To Park or not to Park

[ppwlee]

Hi, just wondering whether it's better to stay across the street from DL or live a few blocks away and drive in..

We are a family of 4 with 4 yr old and 1.5 yr old.

Planning to spend 4-5 days next spring at DL.

How far is the walk if we drive and park? Is parking consuming Vs staying close and walk to DL?

Thanks for any input.

 

[skiingfast]

Staying close to keep the walk under 15 minutes is great. Why stay further away? Usually because you want a hotel name you know, like Embassy Suites or Marriot.

If you stay further away the usual option is to use a shuttle. Few places have there own shuttle, most people use ART which is a public bus for the resort area of Anaheim.

Driving to a lot costs $15 per day, maybe more next year. Toy story lot has a shuttle running from it to the gates and will take about 15 minutes, to drive into, park and ride the shuttle. The Mickey and Friends garage will take about 30 minutes.

It's really a question of what hotel will work for you and how much time you want to spend getting to and from the parks.

 

[auntiegem]

My vote is to stay close and walk (or ART) . . . no parking. Since your kids are young, you'll probably want to take a mid-day break. Being right there and able to be back in your room quickly will be a big plus. Not to mention, it will also make going back after the break a lot easier and free of the parking hassle.

 

[MattsPrincess]

I think we actually ended up walking farther the one day we parked than the other days when we walked from the hotel. (carousel)

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Driving is a hassle because you have to pack up the car, unload the car, wait for a tram, and then do the same routine in reverse at the end of the day (sometimes not having to deal with cranky little ones who don't want to wait for the tram is worth staying closer). Plus, like someone else said, parking adds up financially. I would recommend only staying at a place where you need to drive from if you have a great discount or hotel points. Also, like other people have said, look into ART.

 

[darph nader]

We stay across the street. Unless you're saving a 'boat' load of $$ it's not worth the hassel of driving back and forth.

 

[specialks]

We have always stayed far offsite and driven in. We considered the ART but after reading these boards and input from our hotel staff, we decided to drive again. We also get our PHs at AAA so we get free parking in M&F garage. That all being said, I HATE parking. My husband is not a disney fan so he considers the hotel choice important because of certain features, not distance to DL. Also, we have 2 young girls and dealing with strollers on the parking trams (and I hear the same for ART) is a test. Strollers can only load at the front of a tram section so the other 4-5 rows are off limits. Many times the lines from the garage are very long and we walk from the garage to avoid the trams. I documented our parking experience from a day last Dec in my TR (see my siggie below for a link). If it wasn't for my husband and keeping him happy I would never stay away from walking distance. Especially if you get a double stroller and tote your kids to the gates. Feel free to ask anymore ?s and I'll try to answer them.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Hi, just wondering whether it's better to stay across the street from DL or live a few blocks away and drive in..

If you are planning to move to the Disneyland area I thing there are some neighboring cities that are a better real estate investment!

 

[GrandBob]

Oh boy. You're really in need of a couple of Hydroguy tips.

Hydroguy's Hotel Rule

Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR

In short, if you can possibly swing a walking-distance hotel, do it! You'll thank yourself later. And you'll be optimizing a couple of the primary advantages of going to DLR over WDW - the closeness of the park and the lack of transportation hassles.

-Bob

 

[PinkBudgie]

We used to always stay 1-3 miles from DLR and drive in (because that's where the big hotels are) but lately we've been staying at CCI and walk over.

Driving in isn't bad. They are well organized to show you exactly where to park. And first thing in the morning, you can park outside and not in the garage. We will never take a bus to DLR again because we like to leave on our own time and not be dependant on trying to squeeze on a crowded bus. However, driving does take more time. You have to hurry through breakfast and allow 30-40 min to arrive at the security check, maybe even more if you don't get there early. Also, leaving for an afternoon nap is a pain so we never left if we drove.

When we stay at CCI we have more time to sleep, have breakfast, and still arrive at the gates just before 8. Unless we are trying to get on Peter Pan, we have found that we can get there a little before 8am and still be fine for short ride lines. ( I'm referring to summer hours when the park opens at 8am)

 

[disneydreamer74]

We have driven on past trips and taken the ART shuttle as well. This trip we decided to stay on Harbor in walking distance. I feel that the travel time you lose staying farther away puts you at a great disadvantage. I would rather stay at a motel style accomodation than deal with the travel issues and pack/unpack my stroller several times per day!

 

[Mama Who]

Parking has always seemed like the worst of all options to me. Our first choice is to stay close to the gate (Carousel, Park Place, Tropicana, etc.) and our second is to stay a little further and have a shuttle (Candy Cane Inn). The idea of fighting traffic and trams and the difficulty of a mid day break just really doesn't appeal. Of course, we travel with folks who need that break. If you're all day straight through types, that's a little less important.

(Okay, our *first* first choice would be the Grand Californian, but not on our budget!)

 

[oumagic]

Stay as close as you can. The walk to Disneyland isn't bad; 30 minutes would be no big deal in the morning for my crew. However, that walk back to the hotel is a killer and anything over 10 minutes can be brutal. When we were just there, we were roughly 15 minutes away. The walk there early was no problem. The walk back at naptime was killer. Refreshed, the 2nd walk of the day back to Disney (and beyond, actually to Downtown Disney) was once again a piece of cake. That walk back at 11:30 PM was terrible. I did not price taxis, but if you stay farther away like I did, you might be able to walk to Disney with the anticipation and adrenalin pumping and then catch a cab or shuttle back to the hotel. I contemplated staying 30 minutes or so away, but like many others, I just don't think that is ideal.

 

[tanyaewa]

I am in the minority I guess!!
We bought our ParkHoppers through AAA last trip and they included free parking for all days of our stay.
We went in April - long hours and lowish crowds.
We LOVED rocking up at 8-9am, parking, hopping a tram and getting dropped for a quick walk into the park. We had no problem staying all day and leaving at night.
Again a quick tram ride and we were back at the car. No hauling kiddos and backpacks home along the streets.
We got a great deal on a hotel way down Harbour with free parking & bfast so, along with the free Mickey & Friends parking it was a great way to go.

We also were able to make some quick stops at Target before & after the park for supplies

I have done ART - staying at Red Lion. Wouldn't want to do that with kids.
ART adds an extra $15ish for a family of 4. PLus the hassle

This year we are at BWPPI - funny enough I have always wanted to stay there - like since the 70's! It just seems SO close!
Sort of like the sign on the highway - *If you lived here you would be home already* lol

But back to original question - if you get a great hotel at a great price - the parking can work really well with the plans

 

[bumbershoot]

I think we actually ended up walking farther the one day we parked than the other days when we walked from the hotel. (carousel)

Yes, absolutely!

It doesn't help that when you get there early in the morning you have NO choice over where you park; the CMs are there to tell you exactly where to park. And each time we've parked, we are put in one of the very farthest away parking spaces from the escalator/elevators. So first we walk to the escalator, then get on that scary tall thing, then get to the tram spot, wait wait wait, tram, then you have to walk an annoying way into the bag check areas. The DTD side bagchecks tend to have longer lines than the Harbor side.

And going back felt even longer.

I'd stay right there on Harbor close-by and just walk.

 

[specialks]

you have NO choice over where you park; the CMs are there to tell you exactly where to park. And each time we've parked, we are put in one of the very farthest away parking spaces from the escalator/elevators.

I feel your pain! I don't know how many times my family had to deal with irate me because we ended up at the end of one of those rows and I was always frustrated. You also get split at one point and you kick yourself if you choose the wrong line and see the other line is going closer.

Another thing to mention is one night at DL they closed early for a private party and we got stuck for about 40 minutes in the garage trying to leave along with the rest of the mass exodus that the early closing caused. Just another reason we w I'll stay onsite or across the street next time. I will convince my husband to see things my way for our next trip!