Disneyland Hotel renovation complete and some historic facts

After two years, the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel in California is finally complete.

Opened on Oct. 5, 1955, the Disneyland Hotel had 104 rooms and started operation three months after Disneyland opened. Today the hotel now has 969 rooms.

According to the Disney Parks Blog, here are some of the changes that have taken place:

• The Fantasy Tower lobby now showcases Mary Blair artwork, creating an instant connection to "it's a small world." 
• The Frontier Tower lobby has a scale model of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and has geyser and waterfall that come alive in tribute to a 1960s attraction called Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland.
• The Adventure Tower has Jungle Cruise characters built into the design.

Here are some more facts from the Disney Parks Blog:

• The hotel was originally owned and operated until 1988 by the Wrather Corporation — Jack and Bonita Wrather who were close friends of Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company purchased the hotel in 1988.
• Prior to the opening of the Disneyland Hotel, less than 100 hotel rooms were available in Anaheim.
• The Bonita Tower (currently called the Wonder Tower) was the first hotel building in the United States to use a solar heating system.
• Until the 1960s, the Disneyland Hotel had a helipad in daily operation. Los Angeles Airways offered 28-passenger turbine-powered helicopter service to and from the Los Angeles Airport (LAX).