Anyone Have Any Driving and Parking Tips To Disneyland?

[jeffersonkim]

I know the general opinion is that it's better to walk to Disneyland rather than to drive in a personal vehicle, but for the people who stay at my hotel (generally because of the cost savings), it's either riding the Anaheim Resort Transit Shuttle, or Driving in their own vehicle.

Do you guys have any tips on driving and parking at Disneyland that I can forward to my guests?


Thanks for your help!


FYI, Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) is going to be charging kids, 3-9, a $1/day fee to ride their shuttles beginning January 7th. It's been free up to this change. This is yet an added reason for our guests to drive rather than ride the shuttle.

 

[pumpkin5156]

We drive to DL every year, simply because we usually make a day trip during Christmas time. I personally don't know why it's such a bad thing, other than the parking fee. We always make sure we get there at least 45 minutes before the park opens. We have always been let in and park outside the M and F Parking structure. The tram is very close and no elevators/escalators to deal with.

We're always at rope drop as well. The only problem is if you are staying at a hotel you cannot walk to and you want to go back to your room. HUGE inconvenience.

SO, I would say to your guests:

Get there early!
Stay all day, and if that's not doable then take the Transit bus. (I personally think it is better and more cost effective to take your own vehicle if you have more than 3 in your party.)


Would your hotel consider having their own shuttle on some sort of schedule? I only ask because I work at a hotel right by Legoland and we have this. It is very convenient and guests love it. We go within a 3 mile radius of our hotel. We don't have a driver; we just have one of the front desk agents or managers drive it.

 

[DirkLogan]

I live about 2 hours from DL, but occasionally we spend a weekend and get a hotel. I have stayed at Hotels where you have to either drive or or catch the shuttle and I have stayed where I can walk across the street. I definitely prefer to walk but the shuttle wasn't horrible except getting the stroller on and off, arrrgghh that is a pain. So really If I had to stay at a hotel not within a close walk, I would drive for the convenience. Remember that movie with Steve Martin called L.A. Story? There is a scene where Steve Martin's character walks to his car and drives to his next door neighbor's house. It is a spoof on Californian's but it is sort of true. We love are cars in Cali.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Showing up early is great for parking, but even if you don't show up early, there's elevators and escalators (there's a separate escalator for each level so you don't have to take multiple escalators to get to your level). Some perks about having a car there is that you don't have to worry about leaving at a specific time, you don't have to wait to leave, you don't have to share your ride with a bunch of strangers (so there'll always be a seat for everyone and you don't have to stand), and you can walk back and drop stuff off in your car (if you don't feel like lugging it around and it doesn't fit in a locker, or if you don't want to spend money renting a locker).

 

[jeffersonkim]

Would your hotel consider having their own shuttle on some sort of schedule? I only ask because I work at a hotel right by Legoland and we have this. It is very convenient and guests love it. We go within a 3 mile radius of our hotel. We don't have a driver; we just have one of the front desk agents or managers drive it.

I tried looking into it, but it turned into a nightmare due to the city red tape and logistics.

The city actually makes it difficult on purpose, requiring hotels in the Anaheim Resort designated area to pay into the shuttle system.

 

[iheartdisney]

My biggest tip is to try and park at the Timon lot on Harbor. The trams may take a few more minutes, but you don't have the "Battle Royale" that you have at the Mickey & Friends loading area. And he end of the night, if you are not aggressive (which I am not at the end of a long day) it will take at least 3 trams to shove your way to the front.
So I park at Timon to avoid the hassle and stress.

If you DO park in the structure and don't want the Battle Royale at the end of the evening, either leave 30 minutes before the fireworks, or browse the shops and wait for the crowds to thin out.

If you are parked in the far side of the structure, rather than walking ALL the way forward, and ALL the way over, there is a bridge which crosses about half way through that i like to use as our "secret passage."

If you want to park on the ground level, you can if you have a rooftop carrier on your vehicle, and then you just have a short walk to the trams.

 

[cats mom]

I tried looking into it, but it turned into a nightmare due to the city red tape and logistics.

The city actually makes it difficult on purpose, requiring hotels in the Anaheim Resort designated area to pay into the shuttle system.

Why does that not surprise me?

Honestly even back when many of the hotels had dedicated shuttles, much nicer option than ART if you ask me, we often drove over anyway.
I've never found it that much of a hassle.

Can't remember where it was, but one hotel had printed out turn by turn directions from their parking lot to different locations on color coded paper (1/4 sheet of 8.5x11 paper, IIRC)
We thought that was great!
Even if the front desk was busy they could quickly whip out a set of directions for you.
I think we left with Disneyland parking, Medievel Times, Main Place Mall, and Target. Quite the colorful collection.

If you're giving parking directions just be sure folks know there are 2 different parking areas with seperate trams. I know they announce it over and over on the way to the parks, but some folks must be so excited that they just don't pay attention. I've seen folks confused about which tram to use at the end of a long day more than once.

 

[jeffersonkim]

Why does that not surprise me?

Honestly even back when many of the hotels had dedicated shuttles, much nicer option than ART if you ask me, we often drove over anyway.
I've never found it that much of a hassle.

Can't remember where it was, but one hotel had printed out turn by turn directions from their parking lot to different locations on color coded paper (1/4 sheet of 8.5x11 paper, IIRC)
We thought that was great!
Even if the front desk was busy they could quickly whip out a set of directions for you.
I think we left with Disneyland parking, Medievel Times, Main Place Mall, and Target. Quite the colorful collection.

If you're giving parking directions just be sure folks know there are 2 different parking areas with seperate trams. I know they announce it over and over on the way to the parks, but some folks must be so excited that they just don't pay attention. I've seen folks confused about which tram to use at the end of a long day more than once.

I was thinking of implementing this too. thanks for the confirmation that it's a good idea