Save Up to 25% Off Disneyland Hotels in Summer & Fall 2021

Disneyland Resort has released new hotel discounts through Fall 2021 with room-only deals. This post shares the details of these special offers, analysis as to how much money you’ll save with each, comparisons to other discounts, and availability info.

Before we get started, all three hotels at Disneyland Resort have now reopened! During the phased reopenings, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa began reopening earlier this spring with both the Disney Vacation Club villas and hotel returning alongside the parks. Then, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel reopened on the same day that California fully reopened and Disneyland Resort began welcoming out-of-state visitors.

Finally, the Disneyland Hotel reopened today, July 2, 2021! With this comes the return of Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill, the hotel’s counter service restaurant, and Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. Unfortunately, none of the table service restaurants are reopening yet, and Steakhouse 55 is permanently closing.

Against that backdrop, let’s dig into the discount details. Enjoy savings on select rooms at a Disneyland Resort hotel for stays from July 5 through October 2, 2021:

• Save 25% on select rooms at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
• Save 20% on select rooms at Disneyland Hotel.
• Book through September 16, 2021.
• Travel must be completed by October 3, 2021.

Savings are based on the non-discounted rack rate price for the same room type at the same hotel for travel most nights from July 5 through October 2, 2021.

Normal exclusions and terms and conditions likewise apply with this Summer & Fall 2021 Disneyland Resort discount. Savings are not available on signature suites or on previously booked rooms. Limit two rooms per reservation and occupancy restrictions apply per room.

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.

Normally, hotel occupancy is high at the official Disneyland Resort hotels, so discounting is less common in California. That’s something to consider if you’re thinking about a late summer or fall Disney trip and are pricing out Walt Disney World and finding minimal savings. It might be a good time to take a trip to Southern California!

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).

I’ve been scheming about our next trip to Disneyland and really want to do another stay at the Grand Californian to do some more exhaustive research about how it compares and contrasts with Wilderness Lodge. Staying in the Disney Vacation Club Villas seems like a total lost cause (we had four separate reservations cancelled last year and in early 2021–not that I’m bitter or anything!), so I’ve found myself browsing rate charts to potentially splurge on a night at GCH.

In checking numerous dates, I’ve come to the conclusion that what’s pictured above covers the best possible rates for both hotels with this discount, plus the lowest rack rate for Paradise Pier Hotel. (While it’s the cheapest even without a discount, Paradise Pier Hotel is also the worst of the bunch. Other fans love it, but I wouldn’t pay over $200 per night to stay there.)

Maybe I’ve just become accustomed to recent price increases and the dearth of discounts at Walt Disney World, but neither of these rates seem too bad. That’s especially true for Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which is a true luxury hotel and thematic gem.

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 want to spend more time 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 (Big Al has been known to hang out in that neck of the woods lately, making that especially valuable real estate).

The lack of reopening dates for the table service restaurants at Disneyland Hotel gives me further pause. Not because I’d want to do every meal at Goofy’s Kitchen or Steakhouse 55, but because the lack of alternatives is going to push a lot of guests to Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam’s, potentially causing excessive crowds and/or wait times.

If you’re likewise plotting your next visit to Disneyland and have flexibility as to when you visit, consider early September 2021. Our hope is that this is the sweet spot before the replacement for Annual Passes rolls out but after pent-up demand is exhausted, Los Angeles and Orange County schools go back into session, and Halloween Time at Disneyland starts.

With regard to the last point, see our Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland. While nothing is official yet, our guess based upon past precedent is the seasonal event will begin on September 10, 2021–perhaps one week before that. Again, a lot of guesses in all of that, but that’s our thinking right now and what we’re banking on and hoping for when planning our own travel. To whatever extent we’re right or wrong, we’ll benefit or suffer.

For more very rough and preliminary predictions, see our 2021 Disneyland Crowd Calendars. Just keep in mind those aren’t going to be particularly reliable until Disneyland fully scales up capacity, and reservation supply starts regularly exceeding demand. If the current calendar is any indication, that could occur within a couple weeks, or at least before the end of July.

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. We still have several posts (one dozen!) in draft form, including one simply titled “We (Still) Love Disneyland,” so I’ll spare you any further sales pitch here. 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

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 is too much still missing from the full Disneyland experience to justify even those prices? 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!