The walk from Stovalls

[Disney Dider]

Does anyone have exact directions by chance of the walk everyone takes to the park? It's my first time staying this far and trying to determine if we need art passes.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I've stayed at the Stovall's quite a few times and the walk isn't that bad. I suppose it depends if you have walking issues. Our walks ranged in time of 12-17 minutes to security. It depended on how tired we were and how long to wait for the light.

Walking there is really easy....
1. Leave the Stovall's and cross the street heading towards the Paradise Pier hotel, you will also see DCA/Paradise Pier as well.
2. Keep walking towards the Paradise Pier hotel.
3. Once you get to the Paradise Pier hotel cross the street (if you are on the same side as the hotel) at the light and walk towards the Grand Californian Hotel (don't worry there is a big sign for the Grand Californian).
4. Go into the Grand Californian hotel lobby.
5. Look for the signs that direct guests to Downtown Disney and the parks, follow that and you will exit into Downtown Disney.
6. As of right now the stores flanking the exit area into Downtown Disney are Sephora and Ana & Elsas Boutique (helpful when returning at night to see those). Turn right towards Sephora and you will be heading toward the Esplanade and security check points for the parks.

 

[TACK]

I also stayed there and had no problem walking back and forth including an afternoon break. I found it a nice quiet walk and did the same as the writer above. Not sure of the ages of everyone on your trip which could make a difference.

 

[Reepicheep]

We have stayed many times at the Quality Inn which is a couple of minutes walk west of Stovalls, and had no real problems. But I must admit that the walk at the end of a long day did seem tough at times.

We no longer stay at the Quality Inn, but if we ever do again I might consider walking in the morning and grabbing a taxi in the evening to return to the hotel.

The Coco's restaurant adjacent to Stovalls often had excellent deals for food. You might want to register for Coco's email list before your trip.

 

[Disney Dider]

Thank you everyone!! This was very helpful!!!

 

[smartlabelprint]

http://www.disboards.com/threads/at-park-opening-short-cut-through-grand-california.3479231/
Visually

We're considering ART shuttle for the way home.

 

[bumbershoot]

I just mapped it with mapmyrun, trying to approximate the real walk (like going through the giant half hidden Mickey before you get to PPH), etc, and from outside Stovall's to the center of the esplanade it's about .77 mile. So that's a decent walk.

I compared it to the center of the esplanade to the furthest away shuttle bay, and that's .18 miles.

I can see the convenience and allure.

But for some reason it doesn't work *for me*. I prefer to be moving; standing just hurts. And the one time I tried to use ART, we waited an hour and then the shuttle driver somehow forgot that Desert Palms was on his route (after we made SURE with him that it was as we boarded) and we had to insist that he stop. So we walk.

 

[Sally_fan]

I've stayed at the Stovall's quite a few times and the walk isn't that bad. I suppose it depends if you have walking issues. Our walks ranged in time of 12-17 minutes to security. It depended on how tired we were and how long to wait for the light.

Walking there is really easy....
1. Leave the Stovall's and cross the street heading towards the Paradise Pier hotel, you will also see DCA/Paradise Pier as well.
2. Keep walking towards the Paradise Pier hotel.
3. Once you get to the Paradise Pier hotel cross the street (if you are on the same side as the hotel) at the light and walk towards the Grand Californian Hotel (don't worry there is a big sign for the Grand Californian).
4. Go into the Grand Californian hotel lobby.
5. Look for the signs that direct guests to Downtown Disney and the parks, follow that and you will exit into Downtown Disney.
6. As of right now the stores flanking the exit area into Downtown Disney are Sephora and Ana & Elsas Boutique (helpful when returning at night to see those). Turn right towards Sephora and you will be heading toward the Esplanade and security check points for the parks.

This!! We stay at Stovall's Inn a few times & this is the exact route we take. Sometimes we cross & go up the other side of the street but its essentially the same route.We usually enjoy the walk but once we grabbed a cab from the GCH. My daughter wasn't wearing proper footwear & had horrific blisters. It was cheap & totally worth it to save her the pain. It's a nice walk. The trees are lit up at nght which I think is really pretty.