ART vs Driving

[thewesterberg]

We're are booked to stay at Ayres Inn Orange at the end of August. I was wondering from all you experts if we're better off taking ART to the parks in the morning or drive to the Toy Story Parking Lot and ride the tram in. We definitely want to make the most of our mornings and get there early for RD.

I'm weighing our options... we are two families traveling together, sharing a minivan. If we park at Toy Story, then we have to be on the same schedule. If we use ART, then there's more flexibility if one family wants to go back earlier. I'm thinking we'll end up doing mid-day breaks on at least 2 of our 3 days.

Thoughts and opinions??

 

[ZanderMan]

With Art your whole group will walk less getting to the front gates. Also much quicker to return to hotel if needed. Just my 2 cents.

 

[T0rrent]

ART is great, and unless you plan on getting there early, the parking lots do fill up quick. Personally I prefer paying the few dollars for a 3 day pass and taking ART if at all possible since the last thing I want to do after 15 hours at the park is focus on driving

 

[Spelurker]

I'm pondering the same thing. My wife wants to drive everyday so we're not locked into a schedule. The only problem with ART is that it won't work if you are going to use magic morning and you also have to adhere to their pickup times. For example, the route we're staying on it only comes by once an hour.
But you don't lose time in the parking lots and it's cheaper than renting a car.

 

[T0rrent]

I'm pondering the same thing. My wife wants to drive everyday so we're not locked into a schedule. The only problem with ART is that it won't work if you are going to use magic morning and you also have to adhere to their pickup times. For example, the route we're staying on it only comes by once an hour.
But you don't lose time in the parking lots and it's cheaper than renting a car.

Are you sure on that? Last christmas, the wife and I stayed at the Anaheim Convention Center Marriott and we were able to use ART for a magic morning. If I remember right they start about an hour before the park opens and runs till an hour after closing, and it's usually every 20-30 min they arrive at the park since they just drive in a big circle.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

im going this next week we will be using art and ive heard it starts an hour before mm opens, so at 630 my fam and i will hop n as soon as we grab food, no you wont get there as early on mm then some but its ok for us this time.

 

[thewesterberg]

Thanks for the thoughts and personal experiences so far!

Are you sure on that? Last christmas, the wife and I stayed at the Anaheim Convention Center Marriott and we were able to use ART for a magic morning. If I remember right they start about an hour before the park opens and runs till an hour after closing, and it's usually every 20-30 min they arrive at the park since they just drive in a big circle.

I was just looking over this ART's schedule info when I came back to read replies...
Most of the routes run on the 20 minutes schedule. Routes 14, 15, 16, 18 & 19 run on a different schedules though. Route 14 (which we'll be on) runs every half hour and the first bus adjusts to when the park opens for MM. If the park opens at 9am, the first stop's pick up time is 8am, and arrival to DLR is at 8:30

15, 16, & 18 run every hour and the start time always appears to be the same without adjustment for early park hours.

Does arriving at half hour before opening give us enough time to get through security and to the gates?

 

[Huff]

I used ART on two trips while staying at Holiday Inn Manchester. Hated having to wait only to find the shuttle already packed when it arrived and thus having to wait for another. It just was not very convenient for us to get to the parks early and quickly.

We now use the Toy Story lot (M&F's is ok as well but takes a bit longer). We've always been able to park rather close to the buses. We've never waited more than maybe 5 minutes tops for the bus to load and leave. Departing DLR is also very quick and easy.

However, with your group possibly wanting to take day breaks or head to the parks or head back to hotel at different times then ART seems like the way to go.

 

[Mousequake]

We used ART when staying at the Doubletree last month, and we were very pleased with it. I'd heard horror stories about it not being reliable and never running on schedule, but it was great for the few days we used it. It got us to the park about 40 minutes before opening every morning (including MM), and we never had to wait more than 15 minutes at the end of any day.

 

[kwgilley]

We stayed at Ayres Inn Orange last year. They had their own shuttle. Don't they still? It was awesome! We scheduled our ride times and they were always prompt. I was actually pretty impressed.

 

[endy]

We also stayed at Ayres Orange and they have their own shuttle. You could let them know what time you wanted to go and leave and the van was there.

Loved both Orange and Anaheim Ayre's and would stay at either again in a heartbeat.
At the Anaheim Ayre's the ART stops in front of the motel.

 

[txvjc]

For our trip in June we were thinking about driving to the parks in the morning since I know we (or at least I and DD9) will be there for rope drop and then if we decide to take a break catch the ART back and forth to the hotel so we don't have to move the car until we are ready to leave for the night

 

[starbuck402]

A friend and I stayed at Ayres Orange in March. While it is true that they used to have their own shuttle, they've been using ART since around the beginning of the year. (Note that if you made your reservations while they still offered the private shuttle, they will give you your ART passes for free.) Having heard largely negative comments about ART, I intended to drive to the parks, but the clerk at the front desk talked us into trying ART, and I'm glad he did. The shuttle arrived more-or-less on time for each of the four days we used it (it was about five minutes late one day), and the trip to the parks was relatively quick--about 15 minutes.

On the way there, there are no other hotel stops between the Ayres and Disneyland. Depending on the time of day, the shuttle may pull over briefly at one roadside bus stop, but aside from that it is a direct trip.

The trip back to the hotel is a little longer, as the ART will stop at the Best Western Meridian before letting you off at the Ayres. I'd estimate the trip back to be about 25 minutes, though you can cut this time shorter if you want to--the ART passes the Ayres (on the wrong side of the road) on the way to the Best Western, and I've heard you can ask to be dropped off on the corner when it does. You then just have to cross the street to get back to the Ayres.

Hope this helps.

 

[thewesterberg]

A friend and I stayed at Ayres Orange in March. While it is true that they used to have their own shuttle, they've been using ART since around the beginning of the year. (Note that if you made your reservations while they still offered the private shuttle, they will give you your ART passes for free.) Having heard largely negative comments about ART, I intended to drive to the parks, but the clerk at the front desk talked us into trying ART, and I'm glad he did. The shuttle arrived more-or-less on time for each of the four days we used it (it was about five minutes late one day), and the trip to the parks was relatively quick--about 15 minutes.

On the way there, there are no other hotel stops between the Ayres and Disneyland. Depending on the time of day, the shuttle may pull over briefly at one roadside bus stop, but aside from that it is a direct trip.

The trip back to the hotel is a little longer, as the ART will stop at the Best Western Meridian before letting you off at the Ayres. I'd estimate the trip back to be about 25 minutes, though you can cut this time shorter if you want to--the ART passes the Ayres (on the wrong side of the road) on the way to the Best Western, and I've heard you can ask to be dropped off on the corner when it does. You then just have to cross the street to get back to the Ayres.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your first hand knowledge! I appreciate it a ton. And thanks for the tip about asking them to stop on the way back across the street There didn't seem to be too many stops on that route - was it ever hard to get a seat on the bus?

 

[starbuck402]

We never had trouble finding a seat. I don't think I ever saw the shuttle completely full. It was the first week in March, though, so not a particularly busy time at the parks.

 

[Cyette]

Thanks, starbuck, for the info. thewesterburg: how was your experience?

We will be at the Ayres Orange this fall, and will be relying solely on the ART, unless we hear otherwise. Thanks in advance!

 

[thewesterberg]

Our experience was great! The shuttle was prompt and I thought very convenient. After picking us up, Disneyland was the next stop! We always got a seat. The ride home was a bit longer but there was only a couple of stops... The longest part was driving through the parking lot at the stadium/amtrack stop! There was a couple times when we were on the last bus of the night that the driver skipped going there when no one was looking to be dropped there. That was nice! The ride back was maybe 20 minutes? It didn't seem bad to me... It was since to just sit and zone out for awhile. It was no longer than most of the bus rides at WDW.

Enjoy Ayres! We loved it! I was just out in Anaheim for work a couple of weeks ago and we happened to drive by and they are progressing on their construction. The rooms were nice size and my son and his friend thought it looked "fancy"! Comfy beds, clean. Friendly staff. Breakfast was good - we enjoyed sitting outside in the morning to eat. Thought it was a great value for the price. When i was out there for work I wish I could have stayed there! Free parking, free wifi, free breakfast, the fridge and microwave and the other amenities were awesome... Not like the Hyatt where you don't get any of that for free and the room costs a whole lot more! Wendy's next door, Target up the street. If you have any questions, let me know... I'd be happy to help you out!

 

[nana50]

Are you sure on that? Last christmas, the wife and I stayed at the Anaheim Convention Center Marriott and we were able to use ART for a magic morning. If I remember right they start about an hour before the park opens and runs till an hour after closing, and it's usually every 20-30 min they arrive at the park since they just drive in a big circle.

I've taken the ART from the HOJO and it ran every 20 minutes. Maybe it depends on the time of year but we went in February during the slow season. I loved it.

 

[Malcon10t]

I've taken the ART from the HOJO and it ran every 20 minutes. Maybe it depends on the time of year but we went in February during the slow season. I loved it.

The ART running to the Hojo is on a 20 min route, whereas the ART running to Ayres - Orange is on a 30 min route. Routes 1-13 and 17 are 20 min routes, route 14 and 15 are 30 min routes, and routes 16, 18, and 19 are 60 min routes.