Suite Dreams

Disneyland is known as the “Happiest Place on Earth,” and people come from all over the world to have their childhood dreams fulfilled. I love going to Disneyland. My son and I have annual passes, and we go at least once a month. But as is true in so many areas of life, the fulfillment of someone’s dream can sometimes mean deprivation for another.

Take the new Disneyland Dream Suite, a one-guest mini hotel in the heart of Disneyland, just above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. This $3 million luxury suite finally brings to fruition a dream by Walt Disney himself for a private guest apartment inside of the park, beyond the small quarters he already had above the firehouse on Main Street. My son and I received an invitation to tour the suite soon after it’s construction was complete.

We lined up with three other guests at about 4:00pm on a Wednesday afternoon in early March, collecting in a small area between Tarzan’s Tree House and the Pirates of the Caribbean building. Standing in a seemingly private queue with a few nicely-dressed Disney employees seems to naturally draw a crowd; several people came up to ask what we were waiting for. We told them to bug off; this line was for VIPs only! At precisely 4:00pm a friendly cast member led us to an ornate wood-paneled elevator.

In some ways, the suite was less than I expected. At 2,600 square feet, it was definitely grand, with a large entrance hallway leading to a two-bedroom suite with a large living room and a private patio. The rooms were richly decorated, although absent were most of the characters that had made Disneyland what it is. Special light switch buttons in every room would generate a 30 second dance of activity along the walls or ceiling. Even the bathroom had a special button that would dim the lights and let you bathe under an artificial field of stars. But for the most part, it was simply a nice hotel room.

The main attraction of the room is that it is inside of Disneyland. I asked about being able to wander the park at night, and learned that “there are a few provisos, a couple of quid pro quos.” You do get a private walk around the park in your bathrobe after closing, but just once, and then you are locked away until morning. There is a private balcony that overlooks the Rivers of America, a visible yet normally inaccessible spot where you can be the envy of all other Disney guests. But the door to the balcony shuts tight before bedtime. Some of the buttons on the walls that call for music and a ceiling-targeted light show will only work a specific number of times. And of course, there is the draconian measure of the staff kicking you out of the suite after your stay.

And that’s where you wake up from the dream. The Dream Suite is, after all, still a hotel room. For me, the fun of touring the suite came with a twinge of disappointment. A few decades ago I used to wander the very same rooms of the Dream Suite, and without the need for a private escort or a winning ticket. The area above Pirates of the Caribbean used to be home to the Disney Gallery, a store where you could examine and purchase Disneyesque works of art and signed animation production stills at ridiculous prices. While I never bought any artwork there, I would often stroll through the gallery, and lounge for a few minutes in front of the fountain in the inner courtyard. While open to the public, very few Disneyland guests every ventured up the long stairway leading to the gallery. This meant that the gallery and its inner courtyard were almost always empty, providing a calming respite in a land of noisy tourists and long lines.

When I moved back to California last year, I took my son to Disneyland, promising to show him the “secret hiding place” inside of the park. But it was not meant to be. The gallery had already closed to allow for construction of the Dream Suite. Although the inner courtyard and fountain are still there, my tour of the suite in March likely represented my last opportunity to sit and enjoy the calm of that place.

The Disneyland Dream Suite will bring joy and happiness to hundreds of families over the next year; Disneyland plans to give away about 260 “dream stays.” I am sad at the removal of the restful gallery at that location, but times change, and so must Disneyland. Captain EO is gone, but Disneyland remains. The Bear Country Jamboree was gutted, yet people’s dreams continue to come true. For my part, I’m glad that my own dreams are not so tightly bound to specific Disneyland attractions.