March 1991

I suppose this one can’t all be blamed on changes to the Disneyland Hotel, but the view from those well-loved balconies had certainly transformed over the years.  The first time I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we got a “lagoon-view” room in the Bonita Tower.  Sadly, there are no lagoon views these days, nor is there a tower named after the wife of the original owner, Jack Wrather (Bonita Granville Wrather).  But, from 1991 until 1999, our yearly trips to Disneyland included requesting one of these special rooms.

For me, it was more fun to watch the fireworks each night from our balcony than from the parks… admittedly the big “booms” were a bit scary to me as a child.  But from the comfort of our hotel room, the acoustics were just right and the sparkling colors lit up the entire Disneyland Park like pixie dust streaming down from the night sky.

However, not everything about the view was quite so magical… notice the expanse of parking lot reaching across the entire right-hand side of the photo.  Missing are the charming curves of the Grand Californian Hotel and the rising stone facade of Grizzly Peak.  A simpler Disneyland Resort perhaps. 🙂

Yes, gone are the lovely, airy balconies and gone are the luscious grounds below the rooms… I know, I sound like a broken record, but I do miss the Disneyland Hotel of my childhood dearly.

For more information about the Wrathers check out The Original Disneyland Hotel blog, written by the author of the Disneyland Hotel: The Early Years book, Don Ballard.

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