Parking Experience at DL

[pixiewings71]

Strollers fit best in the front but if you fold it make sure you can keep it INSIDE the tram the whole trip. Our last trip on our way out at night the trams were very very very busy (never seen them so busy actually) and a woman got on the tram in the row ahead of us, the tram CM came over and told her her stroller had to be inside the tram the whole time, so she argued and said "I'm going to hold it!" and he said "I understand that but policy is the stroller must be inside the tram at all times" and he stood next to her until she was able to fit it inside the tram itself. Now, in doing that she actually HIT the guy next to her 3 or 4 times as she tried to manuever it around and he was not the most happy camper on the tram. So, yes, strollers are fine but please, if you're folding it have it folded before boarding and please make sure you can hold it inside the tram.

 

[LavenderPeach]

We skip the tram if we bring our stroller. It just seems like too much hassle to try to load a stroller onto that tram when there are so many other people (and strollers) trying to get on. So we will usually just walk to and from M&F. The walk isn't bad. A couple of times we've even walked without the stroller and carried DS back to the parking garage. That sounds crazy, I know, but when the line for the tram is long we end up having to hold DS the whole time we're waiting anyway so we figure if we have to hold him for 15-20 minutes we might as well walk back to the car at the same time.

I highly recommend walking if you have a stroller to save yourself some hassle. And what's another 15 mintues of walking after you've been walking all day anyway?

 

[mechurchlady]

Right past the shuttle entrance is 15 minute drop off where Dad can drop off strollers and kids then park in Mickey and Friends.

 

[jtl2411]

We often go on Sundays around 11am (including this past sunday) and park in the M&F parking lot. It is always a little crazy but this past sunday wasn't as bad as it was one time several months back. We went one time and traffic was backed up all the way to the overpass bridge on Ball Rd. It took us forever to actually get into the parking garage, let alone get a parking spot. This past sunday when we went I did notice that the parking seemed to be somewhat disorganized for some reason. Usually they show you exactly which spot they want you to park in but this time they directed us down a row that already had a lot of previously parked cars and then it was a free-for-all. It is much better to get there first thing in the morning but that isn't usually possible for us so we just go expecting it to be a little crazy.

What a difference an hour can make because ball we was all backed up at 12:30.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We skip the tram if we bring our stroller. It just seems like too much hassle to try to load a stroller onto that tram when there are so many other people (and strollers) trying to get on. So we will usually just walk to and from M&F. The walk isn't bad. A couple of times we've even walked without the stroller and carried DS back to the parking garage. That sounds crazy, I know, but when the line for the tram is long we end up having to hold DS the whole time we're waiting anyway so we figure if we have to hold him for 15-20 minutes we might as well walk back to the car at the same time.

I highly recommend walking if you have a stroller to save yourself some hassle. And what's another 15 mintues of walking after you've been walking all day anyway?

Um... No strollers, obviously, but I don't even know how to walk over. Maybe I haven't really looked but are there signs? I have to admit my brain is a little foggy when it comes to areas outside of DL and DCA.

 

[Mugglemama]

i'm not sure if things have changed, but for several years those with strollers could also board on the very last car of the tram. we'd had AP's for several months before we figured this out, lol.

our next trip will be our first trip without a stroller in more than a decade!!! whew!! finally got these babies grown up enough that we won't need one next time, WOOHOO! we've had to drag a stroller through DLR each and every one of the 100+ days we've spent at DLR since 1998, and i am SOOOOO looking forward to not having to deal with one!

 

[Albort]

I recall some people saying they had to park at Garden Walk and take a bus back. Will this parking mess be going on all summer? We should be arriving early every day except for the day we arrive on a Wed. Hope the lot isn't full then. I would think it would be better than a Sun.

If we did decide to try ART one day, (BIG if! I hate trying to pack onto a bus full of people at the end of the night.) can you pay on the bus or do you have to buy a ticket somewhere else first?

considered that Disney as this problem now, its gonna be worse over the summer.

 

[tinkerbelt]

DD has outgrown her stroller now, but when we used it, we always walked back to the car at the end of the day instead of taking the tram. We usually walk to the park from M&F too, because we can usually get there faster that way.

The elevators can be a pain, but in the millions of times that I've used them, I've never had to wait for more than one cycle (coming down). Going up at the end of the night, the lines are often long, but with 2 elevators going, I've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes.

I also judge how crowded the park will be based on where I'm parking. If I get there at noon and I'm parking on the top 2 floors or so, then I know the park is crowded. The best days are when we get there at noon (or later) and park on the 2nd or 3rd level. But that never happens in the summer.

 

[tinkerbelt]

Oh, and to the PP who said to just fold your stroller, sometimes it's just not that easy. If you've got a stroller with a basket that's carefully packed full of snacks and diapers and other stuff, it's a real pain to unpack all of that stuff, hold it, fold the stroller, and get the stroller + kid(s) + stuff onto the tram. Especially at the end of the night when little ones tend to be asleep. It's hard to hold a sleeping kid and unpack/fold a stroller.

 

[LavenderPeach]

DD has outgrown her stroller now, but when we used it, we always walked back to the car at the end of the day instead of taking the tram. We usually walk to the park from M&F too, because we can usually get there faster that way.

The elevators can be a pain, but in the millions of times that I've used them, I've never had to wait for more than one cycle (coming down). Going up at the end of the night, the lines are often long, but with 2 elevators going, I've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes.

I also judge how crowded the park will be based on where I'm parking. If I get there at noon and I'm parking on the top 2 floors or so, then I know the park is crowded. The best days are when we get there at noon (or later) and park on the 2nd or 3rd level. But that never happens in the summer.

To avoid the elevator crowds, I carry DS down the stairs and DH carries the stroller down. I know not everyone can do this but it works for us. We take the elevator back up though but the wait isn't very long since we usually leave when not too many others are leaving.

Um... No strollers, obviously, but I don't even know how to walk over. Maybe I haven't really looked but are there signs? I have to admit my brain is a little foggy when it comes to areas outside of DL and DCA.

It's really easy and there are signs. You know the outside parking area right next to M&F? I think it's Pinnochio? There's a walkway along the side where the tall bushes are separating it from the tram area. You follow that out the gate and onto the sidewalk. Then cross the street and follow the sidewalk until you see a path (with sign) directing you to DTD. Then you just follow the path and you're there! DH and I have taken this route when we've gone by ourselves too and it does seem to be faster than waiting in a long tram line.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Ok, we'll have to try it maybe when we go in the afternoon. When we have gone first thing in the morning we never had to wait for a crowded tram. We just got on. Maybe this summer will be different.

 

[LavenderPeach]

What a difference an hour can make because ball we was all backed up at 12:30.

Yeah, how strange. Glad we missed that because it was awful having to wait in the crowd on Ball Rd that other time when it was like that. DLR just seems way more crowded in general this year anyway. DCA is even crazy and it used to be that you could go over there to get a break from the crowds. I guess their marketing people are doing a good job!

 

[LavenderPeach]

Ok, we'll have to try it maybe when we go in the afternoon. When we have gone first thing in the morning we never had to wait for a crowded tram. We just got on. Maybe this summer will be different.

We took the tram on DH's b-day because we were there for opening and we just hopped a tram without a wait. I guess that's why I hate having to wait in a long line for the trams because I've been spoiled by the times that we just got on. But even with no wait, we would walk if we had the stroller.

 

[pixiewings71]

Oh, and to the PP who said to just fold your stroller, sometimes it's just not that easy. If you've got a stroller with a basket that's carefully packed full of snacks and diapers and other stuff, it's a real pain to unpack all of that stuff, hold it, fold the stroller, and get the stroller + kid(s) + stuff onto the tram. Especially at the end of the night when little ones tend to be asleep. It's hard to hold a sleeping kid and unpack/fold a stroller.

I think perhaps you're directing this towards me but if you read my post again you'll see what I was saying. The person in front of us had her stroller hanging off the side of the tram, that's what the CM had issues with. The CM said it had to be folded because the person was not in a car where you could put a stroller easily, it was laying across her lap sticking out the side and laying across the guy next to her. I thought they were together at first but realized when he got so upset about her hitting him with it that they were not together. I know how hard it can be to deal with strollers, I do have 3 kids of my own. I posted that so that people would know that if they are not riding in a stroller friendly tram car they will be required to fold the stroller, that's all.

Ok, we'll have to try it maybe when we go in the afternoon. When we have gone first thing in the morning we never had to wait for a crowded tram. We just got on. Maybe this summer will be different.

We always have crowds in the mornings, you just have to wait. They have so many trams running that it really isn't that long of a wait. The worst was on Mem Day when we were leaving, that took forever because they just didn't have it together at all.

 

[disneydreamer74]

kay, thanks for all the helpful info about strollers and trams. The hotel we are staying at offers free shuttle, and I hear it is actually easier than parking. The shuttle is starting to look pretty darn attractive right now.lol! I think the first night there we will try the ART and see how things go. My stroller does fold up quite easily, just press a button and wham! But, I do understand the other posts about having a stroller full of items and a sleeping baby, It does add a degree of difficulty to the equation.

 

[pixiewings71]

If your hotel has a free shuttle use that and not ART. ART shuttles service many more than 1 or 3 hotels, the hotels that have their own shuttles are much less crowded. CCI has a dedicated shuttle, it only services their hotel, the Hyatt, CP & Sheraton down by Target all share a shuttle, that one can get crowded but it's still better than ART.