Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Disney's Grand Claifornian Hotel

Similar to how Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian is the flagship resort of the resort, The Grand Californian Hotel is the flagship resort of Disneyland. Unlike the Paradise Pier Hotel and Disneyland Hotel, this is the only hotel that Disney has built, owned, and operated since it opened.

Another cool thing about this hotel is the proximity to everything. Outside it's door, you have Downtown Disney. Outside it's other door, you have DCA. The hotel comes with it's own enterance to both venues, making it very unique.


The Grand Californian Hotel is based on the Art and Crafts movement of the early 1900s in California. The hotle feature large, sweeping ceilings that are very high. All the colors blend with nature, and the idea of a home based on the Arts and Crafts movement was taken from being inspired from a garden to a forest. And the hotel really shows this.

Many items in the hotel, from furniture to lights to ornaments, have been handmade specifically for the hotel. The loby itself is a spectacle. One of it's many features is a huge fireplace, which many people like to sit and watch.

The hotel features a large pool area with slides and fountains. It also features a few restaurants, most notably Storyteller's Cafe, The Napa Rose, and White Water Snacks. The hotel features some of the best food in the entire resort.


Due to growing demand for the hotel, in 2007 Disney announced plans to expand the resort by 30%. The expansion will include 200 hotel rooms, and a brand new wing containing 50 Disney Vacation Club villas. This mark's the DVC's first villas on the west coast. The expansion also includes a new pool area, more landscaping, a viewing platform to view fireworks and Disney's new show World of Color, and a large underground parking garage. Actually, the expansion opens it's doors to guests and DVC members in a few days!!




Soon it would be clear that The Grand Calfornian Hotel would be the crown jewel of the Disneyland Resort expansion- not DCA.

Walt Disney World July 2009- Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Last August, while at Dineyland, I joined the Disney Vacation Club. As an incentive for buying, we were given free points to stay at the Saratoga Springs at Walt Disney World. So, that's how the seeds of this trip were planted.

So we checked in to the hotel, and were given a ride via golf cart to the building where our 2-bedroom villa was. Unfortunately, the resort was huge, much like Disney World itself, and we were tucked in the corner in the Carousel building. Also, the Saratoga was far away from the theme parks, although it was close to Downtown Dinsey, which at WDW, is just- weird.
The hotel room itself was beautiful. It came stocked with a full kitchen (no food) with a fridge, microwave, oven, stove, coffee maker, and dishwasher, not to mention cabinets stocked with plates, bowls, glasses, and utensils.



The living room came with a really a nice TV, DVD Player, couch that has a pull-out bed, and a balcony that overlooks the nice grounds of the resort.





The master bedroom had a king bed and a bathroom. The bathroom had different "sections": one for the shower, one for the bathtub/jacuzi, and one for the toliet. The shower part, which was the main section, connected to living room outside, and had doors connecting the other sections.




Finally, we have the second bedroom. It's more or less your standard hotel room. It features 2 queen beds, a TV set with a huge dresser, and a table and 2 chairs. Also, there was a bathroom with a shower/tub and a toilet, with 2 sinks on the outside of the bathroom, making it look like a vanity area. This part also had a huge closet.


Now, hotels and DVCs are just dandy, but what about the parks? The restaurants? The shows? Well, over the next 5 days I will talk about each of the parks, and finally talk about the restaurants. On the sixth day, I'll wrap everything up and do some last analyzing. Magic Kingdom is tomorrow!