Mickey Mouse & Princess Rooms at the Disneyland Hotel

WDWNT on August 23, 2008

ANAHEIM, Calif. — August 19, 2008 — When it comes to magical vacation experiences at the Disneyland Hotel, it’s character that counts. That’s why the famous resort hotel, located next to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure parks, is now featuring the opportunity to book Character Quarters – connecting rooms for children that are specially themed with Mickey Mouse or Disney princess décor.

Character Quarters are standard, smaller guest rooms that have a connecting door adjacent to a standard guest room. By reserving Character Quarters and a standard guest room, guests can guarantee connecting rooms, which are ideal for families traveling with younger children. (Character Quarters cannot be booked without a connecting standard guest room.)

Each Character Quarters room features a themed television set and two twin beds. The Mickey Mouse-themed quarters have flat screen televisions, floor-to-ceiling Mickey décor, furnishings, fixtures and amenities that match the rich, blue carpeting with lively “hidden Mickey” swirls and bright golden stars.

The Disney princess-themed rooms offer furnishings fit for royalty. The rooms are beautifully adorned with carpeting, wall coverings, Cinderella comforters and other amenities fit for a princess.

“The all-new Character Quarters allow our guests to immerse themselves in character magic typically only found in our theme parks,” said Tony Bruno, vice president of Disneyland Resort Hotels.

The Disneyland Hotel is the only hotel where guests can stay the night completely surrounded in the world of Mickey Mouse and Disney princesses, extending the magic of their experience at the Disneyland Resort.

For more information, please visit www.disneyland.com or call (714) 956-MICKEY.

Hotel Protest

WDWNT on June 28, 2008

From MyFox Los Angeles:

Workers at Disneyland Hotels are fighting to keep their health insurance benefits. Contract negotiations with Disney are not going well so the hotel workers took their fight to Main Street and Disneyland itself. Gigi Graciette was in Anaheim, where workers and their supporters held a candlelight vigil.

You can find a video with more information & a couple of interviews at the link above.

Authorities ID Man Who Jumped from the Disneyland Hotel

WDWNT on May 6, 2008

From the OC Register:

ANAHEIM – Authorities have identified a 48-year-old man who apparently jumped to his death Friday from the 14th floor of the Disneyland Hotel’s Wonder Tower.

John Newman Jr., of Santa Cruz, jumped from a balcony in the hotel’s south tower onto a parking lot at 1150 Magic Way, authorities said.

Newman was in town on business and was staying in a room with a business associate; the business associate was in the room when the man jumped, said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

Newman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives interviewed possible witnesses to see if anyone saw what happened.

The hotel has been the scene of at least two other suicides. In 1994, a 75-year-old man jumped from the ninth floor and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two years later, a 23-year-old man committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of the hotel.

In 1998, a 23-year-old Walt Disney Co. employee jumped from the 14th floor but survived the fall.

Suicide at the Disneyland Hotel

WDWNT on May 3, 2008

According to MousePlanet:

At approximately 11:00 a.m. today, a man jumped to his death from the 14th floor at the Disneyland Hotel. According to Anaheim Police Department spokesman Sgt. Rick Martinez, APD is treating this as a suicide based on what police have found so far.


A couple of onlookers turn to view the activity at the Disneyland Hotel, as a police officer keeps the area clear. Numerous police cars are parked in the hotel’s driveway as the Anaheim Police Department investigates an apparent suicide of a man who jumped out of the 14th floor. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The man, approximately between 30 and 40, was in a south-facing room of the Wonder Tower (formerly Bonita) of the hotel, facing a parking lot. According to police, the man was in town for business. He was in the room with an adult male associate when, shortly after 11 a.m., he stepped out onto the balcony, made a statement, and jumped.

Emergency services are on scene at the hotel, and although the area is cordoned off, the scene has been visible from the balconies by hotel guests staying in the tower.

MiceAge DLR Rumor Update

WDWNT on April 9, 2008

The plans for the DCA renovations always keep changing, & the latest changes were reported today in Al Lutz’s latest column on MiceAge. We’ll also take a look at some other new stuff supposedly coming to Disneyland, & the resort as a whole:

  • The Walt Disney Story show that was supposed to of gone into the new Walt Disney Plaza has been dropped from the plans. Team Disney Anaheim’s idea behind this is that DCA already has too many shows, & too little good rides. So the last thing DCA needs is another new show! But the extravagant Carthay Circle Theater will still be built, but will only be a facade.
  • With the Walt Disney Story not happening, this now may have Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln being re-installed into the Opera House on Main Street.
  • When Sunshine Plaza is under refurbishment, the temporary entrance may now be the big gate right by Soarin’ Over California, instead of the Millionaire building. You can see exactly where this is by viewing this picture.
  • A water play area themed to King Triton is now planned to be put right next to the new Little Mermaid attraction.
  • The Ariels Grotto restaurant may be re-themed a general Princess restaurant, Princess Palace. The more modern sections of the current exterior of the restaurant would be made more “Princessy”.
  • Originally, the renovation plans for the Disneyland Hotel was to of had each building extensively refurbished, one at a time. Well now, TDA & WDI are looking to completely rip down the current Disneyland Hotel, & re-build it all from scratch!
  • This summer, a Indiana Jones stunt show should take place in Adventureland. We’re not sure if it will last past the summer though.
  • No new attractions are currently planned for the resort in 2009, except for the new It’s a Small World. So Disneyland Park will have a major entertainment themed ad campaign, which will include the proposed new Wonder day-time parade, a new ending to Remember… Dreams Come True, new effects added to Fantasmic, & get this… the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade!

For complete details on all of the things mentioned above & more, check out this MiceAge article!

MousePlanet DLR Update

WDWNT on April 1, 2008

Here’s a few interesting topics brought up in this week’s MousePlanet Disneyland Resort Update:

  • A few new things have been added to the line-up for this year’s California Food & Wine Weekends. Junior Chef sessions with an (at the moment) unnamed celebrity chef will be held through-out the Festival. Chefs from Cafe Orleans will show guests how to prepare a Monte Cristo. Many Downtown Disney restaurants will have culinary demonstrations. And finally, “signature” dishes will be added to DCA’s counter service restaurants, such as a chili cheese corn dog at Corn Dog Castle.
  • 2008’s Mothers Day Brunch will be held on May 11th in the Disneyland Hotel Grand Ballroom. The price will be $83 for adults, & $23 dollars for children (3-11).
  • The Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs 70th Anniversary exhibit inside Disney Animation may possibly be leaving at the end of April, to be replaced by a similar Sleeping Beauty themed exhibit in the Fall.
  • The Mark Twain Riverboat will have a very short refurbishment from April 21st to the 23rd.
  • Finally, Bill Stevens on MousePlanet caught a glimpse of the Mark VII Monorails actually running on the track by the Matterhorn. But to see the picture, we’re gonna have to make you check out the DLR Update on MousePlanet!

Disneyland Hotel Makeover Update

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Big news…Today we’re sharing details and concept art that will give the Disneyland Hotel a fun, fresh makeover. The pool area is getting a whole new look, including a brand-new pool, all-new immersive water play area and a complete redesign of the Never Land Pool. Plans also call for a new restaurant and bar, and re-theming of the hotel’s three guest room towers.

The biggest transformation (and what I’m most looking forward to) are the changes coming to the pool area. With a nod to the iconic original park signage, “Disneyland” will be spelled out in familiar blocks atop a platform supporting two huge water slides (the larger slide will be 26 feet high and will stretch 187 feet before it plunges into a splash pool below). Reminiscent of the original Monorail station at the Disneyland Hotel, at each slide’s entrance will sit a replica Monorail Car that guests will glide through as they twist and turn their way to the pool below. The pool will also feature a third, two-lane mini slide, perfect for little ones, which is just 3 1/2 feet high and is 19 feet long.

The Never Land Pool will receive a complete cosmetic makeover but will retain its unique shape. A new, four-foot deep pool will be built between the Never Land Pool and the water play area. A footbridge will stretch over this new pool, connecting both sides of the courtyard area and giving easy access across the property. Six new cabanas will also be added. To help you visualize all these exciting, new changes, here’s a rendering from an aerial view.

And that’s not all! Two new dining locations will be introduced in the current location of Hook’s Pointe, Croc’s Bites and Bits, the Wine Cellar and the Lost Bar. A new “smart casual” dining concept will feature Tahitian architecture that is reminiscent of the ’50s and ’60s era of the hotel and the original Tahitian Terrace restaurant in Disneyland park. A new bar will draw on the adventure theme from the Jungle Cruise attraction.

The new water play area, pool and dining locations are scheduled to be completed by summer 2011, and the remodeled Never Land Pool is slated to be completed by summer 2012.

The hotel’s three guest room towers will be renamed to reflect Disneyland park’s distinctive lands. The Dreams Tower, currently under renovation and scheduled to be completed in 2010, 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 become the Fantasy Tower. A large marquee featuring classic artwork for Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland will identify each tower.

Some Very Interesting Rumors…

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

The latest Disneyland Update on MiceAge as always provides a great look at what could possibly be coming to the Disneyland Resort in the near future. Let’s take a look through some of the more interesting details brought up in this update:

  • Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln could very well be coming back in 2010, for Disneyland’s 55th anniversary, but with some very drastic changes. Some changes would be made to make the show very similar to the new version of the Hall of Presidents that will debut this July in Walt Disney World, that being the addition of George Washington & Barrack Obama with speaking roles, even though the attraction will still be just Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The exit & entrance would be switched around so that guests can exit out into an expanded Disneyland/Walt Disney memorabilia exhibit. And the new location of the Disney Gallery is rumored to be connected next door in the current home of the Bank of Main Street, with the AP Processing center that is currently housed in the bank moving over to the Plaza Pavilion.
  • It’s a Small World Holiday will be opening officially this Friday, with soft openings planned to happen tomorrow & Thursday. The attraction will basically be the same overlay as it has been for the past 11 years, with-out the Disney characters or the new Americana room (that area will be covered in black drapes as always). The only change for this year’s holiday overlay will be the addition of the characters from the old Rainforest room to the South Seas room off in one corner of that room. The attraction will then close from January 5th to February 14th where the Americana scene will be unveiled & the Disney characters will be added. Apparently there are plans to incorporate these 2 new additions into next year’s holiday overlay.
  • Even though we here at Disneyland News Today have heard strong rumors that the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-through would be opening at the beginning of Holidays at the Disneyland Resort this Friday, it’s now more likely that it won’t open until Thanksgiving at the absolute earliest, maybe even later.
  • Disney is thinking of adding another parking structure to Resort on the site of the current Pumbaa parking lot, that will be desperately needed if attendance really does pick up at DCA. This structure is currently planned to open sometime in 2011, if all goes according to plan.
  • It seems Disney has finally nailed down a good plan on just how to refurbish the Disneyland Hotel. The plan at the moment is to first build a completely new 4th tower on a currently un-used site, & once that is complete, tear down 2 of the current towers & rebuild one from that, & then finally tear down & rebuild the 4th tower.
For more information on the topics above & plenty more, check out the Disneyland Update.