Disneyland Resort Hotels to Remain Closed Through End of 2020
by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, staff writer
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Even as the Disney Vacation Club announces it will reopen the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel on December 6, 2020, the Disneyland Resort has stopped accepting reservations for its other three hotel properties. The company is also notifying guests who had made reservations through December 31, 2020, that, "we are unable to accommodate your upcoming hotel room reservation."
Until today, Disney had been accepting reservations at the Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel starting on or after Sunday, November 22. Now a search of the Disneyland website shows no availability through January 5, 2020, the last date for which Disney had previously accepted reservations.
Disney's reservation window has moved countless times since the hotel was first slated to reopen in June, with Disney pushing the opening date every week or two. Each change forced Disney to cancel any existing reservations that fell before the latest reopening date, which led to recurring disapointment among vacation planners.
Disney is waiving all Disney-imposed change fees for vacation planners who opt to cancel their vacation, or postpone it to 2021.
This latest change seems to put a damper on any hope of spending a holiday "staycation" at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels for all but those Disney Vacation Club members who might be able to book a villa at the DVC property when it reopens.
As we're previously noted, California state guidelines for lodging do not prevent Disney from reopening one or more of the resort hotels, and some Southern California resorts including Knott's Berry Farm and Legoland have already reopened their hotels. Were they to reopen, Disney's hotels would be subject to operational restrictions, but most of the restaurants and gift shops could reopen, as could the pool areas with capacity limits. We're still waiting to learn what ammenities will be available to Disney Vacation Club members who book a stay at the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel.
Comments
It's very curious that the villas will be available, while the rest of the resort hotels remain closed.
While I'm surprised that they aren't re-opening the entire resort, the only thing that surprises me about the Villas is that they didn't reopen them sooner. They have other resorts (Hawaii, Hilton Head, Vero Beach), that aren't tied to theme parks. Concededly, those are designed to not be tied to a resort and have other activities/attractions (aka beach) for visitors.
As a DVC owner, and with VGC as a "home" resort, I think they could have legal difficulty if they don't either reopen or issue another extension of the current expiration dates. Especially since there is no prohibition on the hotel reopening, with or without the theme park.
Keep in mind that the DVC owners meeting is set for 12/10.