Disney’s first resort to be located inside a theme park, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel will open on January 2, 2001.  (Disney’s California Adventure will open February 8, 2001.)

This six-story, deluxe 750-room resort celebrates the turn-of-the-century romantic Craftsman movement of California.  Designed to capture the artistic exploration of California’s coastlines, with its Monterey pines and redwood forests, the Grand Californian will be layered with the memories of the arroyo craftsman, the mission pioneers, the Plein Air school of painters and daring architecture.  Whimsical décor touches feature famous woodland friends, such as Bambi, Thumper and Owl.

Among the deluxe guest rooms will be 712 standard rooms, featuring views of the courtyard, Downtown Disney and the theme park.  Standard rooms include either a king bed, two queens or two queens and a bunk bed.  A special touch for children that adds to the outdoor theme will be the ability to request sleeping bags for the bunk beds!  The resort also features 38 suites, including two vice presidential and two presidential suites.  A concierge level will offer upgraded amenities and services.

Most rooms feature balconies with a table and two chairs.  Room amenities include a dual line phone with data port, coffee maker, minibar, makeup mirror, hair dryer, iron and ironing board.  Laundry facilities, and arcade and business center will also be available.  The resort will offer 24-hour room service.  All rooms will be charged a $5 daily resort charge for in-and-out parking privileges and daily newspaper delivery.

The Grand Californian is an entirely non-smoking resort (although guests will be allowed to smoke on their balconies). To counteract any noise from the theme parks, the Grand Californian features special laminated glass for soundproofing, and extra insulation in certain rooms closest to the theme parks.

Dining at the Grand Californian will be a culinary adventure.  The resort features the Napa Rose restaurant, which celebrates the extraordinary bounty of California cuisine, and will feature an extensive array of fine California wines.  For family dining, Storytellers Café conveys the power of storytelling with its decorative large-scale murals.  The restaurant will also offer a daily character breakfast.  White Water Snacks will feature counter-service snack items.

When guest are ready to cool off with a plunge in the pool, the Grand Californian will offer three choices: the Fountain Pool -- a quieter, more relaxed pool for leisurely swimming; the Children's Pool -- a water experience for younger kids, with a pool shaped like Mickey's head; and the Redwood Pool -- a cooling-off place for the whole family that features a water slide more than 100 feet long that will wind around the trunk of an ancient California redwood tree.

For health-conscious guests, the Grand California features Eureka Springs, a health club with state-of-the-art equipment, massage rooms and dry and steam saunas.

The Grand Californian will also offer an answer for parents who would like an evening out while knowing that their kids are happily occupied: Pinocchio’s Workshop.  This childcare facility, open from 5:00 pm until midnight, will feature hands-on opportunities for children to craft their own wooden treasures.

Guests at the Grand Californian will enjoy their own special entrance to Disney’s California Adventure.  DCA, a new 55-acre theme park, celebrates the fun and diversity of California, from the glamour of Hollywood to the exhilaration of soaring above Yosemite Valley to a gleaming beachfront boardwalk.   Nearby, the new Downtown Disney (set to open January 12, 2001) serves as the dynamic center of the Disneyland resort hotels, and will offer movie theatres, restaurants and retail shops.  Although the Disneyland monorail does not stop at the hotel, Grand Californian guests can hop on the monorail to Disneyland at the nearby Downtown Disney stop.