Anaheim Marriott (and Disneyland questions)?

[TeamSy]

We received a free night at the Anaheim Marriott and tacked it on to the end of our vacation out west next month. We go to Disney World once or twice a year, but I haven't been to Disneyland since I was little, and my husband has never been. We decided, since we'll be in the area, to make it a part of our trip, especially since we have the free night and are flying home from LAX anyway. I have lots of questions so hopefully someone can be of service

We'll have a rental car from earlier in the trip and will be making the drive from Palm Dessert to Anaheim mid morning. We plan on checking into the Marriott and then heading to Disneyland (since it's open until midnight).
Onto some questions:
1. We'll already be paying for parking at the Marriott, is the hotel too far from the park to walk? We're young enough and don't have kids so walking doesn't bother us if it's a reasonable distance. Does the Marriott offer a shuttle? Or, should we just bite the bullet and park at Disneyland?
2. Does Disneyland have Fast Pass + that you can reserve rides in advance like Disney World does? Is it for onsite guests only?


So the following day we leave, but our flight doesn't leave LAX until 11:30pm. We plan on checking out of the Marriott and spending the day at California Adventure. I'm thinking for this day it would make sense to park at the park so we can head to the airport straight from California Adventure. So questions:
1. We LOVE Disney World food and are eager to try Disneyland's! We have reservations at Blue Bayou Restaurant for the previous night. Are there any others we should try, particularly at California Adventure Park where we will be on this day?
2. Has anyone on here gone straight from the park to the airport? On map it says it's about a 45 minute drive/30-something miles. We'd be going in the evening and I'm wondering how rush hour is? Obviously, we have to leave time to drop off the rental car, check into our flight, etc.

 

[figment_jii]

1. We'll already be paying for parking at the Marriott, is the hotel too far from the park to walk? We're young enough and don't have kids so walking doesn't bother us if it's a reasonable distance. Does the Marriott offer a shuttle? Or, should we just bite the bullet and park at Disneyland?

It's a little over a mile to walk from the Marriott to the Esplande. That's a little shorter than walking from Epcot to DHS, which is more than I'd want to walk after a long day in DLR.

2. Does Disneyland have Fast Pass + that you can reserve rides in advance like Disney World does? Is it for onsite guests only?

DLR does not have the FP+ system; they are still using the old/"legacy" FP system. It's worth noting that they are enforcing return times and anyone with a valid ticket can get a FP. Basically, it's the same system that WDW used to have, before they went to FP+.

1. We LOVE Disney World food and are eager to try Disneyland's! We have reservations at Blue Bayou Restaurant for the previous night. Are there any others we should try, particularly at California Adventure Park where we will be on this day?

I would recommend the Carthay Circle (TS) or the Carthay Circle Lounge. Both have been very good in my experience.

 

[TeamSy]

Thank you so much, figment!

 

[DizMe]

We stayed at the Anaheim Marriott last year. It's a beautiful hotel! We did not find the walk bad. If you don't want to bother with it, though, the shuttle stops directly outside the hotel. You can also walk over to the Toy Story parking lot and catch their shuttle bus over (it's free, whereas the shuttle is not).

You might also want to consider one of the resort hotels or DTD for dinner. I love Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. If you go, be sure to make room for dessert and either pre-order the double chocolate bread pudding (which is actually more of a chocolate souffle, made on the spot with white and dark chocolate ganache in little pitchers to pour into the middle) or order the Bananas Foster. We got a nice table near the fountain and were there right when the fireworks went off. It was so cool!

Napa Rose (in GCH) is, of course, the top-of-the-line dining option. It's easy to get to from DCA. I adore Trader Sam's and their menu has lots of Asian-inspired goodies like chicken wraps and pineapple burgers. You can eat outside as it's often very crowded inside. Steakhouse 55 is also a favorite and has lots of cool pictures of Walt Disney and stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Those are both at Disneyland Hotel. They're all easy to get to so don't be afraid of the distance.

Have fun!

 

[TeamSy]

Thanks, DizMe! I'm glad you liked the Marriott. I feel like they are always safe options! Although, I think we will barely be spending any time there!

We ended up going with the Carthay Circle Restaurant for our day at DCA, just because we don't want to leave the park, but Napa Rose looks amazing too! I guess there's always next time!