Disneyland Hotel got a major upgrade in 2023 when the Villas at Disneyland Hotel debuted. The new tower came with some new amenities, but also some more modern rooms that elevate the resort as a whole. Check out our review of the new Deluxe Studio at the Disneyland Villas!
About This Post and Related Posts
This post will be strictly a look at a Deluxe Studio at the new Disneyland Villas tower at Disneyland Hotel. We have a more comprehensive review of the hotel including the additions that opened with the villas at our Disneyland Hotel Review. That review also includes a look at a room in the non-DVC part of the hotel. We also have reviews of the two other Disney hotels at Disneyland:
The Disneyland Villas Tower at Disneyland Hotel
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel tower is one of four towers at Disneyland Hotel. The other three at the Fantasy Tower, Adventure Tower, and Frontier Tower. Those three towers comprise the non-DVC portion of Disneyland Hotel. The tower is located in the same complex as the other three towers and has access to the same amenities etc. Here’s a look from the pool—the Frontier Tower is on the left, the Villas tower is on the right:
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel opened in 2023 as part of the Disney Vacation Club portfolio. You do not have to be a DVC member to stay at the Villas, and we are not DVC members as of this post’s publication. You can book rooms at the Villas via the Disneyland website in the same spot you find the rest of the rooms at Disneyland Hotel:
When browsing rooms, it’s best just to look at the subheader under the room category. If it says “at Disneyland Hotel” it’s in one of the other three towers. If it says “at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel” it’s in the Villas tower. Besides booking via the Disneyland website, you might consider renting DVC points to book these rooms.
The tower itself is home to a new pool, fitness center, and bar/restaurant. We won’t be talking about those in detail here—they’re considered part of our broader review of Disneyland Hotel since they’re available to all guests of the hotel.
Room Types at Disneyland Villas
I have to quickly mention here that besides the Deluxe Studio room we’ll be reviewing, the Villas at Disneyland Hotel also offers:
Duo Studios for up to 2 adults
1-, 2-, and 3-Bedroom Villas
Chiefly, you want to be sure if your party has more than two adults (plus one infant), you book at least a Deluxe Studio. (This also means if you use the default search for two adults on the Disneyland website, your results screen will show the prices for the Duo Studio, so make sure you put in the proper party size to get proper results.)
Our Deluxe Studio at Disneyland Villas
We paid $1,436.06 for two nights in a Deluxe Studio - Preferred View at the Disneyland Villas. This was on a “Spring Hotel Room Savings Offer.” Interestingly, we had originally booked a standard view for $1,499.94. When the spring promotion was announced, our Standard View was not eligible for the discount, but our trusty travel advisor spotted that we could actually upgrade to a Preferred View that was eligible for the discount and save money overall. (Another good reason to work with a travel advisor.)
Here’s a video walkthrough, with pics to follow:
While these are undeniably nice rooms, I do find the coloring a bit drab right now (especially considering I just finished staying at and reviewing Pixar Place Hotel). I didn’t notice this at the time, though, so it could be an artifact of the photos.
The room had a queen bed plus a pull-down queen bed behind the sofa. I used the round cushions from the sofa to create bedrails (not pictured) for Zoe since the Disneyland hotels don’t have bed rails. With the bed down, the area by the closet did get a little cramped.
The small bedside tables on the main bed also had outlets above them. There was an outlet hidden in the inside of the frame of the pull-down bed, but it was awkward to use.
This design was reminiscent of the new Mary Poppins rooms at Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort. The most notable issue is that if you put anything in the closet or safe real quick when you arrive, you’d better not forget about it once you put that bed down.
I was very happy to see Disney go with the large TV stand. I love having a ton of surface space in the room. It’s a chore to keep it organized, but when you come back from the parks with all manners of receipts, souvenirs, sodas, snacks, etc., it’s nice to have a spot to reorganize your bag.
It’s also a good spot to recharge portable chargers overnight (if I do it bedside, I tend to forget to pack them). That outlet strip in the middle has two regular outlets, plus a USB-A port and a USB-C port.
The studios have a kitchenette, including a Keurig, microwave, toaster, mini-fridge, and tableware. We did have a small, but definitely not minor, issue with the provisions—there were no to-go coffee cups. With only two mornings at the hotel plus a Starbucks between us and the parks, this wasn’t the worst thing. But with Early Entry starting at 7:30AM it really would have been better to have to-go cups.
The bathroom was beautifully done—I like the flowers along the outside of the mirror. The fancy split into two mirrors is maybe a bit much, but it doesn’t seem to impede functionality much. Fresh bar soap was provided, but body lotion was in a shared pump.
The shower had shared pumps for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, which is the norm at Disney and California hotels. The toilet was in its own small room, a feature I think we can all appreciate.
Here was our “Preferred View” of the pool:
This is a bit iffy to me. It’s better than looking onto a parking lot, but the extensive backstage and houses outside the hotel grounds really pop any sort of Disney bubble feel. That’s not to say the view is bad, but I wouldn’t consider it worthy of a “preferred” label.
Conclusions
I definitely prefer these rooms to the comparatively dated rooms at the rest of the Disneyland Hotel. Since we’re in the $500+ nightly range, I think there’s a case to be made for paying the extra $100ish you’ll pay to stay in these rooms versus those rooms.
What do you think of these new Deluxe Studios at the Disneyland Villas?
All Your Other Disneyland Planning Questions Answered
Don’t be overwhelmed by Disneyland planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you’ll not only be an expert, but you’ll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Disneyland Planning Guide. When it comes to hotels, we’ve got reviews of all three Disney hotels: Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel. As for tickets, check out where to find discount Disneyland tickets.
Know what to ride with our: Disneyland Rides Guide and Disney California Adventure Rides Guide. And just as important, know how to get on the best rides without the wait with our Disneyland Lightning Lane Strategy! For the complete guides to a day at the park, we have a One Day Disneyland Itinerary and a One Day Disney California Adventure Itinerary.
We always recommend arriving at the parks early. If you can get access to Early Entry at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, you’ll have the most time in the parks. Even without those bonus hours, you’ll need to know Rope Drop Strategy at Disneyland and Rope Drop Strategy at Disney California Adventure.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you’re interested in saving, there’s no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.