We booked a week's stay at Disney's Grand Californian Resort to enjoy the Disneyland Resort over the Holidays. Our trip included 2 travel days, four park days, and 1 day off to enjoy the resort. We flew into John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana (SNA) in Orange County. We took an UberXL to our hotel. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we let Bell Services check in our baggage and walked into the grand lobby featuring an enormous Christmas tree and gingerbread house. I got into the reception line mostly to ask if our room was ready and attempted to put my Disney Gift Cards onto my account. I was told I could not apply the gift cards to my account until the evening before check-out. Reception gave us a schedule of the current events, including the nightly visits from Santa, storytime, caroling, and a grounds map.
We found a place to sit and have lunch. Shortly after our meal, we received a notification that our room was ready. Our room had a balcony overlooking the pool area. The hotel lobby, grounds, and pool area are gorgeous. The resort is designed in a Craftsman style with a woodlands theme and rooms featuring Chip & Dale with hidden Mickey's. This style and theme speak to me as I love Craftsman decor and am into the outdoors. My vacations before kids mainly focused on national parks. My kids spent time at the pool collecting pine cones and acorns that had fallen from the surrounding canopy of trees. I loved that connection with nature. Even more impressive was how this theme tied into the adjoining area of Disney's California Adventure Parks.
Our room felt slightly worn or dated and, as we discovered, was not very clean. It looked clean, but we realized the room was not clean after wiping off surfaces. We only received housekeeping services 1 day of our week-long stay. We never received the nightly turn-down service. Generally, they came around and knocked while my young kids were napping. We spent plenty of time out of the room at the parks, so I am not sure why the room was only cleaned once, and we didn't inquire. However, the expectation for the Grand California is much higher, as the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier don't compare. The shower's water pressure was low, making showering longer. Honestly, this was my biggest issue with the resort. After discussing it with others, we realized this may be related to water conservation in California.
The Grand Californian offers room service, which we utilized twice. Once for dinner and once for breakfast on our departure day. This was a welcome bonus for our exhausted family post-park days. Like most room service menus, the prices are a bit of a shock, and service fees and tips are automatically added to the bill. They roll in a room service cart, which fits nicely between our beds and has extendable side pieces. You can find the room service menu here.
The weather was cool, and the pools were minimally heated. In my opinion, Disney does not heat their pools to a high enough temperature, and I've found this to be an issue at multiple resorts. Swimming at the resort in December was uncomfortable, but my 4-year-old didn't seem to mind. There were 3 pools, one toddler wading pool, and a few hot tubs. The main pool featured a water slide for older kids and a smaller toddler slide. Life preservers and towels were available poolside. There were poolside servers taking orders for drinks and food. The chaise lounge chairs were quite comfortable and nicely cushioned. I did enjoy bundling up poolside while the kids swam. Pine trees surrounded the pool, and the trees were decorated with twinkle lights. You must use your phone or key card to enter the pool area. There are cabanas available to rent as well.
A seasonal treat cart was in the lobby to buy various holiday goodies. Be warned that the line for the treat cart can be long at peak times. Most people seemed to be after the Mickey Gingerbread cookies, which continued to sell out shortly after being brought out. We preferred the sugar cookies and enjoyed some poolside on our day off. The lobby features a night fireplace off to the side, where you can savor your cup a hot coco.
My favorite perk of Disney's Grand Californian Resort & Spa was the easy access to Disney's California Adventure Park. This access is unparalleled by any other resort- even the proximity of Disney's Contemporary Resort to the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World doesn't come close! The time to get to the park from the hotel is zero. The ability to walk out of the resort and directly into a back entrance to the theme park made us return to the DCA park almost every evening. The theme of that section of the park perfectly matches the hotel with the pine trees and outdoor adventure area. Plus, it is quieter and feels more secluded, which I love. This perk alone was good enough to secure our return to this resort. We have young kids who need a break from the park, and nap time doesn't always happen immediately. If the timing is off and the obstacles to park re-entry are enough (long walks, transfers, etc.), it prevents us from returning to parks. From this hotel, I never even gave it a second thought; it was effortless to get into the DCA park. We never even encountered a line to enter DCA from our hotel, which was common on our way to Disneyland Park via Disney Springs. Disney's California Adventure Park is better at night, making it even more enticing. The Carsland and Paradise Pier are meant to be seen at night with all the spectacular lighting. Our evenings at DCA became a ritual, which we missed when we headed to bed early the evening before our departure.
Pros:
Enter Disney's California Adventure Park from the hotel
Enter Disney Springs from the hotel
Shortest time to Disneyland Park
Best Resort at Disneyland
Character dining at the resort
Princess dining at the resort
Room Service
Cons:
Cost more than other hotels
The lobby is overly crowded
Where does Disney's Grand Californian Resort fall in my overall ranking of Disney Resorts?
Best Disney Resort (Theme Park): Disney's Polynesian Resort
Best Disneyland Resort: Disney's Grand Californian Resort & Spa
Best Disney Resort (Non-Theme Park): Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa
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