How "safe" is the surrounding area?

[Lightshield]

We are thinking about booking a hotel that is just under a mile from Disneyland... but my wife asked me how "safe" it would be walking 30 minutes or so from the parks to the hotel with our bags and souvineers and stuff with it being after midnight?

Is it well lit? Is there usually a police presence? Etc.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[wenrob]

I would not stay a 30 minute walk from the parks, that will get old on the first day. Sometimes the 5min walk from across the street is almost too much after a day in the parks. I feel quite safe on Harbor and we've stayed within half a mile in either direction. I guess it would depend on where exactly you were staying.

 

[KalamityJane]

We have stayed at Stovall's and that is about the max I would stay away from the parks. We enjoyed the walk back there but it is on a quiet street at night that is tree lined and covered in Christmas lights and quite pretty. We cut through GCH on the way home to shave some time. We walked around Harbor one night and then west on Katella to get back (stopping at Subway) and frankly it was LONG. A 30 min walk will be daunting at night when you have been on your feet for hours already. Which hotel are you thinking of? Depending on how many days you are staying, I would consider taking ART if you were only going to be at DL for a night.

 

[CamoMama]

The safety of the area has never concerned me. There are usually groups of people walking around at nigh. When I went on my solo trip I walked back to my room alone every night well after dark and never felt unsafe. However, a 30 minute walk is just not advisable. Most hotels/motels in the area are on the bus route, for a small fee you can get a buss pass and not have the walk.

 

[PinkBudgie]

If you stay that far, I wouldn't walk. Drive to the parks or use the shuttle. We stayed at Embassy Suites South once and drove everyday. One day we tried walking on a block out day just to go DTD. Fine if you aren't walking in the parks all day. But otherwise-don't do it.

As far as feeling safe. I feel safe enough walking back to my room in the area surrounding the main entrance to DLR on Harbor. But probably no farther than Candy Cane Inn or the hotel right next to it (forget the name- Desert something). Past that, less people will be walking that way so you will be more alone. Same for the other directions too. The further you stay, the less people there will be walking.

Gang crime in Anaheim is on the rise. They just had a major bust the other day. There has been some unrest in the city of Anaheim over the past month. You can look up news reports for that area to get an overview in case you don't know. These issues have been occuring east and north of DLR. There have been other threads about it, so I won't go in to it here.

That said, I'm doing all I can to try and arrange a Sept. trip and have every intention of continuing to visit. But I tell you this so you are aware of what is going on. So far, it seems to have had little to no impact on DLR and its guests but I believe in making informed decisions.

Back to the the hotel or inn. Look at staying within a 10 min. walking distance. It will make your trip so much easier. You can easily walk back to your room for an afternoon nap also.

 

[abdgeek]

To get an idea as to where the hotels are, go to the Anaheim Resort Transit(ART) website and look at the trolley map. The trolley map will show you where the main hotels are that are serviced by the trolley.

I agree with others that you don't want to walk 30mins from DL. I walked to the grocery store, about a mile away from the Grand Californian, the first time I went to DL and it's not something I would do again. I did not see any police presence the times I walked up the block from DL in the morning or at night.

 

[lalasmama]

I'm a petite single mom to an 8 year old girl. In other words, we'd be a REALLY easy target. Well, until DD opened her mouth. When they figured out that she n.e.v.e.r shuts up, I'm sure they'd stop the kidnapping ... I have walked home (well, to our hotel) at closing multiple times, both with and without DD, and only once or twice felt slightly uncomfortable with the walk. We stay at the Super 8 on Katella, right off Harbor, so it's about 15 minutes away.

It's a relatively well lit, well populated area. It's rare that I have been "alone" on my walk to/from the park, because there are usually other groups around... I just walk a little quicker to "catch up" with them if I'm really feeling freaked out--close enough to look like I'm "with" them, but not so close that a kid from the group asks me who I am

That being said, a mile away is a ways to walk after a day at DLR, and I would definitely start considering an ART pass at that point. The Katella/Harbor intersection is about as far as I am willing to walk, because on the way back, every step I'm thinking, "Are we there yet??"

 

[Bungle]

I'm confused by police presence, I'm assuming you want an escort to your hotel or something

The surrounding area is safe and usually there are a lot of people walking so you won't ever really be alone, but the issue is distance. I would hop on a bus or shuttle rather than walk.

 

[DisneytheKid]

If the hotel you are looking at does not provide a shuttle, I would seriously look at driving each day or using the ART shuttle. As far as safety, I've always used a shuttle or driven but have felt safe when we venture out of the parks for food.

 

[Malcon10t]

We stay at the Residence Inn Maingate. It is .75 miles from the park. We frequently walk it. I have no qualms walking it by myself. However, the Ecen Roc is also about .75 miles, and in a different direction, and I would be a little more nervous going that way. Saying you are a mile away really doesn't help, it really depends. A mile down Harbor, you are pretty safe. A mile down Katella? Different story...

 

[LizzyS]

When we went last November, I had no issue at all walking back to the Red Lion with my husband. I didn't find the area around the park unsafe, but a 30 minute walk might be a little more than you want to do after being in the parks walking around all day. The Red Lion is about a 10-15 minute walk and I wouldn't want to go much farther than that. Our experience there was good and we'll stay there again when we go in February. We saw no "police presence", so if I think I'm getting what you're asking, no, there is not a regular police patrol around the park that I know of unless something like the riots/protests that have occurred in Anaheim recently are an issue.

All in all, I didn't feel unsafe at all, but you have to remember, crime can occur anywhere.

 

[Malcon10t]

We are thinking about booking a hotel that is just under a mile from Disneyland... but my wife asked me how "safe" it would be walking 30 minutes or so from the parks to the hotel with our bags and souvineers and stuff with it being after midnight?

If I was walking south on Harbor, or east from Harbor, I would be fine. I wouldn't want to do that going north or west of the park.

 

[KateDrake]

I agree with most of what's been said here. The area around Disneyland is quite safe, and there are always tons of people around as long as you are going at coming at normal times. If you are out walking at 3 a.m., it will probably be quite deserted, but arriving for rope drop and leaving at park closing are generally pretty dang crowded.

I think the big issue here is the distance. Sometimes the 10 minute walk to a hotel across the street can seem like too much when you leave the Disney magic that's been keeping you excited all day. A friend and I actually used our Nike+ app one trip to keep track of how far we walked in a day, and it was over 7 miles! So... another mile, carrying sleeping kids, etc. can seem much longer. So I'd look into the shuttle idea just for that. It's a LOOOONG walk!

 

[juliebug1997]

We are going to be staying at the Fairfield Inn. Will we be in that area of safe walking distance or should we take the ART?

 

[KateDrake]

We are going to be staying at the Fairfield Inn. Will we be in that area of safe walking distance or should we take the ART?

FFI is very close, only about a 10 minute walk at the most. That's where we're staying for our October trip, it's a super easy walk.

 

[Malcon10t]

We are going to be staying at the Fairfield Inn. Will we be in that area of safe walking distance or should we take the ART?

It's so close, ART doesn't go there. Very easy walk.

 

[MillauFr]

Walking to/from Disneyland is very safe. Driving on the freeways is your biggest risk you'll take on vacation in S. California. People think nothing of driving 80mph and weaving in/out of traffic. Very dangerous.

 

[juliebug1997]

FFI is very close, only about a 10 minute walk at the most. That's where we're staying for our October trip, it's a super easy walk.

It's so close, ART doesn't go there. Very easy walk.

Thank you! I know we're safe, but we were not 100% sure about if we would have to walk all the way around to the entrances or not.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

Thank you! I know we're safe, but we were not 100% sure about if we would have to walk all the way around to the entrances or not.

The Fairfield is very close to the entrance--no walking around the parks or anything!

You can cross at Harbor and Manchester (I think), which is right next to the hotel, and walk along the "Disneyland" side of Harbor, or you can walk down the "hotel" side of Harbor and cross at the big crosswalk at the shuttle bus entrance.

Basically, you'll walk down the sidewalk underneat the Disneyland sign. You'll walk aways and come to the security tents. You'll have your bags searched, then you'll be in the esplanade between the two parks. Turn left to go to DCA, turn right for Disneyland.

The whole process should take less than 10 minutes if you are average-speed walkers.

 

[cyclenut]

If I was walking south on Harbor, or east from Harbor, I would be fine. I wouldn't want to do that going north or west of the park.

I am a little confused by this. If you go south on Harbor, past the convention center, you have quite a few hotels and restaurants before you encounter anything residential or remotely questionable. If you go North on Harbor, I would not go past Ball. There just isn't much over there anyway.

If you go West on Katella from the main entrance, the convention center is across the street as are many hotels and restaurants too. Once you get to Abby's Anaheimer then you get into residential. I wouldn't walk past there.


It all depends on how far you are going to go in any direction.