Which is better? Park at the Toy Story lot or take the ART Shuttle?

[DaisyDuck88]

Planning on a great DL trip despite the fact we aren't within walking distance this time! My DH, two sons (11 and 12) and I are staying at the Residence Inn Garden Grove the last week of May.

Should we A) rent a car and park at Toy Story lot or B) taxi from airport and use the ART shuttle (maybe a cab in morning to make early openings)?

I've seen mixed reviews on the shuttle. I know we are very close to the Toy Story lot. Does it open in time to get to park early? Anyone know if it closes for the Grad Nights?

We want to get to parks early each day before opening. We will return to hotel for swim/nap/early dinner and then head back for the evening.

Would love any advice and pros/cons!!! We stayed at HoJo or Candy Cane in the past so driving/shuttle will be new. I tell myself at least it will be better than that crazy trek to MK when we stayed off-site at DW!

 

[sonnyjane]

Not familiar with that hotel but are you close enough to just walk to the Toy Story lot and hop on their free shuttle?

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

If you don't need the car for anything else, I'd probably go with the shuttle.

Besides the cost of the rental car (and gas), you have to consider a $10 parking fee at the hotel and the $16 to park at the Toy Story lot.

Here's my look at the hotel:

http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2014/03/07/good-neighbor-hotel-residence-inn-anaheim-resort/

 

[DaisyDuck88]

I hadn't even thought about that! It looks like it is a little over 1/2 mile to walk to Toy Story. We could walk it in the morning but not sure I want to walk it four times a day or real late at night since I don't know how safe that would be. But it is good to know we could also just walk to Toy Story if the first ART shuttle of the day doesn't come early enough for us. Thanks!

 

[DaisyDuck88]

Thanks! We aren't going anywhere else but Disneyland. I got a pretty good deal on car rental so I figure it will cost me $100 more total to rent car and park than to taxi/shuttle. If parking at Toy Story saved us lots of time or allowed more flexibility than I wouldn't mind the extra.
Also, I listened to your podcast when making our decision on where to stay and it was so helpful! We got an amazing rate so we are really excited!

 

[kkmcan]

We stayed at that Residence Inn a few years ago and took the ART shuttle and it was such a waste of time. The shuttle was never on time. Either early or late or didn't show up at all. Same for leaving the park. Maybe if you aren't planning on doing a break in the middle of the day it would work. But we calculated almost 2 hours of waiting/riding time every day. We did take a break in the afternoon to rest at the hotel and maybe that's why but all that waiting in the hot sun was unbearable.

The Toy Story shuttle is always there so we have never waited when parking in that lot. If I have to shuttle it, I love the Toy Story!

 

[HeyThatsMyBike]

Sorry to hijack, but what is the Toy Story lot and where is it?

 

[JasonShannon76]

I prefer parking in the Mickey & Friends Garage since it cost the same as Toy Story lot, and the tram drops you off right there.

 

[sonnyjane]

I prefer parking in the Mickey & Friends Garage since it cost the same as Toy Story lot, and the tram drops you off right there.

The Toy Story Lot drops you off maybe 20 yards farther than the MF tram, just on the other side of the esplanade. I find that the TS tram runs much more frequently and prefer that lot.

 

[HollyL]

Hey, does anyone know how close The Red Lion is to the Toy Story Parking lot? I google mapped it, and it looks like it's right there. I got a killer deal on Priceline for The Red Lion, so we will be there for a few days next week. I was just planning on walking over to the Toy Story lot and jumping on the shuttle. Is that the best option?

 

[ImDMous]

Hey, does anyone know how close The Red Lion is to the Toy Story Parking lot? I google mapped it, and it looks like it's right there. I got a killer deal on Priceline for The Red Lion, so we will be there for a few days next week. I was just planning on walking over to the Toy Story lot and jumping on the shuttle. Is that the best option?

It's pretty close, we've stayed there before and done that. It's not that far to just walk to the main gate either. I think we walked to the gate in the mornings and then took the shuttle back at night when we were tired.

 

[khippster]

Can you walk into the lots to ride the Tram to DL? We are staying at the new Springhill Suites in November but my kids are little and I don't want to walk that far.

 

[Vikingbro]

Sorry to hijack, but what is the Toy Story lot and where is it?

The Toy Story Lot is a parking lot that is about a block south of Katella Avenue and on the opposite side of Harbor Boulevard in regards to the resort. They have ART buses running continually (I have heard any where from 45-60 minutes before park opening to 1 hour after park close). They drop you off on the Harbor Blvd. side of the Esplanade security check point at the resort.

 

[misskay]

I vote for the Toy story! The ART seems inconvenient to me, being on their schedule, rather than your own. We also had our rental car from flying in to Vegas and driving to Anaheim and had free parking from buying our tickets through BCAA so taking the ART would have cost more. It was nice to be able to drive off in the middle of the day and head to one of the surrounding restaurants (mmm Cheesecake Factory! I'm sad they don't have it in Canada!) and not have to stay on site. We also went back to the car for a break halfway through the day because it closed at 8 we didn't want to truck back to the hotel and then go back to the park it was nice to have a place to go sit for a half hour and be away from the magic lol!

 

[sonnyjane]

The Toy Story Lot is a parking lot that is about a block south of Katella Avenue and on the opposite side of Harbor Boulevard in regards to the resort. They have ART buses running continually (I have heard any where from 45-60 minutes before park opening to 1 hour after park close). They drop you off on the Harbor Blvd. side of the Esplanade security check point at the resort.

Just to clarify, the buses from the TS lot are not ART buses - they are free, no need for a ticket or anything.

 

[bcla]

Just to clarify, the buses from the TS lot are not ART buses - they are free, no need for a ticket or anything.

ART is Disney's contractor. They actually run the Toy Story Lot shuttles. The ART logo is on the back of the bus (near the top):

I've also seen the occasional plain white w/ red trim ART bus operating as a Toy Story Lot shuttle. They use the same equipment and I'd guess they get serviced at the same place.

 

[sonnyjane]

ART is Disney's contractor. They actually run the Toy Story Lot shuttles. The ART logo is on the back of the bus (near the top): I've also seen the occasional plain white w/ red trim ART bus operating as a Toy Story Lot shuttle. They use the same equipment and I'd guess they get serviced at the same place.

*sigh* I forgot you're such a stickler for details lol. Yes I get that but the OP had asked about either the TS shuttle or buying an ART pass so I wanted to make sure it was clear that the buses leaving from TS don't require an ART pass.

 

[DaisyDuck88]

Thanks for everyone's input so far. I think I am leaning towards getting a rental car and parking at Toy Story. Is the Toy Story lot always open? I thought I read somewhere that it might close on Grad Days (we will be there for 2 grad days). Anyone know if Toy Story ever closes?

 

[misskay]

It's not open for Magic Morning hours, DB and I had to find our way to Mickey's parking garage that morning, which was our last, that in itself was quite confusing. I still prefer the Toy Story lot to the garage! Plus the buses are climate controlled because they're not open air like the tram. Leaving there was a cinch too, not as congested (we found) than leaving Mickey's parking garage.

 

[DaisyDuck88]

Yikes! I was counting on Toy Story being open for MM. We plan on using our MM Saturday and definitely don't want to miss it trying to figure out parking. I may have to rethink our strategy.