I don't understand about the monorail at DL

[Tuffy]

I've visited the official site many times and viewed the vacation videoe just today. I still don't understand about the monorail at DL. (I'm a WDW veteran) Where does it go? Are any of the 3 hotels monorailed? Does it go from park to park? Or just around inside of Disneyland park? Thanks.

 

[hookedup]

The monorail goes from the Tomorrowland Station to the Downtown Disney Station. You can board at either spot but you must disembark in Tomorrowland (in otherwords you can make a round trip ride from Tommorrowland if you just want to ride the monorail and not get off).
It does not stop at CA Adventure Park or at the hotels themselves. It is a short walk to the DL Hotel a bit more of a trek to Paradise Pier. The Grand CA is a very short walk to either park but you could take the monorail if you really wanted to.

 

[disneychrista]

Pre-Downtown Disney, the monorail took you too the Disneyland Hotel. But now the monorail station is located in Downtown Disney (though they say the station is was not moved).

We go on the monorail just to see Disneyland & DCA from a different perspective.

 

[Dana_Buckley]

I like to take the monorail into DL because it drops you in the back of park, in tomorrowland. Right near Fantasyland, if that interests you. Some people may miss actually walking up Mainstreet toward the castle though. Also, beware the 'train' itself is narrower than at WDW, you have to fold up your stroller, if you have one.

 

[ADisneyPrincess]

The DL monorail is used as more of a ride than the WDW monorail which is more transportation. I've always found when I ride from DL to the DL Hotel that very few people get off at the hotel. Most are just riding to ride. Nothing wrong with that, it's just different than at WDW. If you are staying at one of the DLR hotels you get a special head of the line pass for the monorail so you don't have to wait in a long line to get back to your hotel.

 

[BTMichael]

ADisneyPrincess,

If you are staying at one of the DLR hotels you get a special head of the line pass for the monorail so you don't have to wait in a long line to get back to your hotel.

I hadn't heard of that before. We lasted stayed at the Paradise Pier in July 2001 and this "feature" was not mentioned to us. Then again, the Monorail was down for a significant portion of our stay at that time (it didn't start until at least 10:00 am every morning).

Where in Downtown Disney does the Monorail stop?

BTMichael

 

[Dana_Buckley]

We were just there this weekend and we didin't have a special pass, but a separate line to get in. We had to show our room key to be in the line.

In DTD the monorail stops right next door to Rainforest Cafe. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[disneychrista]

The special Hotel Guests enterance for the monorail is "newish" probably began after the opening of DCA. My understanding is that you just show your room key.

 

[ilovemky]

the monorail is definitley the way to enter the park if you are staying at the DL Hotel or Paradise Pier. If at GC, you would have to "backtrack" to get to the monorail, you are actually closer to the main gate but the lines are usually shorter at the monorail station so that could be a good reason to enter the park there!

The monorail has a station at the end of Downtown Disney next to the Rainforest and ESPN zone. You travel from the station, over the main DL entrance with great views of DL and DCA, skirt Harbor Blvd, over Tomorrowland, near Smallworld, etc and it drops you off in tommorowland near the Matterhorn, Innoventions and the sadly missing submarines. It is a great way to get a birds-eye view of the park, and you can ride around and around if you like and get off when you want!

enjoy!

 

[cndncruiz]

So I just want to be clear...

We are staying at the Paradise Pier, and you guys are suggesting that if we don't want to walk down to main street that we can just go to the Monorail by the Rainforest cafe and ride into DL that way?

So would it be faster for us to go from PP to DTD and get on the monorail instead of entering through the gates?

We have never been there before, can ya tell!?

 

[disneychrista]

From what I can tell if you are staying at PP then you have to walk past the monorail stop to get to the main gate.

 

[Grog]

So would it be faster for us to go from PP to DTD and get on the monorail instead of entering through the gates?

You can also get to DL quicker by going through the GC. We were told this when we checked into PPH by the CM at the registration desk. You go in the main entrance to GC, hang a left and follow the signs. It brings you out in the lower third of DTD. This is the best way to go, IMO, if you want to enter DL from the front entrance (Main Street).

 

[Safari Steve]

The DL monorail is used as more of a ride than the WDW monorail which is more transportation.

This is true, however at Epcot, many guests leave the park just to ride the monorail to the TTC and back. Alot of them don't realize that it's not a ride or that the entrance is not inside of Epcot ("Where do I go to ride the monorail?" is a common question in Future World.)

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>To add just a little to all that has been said so far ...

<center>

</center>


If this picture works...

The park at the top is Disneyland. Tomorrowland is to the right of the Matterhorn Mtn., and that body of water is the submarine lagoon. The monorail station is next to that lagoon.

The park at the bottom is California Adventure, and the monorail goes over the "Golden Gate Bridge," but it does not stop at DCA. To the left of the bridge is the building for Soaring Over California, and to the left of that is the Grand Californian Hotel.

The Paradise Pier Hotel is at the bottom left, with the pool, and at the far left is the Disneyland Hotel.

Going from the Disneyland Hotel, the building with the green roof (is that a baseball diamond?) is the ESPN Zone, and the brown building to the right (with water on the left side) is the Rainforest Cafe. The monorail station would be to the right of that - you can kind of see the roof of the station where it's drawn in. Across from Rainforest Cafe w/the squiggly yellow lines is the AMC theater, etc.

Downtown Disney stretches from the ESPN Zone all the way to the end building of the Grand Californian, and about where Soaring Over California is. You can see the Plaza between DL and DCA.

Okay, If you are at the Grand Californian (GCH), then your best bet is to go through the Downtown Disney entrance and walk to the main entrance of Disneyland. You can also use the private entrance to go into DCA (through the building to the right of the pool).

If you are at the Disneyland Hotel (DLH), then you can either walk through Downtown Disney, or you can walk to the monorail entrance next to the Rainforest Cafe (RFC). The advantage of using the Downtown Disney station is that the line is usually shorter, which means that you won't have to wait so long to go through security, and you save that walk to the main entrance. If you are a DLR hotel guest, you can show your room key for 'front of the line' - or I should say, Hotel designated line. If you are staying at the Bonita Tower of the DLH then your best options are to use the monorail, or cross the street, and go through the GCH lobby to Downtown Disney & DLR - you'll save a lot of walking this way. The disadvantage of using the monorail would be if they aren't using all of their trains, you may have to wait for the next one. Sometimes it's quicker just to walk than to use the monorail

If you are staying at the Paradise Pier Hotel (PPH), then you have the same options as the Bonita Tower at the DLH. The additional benefit, is that you have a separate entrance to DCA, which is located just below the Grand Californian, by the orange squiggly line (Mulholland Madness rollercoaster ride).

I recommend that for the first time you enter either park, go through the main entrance to get the full effect.