Three Unexpected Things I Loved About The Grand Californian Hotel
Written by Jason Braun
On my recent trip with the People Mover Travel team to the Disneyland Resort, I stayed at The Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. This resort is in an awesome location, has some great dining options and is an incredible example of the Californian Arts and Crafts architecture style. I loved the mix of natural materials, beautiful craftsmanship and, of course, lots of Disney touches!
I knew that I would enjoy a great room, delicious dining and exceptional customer service staying at a Disney resort but here are three little things that I wasn’t expecting that really elevated my experience and definitely added that extra layer of Disney magic!
My favorite souvenir from The Grand Californian Hotel!
Chocolates Left In Our Room
This one is a small detail but was honestly one of my favorite parts of this stay! Housekeeping (or Mousekeeping rather) left us chocolates that had some really cool Disney 100 designs on them.
As a chocoholic, I can confirm with some authority, the chocolate itself was delicious as well! It comes from Astor Chocolate, which is a company with a long history full of innovation, including being the first chocolatier to import pure Belgian chocolate to the US.
This was such a small detail but really added to the overall luxury feel of this resort. I even kept a few to bring home as a souvenir!
The Private Entrance To Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney
I was aware that this resort had a private park entrance when I booked it but I didn’t realize how awesome the perk actually was until I was there!
For those who don’t know, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is kind of situated between Downtown Disney and Disney California Adventure, giving guests the option to enter directly into the park or shopping district from a private entrance. While the lines can get long first thing in the morning, I still think the benefit of entering Disney California Adventure without having to go through the main gates with even bigger crowds is a huge plus!
Similarly, if you are trying to get to Disneyland, you can enter through Downtown Disney and skip the main security area and instead use the private entrance security lines which are typically shorter and quicker.
The incredible view from the observation deck at The Grand Californian Hotel!
The “Secret” Observation Deck
While on our trip, the People Mover Travel team got the opportunity to tour the Disneyland Hotels and it was during this tour that we discovered there is a bit of a hidden gem at the Grand Californian Hotel available only to Grand Californian guests!
There is a private deck that is available to all Grand Cal guests that overlooks Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure. This is a PERFECT place to get an unobstructed view of the World of Color nighttime spectacular!
We weren’t able to utilize it this trip but for any future stays we definitely will be enjoying the show from this incredible hidden gem!
Of course, there are so many other things that myself and other members of the PMT team loved about this hotel including the dining, the pool and the big cozy rocking chairs next to the fireplace in the lobby but these three unexpected amenities really stood out to me!
Jason, being Tyler’s brother, it’s no surprise his love of all things Disney stem from their mother, who introduced them to Disney movies and frequent Disney trips at a very young age. He’s an avid gamer, a music connoisseur, and a man of many hairstyles. You may recognize him from Tyler’s travel vlogs in London or his appearance in several Vlogmas’. He also had his own travel vlogs on Tyler's YouTube channel called “Jason’s Journeys,” that followed his seven month adventure in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. When he’s not traveling you can often find him gaming on his own Twitch or YouTube channel under the alias K-Nite. In addition to being our Business Director, Jason is also a travel agent and ready to help you plan your dream vacation!