Is the Californian really Grand?

On our May trip to Disneyland we stayed at Disney's Grand Californian Resort and Spa.  This is THE Deluxe Disney resort for the Disneyland area.  And all I can say was Wow!

​So what are the perks of staying in the Grand Californian?  I'm glad I asked you to ask me that question.  Follow along for more.

If you thought the Contemporary was close to Magic Kingdom, the Grand Californian puts that to shame.  This is as close as you can stay to any Disney park. ​There isn't really any transportation to the parks in Disneyland.  It's ALL walking distance., but that walking distance can vary quite a bit.  Many hotels and resorts are a good 15 minute walk from the park gates.

The Grand Californian is a quick 5 minute walk from BOTH main gates of the parks.  Plus it even has it's own separate entrance directly into California Adventurepark!  Not too mention that it is INSIDE of Downtown Disney.

After you have put in over 30,000 steps in the Disneyland from 8am to midnight, proximity is a blessing.  10 more minutes of walking can be agony on weary feet, trust me I know!

The rooms are beautiful and comfortably set up.  We had plenty of room to move around.  We're a family of 4, but there was even a fold out 5th sleeper, which is always nice when my kids don't want to share a bed.

There are many small Disney details within the decor of the room and hotel.  We always loved spotting these little decor bits of Disney. 

The Resort itself has this beautiful rustic vibe, like an elevated wilderness adventure theme.  If you've ever been the Great Wolf Lodge, it's like its classy older brother.  I felt like I was staying in a fancy ski chalet in the mountains.

Going along with the California adventure vibe are not one but two character dining experiences in the resort.  One located over at the Napa Rose and the other in the Story Teller Cafe.  Sadly characters are only available at breakfast, but a character breakfast is always a good plan for the day you'll be flying out.

Now if you really want to add that next level of Boujie you can always stay at Club Level!

The Veranda is the Club Level Lounge for our stay at the Grand Californian.  There are food and drinks served throughout most of the day here at The Veranda.

With the amazing proximity to the parks, we would regularly come back to our resort to grab a quick bite to eat before, during, and after our runs through the parks.

Of course all this delightful food is all included with that Club Level room.  Don't forget your key card, as it's the only way to access the lounge.

There was an abundance of options throughout our stay.  I know the menu rotates because every day of our stay there were new and different options for food.

Sodas and bottles of water were readily available in the lounge refrigerator.  Alcohol was also served during many of the meal times.  There was even a fancy coffee machine that would make you a cappuccino.

Unless we had a dining reservation we would often just pop back over to the lounge for food.

Just when you thought the Grand Californian was done, they up the ante on special occasions.

During Special Events and Holiday times the resort will make these HUGE cake displays in the lobby of the resort.  Yes! the Millennium Falcon and it's surrounding mountains are all made of cake and chocolate.

We saw this lovely cake sculpture during our visit for Star Wars Night.  There have been spooky cake scenes around Halloween and gigantic ginger bread sculptures around December.  I can only imagine what we'll see next time we go through that lobby.

The Grand Californian is definitely an amazing place to stay when visiting the Disneyland Resort area.  We had an absolute blast staying here. 

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