am asked quite frequently via email is are the Disney Hotels worth it and my family be disappointed? The answer to this is always tricky and I usually try to answer the question with a series of questions and ifs… it really depends on your expectation going in. If you are a frequent Walt Disney World visitor and know the advantages and immersion you get staying on site this is quite a different experience. The Grand Californian is close to a WDW experience but still different because of the size and location. WDW resorts are large and spread out for the most part. Everything in Anaheim is more compact in both size and location. As I mentioned above the Disney service is great at the hotels and the Disney feel is much stronger now at the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand has always had it. The Paradise Pier still lacks in my mind, but in full disclosure I have not stayed there in years either so maybe it has changed too…but walking through I just do not get that feeling like I do at WDW resorts or the Grand and now even the Disneyland Hotel. As with anything Disney you do pay a premium. Whether it is worth it or not is really up to the individual, your expectations, and your financial situation.

If you are interested in seeing the pool area more in depth or the theme suites on the 11th floor of the Adventure Tower check out my update from June 2, 2011

Hope you enjoyed this highlight tour of the Disneyland Hotel and my thoughts and observations. For additional photos and details from this trip you can check out the full Disneyland Update I posted on my site, http://disneygeek.com

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