Growing up near Walt Disney World, I consider myself an expert on the Orlando theme parks.  I thought visiting Disneyland with my family as an adult would be a piece of cake given my Disney World knowledge.  Not so!  Disneyland is a completely different system, which means I had to start by getting to know the resorts!  The following resorts are run by Disneyland and will grant you early admission to one of the parks, depending on the day.

• Paradise Pier Hotel.  The Paradise Pier is an older hotel that was purchased and renovated by Disney.  It is beach-themed and features a rooftop pool with a slide!
• Disneyland Hotel.  The Disneyland Hotel is the most recently refurbished hotel and has also completed redone its impressive pool area.  The theme is “Magic”.  It is perhaps furthest away in terms of distance, but I find it to be worth it to have access to the pool.  It is also home to one of my favorite restaurants, “Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar”.
• Grand Californian.  The Grand Californian is the most luxurious resort of the three and my personal favorite.  It is decorated in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement.  Not only does it have its own separate entrance to Disney’s California Adventure Park.  This makes it especially useful when wanting a quick break for lunch or naps.

Other options include the Good Neighbor hotels near Disney that make it easy to add vacation packages to.  There are over 40 good neighbor hotels and have varying levels of service and amenities.

Click here to watch a video on the Disneyland Resorts.

Contact me to help plan your vacation: yb*******@gm***.com