TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Magical! It’s amazing staying at the OG of Disney properties. The staff are friendly and helpful, the lobbies and amenities are pristine. Its smells lovely and Disney theme music plays across the whole place. The headboards that light up and play a lullaby are the sweetest and we loved our wake up calls. We had our son pick up the phone to have Mickey great him and get excited about getting out of bed. Early entry and proximity to the park are great bonuses as well as having dole whip at the pool bar! Early entry at DL is so worth it! Dont sleep in! Getting to ride the fantasy land classic rides with low crowds and then get to take castle pictures while everyone else is scrambling to rope drop is the best. We still were able to walk to adventure land and take advantage of low lines after fantasy land and our pictures and meeting some characters along the way. The Pool and slide were very nice but there didn’t seem to be enough pool attendants. We rented a pod for our family of three and even though it wasn’t terribly busy we still were only able to order one round of drinks with our food and that was it. The first day when we arrived we struggled to find a place to eat our quick serve food because the area was packed from a dance competition at the convention center. They didn’t seem to have adequate dining in the area to accommodate their hotel guest and the dance competitors/family who were not staying at the hotel. We loved Goofy’s kitchen that evening for dinner and glad we had a reservation and it was right next to our tower. It made for a fun evening after a long day of traveling and getting settled into our room. Wish the coffee shop would have been open for our early mornings going to the park. They had some things at the quick serve area but it didn’t open until 7:00. But it looks like the coffee shop is back up and running and open at 6. Being across the way from Downtown Disney is lots of fun and we found that early morning and late afternoon early evening security lines were short and easy. The security staff were upbeat and while doing their job well they were fun and not too serious with the kids. We always got a “enjoy your day!” Or “have fun!” We’d love to stay again but it does stretch the budget. If you can do it, especially for a child’s first visit or a big/special occasion, do it!

Our room was insanely expensive for a Deluxe Studio at The Villas... but it was during the holidays and the villas were still relative new. If I were to ignore the price (haha) and just focus on the positives: The room was "cozy" (so so small) and worked great for our family of 5... but that is because we had a baby crib for our toddler and our other two kids (6 and 8) do not take up too much space. Once they're bigger, this room will be too cramped. But for now, it was "cozy". Since it was still new, it was VERY CLEAN (except for a couple sticky spots on the floor that I could not even get out... ew). The room itself is quite adorable. It's fun and charming... so basically, very disney. And the bathroom was probably my favorite part. Very cute and well-lit. I wish my own bathroom was like that. My kids loved it and I would probably stay again during an off-peak time (is there a time anymore?)... but only if they can keep up the cleanliness (and get rid of sticky spots!). I would choose the villas over the main hotel.

Great location to Disneyland and good to get into the Disneyland park earlier when staying here. The room was tiny and it was the smallest bathroom I’ve ever seen, the room was behind the staff lifts so were really loud and rattley past 10 pm so didn’t get much sleep. Breakfast was too pricey so we just got breakfast in the park and the grounds are quiet small. Way over priced.

Recently my wife and I enjoyed a getaway to the Villas at the Disneyland hotel. As Disney Vacation Club members we were thrilled that a new resort was coming as previously; only the Villas at the Grand California offered a DVC resort and they were always in high demand. While our Deluxe Studio did not have the full kitchen, washer and dryer, and jet tub like the one-bedroom and above units, it offered more than one would expect in a hotel room as it offered a toaster, refrigerator, microwave, and a full selection of plates, glasses, and utensils for in-room dining. The television offered the ability to pair with our phones and we were able to stream from various providers during our stay. While we did not attend the parks on this visit; we still had a great time with the amazing Disney service while we shopped and dined at Downtown Disney. We arrived in town before our room was ready and as such we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Jazz Kitchen since we had not eaten since earlier that morning. We explained to our server that we had reservations at Storyteller’s Café for dinner and asked what would be a light and suitable option. We went with the Gulf Coast Poutine fries which were topped with cheese and a sausage gumbo. We paired this with French Quarter Salad with Grilled Chicken which was the perfect option. Our next stop was at the Star Wars Outpost for some shopping before we went to the lobby of the Grand California hotel to enjoy the Piano music and atmosphere before we went to our dinner reservation at Storyteller’s Café. The buffet style offered an assortment of soups, salads, fruits, carving station options, and sides from mashed potatoes to macaroni and cheese as well as an array of bread and meat options. Doing a low-sugar option was tough as they had a very impressive selection of fresh deserts but I managed to avoid temptation. We walked back via the new Pixar Place hotel and took in the amazing decorations and got a look at the shopping and dining options that were offered before we went back to our hotel. Downtown Disney is going through several additions and the new entry and courtyard was fantastic and the construction shows that several new additions were coming as part of the massive updates coming to the parks in the next few years. The next morning started with a visit to Goofy’s Kitchen for their amazing character Buffet which featured numerous breakfast and lunch options from eggs, custom omelets, meats, sides, soups, salads, and a massive selection of baked goods and sweets to name but a few of the tempting options. When a staff member heard I was doing the low-sugar thing; he joked that I was in the wrong place not to be tempted but admired my resolve. Later in the morning, he surprised me by bringing a no-sugar pineapple sorbet from the kitchen which was absolutely amazing and perfect for a summer day. The parade of characters that made visits to our table also highlighted our visit. We spent the next few hours shopping at Downtown Disney and made our way back to the room to change for our time at the pool. The hotel offered multiple pools, slides, hot tubs, and splash areas for all ages and we found a nice shaded area to relax when we were not in the refreshing water. For dinner, we went to the Pixar Place Hotel and enjoyed The Great Maple Modern Eatery which offers a mix of Ribs and burgers, salads, Breakfast, and more. We started with the Parmesan Truffle Fries and Chicken Soup which were both great and opted for a Chicken Taco Salad and Cobb Wedge for our dinners. Both were large portions and very fresh. Genevieve opted for the Beignets for dessert and I looked on as she had several large treats served. She had one which was said to be amazing and the rest made their way home. While this experience is on the pricier side; it does feature great food and service as well as lots of variety for those looking for some great dining options outside the resort. We enjoyed the walk back to the room through the garden areas around the towers and settled in for the evening to enjoy the room. Our checkout was very smooth and while our parking was covered as a DVC member on this trip, it should be noted that the city imposes a tax on stays even when paid with DVC points for the new Villas and this was collected at Check Out. While our time was too short and we wished a longer stay was possible; we have a return already planned for October as I was able to get tickets for the Oogie Boogie Bash and look forward to hopefully being able to stay in the Villas again as we are waitlisted for our next visit.

We booked a Deluxe studio preferred view in the new Disneyland Villas using DVC points rented from David’s. David’s were good to deal with and I rented the four nights at 7 months out. Booking DVC you aren’t meant to get housekeeping but we found they emptied our trash daily and we could get new towels if we requested them. Be aware that you will be charged a transient occupancy tax by Disneyland Hotel on top of the room booking at the end of your stay with DVC. The rate depends on the day and season. Ours was $222US for the four nights. (But you do save money by not having to tip house keeping ??). They also put a bond or hold on your credit card. I think ours was about $500. The resort is way bigger than I thought and a fair walk through to the Disneyland entrances (especially from the discovery tower). We walk quick and it would be a ten minute walk from security. The pools and water slides were heated which was lovely. All the staff were great. And our room was ready by 1pm. The orange monorail slide (taller one) was still closed for refurbishment. They are fixing the pool at the bottom and expect it to be a couple of months still. There was a 4.1 earthquake on the day of our arrival, so the water slide and palette pool were shut after that for an hour or two while engineers assessed them. The sound proofing in the discovery tower is not great. You can hear people talking in the corridor and noise from outside. And the fireworks were incredibly loud. They often had live music by the pool and on the Saturday night had Polynesian dancers outside the discovery tower. We got to the security line at downtown Disney Disneyland hotel side at 6.40 each morning and had about thirty people in front of us. I would stay here again.