Disney’s Flagship Room Reimagining Majorly Misses the Mark

One of our biggest unpopular Disney opinions is that Imagineering has been on a roll with resort reimaginings, and that new rooms in the hotels are a night and day improvement over a decade ago. Their track record hasn’t been flawless, but most have been major upgrades and ~90% have done a good job of balancing themed design with modern guest expectations.

Disney fans are quick to criticize new concept art and reimaginings. If I had a nickel for every time a reader comment described redone rooms as bland, boring, sterile, hospital-like, antiseptic, bare, or dystopian…I’d have at least $5. Which isn’t a lot of money, but it’s nevertheless a lot of nickels.

However, what we’ve discovered is that this is largely in the abstract as opposed to being in response to specific room refurbishments. Which is to say that the conventional wisdom is that “new” rooms at Walt Disney World and Disneyland are bad and generally unthemed, but that most fans often like the individual reimaginings when seeing a before vs. after comparison.

From our perspective, the overarching perception is mostly a matter of outdated opinions. The 2017 reimagining of Pop Century was the first ‘modern’ generation of hotel rooms at Walt Disney World. The fan response to that was mixed, with many loving the functional improvements but complaining that the room looked too sterile and hospital-like. They weren’t wrong, there was a lot of dead, white space.

Prior to this, Walt Disney World room redos were heading in the wrong direction with overly generic and no functional improvements to otherwise justify the bland designs. But contrary to the common perception that today’s new rooms are boring and bland, many of the redesigns that fans dislike were actually done from around 2014 to 2018. (The rooms that many longtime fans love are from a decade earlier, and are long gone.)

That was the height of homogenization, and there are several rooms from that era that looked virtually indistinguishable from a mid-tier Marriott. Part of that stemmed from guest complaints about the previous designs looking busy and garish, but Disney absolutely overcorrected and went too far in the other direction. The contrast was stark.

The real turning point where redone rooms started firing on all cylinders was Disney’s Riviera Resort in late 2019. Prior to this, output was hit or miss from 2017 to 2019. Post-Riviera, Disney has been mostly crushing it with room reimaginings. The current ‘wave’ of innovative accommodations that marry space-saving styles with well-themed ones is almost perfect. These offer an array of upgrades to both the form and function of the rooms, with little of value lost in the process.

There have been a few misses (Contemporary, BoardWalk and Royal Rooms at Riverside), but the vast majority have been huge wins. That’s doubly true on the DVC side, where Saratoga Springs, Polynesian (longhouses), Grand Floridian, Boulder Ridge, Bay Lake Tower, Kidani Village and Island Tower have all been fantastic. There have been zero misses from DVC since 2019.

Or rather, there had been until one big whiff: Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

Before we dig into the details of this underwhelming refurbishment, let’s start with the basics. The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is, as the name suggests, located at the flagship hotel overlooking Disney California Adventure (DCA).

Like the Grand Californian Hotel as a whole, the DVC wing was designed by the late, great Peter Dominick. He was also the architect for Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World. The villas also reflect the same California Arts & Crafts style of the main hotel.

The DVC wing is much smaller than the hotel itself as well as most other Disney Vacation Club expansions. The original Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa features 745 guest rooms, including 44 suites. With the addition of the expansion wing in 2009, the hotel now offers 945 guest rooms. In total, there’s a maximum of 71 DVC units, which is small by Disney Vacation Club standards.

Between the low supply and high demand, the Villas at Grand Californian are quite popular with DVC members! This property is popular because it offers all of the same selling points at the Grand Californian, which is a great hotel. From the rich themed design and attention to detail to the private entrance into DCA to great dining, the Grand Californian is unrivaled.

If setting aside cost (or using DVC points), it’s my #1, #2 or #3 Disney hotel in the U.S., right alongside Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. What can I say, I have a type! (Seriously, though, it’s a misconception that all three are the same style–there are major differences!)

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the rooms at Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel (VGC), starting with the old…

The above rooms are circa 2017, the result of VGC’s first soft goods refurbishment.

Based on normal lifecycles, the Villas at Grand Californian should’ve received a hard goods refurbishment a few years ago. That was delayed, largely due to COVID, and the hard goods refurbishment was rescheduled to last year.

For those unfamiliar with this term, a hard good refurbishment is typically a gut-job during which the furniture, flooring, fixtures, and other elements are replaced. We refer to these as room reimaginings, as they usually result in materially-different rooms. It’s a top-to-bottom overhaul.

In between hard goods refurbishments, there are soft goods refurbishments to extend the life of a particular room design, and to give them a fresh look that takes advantage of industry trends and innovations in design. Soft goods refurbishments typically involve updating furnishings, including but not limited to wall coverings, flooring, linens, decor, and some furniture.

Walt Disney World has been utilizing soft goods refurbishments quite effectively in the last decade to introduce space-saving design features. Consequently, the line has been blurred between soft and hards goods refurbishments, to the point that we’ve seen massive changes during soft goods projects (especially on the DVC side) to install new fold-down beds and make other major changes.

Here’s a look at the new rooms at Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. More like new-ish rooms…

Let’s start with the biggest update, which is the replacement of the sofa sleeper with the Inova pull-down bed.

While reasonable minds may differ about pretty much every other aspect of room designs, there’s clear consensus about the new pull-down Murphy beds. They’re much more comfortable that sofa sleepers thanks to having a normal mattress, and the space freed up when converted into a couch makes the room feel larger.

The Inova Murphy beds have been a big hit with just about every Disney Vacation Club member we know. This style has spread to every single Disney Vacation Club room (and beyond!) that has been renovated in the last few years, and for good reason, as DVC reports that member satisfaction surveys give these rooms very high marks.

The flooring has also been updated.

As has been the case with all other redone rooms, the carpeting was removed and replaced with laminate floors that are meant to give the look of hardwood flooring. This has been supplemented with an area rug, which mixes things up and provides a splash of color and more texture to the room. This is an improvement over the old carpeting, which was looking badly worn and dated.

Not every recently redone room has had an area rug, but this is otherwise pulling from that playbook. Everything up to this point is precisely what we expected of the VGC hard goods refurbishment. Now comes the big rug pull…

Literally nothing else changed. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the non-changes that we would’ve expected based on recent DVC precedent:

• There are no built-in USB-A or USB-C ports.
• There are no beside phone stands
• There is no desk or pull-down 5th sleeper under the TV
• There is no Keurig K-Duo single serving and carafe coffee maker
• There’s no artwork on the outside of the Inova sleeper
• The bathroom wasn’t touched, period
• None of the tilework was replaced
• None of the furniture was changed
• None of the appliances were changed

Here are more photos of the “redone” rooms at the Grand Californian:

At least to my eye, nothing changed aside from the installation of the Inova sleeper and replacement of the carpeting with hard flooring and an accent rug. Granted, this looks nice and (IMO) was what the room needed most, but still…there’s a lot that didn’t happen in what should be Disneyland’s flagship resort during what should have been a hard goods refurbishment.

Honestly, I’d go as far as to say that this was not a hard goods refurbishment. In the post reopening era, both the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Villas received soft goods refurbishments that included installation of the new Inova pull-down sofa bed and couch combo.

The argument could be made that the Polynesian longhouses soft goods refurbishment was more consequential than this. So…what the heck happened?!

Our best guess is that something happened and this was not the intended end result.

We should note that the Grand Californian has had a lot of construction over the last year-plus. This was one component of that. The hotel rooms are also being redone, Napa Rose returned from its reimagining earliner in 2026 (above), Storytellers had a fairly major refurbishment, and more.

The construction has been nonstop, and it’s not done. There’s still a new Club Level lounge is being built above the main lobby, and Disneyland has provided no updates on that in over a year. Our expectation is that it debuts by Christmas 2026, but it could slip into 2027.

When it comes to these new rooms, the lack of artwork on the outside of the Inova unit is, alone, a major red flag. Disney has been formulaic with these redos, and all of the others feature art in this space. Maybe sourcing impacted the project as a whole? Perhaps it’s that plus a labor issue? Or GCH allocating limited resources towards the hotel side? It’s impossible to say from the outside looking in. It’s just clear that something is up.

Disney is well aware that members are not satisfied with the VGC room redo. The opening letter from SVP Bill Diercksen in the recent issue of Disney Files Magazine is titled “You share. We listen.” In pertinent part, it shares this:

From light refreshes to sweeping renovations to varying levels of updates in between, each project aims to make the most efficient use of Members’ annual dues, and each takes into consideration everything from the condition of existing interiors (evaluating which elements should be replaced and which could be refurbished) to growing trends around the neighborhood and across the industry.

For the recent refresh of the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, for example, crews replaced flooring and most appliances, installed pull-down beds behind sofas, repolished tile work, resealed countertops, refurbished furniture and more, all with an eye toward preserving the villas’ signature California Craftsman style.

Then, as with any project we execute on your behalf, we once again did what you’d expect from a company so iconically associated with ears: we listened. We heard Members’ praise for the villas’ biggest changes – with the new flooring and pull-down beds garnering particularly enthusiastic reviews – but we also heard a clear request for deeper changes.

And I’m pleased to share that we aren’t waiting for the resort’s next renovation cycle to fulfill that request. In 2026, crews will begin a second phase of updates, with a focus on the bathroom, informed by Member feedback and consistent with the resort’s distinctive design style.

To that point, DVC has posted another refurbishment warning on the Villas at Grand Californian page:

Beginning in late 2026, the Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will undergo refurbishments. Please allow for extra travel time. Guests may also see and hear construction during their stay.

While DVC paints this as a matter of listening to member feedback, that might just be a satisfying narrative to advance. It’s easier to explain than the challenges of construction logistics, supply chain woes, labor limitations, etc. And it makes members feel heard, which is important to DVC.

I’m inclined to believe there were unanticipated hiccups with the last refurbishment that caused a project bifurcation. DVC doesn’t just have endless money for refurbishments, and they couldn’t blow their budget on the last project and then so quickly return for another overhaul.

To the contrary, there is a capital reserves fund that pays for refurbishments. They can’t spend money they don’t have, and conversely, they also can’t just opt against investing in refurbishments and pocket the money. That’s not how DVC works.

Now that we know another refurbishment is on the way, I’ll share my preference for that project: focus on the bathrooms. (Good news, since that’s what DVC says they’re doing!)

The Grand Californian should continue leaning into its Arts & Crafts style, which the redone living space does. This refreshed area has rich woods, lanterns, ornate details, and draw inspiration from the natural world. Just as it did before (because not much changed!).

The weakest links of the old living area, the sofa sleeper and carpeting, already changed. The dresser and TV unit should probably be swapped out for something more modern, but otherwise, I’m fine with the table, headboard, coffee table, cabinets, as well as all of the woodwork and light fixtures, remaining unchanged.

For the most part, the rooms are cozy and comfortable, a nice way to decompress after a busy day in the parks. There’s a calming sense to them, just like the hotel as a whole and the Arts & Crafts style.

These rooms are relaxing and lend themselves to indoor/outdoor living, similar to homes in Pasadena after which they’re modeled. Sitting on the balcony or patio with a morning coffee or post-parks snack is a great way to unwind. You feel a world away from the parks, despite being inside DCA. It’s also quite the contrast to the Disneyland Hotel (and Villas) or Pixar Place Hotel.

Speaking of which, if you’re trying to decide between this and the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, check out Grand Californian vs. Disneyland Hotel for a comparison of each.

One thing I love about the Villas at Grand Californian is the balcony. We lucked into a perfect view of Pixar Pier, and it was fantastic. I appreciate even the Downtown Disney, Woods-Courtyard, and Pool Views, but nothing beats overlooking DCA. It’s something special, as not many hotels are located inside theme parks.

For us, the balconies at the Grand Californian give it an edge over most rooms at Disneyland Hotel or Pixar Place Hotel. But honestly, I like the rooms as a whole (even the lackluster “new” ones) and complete package of the Grand Californian as a whole over those hotels.

If you’re good with the more mellow and earthy style of the current Villas at Grand Californian rooms, it’s a fantastic pick. Having a kitchenette is great, and something we appreciate over the hotel side of the property. It’s nice to order one of the delicious pizzas from GCH Craftsman Grill and have leftovers to reheat.

Staying in the Villas at Grand Californian studio rooms is also the cheapest way to stay at the Grand Californian, whether that means using your own membership or saving money by renting DVC points.

The Grand Californian is far and away our favorite of the three Hotels of Disneyland Resort, and that’s true whether you’re staying in the older villas or newer hotel rooms. See our our Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Review for an overview of amenities, why we love it so much, etc.

After spending a lot of time at the Grand Californian, particularly its common areas, I’ve come to really appreciate the resort. It’s like a mix between Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian: it has a sense of cozy and earthiness like Wilderness Lodge, but with a more polished and classy pedigree.

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is clearly a luxury resort, but an inviting and more informal one–very in keeping with California. Its level of distinction is readily apparent in its furnishings and Craftsman design.

The ostensibly “rustic” look might appear less-refined at first blush, but upon closer inspection, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ll probably always have the Walt Disney World “home” resort bias, but with each stay, the Grand Californian comes closer to dethroning Wilderness Lodge.

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 many other SoCal cities!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What are your thoughts on the Villas at Grand Californian? Have you stayed at both VGC and the Villas at Disneyland Hotel? Which do you prefer? What do you think of the “redone” rooms, both currently and the likely outcome of the second half of the refurbishment? How would your review differ from mine? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? 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!