Any recent DLH guests enter DTD security through 'guest-only' entrance?

[thenicefamily]

Hi - I haven't heard/read anything lately about a designated DLH guest entrance (near the Sorcerer's Hat). Has anyone been staying recently at DLH who can report as to whether there is a functioning entrance there and, if it's solely for DLH guests? Thanks!

 

[LKing]

Hi - I haven't heard/read anything lately about a designated DLH guest entrance (near the Sorcerer's Hat). Has anyone been staying recently at DLH who can report as to whether there is a functioning entrance there and, if it's solely for DLH guests? Thanks!

Is is a functioning security entrance open to all guests, regardless of where they are staying.

This thread might be of interest to you. https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-security-entrance.3947409/

 

[thenicefamily]

Is is a functioning security entrance open to all guests, regardless of where they are staying.

This thread might be of interest to you. https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-security-entrance.3947409/

Thank you @LKing - I had seen that thread however it's now quite out-dated and I remember reading a comment saying that dedicating it to DLH guests was a future possibility. That is why I was asking for recent experience. Have you been a guest at DLH recently and used the entrance? Or, just used the entrance recently as a non-guest?

Here's the comment I'm referring to in that previous thread -

I think eventually they are going to make the old security gates near the Sorcerers Hat into a dedicated entrance for DH guests only just like they have created a private entrance into DCA for Pixar Hotel guests. They won't have a specific line at the new entrance for hotel guests right now but hopefully they will upgrade the old one so DL Hotel guest have the same perks as guest at both GCH and Pixar Place. The price per night certainly warrants it.

I realize ^^^ is just conjecture, which is why I was asking for real-life experience. If you have used the DLH entrance recently, how did you find it compared to the one closer to Pixar/GCH? Which would you recommend? Thanks for your input!

 

[LKing]

I'm local so don't stay in the hotels. I have used the entrance many times in the past couple of months as a non hotel guest. The earliest I've used entrance was after 8 am so I don't know if there is a different policy for EE.

If you have used the DLH entrance recently, how did you find it compared to the one closer to Pixar/GCH? Which would you recommend? Thanks for your input!

It depends on where you are coming from and where you are trying to go.

When you are asking for a comparison of entrances, are you referring to #1 and #2 in the image below?

 

[thenicefamily]

I'm local so don't stay in the hotels. I have used the entrance many times in the past couple of months as a non hotel guest. The earliest I've used entrance was after 8 am so I don't know if there is a different policy for EE.


It depends on where you are coming from and where you are trying to go.

When you are asking for a comparison of entrances, are you referring to #1 and #2 in the image below?

View attachment 912718

Yes @LKing - I'm referring to Entrance 2. The last time we stayed in November 2022 we were at the Disneyland Hotel and that was, I believe, the only entrance from that end. #3 might have been there but #1 certainly wasn't. With 1 & 3 now open, I suppose 2 by default becomes DLH's entrance, even if 1 is probably closer for many DLH guests.

 

[LKing]

With 1 & 3 now open, I suppose 2 by default becomes DLH's entrance, even if 1 is probably closer for many DLH guests.

Not necessarily. #3 is used primarily for DTD employees. While anyone can walk through that security, it is a bit out of the way for hotel guests. That's why I'm wondering if it is less crowded for EE.

#1 and #2 are very close to each other (the length of Adventure Tower). I'm thinking #1 would be an easier entrance for Frontier Towers and The Villas.

 

[limace]

Yes, I enetered last Thursday through that evidence and was asked to show room key.

 

[LKing]

Yes, I enetered last Thursday through that evidence and was asked to show room key.

Thanks for sharing. Was this for EE or were you asked to show a room key throughout the day?

 

[limace]

Thanks for sharing. Was this for EE or were you asked to show a room key throughout the day?

This was early entry-I didn’t try going back later.

 

[Porsche4]

Yes, I enetered last Thursday through that evidence and was asked to show room key.

Are you talking about "Entrance 2" as marked on the visual above. Is this now a dedicated entrance for the Disneyland Hotel.

 

[thenicefamily]

Are you talking about "Entrance 2" as marked on the visual above. Is this now a dedicated entrance for the Disneyland Hotel.

As the OP and following all the answers here I'm going to say that recent experience with EE at Entrance #2 (Sorcerer's Hat) is dedicated entrance for Disneyland Hotel. Yay!

 

[5forMickey]

We were just there, entrance 2 always was the least crowded although we were never asked to show a hotel key I rarely saw anyone entering from anywhere other than the Hotel. Tried entrance 1 one morning and it was packed at 7:00, security told us it was quicker to use gate 2 and we found that to be the truth. Interestingly, the path/gate/walking path from the towers to the scorers hat did require a room key to open the gate all week.

 

[LKing]

As the OP and following all the answers here I'm going to say that recent experience with EE at Entrance #2 (Sorcerer's Hat) is dedicated entrance for Disneyland Hotel. Yay!

This is not fact. Your statement is based off of one person saying that they were asked to show a key for EE. Before a statement like this is made, one needs to know if people without keys were actually turned away. And, would keys from PP or GCH be allowed to pass through or is it, as you claim, for DLH only?

They most certainly don't ask guests to show keys all day. It is important to know if they consistently ask guests to show keys and, if it is, what hours do they ask for guests to show keys?

 

[LKing]

I was at the parks today. I parked in Mickey & Friends/Pixar Pals parking structure and walked to the DTD entrances to see if they changed their policy.

At 8:15 am, this is what entrance #3 looked like.



I walked in entrance #2. No one asked for a key. I asked both the person checking my bag and the person watching me walk through the scanner if the entrance is ever restricted to hotel guests only. They both said "no." One said that, in the morning, there are a lot of people coming from DLH. I asked if they check keys to make sure people are from the DLH and he said that they did not. The other said that the entrance is open to everyone.

So... this may be yet another thing where YMMV. This was entrance #2 at 8:20. You can tell why they had time to talk to me.



Once I was in DTD, I walked over to entrance #1 to see how crowded it was. This photo was taken from inside DTD looking towards DLH.

 

[Porsche4]

I was at the parks today. I parked in Mickey & Friends/Pixar Pals parking structure and walked to the DTD entrances to see if they changed their policy.

At 8:15 am, this is what entrance #3 looked like.

View attachment 913406

I walked in entrance #2. No one asked for a key. I asked both the person checking my bag and the person watching me walk through the scanner if the entrance is ever restricted to hotel guests only. They both said "no." One said that, in the morning, there are a lot of people coming from DLH. I asked if they check keys to make sure people are from the DLH and he said that they did not. The other said that the entrance is open to everyone.

So... this may be yet another thing where YMMV. This was entrance #2 at 8:20. You can tell why they had time to talk to me.

View attachment 913407

Once I was in DTD, I walked over to entrance #1 to see how crowded it was. This photo was taken from inside DTD looking towards DLH.

View attachment 913408

Thanks LKing for the photos and info. Its funny isn't it because when all this first started (closure of original gate and construction) there was a lot of talk that this would be become a dedicated hotel entrance. I always thought that the entrance was going to somehow be erected in a fenced area that surrounded the Disneyland Hotel so that the guests there would have more privacy/security and an added perk of their own dedicated entrance to the DTD area. I realise the hotel should still be open to the public so they can come and go to the restaurants etc but I thought for the high price of staying there you wouldn't have to contend with the general public to gain entrance. I mean the price to stay here is only a few dollars less than GCH and they have their own security gates. I also still wish they had dedicated hotel guest entrance gates at the parks. I can't understand why they don't have that at all. Every other Disney park in the world has them. It is just really odd. I don't want to come off as elitist and I understand that DL is predominantly a locals park but there are still a lot of people paying big bucks to stay on property and it should mean just that: "on property". Just sayin.

 

[LKing]

I mean the price to stay here is only a few dollars less than GCH and they have their own security gates.

All guests can use GCH security entrances to DTD and DCA.

I also still wish they had dedicated hotel guest entrance gates at the parks. I can't understand why they don't have that at all.

Maybe they consider the monorail to be their entrance to the park.

 

[BK2014]

We stayed at DLH 11/10-11/13. We used entrance #2 for early entry on Monday and Tuesday. Both days we were asked to show our hotel room key. This was only during EE. Later in the day they were not checking room keys. We tried using #1 the first day, as the line was shorter and closer to Discovery Tower, but #2 opened first and moved faster.

 

[Porsche4]

We stayed at DLH 11/10-11/13. We used entrance #2 for early entry on Monday and Tuesday. Both days we were asked to show our hotel room key. This was only during EE. Later in the day they were not checking room keys. We tried using #1 the first day, as the line was shorter and closer to Discovery Tower, but #2 opened first and moved faster.

Well thank goodness, that makes sense that they are opening it before the other gates to give hotel guests a head start and be able to hopefully get closer to the front of the entrance gates to take full advantage of EE. Thanks for posting the information.

 

[LKing]

We stayed at DLH 11/10-11/13. We used entrance #2 for early entry on Monday and Tuesday. Both days we were asked to show our hotel room key. This was only during EE. Later in the day they were not checking room keys. We tried using #1 the first day, as the line was shorter and closer to Discovery Tower, but #2 opened first and moved faster.

Thanks for reporting back! Could you tell if it was moving faster because they had more security lanes open or if there were fewer people in line?

 

[thenicefamily]

Reporting back after an extremely successful and satisfying stay at the Disneyland Villas. We used Entrance 2 (Sorcerer's Hat) each of our 3-days and each EE morning we were asked to show our room key. Those without keys were turned away. They opened Security a few minutes (between 5-10 minutes) early each day and we were one of the first in line for entry at DL and DCA each day as they were holding the Harbor Blvd. people back. That hadn't been our experience previously as we used to arrive at the Park gates at the same time as the Harbor Blvd. people.

On EE at DL there was a bit of a log-jam at Astro Orbiters and a little misdirection which had the people in the area we were standing moved along resulting in our end-goal of Peter Pan being really crowded when we finally got there, despite EE. It was actually quite crowded overall - understandable as it was the Holiday Opening week-end I suppose. Anyway, we had an amazing time, used EE and the first and final two hours of each day at the park to full advantage. Rarely waited anywhere. We were so grateful to the people on Disboards and YouTube for all their excellent advice with regards rides and food.

I'm still on my Disney high - despite a 24-hour trip home to Vancouver Island, incorporating 2 aborted landing attempts during the 'bomb cyclone' and a re-routing!