My best and I are planning (her first!) visit and we don't know which hotel to stay at! They all seem so magical and I've only stayed at the Disneyland Hotel
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is, in my opinion, the BEST place to stay at Disneyland. I would highly recommend it over the Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier Hotel because:
(1) It’s literally right next to California Adventure.
If you stay there, you get to avoid all the crowds and go through a special entrance that opens right next to Grizzly Rapids (which also happens to be where you get the World of Color fastpass!). If you’re lucky, you can even get rooms that overlook the inside of the park. How baller is that?? The other hotels are quite a walk away. Paradise Pier is across the street from California Adventure, and the Disneyland Hotel is stuck at the very end of Downtown Disney.
(2) The accommodations are SO NICE.
Seriously. Fluffy down comforters and mattresses that feel like clouds. Plus awesome turn-down service every night with complementary Mickey Mouse chocolate. Does it get any better??
(3) The Grand Californian is home to my favorite Disneyland Restaurant.
Yup, the Storyteller’s Cafe! I’ve eaten here more times than I can count, and the food + service is always amazing. Sure, you can still eat here if you don’t stay at the Grand Californian, but there’s something nice about being able to just walk downstairs to grab a bite.
(4) The pool.
Mygaaaawd. I’ve spent hours just lazying around on the (most comfortable) lounge chairs (in the world) by the pool at the Grand Californian. Not even kidding. With all the craziness and crowds that Disneyland inevitably brings, it’s nice to kick back and take a little break from all of that. And the pool is open late! Over the summer, I’d go take a dip in the hot tub in the evening, just in time for World of Color. You couldn’t see much, but you could hear the whole show, and it was a wonderful soundtrack for some hot tub relaxin’.
I hope that has you convinced! I could go on forever, but I’ll spare you my silly ramblings.
Central point: THE GRAND CALIFORNIAN = THE PLACE TO STAY.
