Shuttle or Drive and Park?

[dinosaurjim]

For anyone who's ever stayed at a Good Neighbor Hotel near DLR, do you recommend driving your own car from the hotel to the Disneyland parking area and then taking their little shuttle from there to the main gate, or would you recommend simply taking the hotel's shuttle? (Assume when answering this question that cost is not a concern, just time and convenience).

Also, when shuttling from the hotel or driving from the hotel, how much time do you have to allow from leaving the hotel to actually arriving at the main entrance? I understand there will be some variables here, especially with the hotel shuttle service, but I'm looking for some ballpark estimates.

 

[HydroGuy]

It depends on the shuttle but parking can be time consuming:

"Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580

 

[dinosaurjim]

I just found that very helpful thread shortly after posting my question. I subsequently went through a lot of your other threads and found them all very helpful! Thank you for putting in the time to help!!!

 

[candygirlIRE]

I just found that very helpful thread shortly after posting my question. I subsequently went through a lot of your other threads and found them all very helpful! Thank you for putting in the time to help!!!

We are in the same boat thinking about driving vs shuttle. But with 3 kids + 1 stroller (although small), we are thinking we will drive. We are at a good neighbour hotel that is a little farther away, so the shuttles only pick up/drop off every hour (so says their reservation desk) instead of every 15-30 like a lot of places.
Frankly we are thinking a cab might be the way to go, but I think the cost would be more than the $15 per day parking.


When are you going? I would be interested in knowing how it all works out for you

 

[dinosaurjim]

We're going to be there september 14-16 and it's looking increasingly like we might just take the shuttle. We're staying at the Marriott Residence Inn Maingate. Although we did hear that sometimes you can wait longer for the shuttle than just walking the 10-15 minutes, I guess we'll see what the walk actually looks like when we arrive and drive around a bit that night before to get the lay o' the land!

We stayed at staybridge Inn and suites last time we went and it was WAY too far to walk, we went in October and driving there and parking was never really an issue. The biggest wait was to get on the little shuttle/tram from the parking structure to the gates. I'd say it took us about 30 minutes from leaving the hotel to actually at the gates. Not too shabby...

 

[skiingfast]

You might do a mix. Use ART, if the shuttle is coming soon, then use it. If not walk. You will likely want to ride it back when your legs are tired.

 

[tanyaewa]

We managed to buy our parkhoppers through AAA and got free daily parking.
We loved it. It was April - so not too busy and it made the entire trip a breeze. No lugging our stuff home, we could stop at stores on way to/from, simple easy peasy - we are family of 4 w/ 6yo and 8yo - no stroller

 

[Farmher78]

I actually just got back yesterday from Disneyland yesterday.

I would have to say to take the shuttle it cost us 13.00 for a 5day pass which we didn't use all those...and kids 8 & under were free, It was a one way stop to disney no stopping multiple times like the city busses do. Use the hotel shuttle they are quick to accommodate for people with small children and strollers & also for wheelchairs or scooters whatever you may have.

Unless you have a free pass for parking I would def take the hotel shuttle if you can.. Cheap and no regrets.
They picked up every half hour, & also stayed open 1hr after the park closed.

 

[Brady's Mom]

We have walked, driven and taken ART. Our preference is walking. I would NEVER opt to take the ART again, I hated being at the mercy of someone else's schedule. Our driver, though nice, was not regular at pickups. The hotel didn't really have a great idea of when the shuttle showed up, either. It would have taken less time, and been less of a hassle if we had just driven and parked. And we would have been much less irritated!

I will always recommend staying w/in walking distance, but I know that isn't always possible when you have more than 4 or 5 people in your group. We can have as many as 7, so we have to make adjustments sometimes.

 

[macfamily88]

Walking is always a good option. You regret it sometimes on the way back to the hotel... but hey, what's another 1/2 mile or so?

 

[HydroGuy]

We have walked, driven and taken ART. Our preference is walking. I would NEVER opt to take the ART again, I hated being at the mercy of someone else's schedule. Our driver, though nice, was not regular at pickups. The hotel didn't really have a great idea of when the shuttle showed up, either. It would have taken less time, and been less of a hassle if we had just driven and parked. And we would have been much less irritated!

I will always recommend staying w/in walking distance, but I know that isn't always possible when you have more than 4 or 5 people in your group. We can have as many as 7, so we have to make adjustments sometimes.

Along these lines, when I was at the D23 Expo a couple weeks ago I was in a line with a GCH/DLH Concierge CM. ART provided Disney with pickup schedules around the hotels and as a courtesy Disney passed these on to hotel guests. When ART decided to cancel these they never told Disney. This resulted in some angry guests at the GCH/DLH for a service Disney does not even provide.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Frankly we are thinking a cab might be the way to go, but I think the cost would be more than the $15 per day parking .

Nope unless your hotel is far away you shouldn't pay more than $8 however you'd do that twice per day... our preference is to stay within walking distance.

 

[mrswh]

We have stayed at the Hyatt OC (about a mile up Harbor) several times, and have done a mix of shuttle and driving. It is usually *much* easier to take the shuttle than to drive. However, there are times when it is the other way around. if you are planning to watch fireworks and want to leave right after, I would suggest driving. What we did was use the hotel shuttle during the day, then drive back at night. But - we didn't park in the Toy Story or other lots. We parked at the DLH and ate dinner at Goofy's Kitchen (that gets you I think 3 hours of free valet parking?) or parked in the DTD lot and got 5 hours free with validation from a DTD restaurant. Much easier than parking, tramming, etc. We got burned too many times waiting for what seemed like FOREVER for hotel shuttles after fireworks, with two exhausted kids in tow. There are a zillion people waiting, and no real line, just a lot of pushing and shoving. Once you are lucky enough to get on a shuttle, you might be standing up the whole way back - not that big of a deal unless you're holding a sleeping kid of course. So if you plan to see fireworks, I'd suggest driving or staying in the parks another hour or so until the masses are gone.

Have a fun trip!

 

[miss.potatohead]

Walking is always a good option. You regret it sometimes on the way back to the hotel... but hey, what's another 1/2 mile or so?

Agreed. Maybe it is just me but most of the Good Neighbour accommodation options (including RI Maingate where the OP said he is staying) are within a 10 minute walk, and yes I understand that there are people with young children and then I say fair enough get the ART but compared to all the walking you do throughout the day, an additional mile or less isn't going to kill you...