Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is the creme de la creme of the official Disney Hotels at the Anaheim resort. I’m pretty biased towards it; my family has been having annual Christmas vacations at the Grand and I have made tons of happy Mickey-tinted memories here. But even if it wasn’t my own personal happy place, there are lots of reasons to love the Grand Californian Hotel. These include:

• The woodsy, majestic Craftsman feel
• The fabulous Christmas decorations (gigantic tree! gigantic gingerbread house!)
• The rum hot chocolate (!) station they set up in the corner of the lobby during the holiday season
• The private theme park entrance into Disney California Adventure for hotel guests

• The special touches they do for guests upon check-in…

• …including a private meet ‘n greet with the Duck himself! (Total Christmas card status, right?)

• The subtle and slightly understated Disney details sprinkled throughout the guest rooms

• The Craftsman Club, a special concierge lounge for guests to grab snacks and drinks throughout the day

• And, my personal favorite — the room service Mickey waffles!

Of course, there’s lots more to love than just room service and the giant Christmas tree… The Grand Californian just has a certain sort of magic to it (and I’m not just talking about the “Magic Hour” early theme park admission you have access to as a hotel guest).

We stayed here for a couple days during the NYE holiday, and honestly the hotel itself was probably the best part of the entire staycation. Disneyland during the holidays sounds unbeatable, right? In most aspects it is — the decorations, the special edition shows, and the general atmosphere of holly jolly make it the best season of the year. At the same time, everyone else has the same thing in mind and the park is P A C K E D to capacity on most nights.

The Grand Californian offers itself up as a respite from the screaming kids and stroller madness, all the while still making you feel like you’re in the heart of the Happiest Place on Earth. You can sit in the comfort of the Craftsman Club with a glass of wine and watch the fireworks, or soak in the warmth of the hot tub while World of Color plays in the background. And that, in my opinion, is what’s truly unbeatable.

xx,

K