Disneyland Hotel and Beyond!

All the debate between Disney, SunCal, & Anaheim regarding the trailer park on Haster and Katella lately has had me thinking about the best use for the land. Not just that land, but also some of the parking that Disney has around their hotels. I am by no means an expert but that hasn't stopped me from spouting off about anything else.

Disneyland Hotel - Disneyland Resort
Image (C) Larry Pieniazek

When you visit Walt Disney World you have so many hotels choose from it can be difficult to pick just one. Often you will see people switch hotels mid-trip just to experience another of their excellent offerings. Disneyland Resort doesn't offer the same experience.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel - Disneyland Resort
Image (C) Ellen Levy Finch

Disneyland Resort currently offers three hotels, Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian, and Paradise Pier. Of these three only the Grand Californian was built from the ground up by Disney and their Imagineers. Disneyland Hotel has a very rich history starting with a friendship between Walt Disney and Jack Wrather and the hotel has evolved over the years taking on more and more of the Disney persona. Paradise Pier was bought by Disney in 1995 from Pan Pacific and they slapped a coat of paint on it, changed the names of the restaurants, and called it good. While both of these hotels are very nice and I enjoy staying at them neither of them has the same feel as the Grand Californian or the richly themed hotels of the Walt Disney World Resort.

(C) Walt Disney Company

I would like to see Disney offer more hotels designed and build by Walt Disney Imagineering. They have demonstrated that they know how to build magnificent hotels at many price levels. In Florida they have everything from the Grand Floridian with a starting room rate around $300 per night to the All Star Resorts with starting rates under $100 per night. You feel like a part of the magic no matter how much you can afford for your vacation.

If they are going to continue the California theme why not build a hotel themed to San Francisco? If they would like more hotels in the area for more tourists couldn't they build a hotel similar in price to the All Star and Pop Century resorts from Walt Disney World? They don't have the room in Anaheim to build the spread out, sprawling resorts that they have in Florida but it should be possible to build a more affordable hotel in one of the parking lots surrounding Paradise Pier Hotel.

Disney's Hollywood Hotel - Hong Kong Disneyland
Image (C) Walt Disney Company

At Hong Kong Disneyland they have Disney's Hollywood Hotel and at Disneyland Resort Paris they have Disney's Hotel New York. If they offered a hotel like one of these or Hotel San Francisco they could convert the Paradise Pier to their value resort. I would prefer to stay in a Disney hotel when I visit Disneyland and having a value hotel would allow me to do that every time instead of just for special occasions like I do now.