DISNEYLAND HOTELS

Choosing the right hotel isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to Disney accommodation. Disney offer a variety of great places to stay how can you choose!?

This blog I will give you my tips on choosing the best accommodation for you during you visit at Disneyland CA.

ON PROPERTY HOTELS:

Disney offer three hotels on Disney property which are Disney’s Paradise Pier hotel, the Disneyland hotel and Disney’s Grand Californian hotel and spa.

Each hotel offers a different experience with theming and décor so this could be a factor in which you choose you accommodation.

DISNEY’S PARADISE PIER HOTEL:

DPP is a Californian beach inspired hotel with an affordable price tag, this is the cheapest hotel out of the three. This hotel has gift shops, a gym, a rooftop pool, a quick service coffee café and a restaurant which offers a character dinning experience. As you enter the lobby you will be greeted by a large statue of goofy sporting his beach finest then make your way up the elevator to your room.

My last week visit at Disney we stayed at DPPH in a standard room. The room we had was spacious with two double beds and an addition couch which folded into a bed plus a mirror vanity desk which is perfect for us girls. It also had a large bathroom complete with bath/shower and double sinks. The mirrored closet was a great place to store our luggage and there also was a coffee bar plus a wide screen TV which sat on a TV unit with extra draws for storage.

Outside we had a private balcony with sitting area. Overall a great room.

This hotel is of course a short walking distance to the Disneyland parks.

Also since you are a hotel guest you can take the ‘secret’ entrance behind the grand Californian which leads you straight into the California adventure park!

DISNEYLAND HOTEL:

The Disneyland hotel is a tradition Disney themed hotel complete with faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust. This hotel has three “towers” you can stay in- fantasy, adventure and frontier tower.

Our first visit to Disney we stayed in the fantasy tower and the second time in the adventure tower.

I love the fantasy tower it is my absolute favourite! The carpet is showered in sparkles and stars and as you enter you room you see two grand double beds sitting under a headboard of sleeping beauty’s castle surrounded by fireworks and there is a little surprise if you push the right button. Yes, the fire works light up and play a tune! Its magical!

Not to mention the fine dinning this hotel offers including steakhouse 55; a five-star dinning restaurant, goofy’s kitchen; a character dinning restaurant and trader sam's an enchanted tiki bar.

This hotel is very short walking distance to the parks, you can also take the Disneyland monorail which takes you directly into Disneyland! How convenient! Its pricing is in the moderate range, depending on what time peak time you visit.  

DISNEY’S GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL AND SPA:

Isn’t that a mouth full?  This hotel is of course amongst the grandest of the three. It is a five star hotel with a five star price point, making it the most expensive out the the options. This resort has a rustic lodge like feel, when you enter the grand lobby you notice the large fireplace in the middle surrounded by beautiful rock pillars.  I love walking this resorts ground to enjoy their gift shops, pools and restaurants. If you head around the back, you will find a ‘secret’ outdoor fireplace which is a great quiet place to sit and relax.  Lastly how could I not mention the spa. The Mandara spa is truly a haven, I spent many hours here having massages, facials and enjoying the stem room. It is truly a beautiful place, the best spa I have ever been too so I urge you to check it out. Even if you are not a guest at the grand Californian you can still book in for a treatment!

Disney offers such great resort hotels but there are also many off property hotels that are very close, even walking distance to the Disneyland parks. There are a list of partner hotels on Disneyland’s website so head to https://disneyland.disney.go.com/au/hotels/ to check it out!

Stay magical! Xx

*Photos from my last trip to Disney plus images from Disneyland website

DISNEY CRUISE LINE ALASKAN PORT ADVENTURES

*sigh ahhh the beauty of Alaska, I have never seen anything like it.  The water a crystal aqua color surrounded by glorious mountains and misty clouds. The air becomes colder as I see in the distance a huge ice glacier. It was spectacular.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE ALASKAN PORT ADVENTURES

Welcome to another Disney explorer Blog. This post ill be talking about all my fun port of calls we explored whilst aboard DCL Alaskan voyage.

Our first port of call was TRACY ARM GLACIER. This magnificent chunk of ice was amazing to see. I even scored the best seat in the house at the tip of the boat just as we were heading into the ice. Id never been so cold as the chilled air smacked me I the face but I didn’t care it was so beautiful! my word can't explain it just take a look at some of the shots i got. 

On our way to this spot was spotted dolphins, whales, seals! It was magical.

Next port was Skagway Alaska. At this port was booked Disney port adventure- Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp & Salmon Bake Featuring Exclusive Disney Character Experience. With this tour was boarded a bus to the little town of liarsville. We enjoyed an Alaskan puppet song show about the historical part of this city whilst sipping on hot apple cider. After this we participated in a scavenger hunt to find pieces we needed to find gold! Soon after we tried gold panning and sure enough I struck gold! (a miniature piece anyway) along with this we got to meet and greet with classic Disney characters, Pluto, Donald and goofy in their last frontier get up. To relax after all our hard work to find gold, we got to sit by the fire, sipping hot drinks and toasting warm marshmallows to make smores mmmmmmmm.  My husband and I explored the grounds and gift shop before heading over the road for a true Alaskan Salmon Bake! And Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, the Salmon was AMAZING! Not only that there was a great selection of salads, pasta salads, mac and cheese, beans, rice dishes, drinks. It was so great and I highly recommend cruises big or small to do this port adventure!

Our third stop was Juneau, AK. This ports town looked almost out of a storybook with cottage style shops and colorful architecture. First activity of the day was our spot on Mount Roberts Tram way. This tram took us on a high adventure threw the trees to the top of the mountain. Along the way the Alaskan host told us stories about this land and traditions.

Once we reached the top we were free to explore the gift shops, café and viewing point. They also homed a large bald eagle! Which was awesome to see up close.

After heading down the mountain we headed to the shops. After grabbing some well needed souvenirs and wondering around for a while we decided to head back to the boat for a late lunch, but not before stopping to snack on the BEST candy corn ever!!!!!!

Lastly we our stop at Ketchikan, AK and I was looking forward to this town the most. This scenic fishing town is home to a lot of native animals and beautiful totem polls.

Our DCL Port adventure wasn’t until 3pm that afternoon, so this gave us the morning to walk and street as we pleased. As said before I loved all the Alaskan souvenir shops and most of all the Christmas gift shop! I found myself rushing over to this store first. Here I found a Christmas Disney show case collection Jiminy cricket by Jim shore, which as so precious I had to buy it! And speaking of Precious, this store also held some Alaskan precious’s moments collection dolls. So cute!

It was very cold and rainy this day but that didn’t stop us from exploring, I wanted to see as much as I could. This photo though… :)

Once the afternoon approached I became very excited for our port adventure; the great Alaskan lumberjack show! This was a must see. The men were so strong and talented and the entire show very entertaining. These lumberjacks competed in chopping and carving contests against each other, they even got the kids involved which I thought was really cute.

Overall I absolutely loved these Disney Cruise Line Port Adventures DCL provide. There were so many to choose from and I really felt safe and enjoyed my time with each group.

To find out more about DCL PA head to https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/alaska/

Thanks for reading and stay Magical!