Disneyland has released new hotel discounts through Summer 2023 with room-only deals for the general public, Disney Visa cardholders, and Magic Key passholders. This post shares the details about the special offers, commentary about savings, staying off-site v. on-site, and booking recommendations.
These discounts are available at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. Savings vary based upon both room category (premium v. standard) and whether you’re an Annual Passholder, with prices also increasing during busier rate chart seasons.
That last variable has the biggest impact. If you’re a Californian or live in a nearby state and have flexibility in your travel dates, we’d highly recommend visiting Disneyland during a weekday during the shoulder season in one of the weeks that doesn’t coincide with spring break or summer vacation. The rack rate charts are less expensive and crowds will hopefully be better.
Let’s start with the biggest discount, which offers Disney Visa Cardmembers up to 25% off select *premium* room stays at the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort—valid Sunday to Thursday nights from March 12 through June 8, 2023. Here are the savings:
- Save up to 25% on Premium room types
Disneyland Hotel
- Save up to 25% on Premium room types
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel
- Save up to 20% on Premium room types
Book now through June 5, 2023. Travel must be completed by June 9, 2023.
A few details are worth emphasizing with the Disney Visa discount. First, you must use a valid Disney Visa Card or Disney Rewards Redemption Card to pay the deposit. If a valid Disney Visa Card or Disney Rewards Redemption Card is not used, the non-discounted room price will be charged for the duration of the stay. Second, the Disney Visa Cardmember must stay in a room on the reservation.
Finally, the only room types included in this offer are Premium, Deluxe and Woods/Garden/Courtyard rooms; select Concierge rooms; and Paradise, Artisan, Junior and Family suites. Not valid for Standard rooms, select Concierge rooms or for Signature and Premium suites.
This means that if you’re a bottom-dollar kind of person, this isn’t a great deal. However, if you want to book something fun like Club Level at the Grand Californian (a great-but-pricey splurge), it’s a good way to make that price more palatable.
Below are the discounts for Magic Key Passholders at Disneyland on select rooms at the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort—valid for Sunday to Thursday nights from March 12 through June 8, 2023. Here are the discount rates at each resort:
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
- Save 20% on both Standard and Premium room types
Disneyland Hotel
- Save 20% on both Standard and Premium room types
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel
- Save 15% on both Standard and Premium room types
Book now through June 5, 2023. Travel must be completed by June 9, 2023.
Basically, it’s a very similar offer with 5% worse savings for Annual Passholders plus the addition of standard rooms. For deal hunters looking for the cheapest possible room, this is going to be better than the Disney Visa special offer.
Finally, there’s the general public discount. Enjoy savings on select rooms at the hotels of Disneyland Resort for most Sunday to Thursday nights from March 12 through June 8, 2023. Here are the discounted rates:
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
- Save up to 15% on both Standard and Premium room types
Disneyland Hotel
- Save up to 15% on both Standard and Premium room types
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel
- Save up to 10% on both Standard and Premium room types
Book now through June 5, 2023. Travel must be completed by June 9, 2023.
This is basically the same as the AP discount, but 5% worse. I didn’t notice any differences in availability or effective rates when spot-checking room rates, but my search also was not comprehensive.
Normal exclusions and terms and conditions apply with this Disneyland Resort discount. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room type at the same hotel. Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
This discount cannot be combined with any other hotel discounts or offers; savings exclude applicable fees and taxes. Limit two rooms per reservation and occupancy restrictions apply per room. Savings are not available on signature suites or on previously booked rooms.
Discounts are also not valid for Signature or Premium suites. For the Magic Key Passholder Disneyland Resort discounts, a valid pass must be presented at check-in and the Magic Key holder must stay in the room.
These can be decent discounts…but that really depends upon your dates and the corresponding rack rates. Prices vary widely during these dates, which includes spring break and summer seasons, plus the window in between. This stretch encompasses both shoulder and peak season travel dates, so rack rates are all over the place.
We’ve seen some discounted prices as “low” as $382, and some as high as $890. Keep in mind that these are the special offer prices–there are certain dates, even eligible ones, when both Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian have nothing available under the discount. Those nights, prices can exceed $1,000. We love both of these hotels, but that nightly rate is a non-starter for us. To each their own, though!
If you’re debating a trip to Disneyland, we’d recommend it. The 100 Years of Wonder Celebration just kicked off with the World of Color – ONE and Wondrous Journeys nighttime spectaculars. Consult our Guide to Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration at Disneyland & DCA for everything you need to know about those and the Disney100 festivities.
Additionally, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is now open, and Toontown is returning soon. It’s also shaping up to be an interesting summer at DCA, with the possibility of a temporary stage show in the Hyperion along with the debut of San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. I wouldn’t schedule a trip around either of those things, but they should be little value-adds on top of everything else.
If you’re wondering when the best time is to visit, check out our totally free 2023 Disneyland Crowd Calendars, which offer recommendations as to when the parks will be least busy and busiest. Although Disneyland crowds have been elevated and less predictable in the last couple of years, things are finally settling back into more familiar patterns.
Another good way to choose your dates is based on the best prices for resorts. This isn’t always a proxy for crowds as Disneyland only has 3 on-site hotels, but rack rates usually correspond with tourist season attendance projections. The lower the expected number of visitors, the lower the prices. (This does not take into account local visitor dynamics, which are huge for Disneyland.)
If you’re looking for a resort recommendation, I’d go with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa if you can swing the higher cost or even want to splurge on a single night stay. The Grand Californian is a true luxury resort and thematic gem–think of it as the best parts of Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian, combined in a single hotel.
Grand Californian is the nicest hotel in Anaheim, and one of the best hotels in Orange County, period–and there’s strong competition in Newport and Laguna Beach. I’ve also found myself drawn more to the Craftsman style over the years, and love exploring the quiet corners of the Grand Californian. (On a related note, if you want a greater appreciation of the Grand Californian, do a self-guided walking tour of Pasadena, or visit the Gamble House.)
We love Disneyland Hotel, but it’s just not on the same level. It’s a sentimental favorite, a love letter to Walt Disney and his original theme park that fans will adore. However, it’s just not the same caliber of a hotel when viewed objectively. It’s also not nearly as close to the parks–Grand Californian’s private entrance into DCA is huge.
The construction occurring on the new DVC tower at Disneyland Hotel gives me further pause. I also don’t think the combo of Goofy’s Kitchen, Tangaroa Terrace, and Trader Sam’s are even remotely on par with the dining scene at the Grand Californian.
If you’re thinking about Paradise Pier Hotel, perhaps reconsider. This is an “upgrade” from our previous recommendation of avoiding PPH at all costs. While we still wouldn’t recommend it, but the new private entrance to DCA does change the equation just a bit.
Just keep in mind that with that upgrade comes a downgrade, as construction is ongoing to convert it to Pixar Place Hotel (not to be confused with the superior Hyatt Place Hotel down the street). The guest impact of construction continues to increase, with the lobby currently out of commission. On the plus side, Paradise Pier Hotel doesn’t really have “amenities,” so there’s not much of value that can still close at this point.
Our perspective on Paradise Pier Hotel remains that you might as well just book a third party hotel that’s off-site. This isn’t us being snobbish–it’s the opposite. There’s no sense in spending an outlandish sum of money when you can get comparable quality for $150/night or so.
There are a ton of great off-site hotels that are closer to the parks, cost less money, and are objectively better than PPH. As you can see in our Disneyland Area Hotel Rankings & Reviews, there are 35 off-site hotels we prefer to PPH.
As with Walt Disney world, we recommend requesting a fee-free Disneyland vacation price quote from Be Our Guest Vacations. Those Authorized Disney Vacation Planners will do the work for you and take the stress out of planning, making recommendations with plans, booking dining reservations, and monitoring your reservation for better discounts (it’s not going to get better than this).
There have been several big on-site perks introduced recently, but Early Entry is the biggest new selling point of the Hotels of Disneyland Resort. Early Entry occurs 30 minutes prior to each park’s opening every day, and offers access to select attractions, dining and shopping.
We’ve taken advantage of this in both parks, and share the experience in our posts about Early Entry at Disneyland and Early Entry at Disney California Adventure. Suffice to say, it’s a nice advantage for Fantasyland or Avengers Campus, while also offering a strategic starting point for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Cars Land.
Ultimately, Early Entry is an on-site perk that could tip the scales in favor of staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels if you’re on the fence. With that said, all 3 of these hotels are pretty pricey, and that perk alone isn’t enough to justify the on-site stay. The better/easier justification is simply because you want to, whether that means a single-night “treat yo self” stay or going all-out on a deluxe Disneyland vacation.
Either way, saving a bit of money always helps, and that’s what these discounts offer. That’s about it in terms of current Disneyland discounts and our thoughts on booking a stay at one of the on-site hotels in the coming months. For now, we’ll just say that if you’re in need of a Disney fix and are on the fence about doing Walt Disney World or Disneyland…choose Disneyland!
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
Thoughts on the new on-site perks coming to the Hotels of Disneyland Resort? What do you think of these hotel discounts for Disneyland Resort? Do you feel like these rates for the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel are fair, or still overpriced? Is there availability for your dates? Is 10% to 25% off enough to convince you to book a trip, or are these prices still too high? How do you feel about Paradise Pier Hotel v. off-site third party accommodations? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
