Going thru GC to get to/from the park only allowed after 11am??

[yaya74]

Is it true that non-GC customers are only allowed to go thru GC to get into the park after 11am?? Before 11am people have to go around GC to get into the parK???

I read about it from a hotel review posted on Expedia...

 

[cobbler]

I just returned & they were checking room keys each time I went through in the morning. So if you aren't staying there, then you cannot use the entrance.

 

[elaw]

Generally speaking ... any time after noon ... anyone can use the GCH entrance.

 

[DLRfan31]

I just returned & they were checking room keys each time I went through in the morning. So if you aren't staying there, then you cannot use the entrance.

What if you're at guest at Paradise Pier???

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

In the mornings during DCA's first open hours of the day, the DCA entrance from the Grand is usually restricted to guests of the three resort hotels: the Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Paradise Pier. Room keys are supposed to be shown as proof of eligibility to enter through that gate. Additionally, eating breakfast at one of these three hotel's restaurants and showing a receipt has worked for many people who weren't actually staying onsite, but this part of the policy seems to be more open to interpretation and left to the judgement of the CMs and their leads who are working the entrance gate.

 

[ArchOwl]

Is it true that non-GC customers are only allowed to go thru GC to get into the park after 11am?? Before 11am people have to go around GC to get into the parK???

I read about it from a hotel review posted on Expedia...

Just to clarify, anyone staying on-site at any of the 3 Disney hotels may use the GCH entrance at any time. Be prepared to show a room key to use this entrance. Anyone not staying at any of the 3 Disney hotels is not supposed to use this entrance.

In practice, however, the rule about off-site guests is enforced usually only at certain times. In the morning, the CMs tend to be very strict about Disney hotel guests only using the GCH entrance. They tend to be much less strict as the day goes on. However, you are taking a risk if you use that entrance and you are not staying on-site. There is a chance that even if you try the entrance late at night, you could be turned away.

There is also an unwritten policy that if you dined or shopped at the GCH, you are technically a guest of the hotel and may use that entrance. Many (myself included) have shown a receipt and gained entrance by way of the GCH even in the morning. However, this courtesy may not always be extended to you by every CM. And you should be aware that the time on the receipt should be fairly close to the time you intend to use the GCH if you want to attempt it.

So the bottom line is that if you are not staying on-site, you are taking a risk that you will not be able to enter through the GCH. So best be prepared to walk around to the main entrance. HTH!

 

[yaya74]

oh no.... I changed my hotel from FFI to Stovall's to save some $$ because I thought the walk from Stovall's was not bad if cutting through GC..... Now I have to find out how long the walk would be....

Does anyone know how to get to DLR through DTD from West street? Do I follow the trail that is along the Monorail? Or should I walk along Katella and then go north on Harbor?

 

[ttig34]

oh no.... I changed my hotel from FFI to Stovall's to save some $$ because I thought the walk from Stovall's was not bad if cutting through GC..... Now I have to find out how long the walk would be....

Does anyone know how to get to DLR through DTD from West street? Do I follow the trail that is along the Monorail? Or should I walk along Katella and then go north on Harbor?

You can still cut through the GC Hotel, you just can't use their park entrance. You would just cut through the hotel itself, out the Downtown Disney exit to reach the normal entrance gates.

 

[specialks]

oh no.... I changed my hotel from FFI to Stovall's to save some $$ because I thought the walk from Stovall's was not bad if cutting through GC..... Now I have to find out how long the walk would be....

Does anyone know how to get to DLR through DTD from West street? Do I follow the trail that is along the Monorail? Or should I walk along Katella and then go north on Harbor?

You can still cut through the GC Hotel, you just can't use their park entrance. You would just cut through the hotel itself, out the Downtown Disney exit to reach the normal entrance gates.

This is correct. You can still enter at the GCH lobby entrance and walk to the main park entrance that feeds from GCH into DTD. We stayed at Stovall's in Jan and that is how we got to & from the parks. The GCH special park entrance is at a different area of the GCH and feeds directly into DCA by GRR.

 

[yaya74]

You can still cut through the GC Hotel, you just can't use their park entrance. You would just cut through the hotel itself, out the Downtown Disney exit to reach the normal entrance gates.

Ttig32, thank you very much for the clarification!!! I feel much much at ease now.