In this finale part of 3 post of secret things to do around the Disneyland Resort, I will let you know what you can do and see for free around the Disneyland Resort hotels – Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, The Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel. If you are visiting the Disneyland resort there are secret things you can see and do at the hotels on property. Best of all these are FREE and you don’t even have to be a guest to enjoy.
Secret Things to See and Do at the Disneyland Resort Hotels
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel
- Art of the Craft Tour at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. The Art of the Craft is a complimentary tour that takes you through Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa which looks at how the hotel was designed and inspired by the Arts & Crafts Movement of the late 1800s-early 1900s. I did this tour about 3 years ago and it was extremely fascinating for me. I loved learning about the history of the moment and how it inspired the hotel. I also loved seeing things I probably would have never noticed before if I was just walking through the hotel. The tour is available on certain days of the week and time with reservations highly recommend as the tour space is limited.
- Story Time at the Hearthstone Lounge. Nightly enjoy a narrated story told 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. inside the lobby near the huge stone fireplace located next to the Hearthstone Lounge. If you are looking for a place to sit and relax for a little bit outside one of the Disneyland parks, I would recommend relaxing in this lobby. Plus for those over 21, enjoy a cocktail at the Hearthstone Lounge while you take your break and the kids are listening to a story.
The Disneyland Hotel
- See Disneyland’s past with memorabilia and classic Disney artwork in each part of the Hotel. In each of the 3 hotel building are different pieces of Disney artifacts that correspond to each of the towers name which are Adventure, Fantasy and Frontier. There is so much Disney history inside each of the buildings its amazing to see. I love the scale model of Big Thunder in the Frontier tower lobby and the Jungle Cruise animal statues in the Adventure tower. You can walk through the lobbies of the towers without having a room key and see all the amazing stuff. Don’t forget to see Cascade Falls with artifacts from the original Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules one of Disneyland’s original rides located outside of the Frontier tower.
- Characters meet and greets just like inside Disneyland park, during select times of the day characters can be found walking throughout the hotel lobby areas greeting guest and taking pictures. You never know who you are going to see. I have seen Baloo from Jungle Book, Goofy, the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland and even Princess Jasmine from Aladdin in the lobby and guess what I didn’t have to wait in a long line to see them. So if you are walking through the hotel keep an eye out for characters walking through as you never know who might just turn up.
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel
- Paradise Theater at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. This is a great place where kids can sit and watch Disney films and TV shows. This room is the hallway between the registration desk and parking next to Flounder’s Fun ‘n Games arcade. My niece loved the little beach chairs in the screening room. It was a great place to keep her occupied while we waited for our table to be ready at Mickey’s Surfs Up character breakfast.
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