HUGE RANT!! Parking situation is ridiculous and random

[GeneralTso]

We're just back and for the love of churros, what a ridiculous nightmare with the parking.

Of course this happened the day it was 102 degrees and tempers are short and people are melting.
What seemed like a random decision to reroute people from the "regular" Disneyland parking structure to Garden Walk is a complete cluster****.

I thought maybe it was just me, irritated and agitated but it wasn't. Everybody waiting for return shuttle was livid. We compared stories and just shook our heads.

Parking in Garden Walk structure was a surprise, but we went with it. Lots of busses waiting to transport TO Disneyland. Problem was the return. We waited nearly an hour. It was Africa hot. Older people waiting nearly fainted. Families with small children melting down (literally) and parents on the hairy edge. It was really miserable.

I had to go to City Hall to fix an AP problem and it was already filled with people complaining about this. They were issuing fast passes as an "apology" and they were still left pretty ticked off.

We found out that they route to Garden Walk if they anticipate a large crowd. It was rated a 3 that day. Early birds got rerouted. Late arrivers were able to park in the Disney parking structure. It was strange. We could see people parking in there and didn't understand why we couldn't. It was very random.

Next day we avoided the whole thing altogether.

And just FYI--we ended up with 6 "our choice" fastpasses. That was nice, but man what a hassle.

 

[SMD]

They were doing maintenance on some lanes entering M&F last week. Maybe they were anticipating having to close the unavoidable lanes so they closed the M&F entrance. Also, the crowd predictor did not accurately anticipate the holiday last Monday. It's not random when traffic gets re routed to GW or TS. Anaheim PD has to keep it from backing up past Ball and onto the freeway.

 

[Tasscrapper]

We got diverted to the Garden Walk in August too. It took about an hour from our hotel to get to the gates of Disneyland. Our hotel was a 2 minute drive from the Garden Walk. I was so upset about it that I DID go to City Hall and complain about it. It had been a hard morning and the parking situation just turned it into an almost melt down from mom morning. I was told that Disney has no control over when parking diversions happen . . . they claimed that the local police dictate when and where traffic gets diverted too. That may or may not be true but to me it was immaterial. Disneyland has a huge amount of people with ap's and should have some system set up that can let their guests whether they are ap holders or first timers to be told where to go to park in real time. They could easily do it by having a number people could text the morning or day they are going and send out updates to that list of people on what parking is open. Or they could have an email list people could to subscribe to for the day for important updates. They also have the new app that could have a section telling people what parking is open. The website could also have a easily accessible place people could check before they leave their hotels or homes to see where to park. The lack of communication when it could be so easy to set up is inexcusable. I believe it would eliminate so much frustration for both visitors and the cast members that have to deal with irate visitors. I did get a set of fast passes for my family for the inconvenience but it did not make up for the negative feelings the situation created. If they can let you text them to join in the Diamond Celebration word of the day competition they should be able to let you text to get important updates of happenings at the resort!

This situation is the only thing I have ever complained about at City Hall in 8 years of going . . . they need to deal with it.

 

[grnflash]

I wasn't there but agree with the ranters. And the issue seems rant-worthy to me. Not that they diverted traffic, but that they failed terribly to transport the diverted guests.

 

[ashley0139]

I hate the Disneyland parking situation. If you go in the morning, you never know where you will end up. I hate it being unpredictable - I like to plan. It's always such a cluster and the traffic is endless. There really needs to be a better way. It's so much better if you show up around noon. You can go right to Mickey and Friends after the morning rush.

 

[SMD]

Whether or not they're diverting guests changes in a matter of seconds. One day earlier this year I was about 10 min behind me friends. We got off the freeway on Disney Way, they were sent to GW, I was sent to TS, it took me an hour to get to the park, it took them 20 min. I know being diverted from M&F takes a long time because it's a narrow route and the signal on Katella takes a long time. I've even been sent to the right to divert only to see M&F reopen before traffic had cleared in front of me. But the entrance isn't set up to accept two way traffic. When M&F was built they did not anticipate the kind of traffic they have now and the one way entrance and traffic issues on Ball aren't going to go away unless they rebuild that whole area. They have bought land for another lot and stopped selling the parking add on, so they are addressing it. But as long as people head to M&F as a default, it's going to be an issue. Rather than expect Disney to provide minute by minute updates, which really would be chaos, simply going directly to the more easily accessible lots is a better and more proactive solution.

Now not having enough shuttles to transport people back is a whole other issue. I suspect that they can only put so many on the route because the GW lot can only hold so many. If they have 10 shuttles they may end up with 8 shuttles lined up to unload. There were several times this summer where the TS shuttle lines were so long that I just walked. And an FP wouldn't have been such a great offer at that point, because I was leaving.

 

[Xenorye]

I don't know anything about parking, but I wanted to say I love your chicken, OP.

 

[Astylla]

I definitely feel this is one rant that is common ( unfortunately) and very valid. It can be absolutely frustrating for all guests and part of the issue is where Disneyland is located in the smack middle of a city built around . We learned our lesson ONCE to NEVER FOLLOW THE SIGNS. Just go to Toy Story lot for minimal hassles. I recall dealing with gardenwalk and convention parking before and it was horrible. Part of the issue with M & F is that if traffic backs up the local police are instructed to shut it down as for safety and traffic flow reasons it cannot back up too far. It can be a crapshoot and I definitely empathize with anyone dealing with it. I try to best inform friends or those asking for advice , when in doubt go to Toy Story , you'll thank me later LOL.

I don't think anyone including the CM's enjoy dealing with the issue either , it's just more of a hands tied situation on their end. This is definitely one area WDW has advantage over due to space.

 

[Tyggress]

I go to M & F by default....if it's closed, I go to Simba (next to PPH), and if it's closed, I head to Toy Story. I get frustrated when closer, walkable lots are closed, but it is what it is.

the one part of the rant I totally agree with is their lack of planning getting people back to their cars. That would be awful!

 

[grnflash]

when in doubt go to Toy Story , you'll thank me later LOL.

Bingo!

 

[GeneralTso]

That is a great tip! All I know is, I will NEVER get diverted and go to Garden Walk ever again.
We typically stay on property but opted for Hilton Anaheim this time (using up points). Suffice it to say we are staying on property next time. This little experience sealed that deal for both of us.

I hate any negativity at Disneyland, so this was kind of hard to shake off within 10 seconds.

 

[MouseEXP]

For knowledge sake.
If Mickey and Friends PS is closed, you can still get in if you have an Electric Car or Handicap Sticker.
Just drive up to the cones where the cop is standing and they will open up the cones for you.

 

[gottalovepluto]

True. Story.
First come, first parked- it ain't hard Disney!

 

[tarheelalum]

Ride the bridge over to the structure and you won't get turned away.

 

[taniahappy]

Ignore the signs, we always go to M&F (sometimes get Pinnochio) or Pumbaa if its open, depends on the time we get there

 

[MouseEXP]

Ride the bridge over to the structure and you won't get turned away.

Sometimes the bridge is closed in the morning.

 

[CassieF]

The bridge was closed most of last week as well as they did some sort of construction or clean up along the route. One. Ightnit took over an hour to get out of the structure because everyone had to merge down to one lane!

 

[kappyfamily]

Just curious , is the easy fix just take the hotel shuttle?

 

[MillauFr]

I would just walk to the Gardenwalk. It is not worth waiting that long for the shuttles.

 

[GeneralTso]

Walking to Garden Walk was not an option. It was 102 degrees outside. While I realize that was a very unusual circumstance and doesn't happen often, that defies the entire purpose of the return shuttle. They needed to have more shuttles running and transporting people. Plain and simple, a huge fail.

We will NEVER be a one of the sheep again and follow the arrows. That was just dumb and we paid for it.