Getting to DLR from rental properties

[momof2n2]

We are looking at rental properties for our family of 8 for next summer. Has anyone stayed at the townhouses just west of the parking garage (Anaheim Sunset?) or south of the convention center?

My concern is getting to the park for rope drop, daily; and for security walking back after nighttime entertainment.

The properties boast walking distance, but I wonder how realistic that is. I'm not opposed to driving to DLR but will it take an hour to go 2 miles?...

TIA

 

[tarheelalum]

If its 2 miles its not walking distance. Do you know the exact address?

 

[momof2n2]

Thank you for responding.

I do not have exact addresses from the rental sites, but the maps show homes in two tracts. I have used mapquest to drop pins in general locations in those developments and kind of guesstimated where a tram might pick up in what I think is the Toy Story lot (from the south) and where a tram might be in DTD (from the west). Using the pedestrian setting on mapquest it quotes 0.8 miles from the southern tract and 0.6 miles from the tract west Magic Way.



We like the idea of walking just because that's up our alley. But we would be there till the evening entertainment was done and that would leave us walking back rather late. I'm wondering about safety.


I am also considering Staybridge Suites which is south east and would clearly require driving. That is the purple splotch in the south east area. We'd have to drive from there. It says about 2 miles with multiple routes.

I don't mind driving, but we would absolutely want to be there well before rope-drop. Threads describing hideous traffic in the area have me wondering how long it would take to get there.

Normally we always use rental properties when vacationing. We strongly prefer them. I'm considering Staybridge only because it has bedroom set-ups I can live with and we don't expect to be at the property all that often. And it has breakfast.

 

[AdnaDisneyDad]

I also would like to hear about the walk from the condos across from W Magic Way

 

[adykate]

We recently stayed at a house that was down Cerritos- a bit past the townhomes that are at the end of Magic Way. So I have not actually stayed at the townhomes, but I know exactly where they are because we went past that area multiple times a day while going back/forth to our rental house. They really are VERY close to the Mickey and Friends parking structure, where you can hop the tram into the parks entrance area. Or you can also easily walk the pathway that wraps around the outside of Downtown Disney, that starts across the street from the parking structure. From the townhomes to tram area I would say walking time under 10 minutes. If you walk to the park on the pathway, maybe 15/20 tops. We never felt unsafe walking in that area, either early morning or late at night. There were no panhandlers, and the few people we saw were residents of the area. The townhomes near the convention center seem to be a bit farther to walk from. I am not as familiar with that area regarding the actual walking time, but they are definitely farther in terms of time.

 

[BrianL]

I stayed at that Staybridge on my trip and we used the ART busses. It worked very well, though you have to get on EARLY to be there for rope drop. The ride isn't that long. Are there any ART stops near the rental properties? You could just use it at night if that helps.

 

[lisachrystine]

We have stayed at both of those condo complexes and definitely preferred one over the other for our family (me, DH, DD(5), DS(6), DS (8) and my mom and dad). FWIW, we do not generally go back during the day. We prefer to go ALL day (even my 5yo made it from an 8 am rope drop to a midnight closing!) and then take a day off in between park days, so the time it takes to go back and forth is not as important to us.

My mom reads the DIS regularly, but I have yet to convince her to sign up for an account... she wrote this and asked me to post for her. I agree with all of her points below:

"We have stayed at both the condos across for Magic Way and south of the convention center.

You can walk from the Magic Way condos and catch the tram, but we found that it doesn’t save many steps and takes longer than walking through Downtown Disney. We didn’t feel particularly safe walking late at night; it is not as crowded and well lit as it would be walking with other tourists on Harbor Blvd. We would not go back here and the general feel to us was that the complex was not well maintained or very safe.

The condos south of the convention center are much nicer, but they are more expensive. We have found for 7 of us it is the better option than a hotel room. It is a well maintained quiet complex and having an attached garage is very nice when coming home late at night. We would definitely go back here. We did not attempt to walk, but it would be quite a bit further than the Magic Way condos. We drove to the Toy Story lot and took the shuttle, but you could also walk to the Toy Story lot. I believe it is less than 1 mile depending on your location in the complex."

 

[momof2n2]

A million thank yous to you and your mom! You are both so sweet to link this answer to me!!!

I'm sorta glad to hear the southern ones are better b/ c they have better options for our family's mix. I don't mind driving. Is it grid lock from Toy Story lot to the condos or pretty tolerable?

Thank you both!!!

 

[momof2n2]

I stayed at that Staybridge on my trip and we used the ART busses. It worked very well, though you have to get on EARLY to be there for rope drop. The ride isn't that long. Are there any ART stops near the rental properties? You could just use it at night if that helps.

Can you tell me more about the Staybridge Suites? That is where will stay if rental does not work. How is the pre-rope drop driving? And post-nighttime entertainment driving?

 

[djmeredith]

The condos south of the convention center are much nicer, but they are more expensive. We have found for 7 of us it is the better option than a hotel room. It is a well maintained quiet complex and having an attached garage is very nice when coming home late at night. We would definitely go back here. We did not attempt to walk, but it would be quite a bit further than the Magic Way condos. We drove to the Toy Story lot and took the shuttle, but you could also walk to the Toy Story lot. I believe it is less than 1 mile depending on your location in the complex."

So glad to hear good things about this condo complex. My group of 7 is staying there at the end of July for our first ever DLR trip. I knew the condo itself would be nice based on reviews and photos, but I still wondered what the complex as a whole was like. Our condo comes with a free parking pass so I was planning to drive to the Toy Story Lot as well (assuming we can figure out how to get my mom's rented ECV into the mini van).

For what it's worth, one of the recent reviews for the condo we reserved says it's an 18 minute walk from that condo (south of the convention center) to the gates.

 

[Brojoef]

We have stayed at Staybridge Suites and found it to be a nice hotel. The ground are well kept, nice pool, nice area outside to eat breakfast. The food was fine, sort of standard complimentary breakfast type foods. We liked having a kitchen. Driving in the morning was easy, no problem getting to the parking lot. We would leave in the afternoon and that was easy as well. Since we had little ones with us, we left before night fall, so I can't help there. I actually prefer Staybridge to Embassy Suites on Harbor. Good place

 

[momof2n2]

Thank you all (so much ) for your responses! 24 hours ago I was worried I'd not get the info I needed. How could I doubt the DIS?!

Thanks so much.

 

[momof2n2]

We recently stayed at a house that was down Cerritos- a bit past the townhomes that are at the end of Magic Way. So I have not actually stayed at the townhomes, but I know exactly where they are because we went past that area multiple times a day while going back/forth to our rental house. They really are VERY close to the Mickey and Friends parking structure, where you can hop the tram into the parks entrance area. Or you can also easily walk the pathway that wraps around the outside of Downtown Disney, that starts across the street from the parking structure. From the townhomes to tram area I would say walking time under 10 minutes. If you walk to the park on the pathway, maybe 15/20 tops. We never felt unsafe walking in that area, either early morning or late at night. There were no panhandlers, and the few people we saw were residents of the area. The townhomes near the convention center seem to be a bit farther to walk from. I am not as familiar with that area regarding the actual walking time, but they are definitely farther in terms of time.

How did I miss this response yesterday? Thanks for the times-to-walk numbers!

 

[chabelita545]

If you are speaking of the condos called The Anaheim Sunset (at Cerritos and Walnut), be aware of the new pool policy. I was considering staying there until I read in a review that only 6 people per condo unit are allowed to use the pool at one time. The owner replied to the reviewer that this is a new policy set by the HOA as of summer 2013. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else. We'll be 2 adults traveling with 6 kids, so this complex is now out for us as we are planning on a full day of relaxing and swimming. Now we are looking at the condos just south of the convention center.

I am concerned with parking. A friend used a condo south of where we now plan to stay and went to the Toy Story lot for her Magic Morning early entry and the lot was closed. No signs stating when it would open and no attendant or phone number to call for info. This was mid-December 2013. They ended up wasting most of their early entry time driving around looking for Mickey and Friends lot, parking and taking the tram from there. We plan to go in summer, so I would think both lots would be open, but who knows?



.

 

[momof2n2]

If you are speaking of the condos called The Anaheim Sunset (at Cerritos and Walnut), be aware of the new pool policy. I was considering staying there until I read in a review that only 6 people per condo unit are allowed to use the pool at one time. The owner replied to the reviewer that this is a new policy set by the HOA as of summer 2013. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else. We'll be 2 adults traveling with 6 kids, so this complex is now out for us as we are planning on a full day of relaxing and swimming. Now we are looking at the condos just south of the convention center. I am concerned with parking. A friend used a condo south of where we now plan to stay and went to the Toy Story lot for her Magic Morning early entry and the lot was closed. No signs stating when it would open and no attendant or phone number to call for info. This was mid-December 2013. They ended up wasting most of their early entry time driving around looking for Mickey and Friends lot, parking and taking the tram from there. We plan to go in summer, so I would think both lots would be open, but who knows? .

Wow. Thanks for the info! Yikes.
Yeah - that promotes the homes south of the convention center.

Was it hard for your friend to go north a bit to the garage? Or were they just so frazzled by it they didn't have time to recover?

I'm normally all about rentals (TN, VA, NC, FL) but I don't have the same degree of confidence in Anaheim region...

 

[chabelita545]

Was it hard for your friend to go north a bit to the garage? Or were they just so frazzled by it they didn't have time to recover?

They were just frazzled. They hadn't planned on ever using Mickey and Friends, so I doubt they even knew where it was. We stayed at the Marriot by the convention center once, and drove each day to the M&F parking garage. It wasn't bad, but we are rope drop people and planned on arriving early enough to park and walk/tram. That was in 2006, and we've stayed within walking distance ever since. That's why I'm tentative about booking a rental this time around. We haven't stayed this far away in years. And for me, staying at the HOJO or just across Harbor is similar to staying on site because you are just so close. But we have such a large group this time that it makes more sense to stay in a rental. I was hoping for the best of both worlds with the condos across from M&F, and was disappointed to hear of the pool rule. Better to know now, though, when we have time to go with plan B.