Since the location was far from Southern California population centers in the 1950s, Walt Disney wanted to build a hotel so that Disneyland visitors traveling long distances could stay overnight.

[5] The Anaheim Convention Center was built across the street from Disneyland's original parking lot, and residences were constructed in the area as part of the city's growth in the late 20th century.

The budget for the project would be $1.4 billion, less than half of WestCOT, achieved by building a smaller theme park only on land Disney owned, focused on shopping and dining and using many off-the-shelf rides, avoiding costly research and development.

[6] California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001[8] and was widely panned by critics and early visitors,[9] leading to substantially less attendance than expected.

[11] Disney began to quickly make changes to California Adventure, adding A Bug's Land to appeal to families and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror thrill ride for older guests.

In late 2007, the company began a multi-year, $1.1 billion redesign and expansion plan for California Adventure (against its initial $600 million cost to build).

[12][13] The most drastic changes to the park included a complete overhaul of the main entrance, the construction of a new Cars Land and the addition of the World of Color nighttime show.

In January 2017, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror closed and was replaced with Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, which opened that summer.

Proposals have included building more space where Pixar Place Hotel and the surrounding parking lots on the west-side of the resort currently reside.

The resort is generally bounded by Harbor Boulevard to the east, Katella Avenue to the south, Walnut Street to the west and Ball Road to the north.

Disneyland Drive cuts through the resort on a north–south route and provides access to the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Downtown Disney, and the three hotels.

Special off-ramps from Interstate 5 combined with a reversible flyover over the intersection of Ball Road and Disneyland Drive permit access into and out of the Mickey & Friends and Pixar Pals parking garages during peak morning and evening traffic times.

The Disneyland Resort includes three company owned and operated hotels with approximately 2,400 rooms, 180 Disney Vacation Club villas, and 180,000 square feet (17,000 m2) of conference meeting space.

Admission prices have greatly increased since the gates first opened, due in part to inflation, the continuing construction and renovation of attractions, and the addition of a second theme park, Disney California Adventure.

As of January 17, 2020,[update] one-day "Park Hopper" tickets, allowing entry to both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, are priced from $154 to $199 for adults, and from $148 to $191 for children.