Anaheim Marriott maybe in December?

[princesslizzy]

It looks like we are leaning towards the Anaheim Marriot by the convention center for our trip in December. 4 adults, 2 separate reservations. Any reason we shouldn't?

Looking at booking through Costco so we get the bonus gift card. It's just under $2,000 per each couple for 4 nights, and 4 days of tickets- single park each day with Genie+, and the $145 gift card.

Will this hotel hold our luggage? Our flight arrives at John Wayne around 9am and we wanted to spend that first day in California Adventure.

How easy is it to use the ART buses to get from hotel to the parks and back? And possibly mid-day for a nap? Me and my husband usually walk from a little closer, but those hotels have gotten so expensive, and we go from rope drop to park close. The couple we are going with usually stay in the Grand Californian, like sleeping in and napping mid day. But they are willing to compromise to stick closer to our budget. So we are trying to mesh different park day styles and keep things on the cheaper side, if possible.

 

[gelatoni fan]

The hotel will hold your luggage.

The ART bus is fine in the morning and evening but extremely unreliable in the middle of the day. I sometimes walk to the park from the hotel so you could return to the hotel in the middle of the day if you want although that does take quite a bit of time.

 

[crystal1313]

I would walk to the Toy Story lot and use the fee shuttles there! Before 11am you go through security at Toy Story and then you bypass the security lines at the harbor entrance. That way your friends can easily go back to the room for a nap as well. We did this tons of times on our trip in early June. Super easy and never had to wait long.

 

[princesslizzy]

The hotel will hold your luggage.

The ART bus is fine in the morning and evening but extremely unreliable in the middle of the day. I sometimes walk to the park from the hotel so you could return to the hotel in the middle of the day if you want although that does take quite a bit of time.

That's good to know they will hold our luggage, thank you! We usually drive over from Arizona, but my husband found a really good deal on flights. Which is great, saves us time and money. But I am not used to not having a car to hold all my stuff. Also good tip on the ART not being great mid-day.

 

[princesslizzy]

I would walk to the Toy Story lot and use the fee shuttles there! Before 11am you go through security at Toy Story and then you bypass the security lines at the harbor entrance. That way your friends can easily go back to the room for a nap as well. We did this tons of times on our trip in early June. Super easy and never had to wait long.

Great idea on the Toy Story lot. Nobody cares that we are just walking into the lot instead of parking? Google maps says that is only a 10 minute walk, which sounds a lot easier than walking all the way to the parks.

 

[crystal1313]

Nope! They don’t care at all! We even walked to target one day and then cut through the Toy Story lot. No issues at all.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Great idea on the Toy Story lot. Nobody cares that we are just walking into the lot instead of parking? Google maps says that is only a 10 minute walk, which sounds a lot easier than walking all the way to the parks.

The shuttles pick up on the back side of the parking lot so it's actually further than that. I've timed myself walking to/from the parks vs taking the Toy Story Lot shuttle multiple times and walking is a few minutes faster for me. It's nice to sit for a few minutes but you may still have some lines for the shuttles.

 

[princesslizzy]

Thank you! We got our hotel and ticket packages reserved. Now I am all ready to start packing... for a trip in December.