Disney operates three hotels as part of the Disneyland Resort. There is a beautiful, Craftsman-themed luxury hotel adjacent to Disney's California Adventure theme park, the Grand Californian. There are also the much older (but refurbished) properties: Paradise Pier Hotel and the original Disneyland Hotel, both of which are high-rise hotels.

Click here to read detailed reviews of all three Disneyland Resort hotels, including concierge level.

An unpublicized benefit of staying at one of the three "official" Disneyland hotels is access to Early Entry, which allows you to enter Disneyland one hour before the park opens to the public. Early Entry guests get access to Fantasyland attractions, including the Matterhorn, and occasionally other attractions are opened early as well. While not available daily, Early Entry is available multiple times per week, and Disney's hotel guests can use Early Entry each time it occurs during their stay. The only other way to get this privilege is to purchase a 3-Day or longer Park Hopper ticket that includes one Early Entry. Thanks to Alexis for info.

Check out this page for major discounts on all three of the Disneyland hotels. Prices mentioned on this page do not include room tax (currently 15%) or the required resort fee of $12 plus tax per day.

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Disneyland Resort Reservations

If you plan to visit Disneyland within the next few months, check Expedia first, because it will often beat any other rate for last-minute travel.

		Call (714) 956-6425 to reach the Disneyland Resort Reservations line.

Disneyland Resort Reservations is a department at Disneyland that is geared toward booking "room only" reservations, instead of packages, and it often offers excellent rates not available elsewhere. The following discounts can be booked through the number above. Some can be booked through a Disney Specialist travel agent. Quoted rates are subject to availability and do not include tax or resort fees.

• Newspaper Ad Rates - The Disneyland hotels frequently advertise special rates in both the LA Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune, and these rates are generally available to anyone who asks (i.e. not just local residents). Ask for the "LA Times Rate" or the "San Diego Union-Tribune Rate." Worth a try! Call (714) 956-6425 to book.

• AAA (American Automobile Association) - Note that booking through AAA will not usually get you the same great room rates as calling Disneyland Resort Reservations directly and asking for AAA rates. That's because AAA travel agents are geared toward selling vacation packages, not "room only" reservations. Call (714) 956-6425 or contact a Disney Specialist travel agent to book.

• Senior Discount - good for those 60 and over. MouseSavers.com reader Colleen F reports that this discount was better than AAA, and each qualifying senior can book up to 2 rooms -- so this is a great opportunity for seniors to take kids and/or grandkids along at a great rate! Call (714) 956-6425 to book.

• Military - for active duty and retired military with ID. Call (714) 956-6425 or contact a Disney Specialist travel agent to book.

• Industry Rates - According to MouseSaver.com reader Melodie B, the Disneyland Resort Hotels offer a discounted room rate (about 30% off) to people who work in the hotel business. This includes any domestic or international hotel. You must have a valid ID to prove that you work for a hotel. Call (714) 956-6425 to book.

• Annual Passholder Rates - Annual Passholders may qualify for discounted rates -- call and ask for "Annual Passholder Rates." The general discount is 10% off rack rates, and sometimes there are specials that are more deeply discounted (generally in off-season, like September, October and January). Discounts are not always available, particularly during peak periods (all holidays, summer). Rates are lowest on Sunday-Thursday nights. The very lowest rates are typically offered about a month in advance. Limit 2 rooms per person at discounted rate. Call (714) 956-6425 or contact a Disney Specialist travel agent to book.

Be sure to check the Expedia rates below, which are sometimes LOWER than the Annual Passholder rates.

• Annual Passholder rates for now-12/18/08. (Some dates may be blacked out.) Rates begin as low as $139 in a standard room at Paradise Pier Hotel. Other room types are available at higher rates. Call (714) 956-6425 or contact a Disney Specialist travel agent and ask for rate plan AP7. Some dates are excluded (11/25/08-11/29/08, 12/5/08-12/6/08 and 12/12/08-12/13/08) and rates are subject to availability. Hotel guest must be a valid Annual Passholder at the time of stay. Limit two rooms per Passholder per reservation and five people maximum per room. Thanks to Chris & Georgeann W for info.

Expedia

Disneyland Resort hotel rooms can often be purchased through Expedia at a significant discount. I have found discounts of up to 50% off the "rack rate" (full price) on Expedia, depending on the dates selected.

In general, the very best rate discounts on Expedia seem to become available about 10-14 days in advance. The best rates are most often for Sunday through Thursday nights at the last minute, but sometimes low rates also show up on certain Fridays and Saturdays and occasionally even well in advance.

It appears that new Disneyland resort rates are loaded into the Expedia databases on Tuesday and Friday nights, so if you're waiting for updated rates, that's a good time to check.

Note that Expedia may charge a service fee on your reservation, and sometimes requires full payment or a substantial deposit in advance, depending on the type of rate you book. Be sure to read ALL the small print as you make your reservation (which may require you to click on a link that says "terms and conditions" or something similar), because sometimes the cancellation and change fees can be unusually stringent. For instance, Expedia charges a $25 penalty on almost all cancellations.

		Direct links to check last-minute rates at Expedia: Paradise Pier Disneyland Hotel Grand Californian Note: ignore the "as low as" rates on the first page. Sometimes the actual rates are lower (and sometimes higher). Be sure to try your actual dates. If your dates are flexible, be sure to try the "rate calendar" feature.

ARES Travel

A great resource for promotional Disneyland Resort hotel rates is ARES Travel, which specializes in Southern California hotels. ARES Travel is actually located in Southern California and offers reservations for most of the local hotels as well as discounted tickets for many attractions (including Disneyland).

You can book online with them, or call and speak with an actual person at (800) 680-0977.

ARES Travel does charge a small per night fee for the Disney hotels. However, in some cases they will beat the rates found on other online agencies like Expedia, even taking the fee into account.

Be sure to read the specific terms of the deal you pick (click on "View Terms") before finalizing your booking with ARES Travel. Most reservations have a 72-hour cancellation policy, but some deals require full prepayment. Some of the offers on the site incur a $25 cancellation fee and some require a nonrefundable deposit.

Travelocity

In my experience you'll find better rates at the Disneyland hotels through Expedia or ARES Travel most of the time. However, once in awhile Travelocity will offer a better rate for a particular set of dates or a particular hotel. So it's worth checking!

Here are direct links to book the three hotels through Travelocity:

• Paradise Pier Hotel
• Disneyland Hotel
• Grand Californian Hotel

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