WHERE CAN YOU SEE A BEAR... in California? If you answered "the state flag," well, high fives and gold stars to you, for you are completely correct. If you said "on a hike, from a distance, in the Sierra Nevada," that's sometimes the case, as many outdoors fans can attest to, with anecdotes. And if you claimed that you've seen a bear at Storytellers Café, at Disney's Grand Californian Resort, dancing and clapping his hands, you'd be right again, for Kenai of the film "Brother Bear" is a frequent visitor to the restaurant's popular Character Breakfast. In fact, a lot of Disney's Grand Californian Resort is mighty bear-a-riffic, thanks to its woodsy, Craftsman theme, so it makes sense that there are a few watering holes nearby. Of course, these special watering holes don't host any bears, clapping or otherwise, but they are made for human-style swimming and frolicking. And if you've longed to frolic in this woodsiest of Disneyland Resort hotels, like a bear might, here comes the dance-worthy news:
THE POOL DECK... at the elegant Anaheim resort just underwent a big refresh, complete with "...natural stones and brick to create a warm and welcoming environment..." Master stone masons were behind the placement of the stones, and the look dovetails, or beartails, if you prefer, with the grander theme of the grand hotel: outdoors, trees, and the woods. There's a new fountain shaped like an urn in the Fountain Pool, and cabanas like the chilled-out Mariposa Pool (and, yep, there's a curved, 90-foot-slide at the Redwood Pool). Are these renovations part of the large-scale, multi-month refurbishments happening around the sizable property? You bet: The Grand Californian is getting some TLC, "...the most extensive refurbishment since the hotel's 2001 opening." It's rather bigger than a bear's den, so the touch-ups take time, but you can already see the fruits of the renovation over at the hotel's swimming holes.