New Disney Hotel Opens Its Doors for Preview

Walt Disney Co. drew back the curtains Tuesday on its Grand Californian hotel, offering a few hundred guests a preview of the high-end rooms and service the company hopes will transform the Anaheim vacation experience.

The Craftsman-style hotel, resembling a luxury lodge at a Western national park, opens its 751 rooms officially on Feb. 8, when Disney’s second Anaheim park, California Adventure, also debuts. A separate restaurant, shopping and nightclub zone, Downtown Disney, opens officially Jan. 12 beside the new park.

But a few Downtown Disney shops already are open and the Grand Californian has launched a “soft opening,” giving Disney employees and some members of the public a chance to spend the night during a shakedown period.

Some days in early February are sold out, but Grand Californian reservations can be made for most days this month. Room rates start at about $225 a night, with discounts offered for Disneyland annual pass holders and members of such groups as AAA auto club.

The hotel sits at the edge of the new park and shares its theme celebrating the Golden State. A park-view room for a family of four, with services such as continental breakfast and evening wine and cheese, was going for $375 tonight and Thursday, the Disney reservation desk said.

Steve and Susan Lozano, of Oak Hills in the Cajon Pass area, had intended to stay at the Disneyland Hotel during a two-day winter vacation. When a reservation taker suggested they try the new hotel, they booked an $831 package including two nights in the hotel and two days in Disneyland for them and their three children, ages 12, 10 and 6.

“We’re guinea pigs,” said Susan Lozano, who said the Grand Californian reminded her of a somewhat smaller version of the Wilderness Lodge, a four-star Disney hotel in Florida. Lounging by the new hotel’s three adjoining pools, the couple said they were surprised to learn it was the first day of operation because the staff was so polished.

While the hotel will not achieve a five-star Mobil rating because it has no beauty salon and no championship golf course nearby, staffers said they have been instructed to be as attentive as employees of a top hotel.

Disney has hired nearly 50 bellhops to be sure each arriving guest would be greeted individually and escorted to one of the six-story hotel’s rooms. By contrast, only 35% to 40% of the guests at the Disneyland hotel across the street receive such attention, said bellhop Brian L’Huillier

Another bellhop said there were only 40 bellhops at a 4,000-room Las Vegas hotel where he had worked.

The Grand Californian is part of a $1.4-billion Disney expansion that the company hopes will make Anaheim a multi-day “base camp” for tourists visiting the area.

As darkness fell Tuesday night and the lights of the new park’s Paradise Pier section began to glow, the Grand Californian’s first guests could be seen leaning over their balconies to take in the view of the towering roller coaster, Ferris wheel and other amusement rides.

Others wandered through the lobby, stopping to hear a storyteller spin yarns about mountain lions, raccoons and other animals in front of a towering fireplace.

Not everything is functioning perfectly yet. At the Mickey pool, for example, two small circular pools that form the ears of the famous mouse have been filled with concrete because, employees said, the water had not circulated properly through them.

“It’s really a test period for us,” Disney spokesman Tom Brocato said. “We need to make sure the light bulbs are working and the hot water’s running.”

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Grand Californian Hotel Debuts

The 750-room Arts and Crafts-style luxury hotel had a “soft opening” Tuesday.

OFFICIAL ROOM RATES

Regular room - $250-$290

Concierge room - $350

Presidential suites - $2,500

Parking (per day) - $5 self, $15 valet

Source: Disneyland