Monorail closure-Walk from Disneyland Hotel or Drive

[rebecca6438]

After booking the Disneyland Hotel from Aug 22-24, I learned the Monorail will be closed from August 21! Does anyone know how long will it take to walk to Disneyland or to California Adventure from Disneyland hotel (I've requested a Sierra but will probably be lucky to get a Marina room)? I have 3 kids, youngest is almost 3, but I guess we could push her in a stroller. The hotel says 5-7 minutes, but I've seen posts that say 10 and even 20. Should we drive to Disneyland (our AAA package comes with free parking) so we can avoid the walk late at night?

I thought about upgrading to Grand Californian, but I don't think that will be as fun for the kids and they say given the distance to your room it's only 2 minutes shorter. Any thoughts? Anyone know the actual distance in miles or feet of Downtown Disney?

Thanks!

 

[Misskitty3]

It isn't really that far but given that you have to walk thru DTD imagine walking from one end of a shopping mall to the other on a crowded day after thanksgiving. Probably will take 20 minutes. But...there is lots to look at, entertainment and music along the way.

We stayed at the DLH and only used the monorail once. There was always a line so you had to wait awhile to ride it and if you have a stroller, they make you collapse the stroller before you get on (meaning unloading EVERYTHING out of the stroller). I never thought the monorail was a time saver but just more of a neat view of the park.

Walking will be faster.

 

[minnietoo]

Haven't done the walk - do understand that you are concerned about very tired young children. However, the Monorail hasn't gone to the hotels in a long time - just TL and DTD.

If you parked in the lot - you would have to exit the parks and go to DTD to catch the tram - and if you leave with the masses - you may have to wait for a couple of trams before you are loaded. This makes kids very cranky.

Then you walk in the parking lot to get your car. Then you drive - and you exit the parks and have to go around the city streets to get back to your hotel (no short cuts).

By the time you do all of this you could have been to your room already and your kids would be in bed.

 

[iceskatejen]

The only reason it'd take 20 minutes to walk from the DLH to the parks is if there was a really long line at bag check (which you'll have either way) or you walk really slow and stop in the stores. You'll walk just as far and very likely farther if you end up in the "K" section from the parking structure (even with taking the tram and all) as walking from the hotel. And it'll take at least 15-30 minutes to actually get into the park (because you'll have to deal with all the other people arriving for the day). From the time I arrive in the structure (just pulling in to the area where the toll booths are, not parking yet) to the time I am actually handing my pass to the cm at the gate (or am standing at the gate if I arrive well before park opening) can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes depending on how early I get there. And as soon as you see the long lines that form at the tram stops at night, you won't find the walk back at all bad. My friends and I choose to walk through DTD anyway to get back to the structure the vast majority of the time because of those very lines.

 

[Barbday62]

Id say a 3 year old could walk (not stroller) in 7 minutes. I agree security lines make it longer and maybe if the kids see build a bear, lol they may want to stop there or lego land as you walk by them

 

[tlovesdis]

I would just walk! It only takes about 15 minutes. We parked once at the Mickey and Friends structure and it took forever to walk from the car to the trams, then you have to wait for a tram and take it to Disneyland and then it lets you out near the end of DTD and you have to walk to the front gates anyway. That alone would take at least a half and hour, plus you would have to pay to park. The walk is easy!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We're planning to stay in the Bonita Tower of the DLH, which is the one furthest from the parks. While the monorail would have been nice to use occasionally, I wasn't planning to use it all the time, having read that often it's quicker to walk back to the hotel. I knew that it was on "one-way" service now and that it would be going down completely in September. Since our trip is in late September, I figured we wouldn't get to use it at all, and you've just confirmed that. Ah, well.

We have a nearly-6yo and 2yo DSs, so are definitely bringing a stroller for the youngest; still debating on a 2nd stroller (bring, or rent as needed) for the older boy, but leaning toward renting, as our little cheapie 2nd stroller is hard to push after awhile. This may be a good option for you as well, though keep in mind that a rented stroller still means the child has to walk (or be carried) once outside the park.

 

[EnnEss]

It isn't that far of a walk, and unless you were in tommorowland already in DL it rarely saved any time taking the monorail at all, although if you have little ones it would reduce the walk time which probably made them happy. The GCA is much closer but a lot more expensive, not worth it strictly as a proximity thing and the Paradise Pier is slightly closer than the DLH although it doesn't have the same amount of theming as DLH. I wouldn't be too concerned though, there's lots of stuff to look at in DTD so you don't notice the walk as much.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

It really depends on how slow of a walker you are. We've stayed there several times, and choose to walk some of the time. It's never taken us 20 minutes, not even when our feet were hurting so bad from several days in the parks that I knew we were walking slower! I'd say 10 minutes at most when we walked much slower.

The only time it may have taken us 20 is when we stopped in stores to look at something, much longer when I'd go on a shopping spree!

Grand Californian is just foot steps away from the parks, there really is no walking as far as we saw when we stayed there. From DL we'd just go in to CA and go through the entrance to the hotel in the park. It was wonderful, but we also love the theming at DLH. The price difference is also pretty huge in the summer months.