We recently announced that the Disneyland Hotel is undergoing some exciting changes! As we prepare for the renovations to the pool and courtyard area, we’re happy to share that we’ve found a great new home for the koi fish that resided in the Koi Pond at the Disneyland Hotel. We recently donated more than 250 koi to The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California – where the fish now live. Our friends at The Huntington tell us the koi were a great addition and that the lily ponds they live in are more popular than ever, thanks to the colorful new residents. Here are some pictures of their new, beautiful habitat. Make sure you stop by to see the Disney koi next time you visit the library!
New Home for Koi Fish
by Betsy Villalobos, Senior Manager, External Communications, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products
Comments
While I’m also sad to see the Waterfalls go, I am excited about the changes as well. I have fond memories of the Waterfalls, Koi, Dancing Waters Show, and the Monorail Cafe with my family. We would take the kids there once in a while in between our yearly Disneyland trips. And my wife and I would leave the kids at home once in a while and go to the Neon Cactus! What a great time!
I heard the falls may be closing this week, anyone know the date? (which can always change of course!) I’d like to plan one last visit!
the water falls and the fish were an amazing part of staying at the hotel. So are the little boats. Are they getting rid of those too? I love disneyland to much to be mad about any changes I just hope they are worth it and amazing.
Betsy Sanchez wrote Eric, we’re so glad that the koi and the waterfalls have been so popular with you and other guests over the years. We’re also excited to deliver new, exciting features that guests are sure to enjoy at the Disneyland Hotel for years to come.
Oh yes why look at majestic waterfalls and Koi Fish when we can watch the grass grow, later we can watch the paint dry. The waterfalls have been around for decades, it is loved, it brings so much life to the area and you think grass is better. Destroying the fountains is a bad, idiotic, short-sighted and wrong move.
Sadly, I must also comment about the very bad decision to remove the waterfalls. They are the most cherished part of the hotel grounds for many people. I was upset when you first posted the new plans, and since then I have become downright angry. Why does management insist on removing something so nostalgic in order to replace it with a water slide that holds no nostalgia for anyone? As annual pass holders, my family stays at the Disneyland Hotel 2-3 times per year. Once you rip out everything we love about it, there will be no incentive for us to ever stay there again. This decision to remove the waterfalls will be another bad one for Disney, and right up there with removing the Peoplemover.
I completely agree with Adam. Those koi fish were part of the “magical” surprises that you used to be able to “discover” by wandering the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel.
Seeing the “backside” of water around the falls was a wonderful experience… as is the pirate ship and skull rock (especially lit up at night) which are also going away. To me, they were my memories of the old Disneyland Starkist Tuna eatery which used to be our haven away from the crowds back in the day…
This July trip will be our last stay at the Disneyland Hotel. The blue fishbowl windows on the newly remodeled rooms are the ultimate insult on top of everything else. Not only do they not open allowing for fresh air or the drifting music to come in… but they “blue” your view so that you miss out on all the vivid colors below… 🙁
It’s very sad, and definitely an end of an era…
…but on the bright side we’ll definitely save money by staying off-site. (And get much better accomodations for our dollars as well.)
The more I think about it, the more and more I am upset by the removal of the waterfalls and koi ponds. They are such a unique part of the Disneyland hotel. I fear the changes coming will make the hotel bland and uninteresting and certainly not worthy of the rates charged for an overnight stay there. The removal of the Peter Pan theming and the addition of ugly metal slides, though cleverly covered with a monorail tunnel, do not make up for the removal of the falls and the koi ponds. The area needs an update, but the removal of the falls completely is not the answer. Find another way.
Can I go too?! 😉 If they can’t live at Disneyland, The Huntington is a beautiful & peaceful second choice. Thanks for taking good care of them.
If anybody out there in the Disneyland Administration is listening, I will be sad to see the Koi gone. When my family vacationed at the park the Koi pond was just a nice (different) thing to experience.
We were very sad to hear about the planned removal of the Hotel waterfalls. As I’m sure many guests will tell you, walking through them is an adventure all its own! If the tower is to be renamed Adventure, the waterfalls would make a perfect landscape for it. You could add some more foliage and change out the old pumps for new energy-saving ones. The falls lose some water on the pathways, but I’m sure the designers and engineers at Disney could refurbish them to work more effectively. You know, water slides are fun, but removing part of the beautiful and NOSTALGIC hotel grounds doesn’t seem to make sense. The Imagineers are smart people. Given the opportunity, I am sure they could design a site plan to include both the new and the cherished.
Wait, so… Does this mean the waterfalls are being removed? I certainly hope not – they were my favorite part of the hotel!
Eric, we’re so glad that the koi and the waterfalls have been so popular with you and other guests over the years. We’re also excited to deliver new, exciting features that guests are sure to enjoy at the Disneyland Hotel for years to come.
Is there a way to save the waterfalls??
Oh, I am sorry they’re gone – we loved seeing them there. But i am very happy that they have a nice, new home.I
I loved visiting the Koi feeding times at the Hotel. It was such a fun thing to see happen, and it reminded you that not all animals were animatronic.
I’ve been meaning to visit The Huntington Library for some time, ever since they opened their new Chinese Garden. This has inspired me to get up there and visit the Library, and the Disneyland Hotel’s Koi fish!
Glad to hear that the koi fish have a new home.
So sad to hear the beautiful koi are leaving the Disneyland Hotel. My hubby and I loved to visit them and the feeding was an experience I will never forget. I am glad they have a new home but am soooooo very sad they will not be at the Hotel anymore.
So sorry to hear about the changes. My family always loved the koi pond and waterfalls, it was such a nice escape from the hustle & bustle of the parks. We will really miss it 🙁
Wait…please tell me that the waterfalls are not going away! My daughter and I love walking down through the waterfalls and then up to see the koi. Sorry that won’t be happening anymore.
Yeah! My friend works at the Huntington, I’ll have her keep an eye on them 🙂
I am really sad to hear that they will not be there in the late Fall when we are going to be in Disneyland. We always stay at the Disneyland Hotel in the tower that the koi pond is at the foor of, and that is one of my favorite parts. We can always look out our window and down and see a birds eye few of them, we have to walk though the water ways to get back to the room and the smell of the water brings back memories, we have gotten some of the best pictures there too, and the sound of that entire area is so magical and relaxing almost like being on the beach. I am glad that they have found a new wonderful home but they will be missed, and I hope they do not get rid of that entire water/waterfall area.
I’ll be staying at the DLH the 2nd weekend in July, will the pool rennovations be underway then? Please say no, I’d hate to miss out on a summer swim or be in the middle of construction. Thanks.
Susan, thanks for your comments. All Disneyland Hotel pools will remain open until August 2010, at which time the Cove Pool will close. When the new water play area and new pool open in summer 2011, the Never Land Pool will close for refurbishment. That pool will reopen in summer 2012. In a nutshell, there will always be a pool available.
I’m very sad to hear that the koi fish are gone. We really enjoyed walking through the pond and watching the fish. It was a very relaxing way to a hectic day at the Parks. Glad they have a great new home but the will be greatly missed. Hope you will include some peaceful areas to your new renovation.
I’ll miss them, but they couldn’t ask for a better home than the Huntington.
will they ever come back? will there be new pond on the property? I will miss them all so much!
Lisa, we certainly appreciate how much you enjoyed the koi fish while they were at Disneyland. The koi pond and the waterfalls will be transformed into the new courtyard and pool area.
I really wish I had known about all this well in advance. It would have been good to have a goodbye visit to this last peaceful part of the hotel.
They will be missed, but at least they have a beautiful new home.
It’s a beautiful new home and I’m sure they are very happy.
The koi fish have a lovely new home. I had no idea there were 250 fish in the pond.
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