The only thing that can assuage the sadness of the impending end of a Disney vacation is an upgrade to a deluxe hotel, am I right? You know the drill by now. There’s really no need to spend big bucks on a high end resort when you’re only laying your head on the pillow at the end of the night. However, splurging on a deluxe resort for the last night and using the heck out of the facilities instead of heading to the parks makes it a much better value, at least in my Disney addled mind.
Disneyland has just three official hotels and they range from expensive, to super expensive to super-duper expensive. We went with the middle echelon, which was actually my first choice; The Disneyland Hotel.
The recently renovated Disneyland Hotel.
Though this hotel was commissioned by Walt, it was actually built and owned by another company until Disney bought it back in 1988 under Michael Eisner. Still, it’s the only on property resort that Walt had first hand part in, so that’s where I wanted to lodge.
Lobby Area
Tea Cup Chairs. Even these make me dizzy.
We checked in, but it was quite early, so our room wasn’t ready yet. No worries, it’s all part of the plan. We would be storing our luggage so as to set about hanging out at the pool as soon as possible. I just happened to mention that we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.
Why yes, it is sour Anniversary! How’d you know?
We were selected as the “Guests of the Day”! This meant that we would have the privilege of using the exclusive E-Ticket Club lounge, reserved for concierge guests only. This was just the kind of swag I was hoping for! However, we would not be able to use this perk. We had made dinner plans with our west coast friends and wouldn’t be back until right around closing time for the lounge. Boo! Thinking fast, I let the cast member know our situation and offered to give up our Guest o’ the Day status to another family who could take advantage of the lounge. This was not entirely altruistic. I thought that maybe we would receive a room upgrade as compensation. No such luck. Oh well! We had such a great time with our friends (see future blog post not yet written) that there’s no way a few cookies and free glasses of wine could have been any better!
Concept art in the main lobby.
This doesn’t resemble the real castle a bit.
This shadow box looks a bit like my junk drawer. Any AA batteries in there?
Before the sunbathing we needed to get some victuals. We made our way to the Tangaroa terrace for some breakfast.
It looks familiar cause it’s right next to Trader Sam’s.
Hey, mister!
This place is a hybrid between counter service and table service. You order from these new-fangled screens, pay and then have a seat. You have to grab your own drinks.
Technology
When I saw that they served Loco Moco we just had to get it. This is a Hawaiian staple for breakfast. It’s a hamburger patty, brown gravy served over rice. When there’s something unusual like this on a menu, you gotta try it. Ok, I made Jeff try it. I had french toast.
Loco Moco
Hamburger Patty served over Rice and topped with Brown Gravy and a Fried Egg with a side of Island Fruit
French Toast
topped with Warm Banana-Caramel Sauce, dusted with Powdered Sugar and served with Portuguese Sausage
Breakfast consumed, we shuffled on over to the pool. I mentioned that the temperatures soared into the low one hundreds during our visit. With this in mind, I was concerned that there wouldn’t be any lounge chairs open around the pools. Because of this, I considered reserving a cabana. These cost about a hundred bucks for four hours. Ouch! Turns out there was no need to worry, there was plenty of space to lounge while we were there. I did get a kick out of watching a pushy mom plant her family down in one of these said cabanas without a reservation and summarily get ushered out. Tee-hee, I’m awful.
Swank Cabana
This’ll do.
Obligatory hot dog legs shot.
There were more life guards than swimmers!
Waterslides
Aaaah! palm trees!
We lingered around the pool long enough that another meal was required. I’ll let you decide on how long that might have been. Where can one have a nice nibble and a cold beverage out of the baking, California sun? Where, where, where…. Ooh! ooh! I know!
Trader Sam’s it is!
I had taken some very murky pictures of our drinks from last night. It would have been better to show you these handy dandy pictures instead. You can go back and compare and contrast if you like.
The Uh Oa!
Shrunken Zombie Head. We got the mug but with another bourbon based drink. I don’t do rum.
There’s the bourbon!
This time we just got a beer. It was in the middle of the day for Pete’s Sake! Oh and we had two cocktails by the pool already. We split this tasty grilled chicken sandwich.
Sautéed Chicken Breast with Teriyaki Sauce, fresh Caramelized Pineapple, Havarti Cheese, Bacon Lettuce and Tomato on a Multigrain Bun served with Tropical Slaw
We got a text that our room was ready. So we headed over to the Adventure Tower.
You are here.
Attractive light fixture.
I let it slip already that we didn’t get a luxurious suite upgrade this time, but our room was just lovely.
The most delightful, musical lighted head board
A dream is a wish your heart makes….
You’re smooshing the signature pillow!
A suitable chair
Hidden Mickey Carpet
A pun about lending a hand.
Disneyland Collage
Just one sink, but nice granite tops.
Mickey taps
Tarzan’s Treehouse painting in the Loo.
I was hoping for a room on an upper floor with more of an expansive view, but for a standard price this was not a bad vista.
Straight ahead was very Jungley.
Face pressed against the glass looking way left there was a nice court yard area.
Looking straight up to the sky.
A day luxuriating by the pool and enjoying adult beverages makes for a recipe for a nice nap. After our respite we’ll be getting out of dodge for the night with some of the swellest people you’ll ever meet.
Coming up: We play Hopscotch.