At least one side of the exterior of Disney Vacation Club’s new Discovery Tower, a.k.a. The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, is completed.
Discovery Tower Construction
Scaffolding and scrim have been removed, revealing the side of the tower facing the Monorail-inspired pool area. Scaffolding and scrim are still visible on the other side of the tower.
Strips of color are in a ladder formation going up one part of the tower.
The tower is mostly covered in windows, with brown, yellow, and orange paneling between the panes of glass.
The Discovery Tower name was recently unveiled at a preview center in the Disneyland Hotel. It joins the Adventure, Fantasy, and Frontier Towers.
Of course, construction is still underway on the interior of the tower.
Ropes run down this section of the tower and we could see papers stuck to the insides of some of the glass doors and windows.
The tower now looks almost exactly like concept renderings.
The Discovery Tower’s architecture matches the retro 1950s feel of the rest of Disneyland Hotel
The Disneyland Hotel first opened on October 5, 1955, a few months after Disneyland Park. Disney exhausted his funding when building Disneyland, so he asked Jack Wrather to build the hotel. It was owned and operated by Wrather until his death in 1984.
The Walt Disney Company was then able to purchase the Disneyland Hotel by acquiring the Wrather Corporation in 1987 and 1988. They sold off most of Wrather’s other assets, including the iconic Queen Mary in Long Beach.
The new Disney Vacation Club villas at Discovery Tower will open to guests on September 25, 2023. Reservations are already available now.
Discovery Tower Villas Disneyland Hotel
The Discovery Tower Villas at Disneyland Hotel are the newest addition to the Disney Vacation Club family, and the second Disney Vacation Club property at the Disneyland Resort after The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
The 12-story tower, currently under construction, will have 340 accommodations, including duo studios, deluxe studios, one- and two-bedroom villas, three-bedroom grand villas, and garden rooms. Each room is themed to a different Walt Disney Animation Studios film, from “Sleeping Beauty” to “The Princess and the Frog.” Imagineers drew inspiration from sketches, concept art, story cels, and color maps.
A video released in March shows renderings of the new villas, which include “at-home comforts” consisting of amenities for guests to do their own laundry, cook food in a real kitchen, and enjoy a little extra private space for their family during their trip.
The tower will have a “Steamboat Willie”-inspired splash pad including a model of the boat and a Mickey Mouse figure. It will have a new mid-century modern Palette Pool area and the Palm Breeze Bar.
Imagineers took Ryan March of “Disney Drop-In” on a tour of the villas construction site and a full model of a room.
Are you hoping to stay in the Discovery Tower at Disneyland Hotel? Let us know in the comments.
For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.