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Disneyland Hotel (California)
Encyclopedia
The Disneyland Hotel is a resort
hotel
located at the Disneyland Resort
in Anaheim, California
, owned by the Walt Disney Company and operated through its Parks and Resorts
division. Opened in October 1955 as a motor inn
owned and operated by Jack Wrather
under an agreement with Walt Disney
, the hotel was the first to officially bear the Disney name. Under Wrather's ownership, the hotel underwent several expansions and renovations over the years before being acquired by Disney in 1988. The hotel was downsized to its present capacity in 1999 as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion.
. Walt Disney
wanted to build a hotel for Disneyland visitors to stay overnight, since Disneyland was quite a drive from the established population centers of Southern California
at the time. However, Disney's financial resources were significantly depleted by the construction of the park, so he negotiated a deal with Jack Wrather
and his business partner Maria Helen Alvarez under which Wrather-Alvarez Productions would own and operate a hotel called the Disneyland Hotel across the street from Disneyland. Wrather was a Texas
oil
millionaire
turned film producer
who already owned hotels in Las Vegas
and Palm Springs
, and co-owned television station
s in Tulsa
and San Diego with Alvarez.
The original Disneyland Hotel was designed by the firm of Pereira
& Luckman
and opened on October 5, 1955, nearly 3 months after Disneyland. Various strike
s caused the opening to be postponed from the August date advertised in pre-opening promotional materials, and the hotel only had limited capacity when it initially opened. The hotel originally consisted of just over 100 rooms in 5 two-story guest room complexes (later known as the South Garden Rooms and even later as the Oriental Gardens) that rented for $15 a night with shopping, dining and recreational facilities added in early 1956.
Additionally, it had a doctor and dentist on site as well as a barber and beauty shop. On August 25, 1956, the hotel celebrated its "official" grand opening with many Hollywood stars and celebrities attending the festivities. It was quickly expanded in 1956 with three North Garden guest room structures, one more North Garden structure in 1958 and lastly, two more North garden structures in 1960. The hotel now boasted over 300 guest rooms and suites. It was one of the first hotels in the region to offer accommodations for four persons per room.
Guests traveled between the hotel and Disneyland Park via a tram between the hotel and the park main entrance. When the Wrather-Alvarez partnership ended acrimoniously in 1958, Wrather bought Alvarez' share of Wrather-Alvarez Hotels, making him sole owner of the Disneyland Hotel. Over the years, the hotel was expanded to include three guest room towers: Sierra (1962; expanded 1966), Marina (1970), and Bonita
(1978).
The Disneyland Monorail was extended from its original 1959 configuration and a station opened at the hotel in 1961 (pictured). Recreational areas, attractions, and a convention center (1972) were also added over the years. The hotel also featured a Richfield
service station
for several years as part of Richfield's sponsorship of several Disneyland attractions, including the Autopia
.
became chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Productions in 1984, he wanted to get out of Disney's agreement with the Wrather Corporation and bring the Disneyland Hotel under the Walt Disney Company's umbrella. Wrather refused to sell, just as he had refused Walt Disney many years before. Wrather died two months after Eisner took over at Disney, and five years later, in 1989, Disney bought the entire Wrather company. At the time Wrather's company also owned the RMS Queen Mary
and Hughes H-4 Hercules
(the "Spruce Goose") in Long Beach
, as well as the rights to The Lone Ranger
and the Lassie
TV series. Though Disney kept the hotel, it has since sold the other assets that came with the purchase.
Streets previously used to access the hotel by car were regraded and/or outright eliminated, and a new street was built to access the hotel. Tram service from the hotel was also discontinued, leaving the Monorail as the only vehicular mode of transportation from park to hotel. The loss of hotel rooms was offset with the opening of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel
in 2001, but many of the restaurants and amenities that existed prior to 1999 were never replaced.
ESPN Zone
, Rainforest Café
, and AMC Theatres
—all Downtown Disney
venues—now occupy much of the former hotel space east of the Sierra Tower. Mickey Mouse
theming is employed in many interior furnishings and details. In 2007 the Marina, Sierra, and Bonita Towers were renamed Magic, Dreams, and Wonder, respectively. Other buildings in the sprawling hotel complex house restaurants, stores, offices, recreational facilities and convention and banquet facilities. The complex also features gazebo and garden areas that are used for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons
.
A new Downtown Disney
Monorail Station
was built on the same site as the old Disneyland Hotel station, and still takes guests to Tomorrowland inside Disneyland Park along the same beamway that existed prior to the 1999–2001 expansion.
The Disneyland Hotel started a major renovation in 2009, beginning with the Dreams tower. Renovation of the hotel included new windows, wallpaper, carpeting, and decor. The Dreams Tower, completed in 2010, will become the Adventure Tower. The Wonder Tower will become the Frontier Tower after its completion in 2011, and the Magic Tower will become the Fantasy Tower in 2012.
The Never Land Pool area will be undergoing a transformation that will be completed in 2012. This transformation will include: 6 new cabanas, two new water slides that will have the iconic original park signage at the top, and at the top of each slide will be a replica Monorail train. A new four foot pool will be built between the Never Land Pool and water play area. Two new dining locations will be taking over Hook's Pointe, Croc's Bites and Bits, the Wine Cellar, and the Lost Bar. A "smart casual" dining experience will feature Tahitian architecture from the 1950s and 1960s. Also, a new bar will be based upon the Jungle Cruise theme of adventure. The new water play area, pool and dining locations will be completed by summer 2011, and the Never Land Pool will complete its transformation in the summer of 2012.
On May 25th 2011, the two new dining locations at the Disneyland Hotel opened. Tangaroa Terrace is the new location that serves casual dining in a new innovative way. There are touch screens to place an order & select your side. Tangaroa terrace is a casual dining experience with Tahitian architecture based on Adventureland, most specifically the Jungle Cruise and The Enchanted Tiki Room. The new bar, Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, is based on the Jungle Cruise's head salesman, Trader Sam. These two new locations are rather small inside, but there is plenty of outdoor seating, including seating by a giant fireplace by the pool entrance. There new pool area is also now open as of May 25th, when the Neverland Pool closed for renovations. There is a new pool located between the monorail inspired slides and the closed Neverland Pool, which is called the 'D'-Ticket Pool inspired by the D-ticket admission.
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
located at the Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, owned by the Walt Disney Company and operated through its Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...
division. Opened in October 1955 as a motor inn
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
owned and operated by Jack Wrather
Jack Wrather
John Devereaux "Jack" Wrather, Jr. , was a petroleum millionaire who became a television producer and later diversified by investing in broadcast stations and resort properties...
under an agreement with Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, the hotel was the first to officially bear the Disney name. Under Wrather's ownership, the hotel underwent several expansions and renovations over the years before being acquired by Disney in 1988. The hotel was downsized to its present capacity in 1999 as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion.
Concept and construction
At the time of its construction in the early 1950s, Disneyland was in a remote area outside Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
wanted to build a hotel for Disneyland visitors to stay overnight, since Disneyland was quite a drive from the established population centers of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
at the time. However, Disney's financial resources were significantly depleted by the construction of the park, so he negotiated a deal with Jack Wrather
Jack Wrather
John Devereaux "Jack" Wrather, Jr. , was a petroleum millionaire who became a television producer and later diversified by investing in broadcast stations and resort properties...
and his business partner Maria Helen Alvarez under which Wrather-Alvarez Productions would own and operate a hotel called the Disneyland Hotel across the street from Disneyland. Wrather was a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
turned film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who already owned hotels in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, and co-owned television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s in Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and San Diego with Alvarez.
The Wrather years 1955–1984
William Pereira
William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...
& Luckman
Charles Luckman
Charles Luckman was a businessman and an American architect, famous as the "Boy Wonder of American Business" when he was named president of the Pepsodent toothpaste company in 1939 at the age of thirty...
and opened on October 5, 1955, nearly 3 months after Disneyland. Various strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s caused the opening to be postponed from the August date advertised in pre-opening promotional materials, and the hotel only had limited capacity when it initially opened. The hotel originally consisted of just over 100 rooms in 5 two-story guest room complexes (later known as the South Garden Rooms and even later as the Oriental Gardens) that rented for $15 a night with shopping, dining and recreational facilities added in early 1956.
Additionally, it had a doctor and dentist on site as well as a barber and beauty shop. On August 25, 1956, the hotel celebrated its "official" grand opening with many Hollywood stars and celebrities attending the festivities. It was quickly expanded in 1956 with three North Garden guest room structures, one more North Garden structure in 1958 and lastly, two more North garden structures in 1960. The hotel now boasted over 300 guest rooms and suites. It was one of the first hotels in the region to offer accommodations for four persons per room.
Guests traveled between the hotel and Disneyland Park via a tram between the hotel and the park main entrance. When the Wrather-Alvarez partnership ended acrimoniously in 1958, Wrather bought Alvarez' share of Wrather-Alvarez Hotels, making him sole owner of the Disneyland Hotel. Over the years, the hotel was expanded to include three guest room towers: Sierra (1962; expanded 1966), Marina (1970), and Bonita
Bonita Granville
Bonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
(1978).
The Disneyland Monorail was extended from its original 1959 configuration and a station opened at the hotel in 1961 (pictured). Recreational areas, attractions, and a convention center (1972) were also added over the years. The hotel also featured a Richfield
ARCO
Atlantic Richfield Company is an oil company with operations in the United States as well as in Indonesia, the North Sea, and the South China Sea. It has more than 1,300 gas stations in the western part of the United States. ARCO was originally formed by the merger of East Coast-based Atlantic...
service station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
for several years as part of Richfield's sponsorship of several Disneyland attractions, including the Autopia
Autopia
Autopia is a Disneyland attraction, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Anaheim, California, Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, and at Hong Kong Disneyland on Lantau Island, Hong Kong...
.
Disney takes over
When Michael EisnerMichael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
became chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Productions in 1984, he wanted to get out of Disney's agreement with the Wrather Corporation and bring the Disneyland Hotel under the Walt Disney Company's umbrella. Wrather refused to sell, just as he had refused Walt Disney many years before. Wrather died two months after Eisner took over at Disney, and five years later, in 1989, Disney bought the entire Wrather company. At the time Wrather's company also owned the RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
and Hughes H-4 Hercules
Hughes H-4 Hercules
The Hughes H-4 Hercules is a prototype heavy transport aircraft designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft company. The aircraft made its only flight on November 2, 1947 and the project was never advanced beyond the single example produced...
(the "Spruce Goose") in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, as well as the rights to The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
and the Lassie
Lassie (1954 TV series)
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
TV series. Though Disney kept the hotel, it has since sold the other assets that came with the purchase.
Resort expansion 1999–2001
In 1999, a significant portion of the hotel was demolished to make way for Downtown Disney and parking areas for the newly expanding Disneyland Resort. Most buildings east of the Sierra Tower and north of the Marina Tower were demolished, including the original hotel buildings from 1955. The only buildings remaining in these areas are the convention center and parking garage. Recreational facilities were built in the quad between the three towers, previously site of the Water Wonderland, to replace those that were previously located east of the Sierra Tower.Streets previously used to access the hotel by car were regraded and/or outright eliminated, and a new street was built to access the hotel. Tram service from the hotel was also discontinued, leaving the Monorail as the only vehicular mode of transportation from park to hotel. The loss of hotel rooms was offset with the opening of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is a AAA Four Diamond Hotel located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Added as part of a major expansion of the Disneyland Resort in 2001, it is the resort's flagship hotel and is the first and only hotel there to have been originally built and...
in 2001, but many of the restaurants and amenities that existed prior to 1999 were never replaced.
The hotel today
Today none of the original hotel buildings from 1955 remain standing. Very little of the hotel other than parking areas and service facilities sit outside of the perimeter created by the three remaining guest room towers. Original signs and other artifacts from several of the stores and restaurants demolished with the Plaza are on display in the hotel's employee cafeteria.ESPN Zone
ESPN Zone
ESPN Zone is a Southern California-based chain of two sports-themed restaurants that include arcades, TV studios, and radio studios that are currently franchised, but formally owned by the American cable network ESPN. The first ESPN Zone opened in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 11, 1998, in the Power...
, Rainforest Café
Rainforest Cafe
Rainforest Cafe is a themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's Restaurants, Inc. of Houston, Texas. It was founded by entrepreneur Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota on February 3, 1994. In 1997, the chain consisted of only six restaurants,...
, and AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
—all Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney (California)
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area, also known as a "shoppertainment center", located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States...
venues—now occupy much of the former hotel space east of the Sierra Tower. Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
theming is employed in many interior furnishings and details. In 2007 the Marina, Sierra, and Bonita Towers were renamed Magic, Dreams, and Wonder, respectively. Other buildings in the sprawling hotel complex house restaurants, stores, offices, recreational facilities and convention and banquet facilities. The complex also features gazebo and garden areas that are used for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons is a program offering wedding and honeymoon services to couples at the Disneyland Resort in California, the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, and on the Disney Cruise Line. It operates within the Walt Disney...
.
A new Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney (California)
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area, also known as a "shoppertainment center", located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States...
Monorail Station
Disneyland Monorail System
The Disneyland Monorail System is an attraction and transportation system at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, USA...
was built on the same site as the old Disneyland Hotel station, and still takes guests to Tomorrowland inside Disneyland Park along the same beamway that existed prior to the 1999–2001 expansion.
The Disneyland Hotel started a major renovation in 2009, beginning with the Dreams tower. Renovation of the hotel included new windows, wallpaper, carpeting, and decor. The Dreams Tower, completed in 2010, will become the Adventure Tower. The Wonder Tower will become the Frontier Tower after its completion in 2011, and the Magic Tower will become the Fantasy Tower in 2012.
The Never Land Pool area will be undergoing a transformation that will be completed in 2012. This transformation will include: 6 new cabanas, two new water slides that will have the iconic original park signage at the top, and at the top of each slide will be a replica Monorail train. A new four foot pool will be built between the Never Land Pool and water play area. Two new dining locations will be taking over Hook's Pointe, Croc's Bites and Bits, the Wine Cellar, and the Lost Bar. A "smart casual" dining experience will feature Tahitian architecture from the 1950s and 1960s. Also, a new bar will be based upon the Jungle Cruise theme of adventure. The new water play area, pool and dining locations will be completed by summer 2011, and the Never Land Pool will complete its transformation in the summer of 2012.
On May 25th 2011, the two new dining locations at the Disneyland Hotel opened. Tangaroa Terrace is the new location that serves casual dining in a new innovative way. There are touch screens to place an order & select your side. Tangaroa terrace is a casual dining experience with Tahitian architecture based on Adventureland, most specifically the Jungle Cruise and The Enchanted Tiki Room. The new bar, Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, is based on the Jungle Cruise's head salesman, Trader Sam. These two new locations are rather small inside, but there is plenty of outdoor seating, including seating by a giant fireplace by the pool entrance. There new pool area is also now open as of May 25th, when the Neverland Pool closed for renovations. There is a new pool located between the monorail inspired slides and the closed Neverland Pool, which is called the 'D'-Ticket Pool inspired by the D-ticket admission.
External links
- Disneyland Hotel Official site
- The End of the Original Disneyland Hotel at Yesterland
- The Yesterland Hotel Tram at Yesterland
- Disneyland Hotel: The Early Years 1954-1988