History of the Disneyland Hotel

 

The history of the Disneyland Hotel is as long and interesting as Disneyland itself, though probably not one that the casual Disney fan is aware of.

As Walt Disney was building his dream in those remote orange groves on the outskirts of Anaheim, he realized that he wanted a nearby hotel so guests from all over the country could come and enjoy Disneyland. His finances were all tied up in the Park itself however so he turned to his friend, television producer Jack Wrather, with a proposal. The hotel would be owned and operated by Jack but under the Disney name. Jack agreed and his company Wrather-Alvarez (which was half owned by Maria Helen Alvarez, the first female CEO in the television industry) began construction on the Disneyland Hotel in March of 1955. The hotel was slated to be completed one month after the opening of Disneyland, but due to numerous worker strikes, such as the infamous plumbers’ strike attributing to Disneyland’s opening day nickname of Black Sunday, the Disneyland Hotel opened on October 5, 1955. It opened with only about 100 rooms scattered throughout multiple two-storied buildings and over the next few years, more and more of these buildings were made. By 1960, it was the largest hotel in Orange County.

Originally, there was a tram that took guests from the hotel to the Park entrance and the Disneyland Monorail was expanded in 1961 to reach the hotel. Vacationland Campground became part of the Disneyland Hotel in 1970. This R.V. park had its own clubhouse and pool. It was demolished in 1996 to make room for the expanding Disneyland Resort and was located near to where the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure is now.

The two-storied buildings were soon dwarfed by the building of the three towers that make up the Disneyland Hotel today. The Sierra Tower was built in 1962, the Marina Tower in 1970, and the Bonita Tower in 1978. The convention center was added in 1972.

When Michael Eisner became chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company in September of 1984, he was determined to purchase the Disneyland Hotel and have it solely under the Disney umbrella. Jack Wrather refused and when he passed away two months later, his wife Bonita Granville refused as well. It was not until she passed away in 1988 was Eisner able to purchase the Disneyland Hotel and with it, the entire Wrather Company (Jack Wrather had bought out Alvarez years prior). Owning the Wrather Company also meant that Disney now owned The Lone Ranger and Lassie television series, as well as the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose tourist attractions in Long Beach, California.

Disney then thought up big plans to build a cruise ship port called Port Disney with a theme park called DisneySea around the Queen Mary in the early 1990s. The concept was even publically announced in July of 1990 but cancelled just over a year late. Many rumours surrounded this cancellation including Disney putting efforts into the proposed WESTCOT Center theme park and Disney running out of money due to the large EuroDisney project. Though as we know today, the proposed site of WESTCOT Center became Disney California Adventure and DisneySea became the second park at Tokyo Disneyland Resort; both Parks opening in 2001. (See, I told you the history of the Disneyland Hotel was long and interesting. You thought we would be sticking to this simple hotel in Anaheim, but here we are in Tokyo!) Overtime, Disney sold all of the other Wrather properties and just kept the Disneyland Hotel.

In the late 1990s, all of the buildings that made up the Disneyland Hotel were demolished except for the three towers, the convention center, and the parking garage. These newly opened areas would become the west end of Downtown Disney. The Grand Californian Hotel was built in 2001 to create more hotel rooms. In 2007, the towers were all renamed. The Marina became the Magic, the Sierra became the Dreams, and the Bonita became the Wonder. A major renovation began only two years later and the towers were again renamed. The Dreams became the Adventure Tower in 2010, the Wonder became the Frontier Tower in 2011, and the Magic became the Fantasy Tower in 2012. If you are trying to figure out which tower is which, imagine that you are standing under the large Sorcerer Mickey’s hat with your back to Downtown Disney. The tower to your right is the Fantasy Tower and this is where the hotel front desk, shops, restaurants, and convention center are all located. To your left is the Adventure Tower and beyond that tower is the Frontier Tower. This renovation also included turning the Neverland Pool into the Monorail Pool in 2012.

The Disneyland Hotel is also known for their beautifully themed suites. These include the Adventureland Suite, Big Thunder Suite, Pirates of the Caribbean Suite, Fairy Tale Suite, and the Mickey Mouse Penthouse. Here is a link to some photos of them on the Disneyland website. Disney, if you are reading this, I would like to stay in the Adventureland Suite please and thank you. Have I mentioned on this blog how much I love Adventureland?

One thing that I absolutely love about this hotel is how much Disney is treasuring their own history here. The hallways are filled with beautiful concept art of the Disneyland Resort. There is a large display case of Disney memorabilia from over the years and there are photos of Disneyland’s many famous visitors. If you love Disney history as much as I do, take a stroll through the hotel next time you visit and check out everything it has to offer.

And finally, despite this being a history post, I have one tip about the Disneyland Hotel. This is a fantastic place to meet characters with no line and usually nobody else even around. I often see Chip ‘n’ Dale, Goofy, and Pluto hanging out in the front lobby, outside of the tower entrances, and by the main front doors of the Fantasy Tower greeting arriving guests.