Disneyland Hotel Set to Undergo Major Renovation

The Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., will undergo a renovation that will include building a new pool and water play area, renovating an existing pool, opening a new restaurant and bar, and retheming of its three guestroom towers.

Changes are designed to restore the original, mid-century style of the hotel. The work will open up the courtyard and pool area, allowing guests a clear line of vision and easy access across the property.

The new pool area will include an immersive water play area. With a nod to the original park signage, Disneyland will be spelled out in familiar blocks atop a platform supporting two water slides. Reminiscent of the original Monorail station at the Disneyland Hotel, at each slide’s entrance will feature a replica Monorail car that guests will glide through as they slide to the water below. For younger guests, the area will include a third two-lane mini slide and a series of small bubble jets.

The existing Never Land pool will receive a complete cosmetic makeover but retain its footprint. A new, four-foot-deep pool will be built between the Never Land pool and the water play area. The space also will include two spas. The site of the current Cove pool will become a manicured lawn area for outdoor events. In addition, six new cabanas will be added, each with a flat-screen TV, a refrigerator, a safe, a phone and a ceiling fan.

Construction for the new water play area, pool, and food and beverage locations is scheduled to begin in August 2010 and be completed by summer 2011. The remodeled existing pool is slated for completion by summer 2012.

Changes also include renaming the hotel’s three guestroom towers for Disneyland’s distinctive lands. The Dreams Tower, currently under renovation and scheduled for completion this June, will become the Adventure Tower. The Wonder Tower, next to undergo transformation and slated for completion in 2011, will be the Frontier Tower. And the Magic Tower, which will be finished in 2012, will transform to the Fantasy Tower. Large marquees featuring classic artwork for Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland will identify each tower.

The Disneyland Hotel renovation began in August 2009. The remodeled guest rooms feature Disney touches, such as a new headboard with a carved representation of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle with fiber optics creating a skyline with fireworks. The work at the Disneyland Hotel is a part of a larger expansion project underway throughout the resort.

Disney’s California Adventure Park is undergoing a multiyear expansion project that includes new attractions and nighttime shows, culminating in 2012 with the opening of Cars Land. The four-diamond Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa also underwent an expansion last year that added 203 hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom villas that are part of the Disney Vacation Club, marking the club’s West Coast debut.