The Return of the Disneyland Hotel

It's taken a few years but the construction walls have been taken down, the assorted bulldozers and cranes have been removed, and finally the new and improved Disneyland Hotel is back in full operation (almost).  Well there is that sticking point of an on premises laundry facility not quite ready just yet - a deal breaker for Mrs. DisneylandTraveler - but other than that, the venerable DLH is back in business and updated for the 21st century.

Gone are sliding doors and the mini-balconies, the romantic waterfalls, the koi pond, the remote control boats, the Lost Bar, the Peter Pan pool, the giant Mickey Mouse statue to greet you, and the remnants of Dancing Waters.  In their places come all new rooms and lobbies, new expanses of lawns and tropical landscaping, an E-Ticket pool with an adjoining monorail themed water-slide, Trader Sam's, and a host of new details and touches.  Is all this change for the good?  Probably.  Something needed to be done with the old hotel which started construction back in the 1950's.  It needed to be brought up-to-date and modernized for a new generation of high-rolling park vacationers.  But at the same time, many people had a special bond with the old Disneyland Hotel.  Me, Mrs. DLT, and other family members spend many fine days (and nights) at the old DLH.  My claim is that the DLH felt like much more of the magic of Disneyland itself rather than just a hotel.  It had much more Disney charm than even the more costlier, grander, and convenient Grand Californian.  If you could fit it your Disneyland budget, a stay at the DLH was something quite special.

Will the new DLH be the same?  Will it have the same charm and magic?  I think so far the reports are quite good about the changes to the rooms, restaurants, and grounds but it remains to be seen if the new and improved version of the DLH can match what made the old DLH so special for me and Mrs. DLT.  Hopefully we will get back there sometime.

Andrienne Vincent-Phoenix gives a tour of the the hotel in her latest Disneyland Resort Update on MousePlanet.  You can read what she has to say and pictures of the hotel here.