Disney has introduced thrilling plans for the three Accommodations of the Disneyland Resort with model additions and enhancements that embody two new concierge lounges, refreshed visitor rooms, new themed suites and a stupendous reimagined eating room for Napa Rose restaurant. This shares a primary have a look at idea artwork and particulars, plus a few of our ideas on the updates.
Let’s begin on the Grand Californian Resort, the place the award-winning Napa Rose is taking its eating expertise to the following degree with a brand new look that celebrates Craftsman design with a watch towards fashionable Californian luxurious and approachability. The brand new-look Napa Rose can have a country magnificence and shall be a tapestry of California’s storied historical past of wine and wine making.
The restaurant inside will use pure textures akin to reclaimed French oak flooring and columns (a sort of wooden used to make wine barrels), hand-pinged artisan metals, leathers, deep colours of cabernet, and an attention grabbing chandelier impressed by California’s Mission grapevines.
Together with its present dynamic exhibition kitchen, the restaurant will develop the counters the place visitors can watch the masters in motion. Outdoors, the beautiful patio is being enhanced with extra seating for pretty al fresco eating, with two new fireplaces including to the charming ambiance.
Napa Rose will briefly shut this spring and is slated to reopen in Fall 2025. To make means for these enhancements, there shall be short-term updates to eating choices at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa.
The restaurant, recognized for its refined California delicacies made with excellent elements, will introduce a brand new menu and can nonetheless function fan-favorites such because the Smiling Tiger Salad, together with an impeccable wine assortment of greater than 1,500 labels.
I’ve blended emotions in regards to the reimagining of Napa Rose.
Typically talking, I believe elements of the Grand Californian obtain undue criticism about being dated, when actually, that’s merely the Arts & Crafts type. I hear this rather a lot on the subject of Storytellers Cafe, as one other instance, which is richly-detailed and full of nods to literary legends, California tales, and folklore from the Golden State, all with a heavy craftsman affect.
Napa Rose is a little bit of a distinct beast, and there are components of its design the place it’s tough to discern the place the Arts & Crafts type ends and the early 2000s design sensibilities start. It undoubtedly does want an replace, however I’d in all probability select a lighter refresh if I had my means. Or not less than a much less up to date one.
What I worry with this idea artwork and the accompanying description is that it’s going to commerce one distinct type blended with an period (Craftsman plus early 2000s) for an additional. The “fashionable Californian luxurious” is one pink flag within the announcement, and there are elements of the idea artwork which can be paying homage to design-flourishes you’d see when watching some fashionable present on HGTV in 2025.
This isn’t to say the idea artwork appears to be like unhealthy–it’s truly a nice shock–however I’m unsure why Napa Rose must chase tendencies, interval. The Craftsman type is timeless, and distinctly Californian. In the long run, although, I’m prepared to take a wait and see perspective on this, as I may see it turning out effectively (or not). I simply want Napa Rose wasn’t shedding the murals.
Along with The Veranda Membership Stage at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa, plans are underway for the lodge so as to add a second Membership Stage lounge close by.
This newly designed, two-story area will have a good time basic California Craftsman design and shall be an ideal spot for lounging with a superb guide, enjoyable with a glass of wine or admiring the lodge’s Nice Corridor foyer beneath. Persevering with the lodge’s forest theme of the Nice Corridor foyer, the brand new concierge lounge shall be impressed by large sequoias and shall be positioned excessive within the “treetops” of the highest two flooring.
This new Membership Stage lounge will proceed the distinctive Californian Craftsman design by showcasing columns and arches impressed by the prevailing foyer structure, wrought iron branching particulars, and exquisite handcrafted tile murals. The wildlife will maintain with the story of the sequoias.
The lounge shall be full of pure mild in the course of the day and a golden glow at sundown from expansive skylights, with a two-story stained-glass door and a curved staircase resulting in the mezzanine. This new area is slated for completion in 2026.
This new Membership Stage lounge appears to be like improbable. Completely on-theme and with nice views into Disney California Journey. The Veranda is a improbable Membership Stage lounge, however this appears to be like even higher. Not solely that, however GCH wants extra concierge lounge area. (Hopefully this makes costs just a little extra affordable–or reductions extra widespread.)
Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa will even start refreshing all its visitor rooms, together with the Disney Trip Membership Villas.
The décor will complement the rooms’ present Arts & Crafts motif, but will add new daring colours throughout the carpets, upholstery and bedding, with accents impressed by the attractive California wildflower blooms usually present in Impressionist plein air work that helped outline the artwork motion of the Arts & Crafts interval and proceed to encourage artists immediately. Most notably, every room can have new art work that was commissioned from native plein air painters.
It’s not talked about within the press launch, however these room refurbishments usually are not on the identical cycle. The Villas at Grand Californian is receiving a tough items refurbishment, which has been on the Disney Trip Membership Room Refurbishment Calendar for some time. It was speculated to occur two years in the past, however has been bumped for different tasks and is lastly taking place this 12 months.
This ought to be a dramatic enchancment of the VGC alongside the traces of what not too long ago occurred with Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge. There’s no idea artwork but, however that’s in all probability an illustrative instance of the earlier than/after adjustments, and it’s protected to imagine these rooms will lastly get the pull-down couch beds.
In contrast, the lodge rooms have been redone extra not too long ago and ought to be receiving a gentle items refurbishment. The idea artwork above seemingly displays this, with the brand new look not being that a lot of a departure from the outdated. That’s a superb factor, as the present GCH rooms are improbable. Some are displaying a bit of wear and tear and tear, so the timing is true.
Bouncing over to Disneyland Resort, which is able to unveil an all-new concierge lounge, Excessive Key Membership Stage in Summer season 2025. This new concierge area will have a good time the music and sounds of Disneyland park circa 1955. Swanky and complicated, colourful and enjoyable, the lounge will even pay homage to the mid-century fashionable aesthetic of the period.
This fashionable oasis within the sky will draw inspiration from the enduring legacy of unique and basic sounds at Disneyland park. Celebrating not solely music, artists, musicians, and voices, but additionally distinctive devices, bands, foley sounds, and historical past of audible magic on the park that Walt Disney dropped at life, Excessive Key Membership will function a customized soundtrack showcasing the sounds and songs of the park and can show outstanding artifacts.
Excessive Key Membership will almost double the area of the earlier E-Ticket Membership Stage lounge within the lodge’s Journey Tower. It is going to be a particular place for concierge-level visitors to observe Disneyland park fireworks and luxuriate in music from the present on nights that function pyrotechnics.
Work on Excessive Key Membership is already underway, and there’s a short lived lounge within the foyer degree for now. It’s my understanding that the enlargement of the lounge is being completed by the outdated E-Ticket lounge consuming one of many adjoining themed suites. This makes full sense.
Though I didn’t get round to reviewing it (oops!), the outdated E-Ticket lounge underwhelmed throughout our keep there final 12 months. It was cramped and dated, and never even remotely on par with the Veranda at GCH. The brand new idea artwork doesn’t look that spectacular, however actually, absolutely anything could be an enchancment over the E-Ticket lounge.
In case you haven’t had an opportunity to go to Pixar Place Resort simply but, right here’s a have a look at the Creators Membership concierge lounge, which debuted this previous 12 months and showcases the collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios that includes idea artwork, maquettes, points of interest posters and cheerful décor.
Now we have but to guide a keep on the Creators Membership, so formally, I’ve no opinion on it and can withhold judgment. Unofficially, the few pictures I’ve seen appear like an enormous enchancment over the outdated Membership Stage at Paradise Pier Resort. Not likely an enormous shock there, however nonetheless good to see this property being introduced as much as Disney requirements.
Lastly, Pixar Place Resort will add two new, two-bedroom themed premium suites, opening new doorways into the worlds of Pixar’s Coco and The Incredibles.
The Coco Suite, with Oaxacan-style structure, will function terracotta tiling, Mexican artisan quilted and woven items, a hearth, distinctive handcrafted picket furnishings, and considerate touches of hand-painted artwork. The Coco Suite is impressed by the movie’s Rivera household hacienda with many household pictures and mementos.
The Incredibles Suite can have a mid-century design with a “spy-fi” twist. In “Incredibles 2,” DevTech businessman and Tremendous fan Winston Deavor lends his putting residence for the Parr household to dwell. Now he has designed the proper getaway for the household!
The suite features a main bed room for the Parr mother and father, with a connecting room for Edna Mode designed by Edna herself. Starting with a hand-scanning prop on the entryway, visitors will encounter Tremendous-inspired touches and particular results together with a spy cellphone, hidden messages, a secret door and different surprises!
I assume these usually are not newly-created areas, however moderately, belated overhauls to the suites named after cities in Southern California (e.g. Newport, Laguna, Malibu, Dana Level, and many others). It might come as a shock that work continues to be ongoing on this reimagining on condition that Pixar Place Resort opened a full 12 months in the past, however the exterior development elevators simply got here down again in October. It’s been an extended, slow-going course of.
These Pixar-themed suites look neat, I suppose, however as somebody who won’t ever keep in them, it’s laborious to have a powerful opinion on them. We did have an opportunity to see the Newport Suite as soon as, and like Paradise Pier Resort as a complete, it was nothing particular. These will undoubtedly be a significant enchancment over what they substitute (additionally the case with Pixar Place Resort as a complete).
All in all, this suite of bulletins is usually excellent news–and I’ll select to be cautiously optimistic that Napa Rose’s reimagining goes effectively! My hope and expectation is that we get extra bulletins for Disneyland Resort within the close to future. A alternative for Steakhouse 55 continues to be wanted, and we’ve got it on good authority that the DLH rooms are getting a top-to-bottom refurbishment throughout the subsequent 12 months. Each of these tasks are arguably extra urgent than something right here.
Planning a Southern California trip? For park admission offers, learn Suggestions for Saving Cash on Disneyland Tickets. Find out about on-site and off-site motels in our Anaheim Resort Opinions & Rankings. For the place to eat, try our Disneyland Restaurant Opinions. For distinctive concepts of issues that’ll enhance your journey, try What to Pack for Disney. For complete recommendation, seek the advice of our Disneyland Trip Planning Information. Lastly, for guides past Disney, try our Southern California Itineraries for day journeys to Los Angeles, Laguna Seashore, and lots of different SoCal cities!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider the brand new additions and enhancements coming to the Accommodations of Disneyland Resort this 12 months and in 2026? Excited for the 2 new concierge lounges, refreshed visitor rooms, new themed suites, Napa Rose restaurant reimagining or the rest? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
