Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

The hotel located in Anaheim LA , 45 minutes from airport, it is a family friendly hotel with 5 swimming pools, the staff is friendly and helpful and it has private access to Adventure Park and downtown Disney

This is THE hotel to stay at in Disneyland! The location is fabulous, walkable to literally everything. We were a party of ten (with four children) and had a two bedroom suite. The room was spacious and beautiful with a view of the Grizzly River Run ride. We spent A LOT of time at the pool—perfect for our little ones and the food was AMAZING! The live music was SUCH a vibe! The pool chairs do fill up quickly but we got a table by the entrance every day. I have only one small (and petty) complaint— we stayed here four years ago and had access to the Verandah club, which is their club level lounge. For all 10 of us it was an extra $250 a night and we thought it was well worth it. This trip, the price was $880 and we couldn’t justify the price hike. Other than this, we really enjoyed our trip and will definitely be returning!!

My family and I visited the Grand Californian in July. While we've visited Disneyland many times this was actually our first stay at the hotel. First, it's a beautiful facility, a lodge-like oasis seemingly very far away from the heat/crowds at the park - but you're actually right in the middle of everything. This hotel provides awesome early access to the park unlike some of the other hotels. You get in at 7:30 and are literally walking around while the crew members are getting everything set up for the day. Very cool experience. Our room was spacious enough for four and included a couch/trundle bed larger enough for a child. It was also very quiet, spacious and cool. It overlooked downtown Disney and had a great view of the evening fireworks. It was also convenient to run down and grab food/shop/whatever. One other thing I've seen in the review that I wanted to help with; if you choose to self-park, the lot is across the street beside the Pixar place hotel. It's about a 5-minute walk from the front doors of the Californian to the lot. The valet team seemed awesome but if you prefer to self-park it's very convenient. Lastly, HUGE thank you to the housekeeping crew. We had an early flight and I left one of my favorite shirts in the room's closet. When we inquired about it, they had found it and the team were kind enough ship it to me a few days later. Really awesome.

I am in love with the Grand Californian. I’m not sure what it is…everything is high quality and great service but the Disney VIBE is unbeatable. I’ve stayed at many many Disney resorts and there is just something about the Grand Californian that is ultimate magical. If you are a Disney nut and you can afford it, don’t even think about it and just book it. You won’t be disappointed. Location - access to DCA and Downtown Disney is the ultimate convenience. Pool area is fantastic and exactly what you would expect from this hotel. Our only disappointment was with the dining. When we visited, their kitchen was undergoing maintenance and their menu in every restaurant was very limited. That was too bad but the good news is there are lots of other options super close so it didn’t ruin our vacation. Counting down the days until our next visit…

We stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel for two nights while visiting both Disneyland and California Adventure with our two kids. Previously, we stayed at the JW Marriott Anaheim, but this time we chose the Grand Californian mainly for its unbeatable location—especially since we were traveling with a toddler who still needed naps and went to bed early. The proximity was definitely the highlight: it’s only a 5–10 minute walk to the parks compared to 20 minutes from many other hotels. There’s also a direct entrance into California Adventure, just a 5-minute walk, but we only used it for re-entry in the afternoons and as it was not open for early morning rope drop, which was a little disappointing. The hotel itself has a beautiful grand lobby with warm wood details, and the staff were consistently friendly. My older son enjoyed the storytelling and movie activities, which were a nice touch. Our room, however, was fairly basic for the price. It was comfortable enough for two adults and two children, but definitely felt like the premium was for location rather than luxury. One downside was the in-room toiletries—their shampoo, body wash, and body lotion were very drying and not what I would expect from a hotel at this price point. Before our stay, I tried contacting the hotel several times to ask about late check-out, but wasn’t able to get through. In the end, I was happy to pay $149 to extend our stay until 5PM, which worked out perfectly with our midnight flight. We used the pools during our non-park day, and they were extremely crowded—busier than the parks themselves. We ordered lunch poolside, but the food was underwhelming and overpriced compared to what we found inside the parks. In hindsight, UberEats would have been a better option. On the plus side, the gym was large, air-conditioned, and nearly empty—I had it to myself for an hour aside from a couple of people refilling water bottles. One thing I overlooked when booking was checking which park offered early entry for hotel guests. During our stay, only California Adventure had early entry, not Disneyland. If I had known, I might have picked different dates to take advantage of both parks’ early access. Overall, despite some drawbacks, the Grand Californian’s location made our July visit much smoother. Being able to quickly return to the hotel to rest and cool off during the day was a huge benefit, especially with kids.