On this day 71 years ago, the Disneyland Hotel opened its doors across the street from Disneyland. It opened nearly three months after the park, and it was the first hotel to officially carry the Disney name.
The hotel wasn’t quite finished on opening night, so only seven rooms were ready for guests. An eighth room served as the hotel’s lobby and registration desk. The first guests to check in were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Arnone of Inglewood, California. During that first year, rooms ranged from just $9 a night for a standard room to $22 for a deluxe room.
Walt’s Friend to the Rescue
Walt Disney wanted a hotel for Disneyland guests, since the park was a long drive from Southern California’s big cities. The problem was money, because Walt had mortgaged his home and sold his life insurance policy to build Disneyland. He approached several hotel chains in 1954, but all of them thought the Disneyland venture was too risky.
Walt then turned to his friend Jack Wrather, a Hollywood producer who owned TV and radio stations across the country. Wrather and his business partner, Helen Alvarez, agreed to build and run the hotel across the street from the park. Wrather broke ground on March 18, 1955, sharing a three-handled shovel with his wife and Anaheim’s mayor.
A Hotel Built for Families
The original plans called for 650 rooms, three swimming pools, a golf course, and four restaurants and lounges. Setbacks and shortages of labor and materials slowed construction. Still, the hotel soon had 104 rooms in five two-story buildings. The Disneyland Hotel was also one of the first hotels to cater to families. Most rooms slept four, and kids under 12 stayed free. Drivers could even register without leaving their cars, then head straight to their rooms.
The hotel celebrated its official grand opening in August 1956 with a star-studded gala. By then, it had 204 rooms and suites, an Olympic-size swimming pool, 17 shops, and several restaurants. It kept growing, passing 300 rooms by 1960 and becoming the largest hotel in Orange County. A Disneyland Monorail station opened at the hotel in 1961. Later, the Bonita Tower was named after Wrather’s wife, Academy Award-nominated actress Bonita Granville.
Disney Finally Takes Over
Once Disneyland became a financial success, Walt tried to buy the hotel, but Wrather refused to sell. He also turned down Michael Eisner after Eisner became Disney’s CEO in 1984. Disney finally got the hotel in 1988, after both Jack and Bonita had passed away. It bought the entire Wrather Corporation, which also included the TV rights to Lassie and The Lone Ranger. In 1999, Disney demolished all of the original 1955 buildings to make room for Downtown Disney and new parking.
The Disneyland Hotel Today
Today, the Disneyland Hotel is the resort’s flagship, home to favorites like Trader Sam’s and the Monorail Pool. It recently added the 350-room Villas at Disneyland Hotel, a Disney Vacation Club tower next to Goofy’s Kitchen. The hotel’s new High Key Club lounge opened last year, and it’s twice the size of the old E-Ticket Club. This year, hotel guests lost Early Entry but gained one Lightning Lane entry during their stay.
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