Safer on site if going alone? Please chime in

[rmm7e]

Are the cabs readily available as you exit the park? rmm7e that is when I am going as well!

Well PM me if you want a walking buddy! A cab would be silly for that distance, really. It's SOOOO close.

It depends on how comfortable you are with city life.

I'm a country girl and I felt perfectly at ease. In fact, last year I had to decide between Costa Rica and NYC, and I chose the Costa Rica jungle because it was less scary! LOL!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im an annual solo traveller, this year was my third solo trip and my third time staying at Motel 6 , just down from Anaheim Garden Walk on Disney Way. Its 1 street off Harbour and I use ART which stops right in the hotel parking lot , beside the main door. I get the ART at 11pm, its less than 10 minutes travel time and I feel perfectly safe.

 

[Arnir]

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.

I travel solo all the time, and I can understand your concerns, Mynamewastaken. As a middle-aged man with a lot of bulk and a Grumpy Cat face (people say I look like I’m very angry at the world all the time), I don’t tend to have many issues walking alone. That being said, I do volunteer with my local police, etc., so I’ve been involved in a lot of personal safety classes and I keep my eyes open to safety issues. Okay, intro over.

I would not hesitate to have anyone in my family walk through the Disney hotels area and DTD alone. Wouldn’t think twice about it. Harbor Blvd is slightly different however. I consider it to be safe but there are a few places that could be problematic.

Someone else mentioned Candy Cane Inn (CCI). I’ve stayed there before. It is a straight walk up the block but there is a long stretch of empty areas with vegetation. I consider it safe but if you are nervous that stretch might raise concerns. The hotel, though, does have a private shuttle that runs every half hour that leaves from the main Disneyland bus lot. This means that (almost) everyone on the bus is going to the same place and will be dropped off in the parking lot of the CCI. It’s clean, convenient and about as safe as you can get.

Right across Harbor from Disneyland is a cluster of hotels as others have mentioned including Grand Legacy. This is a busy urban block and I don’t think anyone needs to be overly concerned there. You will see a few homeless folks on the sidewalk around there and at the city bus stop. I am not saying they are dangerous in any way, but people’s comfort levels vary. I’ll be staying at one of those hotels for the first time this August, and I wouldn’t be concerned there.

I’ve also stayed at the Howard Johnson’s. I consider the hotel grounds safe and the walk is no problem at all in the daytime. There is a block or so worth of the walk between the hotel cluster mentioned above and Mimi’s café that is sparsely populated and at night it is, in my opinion, too dark for easy comfort. I never felt unsafe personally, but I was on full alert for that part of the walk. However, the HoJo is on the ART 7 Route, I believe. I got an ART pass as part of my package, and when I was tired I just took the bus to the hotel. ART’s schedule is unreliable, but you catch it at Disneyland (very close to the CCI bus stop) and ride it all the way to the HoJo parking lot. It is the last stop on the route, but it drops you off on the curb right in front of the hotel’s front desk building. There are trees around the stop that make it a bit secluded but it is well lit and visible. I only ever saw tourists on the ART bus, but it is a public bus system. Make sure you tell the driver that you are going to the HoJo so they don’t skip that last stop. They aren’t supposed to, but….

This might be way more information than you need, but personal safety is important. I would love to be able to afford a Disney property hotel but the extra money just buys so many other things to me. Trust your gut when you are out walking. If something feels wrong, go another way, pop into a shop or head back and call a cab/uber/etc. I will say that I think Disneyland is one of the safest places for solo travelers and you don’t need to be overly concerned – but it never hurts to be careful.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

 

[Baklava]

The walk to the hotels on Harbor is always crowded and I have felt safe alone myself or letting my teen (starting around 14) walk on his own. It's always busy.

 

[ashley0139]

As a single 20-something woman I would not hesitate to stay at the offsite hotel for half the price of Paradise Pier. But then, I routinely took the subway in NYC at 2am as a 19 year old so YMMV. If you're really worried get an Uber, though they might not be happy taking you such a short distance.

 

[offwithyourhead]

I would stay offsite in your situation, 100%. I actually don't recall any time that there was nobody else on the street, it feels VERY safe there. If you did happen to want to go for dinner somewhere not on Disney property, you could always take an Uber or a taxi. You'll be saving so much by staying offsite that you won't even bat an eye at that.

 

[jaye614]

I travel solo and stay in Garden Grove at a hotel with a shuttle.

 

[DisneylandDarling]

I'm a young woman from a fairly small low-crime part of town. I've walked back to the hotel by myself before a couple of years ago at night to drop off stuff we didn't want to carry around the park at our hotel room at the Camelot. I didn't feel unsafe at all. Just don't walk back too late past park closing if you want to be extra safe (I would say past 1:00 a.m.). I would actually venture to say that I would feel safer walking back to my hotel on Harbor Blvd. than walking through Downtown Disney late at night (when people are at the bar).

We always stay across the street (on-site is a terrible value IMO, especially when the hotels are the same distance as many Harbor Blvd. hotels across the street from Disneyland ). We've never felt unsafe walking back when the park closes - even as late as 12:30 at night. There are always tons of tourists and families walking back and we've never had a major problem or issue out of the 15+ vacations we've taken to Disneyland. I would not, however, stay past Katella or Ball Road if you plan on walking back to the hotel by yourself. Things can get dicey the further north or south you go. The Grand Legacy is perfect, because it is on the same block as Disneyland. There are tons of hotels across the street and no bus stops where your hotel is that the homeless tend to hang around, so you are completely fine with that choice.

Pretty much what I'm trying to say is, stay across the street at the Grand Legacy and save your money.

 

[ADLFAN]

I agree with the majority here, and I think you will be perfectly comfortable walking back to the Grand Legacy. There really are masses of Disney vacationers vacating at the same time. If you want to stay til beyond park closing to shop or run through Downtown Disney, you can always take a short, cheap taxi ride back to the hotel if you are concerned about a potential lack of crowds for your walk back.

Have fun!!

 

[lalasmama]

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.

 

[Indiana Scott]

The whole resort district is crawling with people and well lit even in the earliest hours of the morning. I would not hesitate to stay anywhere in the area.
BTDT!

 

[DisneylandDarling]

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).

That's hilarious! I'll have to remember that for future use...

 

[bcla]

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.

Yeah - but what good is 100 ml of hairspray?

Strangely enough, I got a lighter through a TSA checkpoint once. It's not actually a violation to bring it through security. It's a violation to take it on a plane though. I don't smoke, but I kind of carried it around as a convenience. I had a gate pass to help someone else to get to the gate. However, I'm wondering how they determined (or even cared) that I wasn't just going to give it to a passenger.

 

[lalasmama]

Yeah - but what good is 100 ml of hairspray?
.

I don't know--I've gotten hairspray in my eyes before and it stung, so I'm guessing my 3oz will deter him at least a little, lol.

 

[sheetz]

There are so many people on that block at all hours of the night I doubt you'd feel unsafe. It would be even busier if you leave after the parade/fireworks.

 

[SplashMo]

There are multiple hotels directly across the street which would be my choice.. Avoid the area near the Gardenwalk. and the 7-11 etc... Not to say they are dangerous. However I would not recommend walking to or from garden walk from Disneyland. I would not go to a convenience store at night.

 

[Kender]

Yeah - but what good is 100 ml of hairspray?

Strangely enough, I got a lighter through a TSA checkpoint once. It's not actually a violation to bring it through security. It's a violation to take it on a plane though. I don't smoke, but I kind of carried it around as a convenience. I had a gate pass to help someone else to get to the gate. However, I'm wondering how they determined (or even cared) that I wasn't just going to give it to a passenger.

It's not a violation to take a singular lighter on an airplane (unless you carry a torch lighter). From FAA's FAQs on the matter:

"Q1. What type of lighter can I bring onto the aircraft?
A1. Under DOT rules (49 CFR 175.10), when traveling on a commercial airline, you can bring one (1) lighter
that uses a flammable gas (butane) or that uses a flammable liquid that is absorbed in a lining (Zippo-type). The
following restrictions apply:
• For safety reasons, permitted lighters must be in your carry-on or on your person (in your pocket), not in
checked baggage. See Q2. regarding special travel containers that allow lighters in checked baggage.
• Under TSA regulations, torch lighters (a.k.a. jet lighters, blue flame lighters, cigar lighters) are
forbidden in your carry-on or on your person. TSA rules also prohibit lighters that look like guns or
other weapons.
• Containers of lighter fluid or gas (butane) are forbidden in carry-on and checked baggage.
• Micro torches, chef torches, utility torches, etc., are not considered lighters and are forbidden in carry-on
and checked baggage. Fuel for such torches is also forbidden in carry-on and checked baggage."

 

[Disney_Alli]

I stayed at the Sheraton Park solo in 2011 (for my 26th birthday) I've flown solo several times but was always traveling to meet family on vacation - this was my first fully solo vacation. I had a great time and felt completely safe walking back to the hotel solo after fireworks each night. I will admit that I work in security and have spent many nights by myself in empty malls or car parks or wandering around other empty buildings so I'm probably a little more comfortable than some being alone in that scenario but I never felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable. 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 - call me a bit of a guy but I hate asking for directions when I think it's ridiculous that I'm lost. Add in a glass of wine (I'm a lightweight) wedges and a dress that wouldn't stop riding up on the walk back to the hotel and I felt really silly and self-conscious that entire walk back to the hotel. I didn't feel unsafe in the slightest though just a bit daft.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Petite female here and I've never felt unsafe walking alone at night (and we walk all over the DLR area day and night -- we'll walk from the Sheraton Park to the Majestic Garden without batting an eye). If I'm walking back to the Sheraton Park, the CVS at Katella and Harbor is 24/7 and has super friendly staff -- so don't worry about needing the 7-11, just use the CVS. Use common sense and the street smarts that you'd use traveling anywhere else in the world. The only advantage I can see to staying at the PPH is the early entry for guests. But is it worth $900? For me, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the Grand Legacy and use the $900 to eat more meals at NR.

 

[5forMickey]

I would love to hear your thoughts when you return???