Embassy Suites South March 31-April 4

[Brynnie]

Hi! I am heading over to Disneyland with my brother-in-law, sister, and 3 nieces (ages 12,10,and7). I have been once before, but this will be the first time for them. We are a party of 6 and we do not want to split up into 2 rooms. I had a reservation for a Parlor Suite at the Desert Inn and Suites, but changed it to Embassy Suites South when I got an awesome deal from Get Away Today vacations (the suite comes out to cost around $130/night which is good for that time frame and nice for the updated accomodations and the free *hot* breakfast and drinks after the park....AWESOME DEAL!)

SO...I now have some transportations questions since we are *no longer* planning on staying across the street from the park.

1. We have a rental car and don't mind the parking fee, but is it really that big of a hassle to park?? I went during the week after Christmas and don't remember it being that bad...but I read horror stories on here of it taking up to 45 min just to park!!!

2. Has anyone ever relied on ART from this hotel?? I have been reading about all the ART nightmares and my brother-in-law will get rage waiting a long time and just jump in a cab anyways.

3. IS IT at all walking distance?? We would not mind walking there in the morning and then just taking a cab back (anyone know how much a cab would run us for this property??)

THANK YOU for your replies! Sorry for so many questions, but I don't want to waste a lot of time since we are only doing the park for 3 days!! I really appreciate the help/advice!!

 

[Rivergallery]

We did art from there when we went.. I think it was 05 and it was great. We never walked it seemed too long. The rental car WAS a pain IMO.

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

We live in Las Vegas and have always driven to DLR. We have always parked there and never had an issue parking. Sometimes leaving the parking lot takes a bit longer but nothing absurd. I'm sure leaving a little bit earlier or later than closing would help there. We've gone during winter break and spring break if that makes a difference.

I can't answer the other two questions sorry.

 

[NorCalDisney]

Hi! I am heading over to Disneyland with my brother-in-law, sister, and 3 nieces (ages 12,10,and7). I have been once before, but this will be the first time for them. We are a party of 6 and we do not want to split up into 2 rooms. I had a reservation for a Parlor Suite at the Desert Inn and Suites, but changed it to Embassy Suites South when I got an awesome deal from Get Away Today vacations (the suite comes out to cost around $130/night which is good for that time frame and nice for the updated accomodations and the free *hot* breakfast and drinks after the park....AWESOME DEAL!)

SO...I now have some transportations questions since we are *no longer* planning on staying across the street from the park.

1. We have a rental car and don't mind the parking fee, but is it really that big of a hassle to park?? I went during the week after Christmas and don't remember it being that bad...but I read horror stories on here of it taking up to 45 min just to park!!!

2. Has anyone ever relied on ART from this hotel?? I have been reading about all the ART nightmares and my brother-in-law will get rage waiting a long time and just jump in a cab anyways.

3. IS IT at all walking distance?? We would not mind walking there in the morning and then just taking a cab back (anyone know how much a cab would run us for this property??)

THANK YOU for your replies! Sorry for so many questions, but I don't want to waste a lot of time since we are only doing the park for 3 days!! I really appreciate the help/advice!!

1) When we went in June, we got to park in the Timon parking lot and it was great. We went 2 weeks ago and had to park in the M&F lot and it was brutal. Timon lot is now an over flow lot and you have to time it just right to park there. I would avoid the M&F lot if at all possible. Long waits to pay and catch the tram to DTD.

2) We took ART from that hotel in June and hated it, which is why we started driving. Our experience was bad because there was always more people waiting than room on the bus and it was everyperson for themselves. We have 3 small kids and a stoller and no one cared. We were at the stop first one morning and couldn't get on the bus because as soon as it rolled up, people jammed on it without any regard for who was there before them. At best we had to stand and everyone was packed in there. It seemed to be a common deal and that's a popular hotel and route, so it seemed like the bus was always full, there and back. That was June though.

3) I would say it's about a 1/2 hour walk, 5 minutes by car.

P.S. When went again about 2 weeks ago we loved the ART and hated the parking. We stayed at a different place and had a totally different route. The busses were virtually empty and came often. I guess it matters how many people are around.

My opinion is to try the ART for a day and see if you like it. It's easy to buy tickets, you don't have to buy them in advance. I know they have a 3 day pass to save money though.

I hope this helps. Sorry if I've made it worse!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Oh! We are going to stay there in June! Would love to hear how it was for you!

We always drive to DLR. I seem to be the minority in this area here. I don't want to stay in the places close enough to walk and I refuse to take those shuttles!

We go in the summer and have never had a problem with parking. Last July, for example, we got there before opening. Parked in the M&F area, but it wasn't the parking garage. It was the open parking lot, Pinocchio, I think?
The tram was never crowded in the morning and we usually hopped right on. Once we had to wait for a second tram. In the evening, the same thing. It might be a more crowded during Spring Break, but we also went on Jan. 2, one of the most crowded days, (way more than summer) and still the tram was not bad.

If the park opens at 8am we get to the lot around 7am. That got us to the security check by 7:30.

If it is a choice between that and the ART, I will take the DLR parkinglot tram every time!

 

[DahliaRW]

There is one ART that goes to the Embassy, and a different route that stops right at the RI which is about half a block away. If you find out the schedule and the routes, you have two options for which ART bus to take to and from the parks and can catch the one closest to your time, should cut down on wait times. I haven't done teh ART from Embassy, but from the RI it's a straight shot and took about 10 minutes. It was awesome and I had no complaints. On average, it took us longer if we drove there in the morning, but we'd get back faster at night if we drove. So it was a wash.

If you do get your parkhoppers from AAA, you get free parking. Which if you want to drive might be worth it.

 

[Brynnie]

Thanks for all the replies!! I think we are gonna drive! I just really want to have a car handy if we need to leave over a sick kid or something. I will post a trip report when I get back!!

 

[WannaBeAPrincess]

We stay at Embassy Suites south almost exclusively now since my dh is a part of the rewards program through his work. We love the ART. The bus comes directly to the front door and drops you off directly at the gate, no stops in between...at least there never has been any in the last 5 times we've stayed there. They run every 20 minutes. You can always check it out once you get there and decide then. You can buy the ART passes right in the Embassy lobby.

Have fun!

 

[mommymonster]

hmmmm...will let you know...that is where we are staying tomorrow.

 

[Brynnie]

THank you Mommymonster! Much appreciated! Have fun!!

 

[Hambletfamily]

We took the ART and had no problems. Yes it was busy. We had a rental car and when we took it out for the day when we came back there was no parking so be careful about that. Embassy is a great place to stay with kids. We were a party of 5 and enjoyed the ability to be separated at times.

 

[PinkBudgie]

So was the ART already full of people when you got on in the morning?

Was it crazy to try to get on it at night?

The problem of finding parking at night might be the only thing that would encourage me to take the ART.

 

[Hambletfamily]

There are several Hotels that take this same ART bus. We never had trouble getting on the ART in the morning because we always caught the first one. At night it was busy and sometimes we couldn't sit together.

 

[mommymonster]

We took it tonight. It was packed around 6:40 pm and we made like 2 stops...then we took it on the way home at around 8:30ish or so and it wasn't packed at all and we were the first stop.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Interesting, thanks! I wonder how it will be by the end of June. We might give it a try once and see how it goes.

 

[fairykin]

We have never had a problem with A.R.T.