Walk or ART?

[CanadianDisneyDuo]

I need some advice on getting to the parks. This is the first time we are not staying at BWPPI or CCI. We are staying at Best Western Pavilions (because the rest of our family decided to stay there). It is on Katella. Anyone know the location and can give advice as to where to walk to get to the parks (like is it possible to walk to Disneyland Hotel?) and how far of a walk? Or should we just take the ART?

 

[SteveH]

Up to you, but we walked from the Sheraton, either up Habor or Disneyland Drive, from where your at its almost a straight shot up Disneyland Drive. For DLD just wan up Disneyland drive on the left hand side and hang a left past Paradise Pier. Google says 15 minutes and .7 miles.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I just looked at the map. I’d uber.

 

[CanadianDisneyDuo]

I just looked at the map. I’d uber.

We are from rural Manitoba... so Uber is pretty new to us Would Uber be cheaper than the ART? There are 4 of us

 

[VandVsmama]

We've stayed at BW Pavilions before. It's a bit of a long walk. It's ok for first thing in the morning when you're setting out and well rested, but after walking 10+ miles in DL all day long, that is a really long hike back. 1-day ART passes are $6/adult and $16/adult for 3-day passes. They also have 5-day passes for $25 each.

So let's say that you were going for 3 days and there's four of you. That would mean $64 for ART tickets assuming you've purchased them ahead of time. The ART website will mail tickets to US and Canada only. Assuming you have Uber drop you off/pick you up at the rideshare drop off/pick up location on Harbor Blvd, it would probably be about $6-$8 for each trip. So to save on a little $$, you could walk there in the morning and use Uber to go back to the hotel at the end of the day. For 3 days, that would be about $18-$24. Definitely cheaper than $64 of ART passes. And it would probably be faster than ART.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You could also have Uber or Lyft drop you at the DTD drop off (just south of the Lilo lot, before you get to the DLH). The DTD drop off is about a 1-2 minute walk to the DTD or DLH bag check points. If you want to go to Starbucks before entering the parks, there is Starbucks DTD West II right by those bag check stations. EOS is right there, too. You can use the Starbucks app to mobile order from either DTD location (main store by WOD: Starbucks Downtown Disney; smaller store on the DLH end: Starbucks Downtown Disney West II).

 

[CanadianDisneyDuo]

Thanks for the great info!
We will probably try Uber... having said that, do we need to order ART passes in advance or is there somewhere around Disney we can buy a five day pass when we are there?

 

[Indiana Scott]

Just for comparison, we've taken an Uber form BWPPI to the entrance of the DLH and it was $10 but this was several years ago so it may be $12(?) now .
Still, It seems like an Uber would be cheaper than ART and a little more convenient too.

 

[VandVsmama]

ART has a ton of info about schedules, routes, and all of that on their website. It's basically like riding any city bus. So there's a bit of a time commitment sometimes. Website is located at https://rideart.org/.

One thing to consider re: Uber or Lyft is that if you have kids who need car seats, that can be a factor in one's decision making.

 

[crystal1313]

I would say in the morning, it would not be a bad walk, but in the evening it feels like FOREVER to get back to the room. After walking in the parks all day, it is a trek! I have stayed at the Pavilions, and regretted walking back! That being said, I also don't like standing around waiting for a shuttle! I would uber/lyft. I would do what you feel comfortable with!

Also, wanted to note, my DH and I were in Anaheim last month, staying at the Hilton Convention Center. We walked. Using Disneyland Drive. There was a lot of homeless people around. Mostly at the bus stop on the corner of Katella and Disneyland Drive. We have never had any issues in the past, but we did this trip. A woman who was high, was verbally harassing us while we waited for the crosswalk. It was VERY uncomfortable. She was making no sense at all but was getting increasingly angry/aggressive. I was actually a bit scared. Just something to be aware of....

 

[SeattleTink]

I used ART on my last trip, and it is very easy to use. If you have a smart phone, you can add the app when you arrive and purchase your tickets on your phone. It is very easy to use and that way you don't have to use paper tickets. There was a kiosk to purchase tickets at my hotel, so you might check your hotel if they have one too.

 

[GeneralTso]

Uber. It's fast and it's cheap!

 

[Howry]

There is a ART Kiosk outside of the Disney security gates on the East side entrance. It looks kind of like a bank machine, up along the monorail tracks before entering security. Otherwise I would go with the smart phone app. One thing I like about Art over Uber is that if you want to go back to your hotel for a break you arent paying for an uber back to your hotel, an uber back to the park and then another uber back to your hotel at the end of the day.

 

[avalon451]

If you Uber, I’d have them drop you at the Harbor side entrance rather than DTD, unless you want to experience DTD and shop, dine, etc. It’s a LONG walk up DTD to the turnstiles; Harbor entrance is much closer.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you Uber, I’d have them drop you at the Harbor side entrance rather than DTD, unless you want to experience DTD and shop, dine, etc. It’s a LONG walk up DTD to the turnstiles; Harbor entrance is much closer.

"LONG" is relative -- the walk from the DLH or DTD bag check to the park gates is about 5-10 minutes at a leisurely/very leisurely pace, depending on crowds and your window shopping interest. However, if you have little ones who are easily distracted by everything in every store window and every fountain, that can make for a VERY long walk!
The point made by a pp about car seats/booster seats is important if you'll be taking Uber or Lyft. In CA, ride share doesn't provide these, so if you have kids who will be needing them, you'll have to provide your own. For booster seats, many people here use travel boosters like Mifold or BubbleBum (Amazon.com has good prices). Those travel well and can be stored in a locker during the day.

 

[kikismom]

We walked this last year. We were there 4 days, 5 year old, 66 year old mom (not in great shape), and me. We took ART twice and walked the back way the rest of the time. It's way easier to walk back from the parks because you can cut off significant time by going through Grand Californian instead of around the DL hotel. We would walk to the crosswalk, go down Disney drive and then around the Disneyland hotel into Downtown Disney. We like staying on the backside personally. We took ART to the parks twice, and back to the hotel twice, we go back to the hotel every afternoon so we walked way more times than ART. For us the bag check line on Harbor made walking the back way worth it. I think they may have addressed that issue but last October while we were there the lines were horrible. Dtd side we never waited longer than 5 minutes.

I can't figure out how to put a picture of our route in here while on my phone. I'll do it from a computer in a bit.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like walking and have walked to and from further motels/hotels in the area. So I’d walk.

 

[kikismom]

Okay I got it. It kind of looks like a long ways but it wasn't. Especially when I factored in the ease of mobile order at Starbucks on the way through DTD. I will admit we cut through the employee lot a few times too. I didn't know you shouldn't do that until I got on these boards. The person working the entrance just waved at us when we went through. We stopped doing it because people flew through in their cars and I had my daughter with me.

 

[Joeboo25]

We stayed at the corner of Harbor and Katella last week and used ART all 4 days. We could have walked it easily (like we did last year), but it was really nice not having to add extra steps to already long days. Generally it was much faster than walking and we'd usually ride past everybody who walked by us while we waited. Some of the drop off points are very close to bag check too.

Also, if you do a google search, you can find 5 day passes for $16 that are delivered to your hotel before you arrive.

 

[felice]

Walking is certainly a good thing to do. Don't worry too much about the amount of homeless people around; when we're visiting Anaheim we do see them about but they are and have been no bother to us personally. Although in saying that, it is sad to see people in this day and age being in that position.We tend to walk past whilst at the same time praying for them to see if their personal situations can change.