Is DL area safe

[RoseColored97]

The most dangerous place in Anaheim is on the freeway where you have maniacs driving 80+mph.

After our ride with the Uber driver last Tuesday...this is accurate lol

 

[wendlle]

I usually stay up on Katella, so a 15-20min walk to the gate.
Never had much of an issue and I walk with my young kids.
We always see homeless people. I have seen drug use, I have heard some of the homeless yelling and talking to themselves. But I have never, ever been afraid or had anyone approach me.

I have found it no different to any other city I've visited.

 

[Epicnemesis]

A lot of hobos but also a lot of foot traffic throughout the day and night. Just stay alert and you’ll be fine. I’ve done the 10 minute walk with my family all the time.

 

[Lisa24jks]

The most dangerous place in Anaheim is on the freeway where you have maniacs driving 80+mph.

The 80+ mph isn't the problem, it's the distracted drivers and drunks.

Spoken from someone who got hit while getting on to the 5 in Anaheim. (And by hit, I mean, hit and run. Thankfully, we were okay and the damage was fixable. But still... guy had to be drinking or something.)

 

[LKing]

The 80+ mph isn't the problem, it's the distracted drivers and drunks.

And the people who drive like they are playing a video game - pass on the right, cut in between two cars without signaling, sudden lane change to the left, then back to the right.

People on their cell phones, who think that they are keeping up with the flow of traffic but aren't, is a big problem.

 

[Howry]

Are there homeless people down Disneyland Dr too or is more so on Harbor Blvd?

My son and I stayed on Katella last visit. A month ago and we didnt encounter any homeless on Disney Drive walking back and forth.

 

[ottawamom]

Just got back on Saturday from 5 days staying just south of Katella and Harbor. We would see homeless people on our walk to the park in the morning (7am) and in the evening (10pm) but not at all during the day. They were keeping to themselves and didn't bother us in any way.

As others have said there were lots of tourists walking to the parks so we felt perfectly safe.

 

[DontSpamMe]

We used to walk from the Katela hotels all the time and though it is a generally safe area, I've never walked through it thinking it was very safe. It requires the head on a swivel tactic because there is so much going on. LA traffic/drivers, homeless and opportunistic crimes. Also I would imagine Anaheim Police have a strong presence in the area.

With that in mind I think you'll be good. We always tried to find another family walking in the same direction and stayed close.

 

[Vala]

The 80+ mph isn't the problem, it's the distracted drivers and drunks.

Word. I was run off the road on the Autobahn in Germany just a week ago by a huge commercial semi. Was honking like an idiot when I realized he was pulling over to my lane and hadn't noticed me. Drove off of course.

When the police contacted the company the dispatcher first claimed this couldn't have happened, and when the police informed the dispatcher I had managed to write down the plate number they began argueing the driver hadn't noticed anything. I don't know where his mind was, but definitely not on traffic.

Anyway, I have been walking around Harbor even at the crazy times at night that were mentioned. No concerns at all. Vendors were long gone, so were the street preachers. Yes, a few homeless people, but they all were bundled up and asleep. I never had anyone approach me. Well that one street preacher singled me out because of my shirt once in the morning, but he got a gesture I normally don't do at Disney and that was it.

 

[DisneynBison]

Homeless...... oh ya, walked around the same guy sleeping on the side walk every morning on Harbor. Kept our wits about us and gave a few people plenty of space when we walked by. They were well...... the witty way to say it would be they were having a verbal argument with themselves or one of their selves and one was losing the argument. I put myself between them and my family as we passed. One morning my wife and daughter were going over to panera to grab some breakfast and 2 cop cars came flying up and put a guy on the ground and were in the process of arresting him. She only heard as they walked by, the guy ground say what did I do and the cops reply you know exactly what you did. Were we safe yep but definitely keep aware of your surroundings. It is very much not the Disney World bubble!

 

[MillauFr]

The 80+ mph isn't the problem, it's the distracted drivers and drunks.

Spoken from someone who got hit while getting on to the 5 in Anaheim. (And by hit, I mean, hit and run. Thankfully, we were okay and the damage was fixable. But still... guy had to be drinking or something.)

Driving that fast is not worth risking you and your family's life to save A couple of minutes. We are talking about safety here. Driving slower is the best way you can improve your safety.

 

[DLgal]

Driving that fast is not worth risking you and your family's life to save A couple of minutes. We are talking about safety here. Driving slower is the best way you can improve your safety.

How often do you drive on CA freeways? You CANNOT safely drive slower than traffic is flowing. They teach that in Driver Training and it is marked as a critical error on the behind the wheel test.if you are going more than 5mph below the posted speed limit (this applies on surface streets as well). You must always match the flow of traffic. That's the law. If everyone else is going 80mph, that is the safest speed to be driving.

 

[starlite_]

How often do you drive on CA freeways? You CANNOT safely drive slower than traffic is flowing. They teach that in Driver Training and it is marked as a critical error on the behind the wheel test.if you are going more than 5mph below the posted speed limit (this applies on surface streets as well). You must always match the flow of traffic. That's the law. If everyone else is going 80mph, that is the safest speed to be driving.

Can confirm, this is the first thing I was taught.

 

[felice]

Coming from the UK and having been to DL a number of times - as others have said, there are homeless people about but they don't tend usually to disturb you. This part of Anaheim is a safe area in general - the cops do tend to ensure that it stays that way. Just take basic precautions and you'll be fine.

 

[MillauFr]

How often do you drive on CA freeways? You CANNOT safely drive slower than traffic is flowing. They teach that in Driver Training and it is marked as a critical error on the behind the wheel test.if you are going more than 5mph below the posted speed limit (this applies on surface streets as well). You must always match the flow of traffic. That's the law. If everyone else is going 80mph, that is the safest speed to be driving.

The speed limit is 65 mph so I use the HOV lanes and drive 65mph. Driving faster is breaking the law

 

[DLgal]

The speed limit is 65 mph so I use the HOV lanes and drive 65mph. Driving faster is breaking the law

You drive only 65 in the HOV lane? Yeesh.

 

[Pluto468]

You've gotten alot of replies already..Just wanted to say we did see homeless people, and a couple tried to interact with me and my kids once, which I didn't like. They weren't being mean, but made me uncomfortable. That said, there are SO many tourists walking around you always have other people close by. I never noticed homeless people between the entrance and Hojo, but there were many on the other end of Harbor, between the entrance and Katella. We stayed at BW Anaheim Inn last time and there was a guy sitting on the sidewalk often, muttering to himself. He didn't talk to us, though.

Long winded answer, I'd say the area does generally feel safe. But part of why I like the resort hotels is because the Disney bubble is so nice and I don't deal with that. I'm from a city with homeless people, so I'm used to it, but it's still nice to avoid.

 

[evilmommie]

I’ve seen some really bad stuff go down recently with the homeless folks outside of DLR and I’m not one to be easily intimidated.

You’ve already received the usual standard advice from seasoned Dis’ers. Stay aware of your surroundings, walk with purpose, cross body your belongings and make sure everything is zipped up. Find groups to walk with…I personally wouldn’t be walking around the area after 8pm. But, I’m sure many do it just fine.

 

[MillauFr]

You drive only 65 in the HOV lane? Yeesh.

How can I drive any faster without breaking the law? The contempt for law enforcement has gotten out of hand. Just trying to do my part.

 

[DLgal]

How can I drive any faster without breaking the law? The contempt for law enforcement has gotten out of hand. Just trying to do my part.

The speed limits are not a hard upper limit. There is leeway.