Greetings again, Neale!
Welcome back to planDisney and thanks for bringing another question to us! You must be getting excited now that your trip is inching ever closer and we're very excited for you!
Choosing to stay at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels is an excellent choice and you can't go wrong with any of them. I can't personally speak for bookings from Australia, but domestically, we are able to make a room only reservation at any of the Disneyland Resort Hotels without purchasing a
Theme Park Ticket. I've done just that on several occasions and only purchased my Theme Park Tickets later once I knew which days I could visit the Parks. I would recommend checking with your travel agent if you are interested in making a reservation.
Which hotel will you be choosing for your stay? Out of the three, my favorite has to be the original
Disneyland Hotel. I'm a huge fan of Disneyland Park's history and this hotel has gone through so many changes and played such a pivotal role in making the
Disneyland Resort what it is today. At the very least, take a stroll along the hallway between the Fantasy Tower and Convention Center, where they'll sometimes have a display window featuring the
history of the hotel.
Fun Fact: The original Tower Building that was constructed in 1962 had a glass elevator on the outside of the building that was asymmetrically placed. When it came time to put a sign on the hotel, they found that, because of the elevator, the sign could only say "Hotel Disneyland" and it stayed this way until 1966. The glass elevator was finally demolished in 2010 for a major refurbishment project on the hotel.
Neale, I hope that you're able to make the reservations that you'd like for your visit to the Happiest Place on Earth! Both the
Pixar Fest and Season of the Force will be going on while you're here! Please come by again if you have any more questions because we'd love to hear from you. Until next time!
Wishing You a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow!
-Al