Safer on site if going alone? Please chime in

[cruisehopeful]

You will be fine walking by yourself, but if you are concerned, you could always book a hotel with its own shuttle. That will be less than staying on site and give you the peace of mind of being dropped off and picked up.

 

[DisneyPhans]

Odds are strongly in favor of nothing going wrong for you. The biggest danger, really, would simply be a pedestrian accident or an accident on a ride. These can be counted on one hand in recent years. I did not see any reports of major incidents relating to attacks on women in recent years on or near DLR. There were some incidents of sexual attacks perpetrated by Disney employees on children, some groping of women inside the park. WDW has most of these incidents.

Just enjoy yourself and walk home... No detours.. and stay away from vehicles.

 

[vratiana]

Safer? Yes. Walking thru Downtown Disney at night is for sure the safest option. BUT, only by a little bit. I walk alone to the Hojo (north on Harbour about 5 minutes) without fear, just with a bit of heightened awareness, but I do not feel scared at all (and I'm a pretty fearful person usually).

 

[bumbershoot]

My trip is rapidly approaching and the closer it gets the more nervous I get about where to stay. I just booked Paradise Pier at a RIDICULOUS price (so high 1,750 for 4 nights -theme park view is all that was left!!) and also have off site at grand Legacy for 818.00. I am nervous about being alone and walking alone at night. I am not familiar with Disneyland at all so I need advice from those that have been there. I am aware of there not being busses lke at WDW and there will be some walking. Does Paradise Pier connect to the parks or am I having to cross strrets at night and walk just as I would staying on Harbor Blvd? IS the walk the same from both places to the park? I inquired about the ART shuttle and it does not stop at my hotel. Please any advice you can offer is so appreciated.

First, PPH is fabulous and it's lovely staying there.

But nearly 2K for 4 nights is a LOT of money.

But I wouldn't let safety factor into this, because it's really NOT a factor.

The walk from PPH involves crossing a street that always has people on it, then going through the Grand and DTD.

The walk from GL involves walking up a very very busy street that ALWAYS has people on it, then going into the shuttle then esplanade area.

(and reverse it going back)

Both are going to be heavily populated with tourists. If you get nervous at night, pop into Denny's, Cold Stone, etc.

I am just really nervous about walking alone at night. I woud be fine walking through DTD alone because I know it will be crowded. I am more nervous about traveling down Harbor Blvd. by myself at night.

You will never be alone on Harbor. It's all hotels and restaurants. Tourists everywhere. Cars passing by all the time. You're NOT alone.

If you're a jogger and you get out earlyearly, you'll have some homeless people sleeping on the bus stop benches, but they are sleeping. And there will be other joggers.

You might encounter a guy with a parrot or someone else wanting to sort-of entertain people for money. Ignore or give money. Your choice.

Yeah - but what good is 100 ml of hairspray?

That's actually a really decent amount of liquid.

On that same trip I spent my last night at Paradise Pier and didn't enjoy the walk back to my room from dinner at Napa Rose as much - maybe because it was a grad night and the parks had closed down to regular guests while I dined (old grad night set-up) or maybe just because I find it impossible to find my way through the Grand to PPH without getting lost and having to go in to DtD and walking the long way around

In the future, just go to the lobby, go towards the checkin desk, then out the big sliding stained glass doors (main entrance if you're arriving/leaving by car) and walk along the sidewalk to the crosswalk and go towards PPH.

Sounds like you went to the lobby, you would have been facing the big doors, then you turned right to the long passageway out to DTD. You were so close!

 

[Disney_Alli]

In the future, just go to the lobby, go towards the checkin desk, then out the big sliding stained glass doors (main entrance if you're arriving/leaving by car) and walk along the sidewalk to the crosswalk and go towards PPH.

Sounds like you went to the lobby, you would have been facing the big doors, then you turned right to the long passageway out to DTD. You were so close!

Thank you! Generally I have a good sense of direction but there's something about that hotel that gets me turned around every time - when I want to go to DtD I end up at the driveway and when I want to go back to the driveway I end up at DtD. Hopefully I figure it out this time because we're spending 3 nights in a studio at VGC in 41 days!

 

[Mickeybell]

We have stayed on Harbor and on property. I have never felt unsafe on harbor but when my mom has come with us many times she wants to walk back to hotel by herself early(we ware her out!). I feel like it is perfectly safe to walk back alone when we have stayed at the PPH but I am just not comfortable her walking alone on Harbor. I am sure she would be fine on the Harbor side but I cant help worrying and we always walk her back instead. If you can afford it I would stay at the PPH but that is just me. I just feel safer on property but honestly anything can happen anywhere. Whatever you decide have a fun and safe trip!

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I travel on solo trips to Disneyland at least yearly. I've stayed across the street on Harbor (Park Vue, Tropicana, Desert Inn), as well as Super 8 (Katella, off Harbor) on solo trips. While I would love to stay at an onsite hotel, the cost hasn't been justifiable for me.

I was an early 30-something single mom when I started going to Disneyland; if there's something even more "dangerous" than a single female walking down a street, it's a single mom with a chatty kid taking her attention away from the surroundings. Regardless, I've rarely felt uncomfortable, let alone unsafe in the general Harbor Blvd/Disneyland Resort Area. Because of the cost difference, I'd totally stay at Grand Legacy.

$900 is...
... 180 churros/dole whips/ice cream treats.
... 25 sweatshirts.
... 2 extra nights at Grand Legacy with 2+ more days in the parks.
... 60 pairs of Mickey ears.
... 30 sit down meals.
... 8 dinners for 2 at Carthay Circle.

To feel more comfortable on my own when I had a longer walk, I didn't close down the parks. Leaving a little earlier meant more people were leaving at the same time, so there were lots of people walking my way. I would try to appear a part of another group when walking so I didn't appear "alone." I carried aerosol hairspray since I couldn't get through the TSA with mace. (Figured the hairspray would hurt an assailant's eyes enough to give me a chance to fight back; hubby says my idea would just tick off an attacker, but it gave me a little feeling of power). I always tried to look like I knew exactly where I was going: head up, walking with purpose, aware of my surroundings. No playing on my phone, no talking with someone on my phone.

If there was a moment you felt at all unsafe, there's hotel lobbies and gift shops at every hotel or every other hotel that you can always pop into until the offending party is done.

Have you called the closer hotels to see if they have rooms available? Often they won't have them available online, but will when you call.

I LOVE your breakdown of what the extra cash can buy.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you! Generally I have a good sense of direction but there's something about that hotel that gets me turned around every time - when I want to go to DtD I end up at the driveway and when I want to go back to the driveway I end up at DtD. Hopefully I figure it out this time because we're spending 3 nights in a studio at VGC in 41 days!

The first time we stayed at PPH I ignored all the written directions by Dis'ers entirely when I saw signage to the parks. I thought "ooh they put in new signs!" and followed them. Which took me out the back side of the hotel, out to the sidewalk, all along DLH, then alllll the way through DTD. I thought that was the shortcut, and I kept thinking "wow this is not short!"

Then I got back, read the directions again, and realized what I'd done wrong. (you must ignore the signs Disney has and just go out the FRONT of PPH, head towards Grand, etc)

And of course the problem with what I said is that those big sliding stained glass doors are almost NEVER actually *closed*, so you don't know they are there. They are always open, so you can't see the stained glass. So you might not realize that those are the doors you are looking for.

 

[Kindermouse]

everyone of my trips to DL for the last 10 years I have been a single woman with a young child. I have stayed at PP and at several across the street on harbor. I was nervous before I ever tried walking (the first time I walked to one of the off sites I was 24 and alone with a 4 year old) but after doing the walk I realized it was for sure no biggie. There are a ton of people, its well lit, and there are many many many hotels on harbor that are such a short walk anyway that its barely a walk at all.

I haven't stayed at grand legacy (I usually go with tropicana, desert inn, or del sol) but I havent had any issues walking to off site hotels that aren't very far.

 

[WonkaKid]

Due to prices, no I can't afford to stay on site. I'm staying at an Airbnb, and I'll be taking Uber to and from the parks since it's just a bit too far away to walk (especially late at night, alone). The Airbnb I'm staying at is also a single woman, so I feel more comfortable with that.

Prior to booking Airbnb, I was looking at Best Westerns that are on the same street as PP. There were some other hotels near the SW corner of the park, and some of them had ART stops in front of the hotels as well.

Kirbie, hope you have a great time! I go to the park regularly (solo). In fact, I was just there yesterday.

If I may make a suggestion, bring snacks along to save money on pricey meals.