Should we drive from hotel or rely on the ART?

[ksdisneyfan]

We have about 2 weeks to go until we arrive at DL! We are staying at Residence Inn Maingate because we needed a suite for 6 and also because we could use our Marriott points. But I'm getting a little worried about using the ART!

Am I naive to think that we will get to the gates 1/2 hour before DL opening if we use the ART?

I know our ART route stops at our hotel, then at HoJos and then to DL.

Or are we better off driving our rental to DL and parking? Is the traffic crazy getting into the park in the early morning? How early would we have to leave from our hotel to be at the gates 1/2 hour ahead of opening?

You all have given me such great advice! I know hearing from you will give me peace of mind about this issue as well! Thanks!

 

[mechurchlady]

I say got with the local bus unless you have an AP because it is a lot of work getting into the parking lot then walking to the tram then boading the tram.

Bus is easier often and cheaper than the $12 for parking.

 

[MCSfromWA]

We just got back from a stay at the Residence Inn Maingate. If we can't stay at a Disney property, then my family prefers this hotel. We had my mother with us and it is difficult for her to walk very far. We considered the bus, but I noticed that there were pretty big crowds waiting to take it in the mornings. You can walk to Disneyland and it is about a 15 minute walk. We did that when my mom wasn't with us. But if she was coming to the park then my husband drove us to the drop off area and he drove the car back to the hotel and walked over to meet us. I suggested that he get a ticket to use the bus and he said that he didn't mind walking. If you park in the Disney parking area it takes longer to get to the park than if you were just to walk from the hotel. I think that taking the local transportation depends on whether you mind walking over to the park or not. Good luck and have fun!

 

[LuLusApple]

It does take a long time to park and ride the tram in, but it also depends on where you get to park. We left one day at 730 am to park and lucked out in the Pinochio lot close to the tram took 25 minutes to get parked and loaded on tram and dropped off at DTD. Another day we left 10 minutes later and got stuck in the friends garage. That added another 10-15 minutes of looping around the structure following the attendants and signage to park.
Finally we took the ART from the portofino hotel and that was a smooth 15 minutes about equal to the walk from the hotel. The trick is finding out where your hotel sits on the route. Portofino was first to pick up( leaving hotel to DL) which took longer to drop off, but also first to drop off (leaving DL to hotel) which was a quick 5 minutes to get back at night.
Timing the bus arrivals is important too. They run pretty quickly our route 6 was about every 15 minutes.

 

[mystic_path]

Agreed it does depend on where you park & take the tram if your worried about saving time.... BUT

If there are 6 of you and you have to shuttle it... Its like $3 per adult so your actually spending more money then you would on parking. Also it depends if you want to kick around DTD or go to the Gardenwalk etc. The shuttles stop running an hour after park closing not giving you that option of really having that leisure time to wander around....

ALSO If your shuttles are full, you may have to wait for the next bus and that just wastes another 20 minutes or so. Then the drive back to your hotel can be a good 20 minutes or more as you have to drop others off on the way.

Another setback with the shuttles is that if you go back to your hotel for a swim or a nap, the shuttles dont run for an hour around noon for lunch, and then its the waiting for it, and again dropping others off on the way. And in the morning when you go to the bus stop to catch it, if its full it will by pass you and you have to wait for another 20 minutes for another bus to show up.

Personally if I were you, I would just drive there, get up a bit earlier to make it to the park earlier.

 

[LuLusApple]

Oh true forgot about middle of the day thing. We don't really ever go back during the day.
But re: price....we purchased a family pass that was good for actually 13 days @ 48$
I know for us the ART worked well and they used a large charter bus on our route most nights not the little red trolley type buses.
And yes I agree too that if you just get up and get there early it's best
I couldn't get my brood of 2 teen girls a 20 DD and her 10 month old out the door but one day early enough! LOL

 

[avalon451]

My brother and his family stayed there last year and really liked it, but ART was a bit of a problem some days. Sometimes they just didn't show up, and DB just grabbed a cab for $7.00. Not something you'd want to do every day, but certainly fast and direct. Also, if you do ART, you need to ask the driver what time they'll be taking their break midday-- because it doesn't run between 12 and 1, or 1 and 2, or whenever they decide to take lunch. You need to ask, if you plan to go back for a midday break. (I highly recommend the midday break!)

Another method, if you decide to drive: DH drives the family to the tram dropoff and drops you all off at 7:15 a.m., then he drives to the parking garage, which opens at 7:30. Hopefully he can join you in line at the turnstiles, or else find you inside if he's not there before opening.

 

[carolannec]

How do you know your stop on the ART bus route??? Also, if you drive your own car to disney, and leave for a mid-day break, do you have to pay parking again when you come back?

 

[blackjackdelta]

We have stayed there numerous times and either walked(most of the time) or took ART. We always asked the driver when breaktime and what the schedule would be for the day. The only time it was crowded was at the end of the day after fireworks and they packed everyone in like sardines. Have a great time.

Jack

 

[Eeee-va]

Carolannec, http://www.rideart.org/index.php?loc=3 has the info on ART.

Ksdisneyfan, IF the cab is really just $7 as per a previous poster, and IF you're not planning on an afternoon break, then depending on the number of adults (10+) in your party and the number of days you're going, it might actually be cheaper to take a cab than to take ART. One day on the ART with 6 adults would be $24...obviously two $7 cab trips would be cheaper than that, and even 4 wouldn't be much higher. You do get price breaks if you buy longer passes but no cheaper than $3.20/day, unless there are deals I don't know about.

I found ART wasn't worth it for me from the Ramada Plaza Hotel. The first time I took it I was frustrated with how long it took and how many stops we made, and the way back after closing was less than comfortable. Though we had pre-bought all our passes, I ended up walking to and from the park after that. My mom, who was celebrating that she and Disneyland were both 50, still sometimes took ART.

http://www.18004mytaxi.com/ (not recommending, just using as an example) offers minivan cabs for up to 6 people for the price of 1, and it looks like the price is indeed in the ballpark of $7 to get to DL. I am thrifty but if I had a party as large as yours, I would look into them before taking ART, as the per-person rate is pretty low. If you want an afternoon break then driving will be the cheapest option, but getting to and from the parking garage twice will eat up some time, and if you drive back from an afternoon break on a busy day at the park, you may have to park at a far-away lot and need to get a tram from there (if they're even offered).

Even if you took two round trips per day (which would give you an afternoon break), the cab might only cost a few dollars more than ART, unless you have several small children.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide!

 

[kylieh]

We stayed further down at Homewood in Garden Grove. We caught taxis, unless we were really lucky and our timing was good - a couple of times we walked out the front and the bus was pulling around the corner, but I wouldn't rely on ART at all.

 

[ksdisneyfan]

Thanks for your posts everyone! I get the feeling that I shouldn't rely on ART, especially not in the morning when I want to get to DL early. I think we're going to make the 15-20 minute walk in the mornings and then use the ART in the afternoon and evenings when our schedule is a bit more loose. If worse comes to worse, my husband can always walk to the hotel, grab our car, and come pick us up.

Or the taxi service sounds like it might be a good idea, especially on our MM day. However, I'd need car seats for the taxi, right? That would be a nightmare!