Silly questions about parking, fp, and other stuff i cant find the answers to...

[StephanieCG]

Parking -
We are driving up super early tomorrow morning (we live in SD, so it's not terribly far) for a day trip. How long does it take to get to the parking structure to the gates? How long would it take to get to plaza inn? (We have breakfast reservations at 7:10 am)

FP
Do fp for splash mtn and BTMRR run out by mid-day? Or are we just good to grab them whenever.

Meet and greet order and touring plan ?s
After breakfast we were going to stop at Pixie Hollow, do a few rides (Toad, SW, maybe dumbo) then see Merida and to fantasy faire for a show and the other princesses? Then from there I'm not sure if we should go to Tomorrowland (dd4 wants to be a Jedi, and it is her b-day) or Frontierland/critter country. Not sure what the best order would be. I've already told my girls that we will probably see the Frozen girls in the winter. When is a good time to fit in Toontown? Thanks! I'm probably over thinking all of this...I wish we could have done a hotel or overnight trip but it just wasn't meant to be this time, and this is the first trip to DL.

 

[SultanPprShkr]

If you're walking from Mickey & Friends to the gates, about 15 minutes of walking (about a quarter mile ish distance). If you're taking the tram, it's about the same more or less, mornings can be busier can take up to 30 minutes, but less walking obviously.

FP for BTMRR has slowed down and typically runs out by early evening. Splash as well, and lately the weather has allowed for walk ons in the morning or afternoon. If you must, get a BTMRR FP first.

Toontown is best in the early afternoons as they close early for Fireworks. Your M&G plan sounds good, keep in mind Pixie Hollow can be up to 2 hours in the afternoons, so see if you can get that done in the morning. Fantasyland attractions slow down in crowds in the evenings so if your kids can hang, see if you can do those after the sun sets (or even after Fireworks if they have them.. it's been windy lately and disrupting the Disney Skies). Frontierland/Critter Country is out of the way, so do that if you're already in the area for Splash, otherwise skip it.. it's only a few characters that you'll most likely see during Plaza Inn Breakfast with Minnie & Friends anyway (Bre'r Fox & Bear, Winnie & Friends, etc).

Merida is in an odd location for now, back by IASW so it's best to get her as you're preparing for that too. Fantasy Faire starts at 11am and runs through about 4pm, you can also M&G the princesses after the shows too (so Belle and Rapunzel are available). Royal Hall lately has other princesses: Aurora, Snow, Cindy, Mulan (i know, not a princess) and Pocahontas too. Snow sometimes hangs out by her Wishing Well off to the right of the Castle, along with Peter&Wendy.

 

[StephanieCG]

Thank you that is very helpful!
With the Royal Hall, are there two lines for princesses like at WDW or is it just one line and you meet a bunch?

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

If you are coming from San Diego, you will have a hard time getting to the parking structure if that is your goal. You will most likely get directed to the Pumbaa or Toy Story lots. If you get to the Pumbaa lot, the walk is pretty short, maybe like 10 minutes. But if you get redirected to the Toy Story lots, you will need to take a shuttle most likely.

If you want to get to the Mickey and Friends parking lot, you will need to do a lot of surface street driving. That parking structure on busy days is usually only open to people coming from the north.

So what you have to do is get off on Harbor Blvd., not Disney Way. Turn right on Harbor, then left on Ball Rd. DO NOT turn left on Disneyland Drive even though it tells you to. You will get redirected by the Anaheim police department past DLH and all the way over to the Toy Story lots eventually, negating everything you've done so far and chewing up a lot of time. You have to turn right on Disneyland Drive, then make a U-turn at your earliest opportunity. You will pass the offramp for the I-5 North on the right. Once you make the U-turn, and head south on Disneyland Drive, you will be able to access the flyover bridge to the left that the southbound I-5 traffic gets to use and you will make your way to the Mickey and Friends parking structure. If you miss the flyover bridge, do not continue south on Disneyland Drive as you will get caught up in that Anaheim PD redirection. Just circle back at Ball Rd. and try again.


Merida packs it in early, so if you want to see her, you will have to do it in the morning. The Fantasy Faire princesses, there is one line, and you meet up to 3 princesses, one at a time.

 

[StephanieCG]

Good to know - I didn't know that the Mickey and friends structure was for I-5 southbound. How do I get to the Pumba one? We are planning on leaving at 4:30 am, I'm worried about traffic.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

Good to know - I didn't know that the Mickey and friends structure was for I-5 southbound. How do I get to the Pumba one? We are planning on leaving at 4:30 am, I'm worried about traffic.

You shouldn't hit traffic at that time. Unfortunately, the Pumba parking lot is not always open early. They like to throw curveballs at us...keep us guessing. There's no penalty though for looking to see if that one is open. Get off at Disney Way. Follow Disney Way past Clementine St., on the right side you will see the entrance to the Pumbaa lot. If it's open, there will be some a sign directing you there.

Some people don't like the Pumbaa lot because it is now well lit at night.

*Edit*

it's not well lit I mean

 

[StephanieCG]

You shouldn't hit traffic at that time. Unfortunately, the Pumba parking lot is not always open early. They like to throw curveballs at us...keep us guessing. There's no penalty though for looking to see if that one is open. Get off at Disney Way. Follow Disney Way past Clementine St., on the right side you will see the entrance to the Pumbaa lot. If it's open, there will be some a sign directing you there. Some people don't like the Pumbaa lot because it is now well lit at night.

That is good to know too! I like that it's a short walk but that worries me that it's not well lit.
I think I'll try to take my chances with the Mickey and friends lot...would it be easier to go north one more exit on 5, then turn around to get on I-5 S and then do the exit for Disneyland from the southbound side?

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

I've never done that. You'll probably need go up to Lincoln to turn around.

 

[vladimir p]

Getting to the mickey and friends parking lot is not that complicated at all coming fron the south, i always park there

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

Getting to the mickey and friends parking lot is not that complicated at all coming fron the south, i always park there

Ok, so how do you get there?

 

[kitayama]

Ok, so how do you get there?

The 91 to Ball...
Sorry, I cone from the East
Ps, the bus from the Toy Story lot isn't that bad. I like the organized queue.

 

[llump41]

We always park in Pumba now. If for some reason its closed it won't be too hard to get to Mickey and friends. For Pumba from SD just stay in the car pool lane and exit disney way. Go straight and your there. It's an easy walk if you choose or take the shuttle that's there.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

If for some reason its closed it won't be too hard to get to Mickey and friends.

Everyone is saying it's not too hard to get to Mickey and Friends parking structure from the south, but I have had a different experience. Can you describe how you get there from the south or from the Pumbaa lot when the Anaheim PD is in full traffic redirection mode?

 

[superlarz]

If you are going that early in the day you wont have an issue getting in Mickey and Friends. In fact, the parking structures many not even be open yet. You will also not have an issue getting on the tram. The parking structures open an hour before the earliest park opening or 30 minutes before the earliest Early Entry or Magic Morning. IF you are driving from SD and leaving at 4:30 you will be at the parks at 6. You should not really have any traffic at all.


And how I get in the M&F garage if they are redirecting people turning in off of Ball.. You can just go straight to the next major street, go right, and basically go around and enter the same way people coming from the north enter.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

And how I get in the M&F garage if they are redirecting people turning in off of Ball.. You can just go straight to the next major street, go right, and basically go around and enter the same way people coming from the north enter.

I have seen them on busy days doing the redirection as early as 7 AM on an 8 AM opening. What you describe above though is similar to what I described. I guess it's a difference of opinion, but I consider that process to be difficult especially for someone not familiar with the side streets.

Do you know how to tell if they are doing the redirection before it's too late and you are already being redirected? I really can't figure out how.

 

[StephanieCG]

Update - we had a great day yesterday and it was pretty easy to get to parking. We left at 4:45 am, and did the u-turn thing and flyover ramp as FryingPansWhoKnew suggested and it worked beautifully. Garage didn't open up until 6:30, and we were maybe the 4th or 5th car through. We were directed to the Pinocchio lot and that was great. Thanks for the help! I really appreciate if.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

Glad everything worked out. I'm also glad that you found the directions not too confusing. I'm sorry to say I had to work those out through a lot of trial and error. The Anaheim PD obviously does not want traffic from the south to access the M & F parking structure. The second time I got stuck in the traffic redirection, it took me almost 45 minutes to make it back. Luckily, I already dropped the family off so they did not have to see me seethe with anger.

I do the U-Turn trick every time I want to park in M & F now, but I usually park in the Pumbaa lot as we are usually not there at night so I don't have to worry about it not being lit well. I feel sorry for the poor souls I see in the left hand turn lane at Disneyland Drive. I know what's in store for them .

I'm still interested in alternate directions to the M & F parking structure from the south if the Anaheim PD is redirecting traffic from Ball Rd. As I said, I just worked these out through trial and error, so I would not be surprised if someone else found a slicker way.

 

[Mom2Joce]

We will be in orange off chapman and wanting to get to DL Sunday morning as early as possible but only staying a few hours. Is there a quick back street way that doesn't have morning traffic?
What lot would you suggest (it's just parking for this day...we are at Hojo the rest of the week)
Will the lots open at 7?

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

We will be in orange off chapman and wanting to get to DL Sunday morning as early as possible but only staying a few hours. Is there a quick back street way that doesn't have morning traffic?
What lot would you suggest (it's just parking for this day...we are at Hojo the rest of the week)
Will the lots open at 7?

Yes, you should be able to go west on Chapman, then turn north (right) on Harbor Blvd. From there you can go into either of the Toy Story Lots, or Pumbaa. If you want to go to M & F, you need to go up to Ball and turn west (left) and do the process I describe earlier in the thread.

Most parking lots will be open at 7. The parks open at 8 and the EMH start at 7, so I can't imagine the parking lots not being open, but sometimes they'll close certain lots.