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The Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California is the original Disney hotel. It was the first hotel to officially use the Disney name! Since it opened in 1955, the hotel has undergone numerous changes. And most recently, it added a tower full of Disney Vacation Club villas!
Today, we’re going to discuss the new Disneyland Hotel tower, what the rooms are like, and how you can get a great deal on a stay there. But first, let’s take a look at what the Disney Vacation Club is – and how you can stay at a Disney Vacation Club villa without being a member.
Disney Vacation Club
The Disney Vacation Club is essentially a Disney timeshare program. The majority of its properties are located at the Walt Disney World in Florida, such as the Old Key West Resort, the Boardwalk Villas at Boardwalk Resort, and Bay Lake Tower. However, there are a few other locations, such as at the Disneyland Resort.
Now, if you’re not interested in joining the Disney Vacation Club (or DVC, as it’s commonly known), you may not think this has anything to do with you. But luckily, you can still stay in a DVC villa even if you’re not a DVC member! In fact, this is a great way to enjoy significant savings on your hotel stay.
Although our family does not belong to the DVC, we have saved so much money over the years by renting DVC rooms. We’ve previously talked about how to rent DVC points for Disney World. We love doing this through David’s Vacation Club Rentals – and look forward to renting Disneyland Hotel villas this way, too!
DVC Villa Room Types
So what exactly are those villas like?
Well, there are 5 different types of Disneyland Hotel villas:
- Duo Studio
- 1 Queen-Size Pull-Down Bed
- Sleeps up to 2 People
- Includes a kitchenette
- Themed to Jungle Book
- Deluxe Studios
- 1 Queen Bed and 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa
- Sleeps up to 4 People
- Includes a kitchenette
- Themed to Princess and the Frog or Sleeping Beauty
- 1 Bedroom Villa
- 1 King Bed, 1 Queen-Sized Pull-Down Bed, and 1 Twin-Size Pull-Down Bed
- Sleeps up to 5 People
- Includes a full kitchen and washer and dryer
- Themed to Fantasia or Princess and the Frog
- 2 Bedroom Villa
- 1 King Bed, 2 Queen Beds, 1 Queen-Sized Pull-Down Bed, and 1 Twin-Size Pull-Down Bed
- Sleeps up to 9 People
- Includes a full kitchen and washer and dryer
- Themed to Princess and the Frog or Fantasia
- 3 Bedroom Grand Villa
- 1 King Bed, 4 Queen Beds, and 2 Twin-Size Pull-Down Beds
- Sleeps up to 12 People
- Includes a full kitchen, washer and dryer, a double-sided fireplace, and a private outdoor balcony
- Themed to Frozen, Moana and Bambi
In total, there are 344 DVC villas at the Disneyland Hotel. And they are all located in the same 12-story tower.
The Discovery Tower at Disneyland Hotel
“Discovery,” the newest tower at Disneyland Hotel, is home to the DVC villas. In the lobby of the tower, you’ll find a colorful mural incorporating characters and scenes from beloved Disney animated movies like Lion King, Fantasia, Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Moana, Jungle Book, and more.
Guests staying in the villas will be close to the Palette Pool, the newest pool at the Disneyland Hotel. As its name suggests, the pool is in the shape of an artist’s palette. The pool complex includes a fun Steamboat Willie-themed splash pad for younger children. And if you’re around when the sun goes down, you’ll see the splash pad magically transform from black and white to full color!
An outdoor bar, Palm Breeze Bar, will also be opening later this year. The decor of Palm Breeze Bar is inspired by artist Mary Blair, who made numerous contributions to Disney movies and the Disney parks. For example, Blair created the giant mural inside the Contemporary Resort at Disney World, the design and color styling of the It’s A Small World ride, and concept art for movies like Peter Pan and Cinderella.
In addition to the Palette Pool area, guests can also enjoy the E-Ticket and D-Ticket pools at the Disneyland Hotel, as well as the Monorail Slides.
Disneyland Hotel Perks
So we’ve already talked about the themed rooms and the pools at Disneyland Hotel. However, there are a lot of additional advantages to staying at Disneyland Hotel.
One of the biggest advantages is that you’re within walking distance to Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, and Downtown Disney!
You’ll also be able to enter either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park 30 minutes before the park opens. Please note that starting January 20, 2024, only one of those parks will be open early. You’ll be able to check the Disneyland Resort calendar to see which park is open early on which day.
And at the hotel itself, you can choose from great dining options.
The Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill is a quick service restaurant inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction at Disneyland. It serves American cuisine with a Polynesian flair.
And the popular Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar is a great place to dine (and drink!) in a Jungle Cruise-inspired setting. Please note that children are only allowed in the indoor area until 8:00 PM.
The whole family, however, can be part of the character dining experience at Goofy’s Kitchen. The restaurant offers breakfast and dinner buffets, as well as some seasonal events. For example, there’s a Thanksgiving brunch buffet and dinner buffet on November 23. And though October 31, there’s a Halloween brunch and a Halloween dinner.
Villas at Disneyland Hotel Discount
Clearly, staying in a villa at the Disneyland Hotel can make for an amazing California vacation.
But how do you save money on your stay?
As we mentioned before, David’s Vacation Club Rentals is a wonderful way to save a lot of money by renting a DVC villa.
This cost calculator shows you how much it’ll cost going through David’s as opposed to through the Disneyland website.
For example, I just randomly put the dates of Friday, January 5, 2024 to Monday, January 8, 2024 into both websites to compare.
On David’s website, for a preferred view studio villa, that 3 night stay would come to $1,113.
And on the Disneyland website, it comes to $2,590.38.
That’s a difference of $1,477.38! That means David’s would save you nearly $1500 – and that’s just for a 3 night stay!
To request a stay for those dates (or any dates), you fill out a booking form. You’ll mention the hotel and room type you want, the dates, and the details for your traveling party. You’ll also pay a $105 deposit that will go towards the total cost of your stay. If hotel/room type is not available, the deposit will be refunded.
David’s recommends making your request 10-11 months in advance, due to the popularity of the villas at Disneyland Hotel. But it is definitely worth checking even if it’s less than 10 months out – in fact, they encourage it.
The other option is to check their confirmed reservations. These are stays that people have already booked, so they can’t be changed. Sometimes, you can get some fantastic deals, including last minute deals. You can use the filters at the top to look only at stays at the Disneyland Hotel.
More Ways to Save Money
If you’re planning a trip to Disneyland and need tickets, we recommend getting discounted Disneyland tickets here. Right now, you can save up to $138 on an adult ticket versus buying your ticket at the gates.