ART vs Parking Garage

[jjames]

First of all, I just want to thank everyone for being so wonderful on these boards. I've learned SO much just from lurking and soaking in your great wisdom. And now to my list o' questions:
I know, I know, we should get a hotel within walking distance to the park. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, we will be staying about a mile away. So I'm wondering if it would be better to take the ART, or to drive in. There seems to be an overall negative view of ART on these boards, but it seems to me like the parking garage would be just as much of a hassle. (I've never been to DL, so this is purely conjecture on my part.) Is the main objection to ART that it can be unreliable and hard to get on 1st thing in the morning? If that's the case, we would be fine walking to DL in the am, as long as we could take the ART back for lunch breaks (I am aware of their service break) and in the evenings. Or is the parking garage really easier? Is there a way for me to know beforehand if the Timon lot is open? And, last but not least, does anyone have any specific experience with ART route 10?

Thanks so much!

Jennifer

 

[got2travel]

The way I look at it, you walk roughly the same distance to either the Mickey tram or the ART stops. Then you take a bus/tram to either your hotel or your car. If you go to your car, then you still have to drive to the hotel. I'd rather just use ART.

I don't have experience with that particular route, but just by looking at it, you'll probably have a pretty smooth experience since it's the opposite direction of most other routes. The only issue I've had with ART is the timing of the pick ups. The hotel gave me one schedule, the ART flyer had another, and the reality was neither one was right.

You can't tell if the Timon lot is open until you drive there. Even then it may be deceiving. They might let you enter from Harbor and you'll think its open, but then they'll direct you past the lot down to the Mickey lot.

 

[ahecht]

Look at it from a cost perspective. Parking in the garage will cost you $11 per day. ART, depending on your length of stay, will cost between $2.40-$3 per ADULT per day for adults and between $0.80-$1.00 per CHILD (3-9) per day. Therefore for a family with two adults, one 10 year old, and one 9 year old, it will cost $8-10 per day for ART. However, when they return the following year (and have no kids under 10) it will cost $9.60-$12 per day.

Or, if you don't mind a little extra walking in the morning, you could park somewhere like Flore St or Pepperwood and walk to the tram.

 

[reynmagsmom]

we have used ART several times in the past and have liked it every time more time saving than driving urself!! if we have a hotel that isnt in walking distance we will use ART again in the future

 

[Raidermouse]

When are you going JJames and if you don't mine is there any way you can change or cancel you reservations?

 

[jjames]

Thanks for the replies so far. It was nice to see something positive being said about ART. To answer Raidermouse, we'll be there April 13-16 and we can't change our reservations to a hotel, because we'll be staying in our travel trailer. We'll be taking our 5 kids plus an extra, so staying in the trailer will save us big bucks (when you consider the cost of eating out for a family of 8 - 3 teens - yikes), and this will be the tail-end of a longer camping road trip, so staying in a hotel was never even a possibility.
With 8 people, ART will be a little bit more expensive than driving, but it gives us the option of being able to enter and leave the park at different times if our little ones wear out before our older ones. You can probably tell that I'm leaning toward ART, but is there anyone out there who feels that using ART ruined their vacation? Specifically, did it prevent you from arriving *early* at the parks?

 

[Vala]

You can probably tell that I'm leaning toward ART, but is there anyone out there who feels that using ART ruined their vacation? Specifically, did it prevent you from arriving *early* at the parks?

I wouldn't say they ruined it, but we certainly had problems during our first stay. It was bad enough to decide that we'd drive in the second time.

We were staying at the Red Roof Inn (I think that's a Motel 6 now). We tried to take the first ART transfer to the park in the morning, but they did not show. We gave up in the end and walked. We did not see a single ART vehicle in that area before we reached the park.

The second night the park was closing rather early, and we left straight away after the parade for the ART stop. We reached the stop well before the official deadline for the last bus leaving and were told that we missed the last bus. In the end a rather grumpy driver took us and several others who had "missed" the bus too.

Still, it was bad enough for us (two grown ups).

You can leave the parking lot and come back a couple of hours later with the same ticket by the way. You don't have to pay again if you take the kids for a nap.