Best hotel for minimal walking for disabled- week before Christmas

[LuvOrlando]

I am thrilled because it looks like my family of 4 plus another couple are going to be able to manage a big trip to LA the week before Christmas! Been trying to do this for ages and one thing or another always just fell through, our son is 18 & daughter 17 so this seems like great timing.

At the moment I'm doing research and am trying to figure out the best plan of action for us. I'm thinking we should fly into and hang out in LA for the weekend and then move to the parks midweek to avoid crowd swarm then head down to sea world and San Diego for touristy stuff and our flight home. I try to keep my steps to a minimum due to disability and since I'm unfamiliar with the layout I thought I would ask here. Do the hotels in the vicinity have shuttles and if so is the drop off in a good or terrible spot for walking? Are there any hotels right on top of the parks that would make the walk to the entrance shorter? Is there a regular drop off somewhere that might make Uber the best fit for us?

Any other tips about any of that would be great too

 

[bumbershoot]

The shuttle dropoff area and the cab dropoff (if the area on harbor can be used for that again) have about the same amount of walking. Do a google map search with satellite center on the Disney area. There's a central area called the esplanade, and to the east is the main entrance to it off Harbor. Hotels there are the closest to the esplanade.

Onsite hotels aren't much better. The Grand is physically closer, but the walking isn't great. Our room there was literally almost as far to the center of the esplanade as if we had walked from the sidewalk outside HoJo. And for mornings, unless you're starting at Grizzly every day, you do generally want to go to the esplanade instead of the onsite-guest entrance (which is only to DCA).

Not sure if it's appropriate for your, but many people with mobility issues rent scooters for concerns like this. There are some offsite companies that deliver and it can take the concern of walking to/from a local hotel out of the equation.

 

[LuvOrlando]

uggh, sounds to me like they have a very similar set up to what they have over at Universal Studios in Orlando & that's an ordeal. How long of a walk would you estimate from most points of starting to the esplanade and then from there to a reasonable starting point in the parks?

 

[ParkHopper1]

Shortest walking hotels would be the Grand Californian for an onsite hotel and Fairfield Inn for an offsite hotel.

 

[mad hatter fan]

There are a number of off site motels closer to the cross walk than the fairfield. I think Best Western Park Place and the Park Vue are the closest two. The Fairfield would be the closest actual hotel.

 

[Wahlee]

I went to Universal Orlando a couple of summers ago and walked from the cab drop-off. It was horrible. If you get a hotel on Harbor (Best Western Park Place Inn, Park Vue Inn, or Tropicana are the three very closest, but Desert Inn & Suites or Carousel are only one hotel farther over on either side, and since the hotels are long and skinny rather than wide, it's only about 50 ft difference) it will be at least half the distance from the hotel to the park gates as it is from the pedestrian walkways, through the City Walk, and to the park gates at Universal Orlando. Maybe even 1/3 of the distance.

 

[mgd]

Week before Christmas is probably highly crowded as well.

 

[tlovesdis]

I would stay somewhere right across the street (or at Disney if that's in the budget) and rent a scooter from Deckert's! It's a lot of walking! I have a very bad knee and wouldn't be able to do Disneyland if I had to walk. I always rent from Deckert's and stay nearby and it works out great!

Across the street you have Best Western Park Place Inn and Mini Suites, Park Vue Inn, Tropicana, Desert Inn & Suites, Camelot, Del Sol, Grand Legacy, Courtyard Theme Park, Fairfield Inn, and HoJo's. Also nearby and walking distance is Candy Cane Inn.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Will you be renting a wheelchair or ECV in the parks? Because to me, the biggest concern would be all of the walking throughout Disneyland and California Adventure. We logged about 10 miles a day last year. I have RA and I know some day I will likely be renting and ECV or something in the parks.

As others have said, there are some hotels within very close walking distance. You can look at Google maps to see the closest. We stay at the Desert Inn and Suites and it is 10 minutes or less to the gates.

There is also a shuttle (not free) from most hotels in the area. http://rideart.org/

 

[LuvOrlando]

These tips are exactly what I'm looking for thank you! I am going to start looking for rates.

 

[Indiana Scott]

The very closest hotels to the turnstiles of DL are Best Western Park Place Inn and Park View Inn. Fairfield inn is farther down the street past BWPPI. Depending on the room you get, Disney's Grand Californian is about as close but more expensive.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I recommend staying at Grand Californian or one of the motels suggested that are directly across the street. Even though there are shuttles, you may have to stand and wait a while for the shuttle. Standing at the end of a day at the parks might be more difficult than walking across the street.

 

[bumbershoot]

uggh, sounds to me like they have a very similar set up to what they have over at Universal Studios in Orlando & that's an ordeal. How long of a walk would you estimate from most points of starting to the esplanade and then from there to a reasonable starting point in the parks?

Cab dropoff at Univeral Orlando and the journey through citywalk is a ton further away than what you're looking at at Disneyland.

There are a number of off site motels closer to the cross walk than the fairfield. I think Best Western Park Place and the Park Vue are the closest two. The Fairfield would be the closest actual hotel.

Yes.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Thank you thank you thank you!

Speaking of Disney resorts do they ever mail or have discount codes like at Disney World? I think I looked before and it was always a no but I figured I should just check

 

[Jerryp49]

https://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It

Click on the links to see the Google maps

 

[LuvOrlando]

https://www.mouseplanet.com/7280/How_Far_Is_It

Click on the links to see the Google maps

Well that's just an otherworldly level of cool! Thanks

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Park Vue Inn has been mentioned a lot by the previous posters. Just a heads up - they may not have an elevator for guests to use, and their breakfast area is upstairs. They have done renovations in the past few years so that might have changed.

 

[Geemo]

Here's an old thread with distance info. (2011)
http://www.disboards.com/threads/walking-distance-hotel-list-w-discussion-details-of-hotels.2796786/
Here's a map of the surrounding area places to stay.
http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/Default.asp