Parking conundrum - advice please!

[corkyburger]

Hello, I'm very excited to finally visit Disneyland in May! I'm staying in Hollywood with my wife and child and we decided to drive down to Anaheim the night before our day at Disney to avoid nightmare traffic and a 6am start!. So I've booked us one night at the Best Western Mini suites right opposite the parks for the Wednesday night.

Unfortunately the hotel tells me we will have to move the car from their car park by 3 Pm on the Thursday (when we'll be enjoying Disney) which we obviously don't want to have to do.

So I'm looking at various options and wondering what others would advise -

1. On the morning of our Disney visit, get up early and park at either the Toy Story parking or Mickey and Friends. My worry with this option is that we'll get caught up in traffic, which will be annoying considering out hotel is right opposite!
2. Get in to a Disney car park the night before - is this even possible? Can we park at Mickey and Friends over night?

Are there any other options that I'm not aware of??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cal-Pie]

The Tropicana, next door to BW Park Place, offers limited public parking. I would try to move the car over there 1st thing in the morning. Otherwise, I would enjoy the parks early, then return to the hotel at checkout time, enjoy an off site lunch, move the car to a Disney parking lot, and return to the park.

 

[dieumeye]

The above post is good advice, but if you do want to go to one of the Disney lots, you don’t need to worry about traffic since it’s only a couple blocks. Although you will need to start earlier to allow for the time it takes to drive and enter the lot and then walk/ride to the park entrance.

As far as I know you are not allowed to park at the Disney lots overnight.

 

[starlite_]

If you are planning to park at a Disney lot anyways might as well just do it in the morning, as far as I know it will cost the same and you don't have to be worrying about it around checkout time.

 

[ironband74]

I was in a similar situation in 2019. Back then the Anaheim Hotel a bock or so down offered parking for $15 or $20 a day. Not sure if they still do, but it was an easy move in the morning before we went to the parks.

 

[Matrixleos]

To avoid issues with hotel parking, why not park at GardenWalk early morning before the parks open.

That way you can enjoy a full day at Disneyland without worrying about wasted time leaving the park and moving your car to another lot.

 

[StarlitNight05]

To avoid issues with hotel parking, why not park at GardenWalk early morning before the parks open.

That way you can enjoy a full day at Disneyland without worrying about wasted time leaving the park and moving your car to another lot.

I second this idea. You can drop off the family, park at GardenWalk, and walk over to join them. Not a long walk at all...maybe 10-12 minutes.

 

[sayhello]

I second this idea. You can drop off the family, park at GardenWalk, and walk over to join them. Not a long walk at all...maybe 10-12 minutes.

Is there a charge to park at GardenWalk?

Sayhello

 

[StarlitNight05]

Is there a charge to park at GardenWalk?

Sayhello

Yes. Here's a link on rates: https://anaheimgardenwalk.com/parking

Sounds like there is a hotel rate for $20 (that you get from the hotel? Not sure how that works), or all day Anaheim attractions for $25. They used to have parking specials, but may have done away with that after things ramped back up.

 

[sayhello]

Yes. Here's a link on rates: https://anaheimgardenwalk.com/parking

Sounds like there is a hotel rate for $20 (that you get from the hotel? Not sure how that works), or all day Anaheim attractions for $25. They used to have parking specials, but may have done away with that after things ramped back up.

Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[Matrixleos]

FYI, for the GardenWalk parking, the Garage is open for 24 hours. So if you wake up early at 6am (for example), you can move your car to GardenWalk Parking and walk back to your hotel before the parks open. That way you can enjoy the full day at the parks and not have to worry about moving your car. The $25 Anaheim Attractions promotion is good for that full day, up until 1am.

 

[DLgal]

I wouldn't go all the way to GardenWalk. Just go a block south to the Anaheim Hotel. They still offer all day parking for $20. Just saw the sign yesterday.

HOWEVER, your stuff may be vulnerable to theft if you park ANYWHERE other than a Disney owned and monitored lot. If you will have all your luggage and personal valuables in the car, park at Mickey and Friends as it is heavily monitored.

You cannot park the night before. Go early and enter via Magic Way into the Pixar Pier side.

 

[corkyburger]

Thanks for all the advice, some good options here.

Seems like it’s between the Tropicana (right next door), Garden Walk and Anaheim.

We’ll be travelling light so there won’t be any valuables in the car.

We are from the uk so this is a big trip for us. We’ve done WDW three times but I’m very excited to come to the original.

 

[Epicnemesis]

I’m a broken record on this. But we really like gardenwalk. I just drop off my family and go park the car over there. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the parks. The other day we went, my sister was en route to Mickey and friends, passed us while I was unloading the family. I was in the park about 20 minutes faster than her.

It’s also 12.50 with validation. Not the most earth shattering deal for one day but it adds up for us in a year.

For gardenwalk validation you text +1(949)532-8293:
AA(insert parking ticket number here)
Like AA1234567890
Has to be within 30 minutes of parking and it will take a few hours to get the validation confirmation.
$12.50 for all day parking. We find it is worth it instead of dealing with strollers and babies on buses or trams. Just drop them off and meet them inside.


With all that said, Anaheim Hotel at 20 bucks is much more convenient. The problem with it is that there is limited availability, so we just go with gardenwalk since it’s always there for us.