Disneyland hotels - decorated for holidays?

Best Aunt

"That's the best-est present ever!"
Joined
May 1, 2009
I have family who will have some time on arrival day near Christmas. They don't want to use park tickets. Are the Disney-owned hotels decorated for the holidays and fun to tour, like the Disney World hotels are?
 
There's not nearly as much to see. However, they do have Santa in all 3 hotels at certain times. Also holiday carolers and that's fun.

How about starting with dinner at Goofy's Kitchen? We used to do that on arrival day all the time and it was a great tradition. We'd still do it but tend to arrive late at night.
 
I agree- send them to the Grand. The hand bell carolers in the afternoon/evening are fantastic. There's a beautiful tree (with a photographer and I think Santa at certain times), a HUGE gingerbread "house" where you can look for 25 Hidden Mickeys (hint- you must go up to the second level of the lobby to find them all), a holiday beverage and treat station and of course the lounge available as well.
 


I agree- send them to the Grand. The hand bell carolers in the afternoon/evening are fantastic. There's a beautiful tree (with a photographer and I think Santa at certain times), a HUGE gingerbread "house" where you can look for 25 Hidden Mickeys (hint- you must go up to the second level of the lobby to find them all), a holiday beverage and treat station and of course the lounge available as well.
Do the hotels decorate and begin holiday activities at the same time as the parks?
 
Generally yes. Though sometimes the frequency of things like Santa and performers ramps up as you get closer to the holidays/ when it’s busier.

That said, we stayed at DLH Veterans Day weekend this year which was the start of the Holiday stuff in the parks. The hotel had some decorations but we noticed progressively more each morning. DTD also hadn’t been fully decorated yet (all the planters still had fall pumpkins/gourds and fall type deco). So clearly they put the emphasis on the parks first but the hotels and DTD follow soon after.
 


Yep, there's a PhotoPass photographer to take pictures with Santa, who makes his first appearance at 4:30 each day.
We'll be there from 11/12-11/19, so I'm hoping I've chosen dates late enough to see the hotels decorated. I try to visit all of the Santa locations when we visit WDW, so I would love it if he's at the hotel by then.
 
We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel last week and while it is decorated, I wouldn’t visit it just for that. The decorations were pretty standard Christmas stuff you see everywhere.

The Grand Californian is the only one worth a special visit. That is truly magical.
 
I agree; the Grand is the only one that is really worth a special trip to see. The Gingerbread Showpiece is quite impressive and finding the Hidden Mickeys is something fun to do.

The DLH has a few trees (there are themed trees in each of the towers), but it doesn't seem to have a showpiece. The trees and decoration in the main building are pretty standard Holiday-decor; nothing about them really said "Disney" to me. The Santa M&G is supposed to be modern/contemporary, so it looks more sleek than holiday-ish. The PPH has a big sea-themed tree in the lobby (which is also the back drop for the Santa M&G) and some wreathes. Overall, I'd look at the DLH and PPH if you're already there, but I wouldn't make a special trip to check them out (or if you do, it doesn't take very long to see the holiday decor because there isn't very much). There are also some trees/decoration scattered throughout DTD. Nothing really major, but easy enough to see as guests walk through DTD.
 
Bumping up to see if anyone knows when GCH takes down their resort Christmas decorations.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top