HOJO veterans:

[Pacific Northwest]

My wife and our two kids DS 6 and DD 8 are staying at HOJO for the first time on Aug 19-Aug 22. My question is one I've seen here before, but have since forgotten the answers. Do you walk or use ART? Is the walk similar in distance as Paradise Pier (we stayed there last summer)? I'm not sure if we should use ART or just walk. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[DangerMouse]

The walk is very doable. It's about 10 minutes from the farthest room at the HoJo to the security tents. I like to cross the street at Manchester to walk on the West side of Harbor. Seems to make it quicker.

 

[bumbershoot]

We walk.

We stayed at PP in September for 4 nights, then at HoJo for 2 nights, and we found the walk to and from HoJo to be a relief.

Though I'll admit that we weren't using the shortcut through GCH from PP; we were following the signs in PP and leaving through the side of PP, going past their parking lot, towards DLH, and all the way through DTD. Long walk! Longer than the shortcut.

We don't find the Hojo walk to be long at all, especially b/c it's so straightforward!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

FWIW

The Unofficial Guide ('08) lists the average walking time for the PPH as 14 minutes, and the HoJo at around 10 minutes.

 

[samkj]

We've stayed at both and found the walk distance to be similar. PPH has the nicer walk, but times are about the same.

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

We have done both ART and walked. I had a pass and if we were tired and just wanted to crash on a bench and wait at the end of the day we could. It was worth it to our feet at the end of the day. Also, we would come out of the hotel when ready to leave and wait for ART for about 5 mins while we organized beltpacks and put on sunscreen. If the bus didn't come by the time we were ready to go, we just strolled over to the park crossing in behind Mimis and across - probably 7-8 mins and we are slower walkers. I usually found the bus would pull up though. I think we walked only 2 times, but did ride the bus back each evening. The air conditioning after a long day was nice and we could just sit and relax for 10 mins. We also met some really nice people on the bus (we are very social) and my daughter found a new friend to meet at the pool that evening which was nice!

 

[RuthieT]

Not a Veteran but we stayed at HOJO in December and we had a rental car and so with paying for that each day we just played it lazy and drove everyday.. It worked out good with a 4 year old and being able to come back mid day for naps.

 

[Cindarelly]

We just arrived home yesterday from our vacation. We stayed at HJ for 5 nts and walked to DL each day. My kids are 6 & 9 and didn't complain about the walk once!
My favorite part: We would bring Mimi's takeout menu into the park and as soon as we'd start to leave, I'd call and place an order for dinner and it'd be ready when we got there! Dh would run in and pick it up and we'd be able to eat as soon as we got to the room.

 

[samkj]

Not a Veteran but we stayed at HOJO in December and we had a rental car and so with paying for that each day we just played it lazy and drove everyday.. It worked out good with a 4 year old and being able to come back mid day for naps.

REALLY?!?!?! It obviously worked for you, but this seems like it would take 3 times as long as walking or ART.

 

[noryglory]

We just stayed there last week too! The walk was very very short especially if you cross at Manchester (thank you Dangermouse et all for the great tip) and walked along the Disney property and cut through the Taxi/cast shuttle spot before you get to the main shuttle entrance. That way, you don't get stuck behind slow walkers past Mimi's McDonalds all the other hotels, and you don't have to walk through the main shuttle area with hoards of people getting off their busses. It was terrific.

We had a 6, 7, and 8 year old with us and later in the trip a 4 yo, and the big kids did great. The little guy had to use shoulders or if we were still stroller people, we could have used a stroller. I'd plan on walking if I were you and you can figure out alternatives later on if necessary!

We had people ask us at the traffic light "which way to the parks" in their cars, and we found it terribly odd to drive and have it take so much longer than just hoofing it. I mean it's right THERE! We had a great view of the Matterhorn, in fact I thought it felt closer than our walks from the DLH in 2005. A better view too!

 

[pixiewings71]

We walk. We cross at Manchester and walk down the Disney side, cut thru the taxi/shuttle parking and we are at security in about 7-10 minutes. We have also stayed at PPH and it felt like it was a longer walk, we didn't time it though so we aren't sure. My girls are 8 and 11 and they don't complain about it....much. LOL

 

[jennilouwho]

My favorite part: We would bring Mimi's takeout menu into the park and as soon as we'd start to leave, I'd call and place an order for dinner and it'd be ready when we got there! Dh would run in and pick it up and we'd be able to eat as soon as we got to the room.

That's a great tip! I do have one question, I've never done take out before...are you supposed to give any sort of tip?

 

[bumbershoot]

We had people ask us at the traffic light "which way to the parks" in their cars, and we found it terribly odd to drive and have it take so much longer than just hoofing it. I mean it's right THERE!

I agree.

The two times we have parked, the walk from the esplanade to the tram, the tram stop up the escalator, and all the way to wherever we had been directed to park was FAR longer than the walk to HJ!

I guess if you're lucky and get a close parking space that's good, but then when you come back after your break I can't imagine you'd get that space back, so again you're putting it up to luck.

 

[IASWAM]

Not a HoJo veteran, but we stayed at HoJo last year, and had mixed results with ART. One thing about ART and HoJo is the fact that HoJo is the last stop on the way back to the hotel. It was a nice break from walking all day in the park, but it turned a 10 minute walk back to the hotel into a 25 minute driving trip. Also, the wait seemed really long. One time we waited 15 minutes for ART, decided to walk, and we still beat the shuttle. Don't get me wrong though; if you're not in a hurry, and need a break from walking, it's nice to have.

 

[Pacific Northwest]

Thanks for all of the great advice! I am very excited about our trip. DW and I have decided to keep it a secret from the kids until they get the character call. I can't wait to see the look on their faces. We will be going the week before school starts up again and they will not be expecting a trip to Disneyland after a summer full of other activities.