Disneyland Resort Hotel Discounts

LAST UPDATE: 6/17/13

Disney operates three hotels as part of the Disneyland Resort. There is a beautiful, Craftsman-themed luxury hotel adjacent to Disney California Adventure theme park, the Grand Californian. There are also the much older (but refurbished) properties: Paradise Pier Hotel and the original Disneyland Hotel, both of which are high-rise hotels. Check out this page for  major Disneyland Resort hotel discounts.

Click here to read detailed reviews of all three Disneyland Resort hotels, including concierge level.

Benefits of staying at the official Disneyland Resort hotels:

Prices mentioned on this page do not include room tax (currently 17%) or a self-parking fee of $15/night for up to 2 cars. Valet parking is $22 per night per vehicle.

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Disneyland Resort Reservations

Disneyland Resort Reservations is a department at Disneyland that is geared toward booking “room only” reservations, instead of packages, and it often offers excellent rates not available elsewhere. The following discounts can be booked through the number above. Some can be booked through a Disney Specialist travel agent. Quoted rates are subject to availability and do not include tax or resort fees.

If you plan to visit Disneyland within the next few months, check Expedia first, because it will often beat any other rate for last-minute travel.

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Room Rate Specials for the General Public

Nothing current.

Newspaper Ad Rates

The Disneyland hotels occasionally advertise special rates in both the LA Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune, and these rates are generally available to anyone who asks (i.e. not just local residents). Ask for the “LA Times Rate” or the “San Diego Union-Tribune Rate.” Worth a try!

Disney’s Visa

Occasionally Disney’s Visa cardholders will be offered special rates at the Disneyland hotels. Generally the same offers are made available to the general public (non-cardholders) about 3-7 days later. When offered, I list the Disney’s Visa card offers below.

AAA (American Automobile Association)

Note that booking through AAA will not usually get you the same great room rates as calling Disneyland Resort Reservations directly and asking for AAA rates. That’s because AAA travel agents are geared toward selling vacation packages, not “room only” reservations.

Senior Discount

There are no Senior discounts being offered for 2013, and Disneyland reservations agents are telling callers that the discount has been discontinued.

(In the past, a 30% off discount was offered for those 60 and over. Each qualifying senior could book up to 2 rooms, so the discount provided a great opportunity for seniors to take kids and/or grandkids along at a great rate!)

If I hear that this discount has returned, I will post the information here.

Military Discounts

Active and retired military personnel can receive discounts on select rooms at Disneyland Resort hotels. This offer is valid for stays most nights now through 9/28/13.

The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited and the following dates are blocked out for this discount: 11/22/12-11/24/12, 12/23/12-12/31/12 and 3/25/13-4/4/13.

Valid for active or retired members of the US military, including the National Guard, Reservists and the US Coast Guard. Valid Military ID will be required upon check-in and military member (or spouse) must stay in room. Minimum length of stay requirements may apply for Friday or Saturday arrivals. No group rates or other discounts apply. Limit two rooms per reservation and five people maximum per room. Advance reservations required. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.

Annual Passholder Rates

Annual Passholders may qualify for discounted rates — call and ask for “Annual Passholder Rates.” The general discount is 10% off rack rates, and sometimes there are specials that are more deeply discounted (see below for any current specials).

Discounts are not always available, particularly during peak periods (all holidays, summer). Rates are usually lowest on Sunday-Thursday nights. The very lowest rates are typically offered at the last minute: about 1-3 months in advance. Limit 2 rooms per person at discounted rate.

Online Annual Passholder Rates

Get special rates on select dates through 9/30/13:

  • Paradise Pier from $216/night
  • Disneyland Hotel from $275/night
  • Grand Californian from $323/night

Not all dates are available with this offer. Quoted rates are for select dates only, in a standard room. Rates for other dates and room types will vary. Excludes taxes and fees. Advance reservations required. Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is restricted. Hotel guest must be a valid Annual Passholder at the time of stay and valid Annual Passport must be presented at check-in. Limit two rooms per Passholder per reservation and five people maximum per room. Not valid in combination with any other hotel discounts or offers. Subject to change without notice.

  • To book these Annual Passholder rates, you must log in to the Disneyland Annual Passholder site. If the link does not take you directly to the right area, click on Special Offers and select Hotel Rates for Annual Passholders.

Canadian Discounts

Very occasionally a special discount only for Canadians will be released, but this is rare.

You can visit Disney.ca and click on the Special Offers tab to see any current deals specific to Canadians, but 99% of the time the offers are the same as those distributed in the US. Sometimes the Canadian offer will have a different discount code, but otherwise it will be identical to the US offer.

Canadians can book the US offers as well.

Orbitz Special Offers

Orbitz usually charges full “rack rate” for the Disneyland hotels (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian), but it also often offers coupon codes that take a percentage off the rate. When there are no other deals around, this can be one of the only ways to get some kind of discount on your Disneyland resort hotel room.

CheapTickets Special Offers

CheapTickets (which is owned by the same company as Orbitz) usually charges full “rack rate” for the Disneyland hotels (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian), but it also often offers coupon codes that take a percentage off the rate. When there are no other deals around, this can be one of the only ways to get some kind of discount on your Disneyland resort hotel room.

  • New!Get 20% off rack rates at Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian through CheapTickets. Valid for stays 6/17/13-9/2/13. To find the official Disneyland hotels, search Anaheim – Disneyland and 4 star or higher hotels. Be sure to type code CHEAPERIFIC into the form under “I have a promotion code.” You must book by 6/23/13.
  • Get 5% off rack rates at Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian through CheapTickets. Valid for stays through 6/30/13. To find the official Disneyland hotels, search Anaheim – Disneyland and 4 star or higher hotels. Be sure to type code CTIXSAVE5 into the form under “I have a promotion code.” You must book by 6/30/13.

Expedia

Disneyland Resort hotel rooms can often be purchased through Expedia at a significant discount. I have found discounts of up to 50% off the “rack rate” (full price) on Expedia, depending on the dates selected.

Oddly enough, sometimes Expedia has better room selection and deeper discounts than you can get directly through Disney — even better than Annual Passholder rates!

Be sure to read ALL the small print as you make your reservation (which may require you to click on a link that says “terms and conditions” or something similar) so that you are clear on any cancellation and change fees.

Direct links to check for discounted rates at Expedia:

Note: ignore the “as low as” rates on the first page. Sometimes the actual rates are lower (and sometimes higher). Be sure to try your actual dates. If your dates are flexible, be sure to try the “rate calendar” feature.

aRes Travel

A great resource for promotional Disneyland Resort hotel rates is aRes Travel, which specializes in Southern California hotels. aRes Travel is actually located in Southern California and offers reservations for most of the local hotels as well as discounted tickets for many attractions (including Disneyland).

aRes Travel does charge a small per night fee for the Disney hotels. However, in some cases they will beat the rates found on other online agencies like Expedia, even taking the fee into account.

Be sure to read the specific terms of the deal you pick (click on “View Terms”) before finalizing your booking with aRes Travel. Most reservations have a 72-hour cancellation policy, but some deals require full prepayment. Some of the offers on the site incur a $25 cancellation fee and some require a nonrefundable deposit.

Travelocity

In my experience you’ll find better rates at the Disneyland hotels through Expedia or aRes Travel most of the time. However, once in awhile Travelocity will offer a better rate for a particular set of dates or a particular hotel. So it’s worth checking!