I’ve Stayed in SO MANY Disney Hotels in the Past Year. One Stood Out Above the Others

Disney may have been “all started by a mouse,” but when it comes to resorts and accommodations, it was all started by the Disneyland Hotel.

The Disneyland Hotel was the first ever hotel to be officially branded with the Disney name, opening in October of 1955, just a few months after its namesake theme park debuted. At opening, the hotel consisted of just over 100 rooms in 5 two-story guest room buildings, as well as shopping, dining and recreational facilities, and amenities including an onsite doctor, an onsite dentist, as well as a hairdresser and a beauty salon. One thing the hotel initially lacked? Disney ownership. Upon the completion of Disneyland, Walt didn’t have enough money left to construct a hotel, so he licensed the Disneyland name to his friend, oil millionaire Jack Wrather.

The Wrather Corporation owned the hotel throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s, consistently expanding the hotel, adding towers and amenities, including waterfalls, a marina, entertainment venues, and the Disneyland Monorail, which was expanded to the hotel in 1961. In 1988, Disney, led by then-new CEO Michael Eisner’s desire to own the hotel, purchased the Wrather Corporation and all of its assets. In the decades since, Disney has continued changing and modernizing the hotel, including a massive project in the late 1990s and early 2000s that changed the hotel’s footprint considerably due to the construction of Downtown Disney and California Adventure.

The modern-day Disneyland embraces its important part in Disney history, with decorative touches spread throughout the hotel calling back to the development of Disneyland including a massive interactive Disneyland map inside the main entrance, concept art adorning the walls, the Monorail-themed pool, and models of some of the park’s lands in the hotel’s Adventure, Frontier, and Fantasy tower lobbies.

However, while the hotel may embrace Disney nostalgia thematically, the hotel has an upscale modern quality to its overall design and rooms.

The hotel offers several dining options, including Goofy’s Kitchen, and arguably most famously, the original incarnation of Trader Sam’s. The iconic Enchanted Tiki Bar is located near the hotel’s pool complex.

The hotel, like the Disneyland Resort’s other on-property hotels – The Grand Californian Hotel and the Pixar Pier Hotel – is within walking distance of Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and California Adventure.

All of these perks do come at a price, however, as the Disneyland Hotel often hosts features one of the steepest nightly rates of any domestic Disney hotel, often in the $600-$700 range.

The Disneyland Hotel may technically be the oldest Disney resort, but it still provides an upscale and nostalgic way to stay at the “Happiest Place on Earth.” Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney’s hotel offerings around the world!

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Have you ever stayed at the Disneyland Hotel? Let us know in the comments below.

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