The only way to move forward is to reflect on the beginning. Time moves quickly and in order for a business to evolve, progress must take place. A service or product offered cannot remain stagnant. Only after a solid foundation is in place can a legacy be born, grow, and be able to be passed on to the next generation.
The Beginning
The start of our family legacy began when a great businessman purchased a small motel back in 1973. This motel later became the Disneyland Resort Good Neighbor Hotel we know today as Grand Legacy At The Park. When Earl Garr bought this motel, it consisted of approximately 100 rooms and was named the Saga Motel. He saw the amazing potential here and had a passion to grow it to become something huge! Being the entrepreneur that he was, he purchased several other hotels in Anaheim, around Disneyland Park, in the late 70’s. As he got older, he decided to sell most of these hotels and other entities and concentrate on his true gem. This hotel at the maingate of the Disneyland Resort would be the one that would continue his legacy. 
This motel had a small pool in the front with a small parking lot touching Harbor Blvd. The Saga Inn name stuck. Even after we franchised with Ramada in 1997, he insisted that the new name include “Saga Inn”. So, from 1997-2001, we would be known as Ramada Maingate Saga Inn. He made small touches here and there, but nothing to date would compare to the renovations that were completed in 1988.
The 1988 Project
Mr. Garr saw potential in multiple areas of the property; there was an open area in the SE corner that wasn’t being utilized correctly, an area for more guest rooms in the front of the property, and a front entrance that could use a change. To give the front a distinguished feel, he created a grand porte-cochère, or carriage gate that would be fit for a king (construction shown in the top left photo). Once completed, we weren’t just a hotel at the Maingate, but we had a maingate of our own!
Next, he added 10 rooms to extend the south building towards Harbor Boulevard. This included the front rooms on the first and second floor that had a large window to view the fireworks (construction shown in top right photo).
The most monumental portion of the 1988 project was the addition of a new four-story building stretching from the south building away from Harbor Boulevard and turning a corner towards the north building (construction shown in middle photo).The rooms on the higher floors later became our Deluxe View rooms: perfectly positioned to gaze at the breathtaking Disneyland fireworks, featured nightly.
The Final Product
After completion, we had a total of about 170 rooms, that would be utilized as a home away from home for our guests when they visited us and the Disneyland Resort. The porte-cochère welcomes the guest, the front rooms offer more space, and the back tower provides the feeling that the guest is on top of the world!
The hotel could not be what it is today without the progress and change that improves the quality and service provided to our guests. The progress made from the beginning to the completion of the 1988 project, marks just one stepping stone in the path toward where we are today and where we are striving to be. This growth adds to the legacy that this Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotel holds. It has already been passed from one generation and it will be passed again to the next. You, our loyal guests, are what drives this continued legacy and for that we are extremely thankful! We look forward to seeing you soon!
we stayed at the saga on our honeymoon in 1993.
do you have any pictures from that time?