New On-Site Perks & Discounts at Disneyland

Disneyland has released new hotel discounts through Fall 2022 with room-only deals for the general public and Magic Key passholders. Plus, new on-site perks for resort guests that’ll debut this summer! This post shares the details about both the benefits and special offers, commentary about whether this changes the off-site v. on-site calculus, and booking recommendations.

These discounts are available at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. Savings vary based upon both room category (premium v. standard), weekday v. weekend, whether you’re an Annual Passholder, and rate chart seasons.

That last variable has the biggest impact. If you’re a Californian or live in a nearby state and have flexibility in your travel dates, we’d highly recommend visiting Disneyland during a weekday after summer vacation season ends and schools start going back into session. The rack rate charts are less expensive starting in mid-August 2022 and beyond, and crowds will hopefully be better.

Against that backdrop, let’s dig into the discount details. Enjoy savings on select rooms at the hotels of Disneyland Resort from August 7 through September 29, 2022. Here are the savings at each property:

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

  • Save up to 25% off select stays of 4-nights or longer
  • Save up to 20% on Standard and Premium rooms

Disneyland Hotel

  • Save up to 25% off select stays of 4-nights or longer
  • Save up to 15% on Standard and Premium rooms

Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel

  • Save up to 10% on Standard and Premium rooms

Book now through September 22, 2022. Travel must be completed by September 30, 2022.

Normal exclusions and terms and conditions apply with this late Summer & Fall 2022 Disneyland Resort discount.
Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room type at the same hotel, and is valid for most nights from August 7 through September 29, 2022.

For the maximum savings, you must purchase a consecutive 4-night or longer stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa or the Disneyland Hotel. Cancellation of any nights of a stay may affect discount availability or rate.

Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. This discount cannot be combined with any other hotel discounts or offers; savings exclude applicable fees and taxes. Limit two rooms per reservation and occupancy restrictions apply per room.

Premium room types included in offer are Premium, Deluxe and Woods/Garden/Courtyard rooms, select Concierge rooms, and Paradise, Artisan, Junior and Family suites. Savings are not available on signature suites or on previously booked rooms.

Magic Key Passholder Discounts

There are also savings on select rooms available for Magic Key passholders at the following Disneyland Resort hotels. However, these discounts are only available for stays most Sunday to Thursday nights from August 7 through September 29, 2022. Still, this might be better for those wanting to do something midweek without a 4-night stay.

Here are the savings for each hotel:

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

  • Save 25% on Premium and Standard room types

Disneyland Hotel

  • Save 20% on Premium and Standard room types

Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel

  • Save 15% on Premium and Standard room types

Book now through September 22, 2022. Travel must be completed by September 30, 2022.

The aforementioned terms and conditions likewise apply with these Magic Key Passholder Disneyland Resort discounts. Additionally, a valid Magic Key pass must be presented at check-in and the Magic Key holder must stay in the room.

These are some solid savings, particularly if paired with an off-season rack rate at the maximum savings amount. Definitely worth considering if you’re thinking about a late summer or early fall trip, are pricing out Walt Disney World, and finding minimal savings. As we wrote in Disneyland v. Walt Disney World: Is West Best in 2022?, this year is a good time to take a trip to Southern California!

If you’re thinking about taking a trip and are still undecided on dates, we’d recommend late August into early September 2022. This should be the sweet spot after Los Angeles and Orange County schools go back into session, and Halloween Time at Disneyland crowds arrive in full force. With regard to the latter point, see our Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland.

A couple of things to note with regard to that. First, Halloween season starts on September 2, 2022. That first weekend will likely be the least busy of the entire season. Second, the D23 Expo is September 9-11, 2022. The days leading up to that will likely see a sharp spike in crowds.

We’d recommend wrapping up your trip by September 7, 2022 if you’re looking for the lowest crowds possible. The week after the D23 Expo should be good, too. Typically, crowds get progressively busier during the Halloween season, with October being much worse than September. (Magic Key/AP sales resuming is another wildcard, but that’ll likely impact weekends more than weekdays.)

If you’re looking for a quick recommendation, I’d go with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa if you can swing the higher cost or even want to splurge on a single night stay. The Grand Californian is a true luxury resort and thematic gem–think of it as the best parts of Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian, combined in a single hotel.

Grand Californian is the nicest hotel in Anaheim, and one of the best hotels in Orange County, period–and there’s strong competition in Newport and Laguna Beach. I’ve also found myself drawn more to the Craftsman style over the years, and love exploring the quiet corners of the Grand Californian. (On a related note, if you want a greater appreciation of the Grand Californian, do a self-guided walking tour of Pasadena, or visit the Gamble House.)

We love Disneyland Hotel, but it’s just not on the same level. It’s a sentimental favorite, a love letter to Walt Disney and his original theme park that fans will adore. However, it’s just not the same caliber of a hotel when viewed objectively. It’s also not nearly as close to the parks–Grand Californian’s private entrance into DCA is huge.

The construction occurring on the new DVC tower at Disneyland Hotel gives me further pause. I also don’t think the combo of Goofy’s Kitchen, Tangaroa Terrace, and Trader Sam’s are even remotely on par with the dining scene at the Grand Californian.

If you’re thinking about Paradise Pier Hotel, perhaps reconsider. Note that this is an “upgrade” from our previous recommendation of avoiding PPH at all costs.

While we still wouldn’t recommend it, but the new private entrance to DCA does change the equation just a bit. Just keep in mind that with that upgrade comes a downgrade, as construction is ongoing to convert it to Pixar Pier Hotel (or whatever it’ll be called). The guest impact of that is minimal right now, but that could change when the project kicks into high gear.

Nevertheless, our perspective on Paradise/Pixar Pier Hotel remains that you might as well just book a third party hotel that’s off-site. This isn’t us being snobbish–it’s the opposite.

There are a ton of great off-site hotels that are closer to the parks, cost less money, and are objectively better than PPH. As you can see in our Disneyland Area Hotel Rankings & Reviews, there are 35 off-site hotels we prefer to PPH.

As with Walt Disney world, we recommend requesting a fee-free Disneyland vacation price quote from Be Our Guest Vacations. Those Authorized Disney Vacation Planners will do the work for you and take the stress out of planning, making recommendations with plans, booking dining reservations, and monitoring your reservation for better discounts (it’s not going to get better than this).

Next, let’s take a look at the new on-site perks for guests of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels…

New Perks for On-Site Disneyland Hotel Resort Guests

New Summer Pool Parties! – Have a blast at the new summer pool parties, taking place for a half-hour daily at all three Disneyland Resort Hotels, July 1 through August 31, 2022.

The Disney poolside squad will be on deck to lead games like the water sponge relay and a fun floaty toss, and play high-energy music for dancing the Pluto doggie paddle. Disney characters will stop by the pool periodically to join in the fun.

Early Entry – Get a jump start on your day! Beginning August 8, 2022, Disneyland Resort Hotel guests will be able to enjoy Early Entry for 30 minutes prior to each park’s opening, daily, to enjoy select attractions, dining and shopping.

Full details about Early Entry aren’t yet known, but this could be incredibly advantageous to on-site guests–and detrimental to off-site ones. If Fantasyland opens early on a daily basis, that’ll be huge. Same goes for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or Tomorrowland at Disneyland. Ditto Avengers Campus or Cars Land at Disney California Adventure.

It also depends on how many guests are eligible (is it included with select tickets or for Good Neighbor Hotel guests, too?) and a few other factors. We’ll be closely monitoring this and will keep you posted about how it does (or doesn’t) change the crowd dynamic and rope drop priorities (for on-site v. off-site) at Disneyland and DCA.

Direct Theme Park Access – Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel guests now have a special entrance to Disney California Adventure just across from the hotel, near Seaside Souvenirs and Corn Dog Castle.

As always, guests of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa enjoy entry to Disney California Adventure through their own special park entrance in Grizzly Peak and guests of the Disneyland Hotel can hop aboard the Disneyland Monorail to be transported into Tomorrowland in Disneyland.

Coming Soon! Preferred Dine Access – This will offer Disneyland Resort Hotel guests the opportunity to have preferred access to a limited number of reservations at select hotel table service restaurants during the dates of your hotel stay. This will definitely be advantageous for Napa Rose and difficult-to-book character dining at the hotels.

Package Delivery: Available beginning August 8, 2022, the merchandise you purchased in the parks can be delivered to your Disneyland Resort Hotel the next day. You can even charge select Disneyland Resort shopping and dining purchases right to your room through the Disneyland app.

Direct-to-Room Service – Although not a brand-new addition, Disneyland’s digital room keys are a nice feature. Go straight to your room when you are notified it is ready with online check-in, and the digital key feature from your smartphone opens your door! A Bluetooth-enabled device with the latest version of the Disneyland app** is required.

Dining Delivery – Select restaurants in the Downtown Disney District provide meal delivery services. Scan the QR code right from your in-room TV to access the links to those restaurants’ delivery webpages to place your order that can be delivered right to your Disneyland Resort Hotel lobby.

Ultimately, some of these on-site perks definitely tip the scales in favor of staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels. In particular, Early Entry could be hugely beneficial depending on what it includes and how many (or few!) guests take advantage. Same goes for the priority ADR window, which will definitely help with some restaurant reservations that are nearly impossible right now.

That’s about it in terms of current Disneyland discounts and our thoughts on booking a stay at one of the on-site hotels in the coming months. For now, we’ll just say that if you’re in need of a Disney fix and are on the fence about doing Walt Disney World or Disneyland…choose Disneyland!

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 tons of other places!

Your Thoughts

Thoughts on the new on-site perks coming to the Hotels of Disneyland Resort? What do you think of these hotel discounts for Disneyland Resort? Do you feel like these rates for the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel are fair, or still overpriced? Is there availability for your dates? Is up to 25% off enough to convince you to book a trip, or are these prices still too high? How do you feel about Paradise Pier Hotel v. off-site third party accommodations? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? 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!

11 Responses to “New On-Site Perks & Discounts at Disneyland”
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