DISNEYLAND HOTEL

Nice place with lots of Disney historical things to look at and read about.

Disappointing Stay Despite the Promise of Convenience

Date of Stay: 3/31/24

I recently stayed at this hotel, hoping to enjoy its prime location and exclusive perks. Unfortunately, the experience fell short of expectations.

Here's a breakdown of my experience for those considering this hotel:

Pros:

Magic Morning Access: The main advertised benefit is early park access.

Cons:

Comparative Location: Despite its proximity to the parks, both the Marriott Courtyard and Fairfield are closer, offering potentially better convenience.

Reduced Magic Morning Value: The Magic Morning access has been reduced to 30 minutes, which is insufficient to significantly benefit from it. Previously, the one-hour early access provided a tangible advantage.

Misleading Information about Amenities: The hotel advertised a specific reopening date for their pool and slides, which influenced our booking decision. Upon arrival, we were informed that the reopening date was uncertain, and the amenities remained closed throughout our stay.

Inadequate Solutions for Closed Amenities: The hotel offered access to pools at nearby Pixar Place or Grand Californian hotels as a remedy. However, the inconvenience of walking to these facilities made this option less appealing.

WiFi Issues: We experienced unreliable WiFi service in our room on the 10th floor, adding to our frustrations.

Final Thoughts:
Given these issues, particularly the misleading information about the pool and slides, as well as the diminished value of Magic Morning access, my overall experience was poor. I regret to say I cannot recommend this hotel to future guests seeking a seamless and enjoyable stay near the parks.

The Disneyland hotel was amazing! They really thought about the details to make our stay comfortable.

As a Magic Keyholder and a Disney shareholder, I fully understand the magic behind everything Disney tries. The Disneyland hotel is probably so old the magic left and no one informed the company.

I've stayed on multiple properties and for the money, I expected more. When I stayed at the California Grand I felt like I got my monies worth and it's the most expensive Disney property. The Disneyland hotel is #2 in price but feels like it should be competing with the hotels just off property.

The room was basic for a premium view room. Premium is not the room quality, just the view and it was facing the pool, not the park.

Beds were okay but Ive had better nights sleep across the street at the Hilton, Castle Inn, and Hyatt House.

I asked for a late check out and got "sorry, not with that room type" which seemed to be a theme. I asked several questions and many of the answers were "not with that room" making it ever so clear, that while you paid 3x more on a room, you were still considered lower class here. "Can I upgrade to club level?" Not with my room type. Let's be clear - I was paying over $600 a night for the room.

Bathroom ceiling had broken tiles on the roof, water pressure was little more than a trickle and temperature varied by the minute. Comparing this to my stays in the area, I would expect the price to be significantly less.

There is the easy access to Downtown Disney but it shares security with the main parking lots so your extra 30 minutes in the park is really 15 if you make it down by 6:45am. The walk though is pretty far compared to the hotels across the street unless you wait for the monorail which doesn't seem to start until 7:20.

The pool and restaurants here are nice but seating is very limited.

All in all, if you don't mind overpaying to feel poor at a high end hotel, then I would say you found your place. However, for 1/3 the cost, I would highly recommend staying at a property across the street. Many of the like Courtyard have pools and slides comparable to Disneyland Hotel.

Disneyland is very awesome.