Paradise Pier Hotel? Entrance into the park?

[Pirate-Emery]

Hey DLR folks!

I am currently trying to plan a trip for my buddies and I for after Grad this May.

The dates I am looking at are May 29-31.

I heard on the Official Podcast that guests of the Paradise Pier Hotel get to use the Grand Californian entrance. Is this true?



If it is true, would you recommend the hotel (given the fact that I'm trying to make this as cheap as possible to get my friends to sign on)?

 

[MrsMork]

Our experience has been that they do not check to see if you are a guest at any Disney hotel in order to use this entrance. We love Storytellers Cafe and use the gate to GF to go to and from this restaurant. We have never been asked if we are guests at the hotel.

 

[mystic_path]

lol if they dont check, I wonder how many people actually just walk right into the park without paying . There has to be security somewhere

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

We did this.
We were staying at the Hyatt but went to PP for dinner, crossed the street, went through the GC to the DCA entrance. We had no idea what we were doing, we just followed people & hoped for the best! They didn't check, but if they did it was ok as we had our Park hoppers.

 

[MrsMork]

lol if they dont check, I wonder how many people actually just walk right into the park without paying . There has to be security somewhere

You do have to have a ticket and get your bags checked just like the other entrances to the park.

 

[mystic_path]

HAHA! Oh gees, now theres gonna be a wild unexpected flood of people to the hotel/park entrance. Maybe we should keep this secret to ourselves!

 

[disneynutt1225]

They were checking to see if you were a resort guest two weeks ago on our trip. They asked for your room key or charging ID. But, I believe the sign in front of the entrance says it's for guests of any Disney resort to use so you should be fine.

 

[iceskatejen]

Guests at any Disney-owned hotel can use it prior to 12:30 in the afternoon. After that, anyone with valid park admission can use it. They won't check for ID going from DCA into the hotel regardless of time of day except possibly after park closing.

 

[Pirate-Emery]

Wow, thanks folks!


How was the Paradise Pier experience? Is it a long walk to Downtown Disney/ Disneyland?

 

[1000th happy haunt]

When we stay at Paradise Pier, we take the shortcut through GC. That saves us a lot of time and distance. If you don't use the shortcut, it's a longer walk than from the Disneyland Hotel.

And we did see the gate CMs deny entry to DCA to guests who were not staying at a Disney Hotel at park opening.

 

[goaliewife]

Love Paradise Pier and we used the Grand Californian entrance into California Adventure. They do check your tickets and they did check our room keys to make sure that we were guests of the resort.

They have a private entrance for Paradise Pier guests that we used the first time we were there. It is across the street from PP and on the walk up to the GCH on the right side; however, the last two times that we stayed there, this entrance was closed, hence we used the GCH entrance.

You cannot get into the park without going through the same checks, security going through your purse, pack, etc., and without them checking your passes and room keys.

 

[Pirate-Emery]

What's it like walking to Downtown Disney?

 

[disney-super-mom]

The walk to DDT depends on which end of DDT you want to go to.

If you want to be close to ESPN, Rainforest cafe, AMC theaters - then you want to go out the back door of Paradise Pier, cut through the parking lot on the north side of the Paradise Pier, and take the sidewalk around the side of the AMC theaters.

If you want to be on the other side of DTD (the side that's closest to the front gates of DL), then you're going to want to go out the front doors of the Paradise Pier, walk north to the Grand Californian and go through the lobby, then follow the signs to the entrance to DTD (it's very easy).

Either direction will only be about a 5 minute walk.

 

[elwise1966]

The last 2 times I've tried to use the GC entrance to DCA, they checked for hotel keys and wouldn't let us in. Both times were in the evening, so I'm not sure about the "anybody can use after XXpm" statement above.
Both times were earlier this year, but last year I had no problems using that entrance. Guess I should just carry my old GC room key from 2 years ago.

 

[sunshinetigerlily]

there is no entrance to paradise pier to california adventure. You have to walk so i don't go there i like taking the monorail so i would get the disneyland hotel.

 

[dizzyami]

There is not a specific entrance like there used to be - but you can cross to the GCA, and go through the GCA and use their own entrance to DCA.

 

[Pirate-Emery]

Guess I should just carry my old GC room key from 2 years ago.

I always keep it in my wallet.


I stayed in the GC last November but still keep the room key with me wherever I go.

 

[MrsMork]

The last 2 times I've tried to use the GC entrance to DCA, they checked for hotel keys and wouldn't let us in. Both times were in the evening, so I'm not sure about the "anybody can use after XXpm" statement above.
Both times were earlier this year, but last year I had no problems using that entrance. Guess I should just carry my old GC room key from 2 years ago.

We exited there, ate at Storytellers and returned to the park without a room key. It was afternoon. Guess it is random, or perhaps the folks at the gate recognized us as having come in that way an hour or so earlier.

 

[iceskatejen]

My friends and I use that entrance all the time when we eat at Whitewater Snacks. But we also use it often enough that maybe the CMs there just recognize us. We do make sure it's after 12:30 when we re-enter DCA, though.