DLR is a hike and a half?

[mousermerf]

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland and California Adventue for August. We've got plane tickets and a general idea of an intenerary...

But, we've also got questions...

1. Is there any resort that's "close" to the theme parks? Even the official DLR hotels seem to be a long walk away, even the Grand Californian looks like a walk from DL, and you have to be in the right part of DCA to be convienent. It actually looks like the offsite hotels on Harbor are closer to the main entrances - is this true?

I know myself, i don't do heat well and allergies knock me out at random so I want to be close to my hotel for breaks in the day. I know it wont be FL heat, but there will be heat. What to do?

2. What sort of CM perks do WDW CM's get at DLR? My other half just signed on for atleast the summer working at WDW, I was a CM but never really looked at DLR benefits when I was there. I seem to recall a 30-days-out-only policy about booking DLR hotels. It'd be nice if it was a discount like the WDW resorts. *shrug* Info would be nice. Oo, for that matter, what's the blockout on maingates at DLR?

3. Any general advice? Our dates are set in stone, we booked the tickets with airline reward miles. We're flying into John Wayne (SNA) from Tampa International. Aug 19-23, flying in midday and out midday. 4 nights. Still need to finalize hotel and tickets.

Let me know any insider tips Thanks in advance.

 

[carolina_yankee]

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland and California Adventue for August. We've got plane tickets and a general idea of an intenerary...

But, we've also got questions...

1. Is there any resort that's "close" to the theme parks? Even the official DLR hotels seem to be a long walk away, even the Grand Californian looks like a walk from DL, and you have to be in the right part of DCA to be convienent. It actually looks like the offsite hotels on Harbor are closer to the main entrances - is this true?

I know myself, i don't do heat well and allergies knock me out at random so I want to be close to my hotel for breaks in the day. I know it wont be FL heat, but there will be heat. What to do?
Thanks in advance.

This is the only question I can answer. I think the absolute closest hotels are an Harbor Blvd right accross, like the Best Western and a couple of others. The better reviewed hotels on Harbor (Candy Cane Inn and Howard Johnson) are about a 1/2 mile walk to the turnstiles, which is almost the same for Disneyland Hotel. Both have shuttles of varying convenience that get pretty good reviews. If you don't care about the hotel so much, you can get a list of the Harbor Blvd hotels on that block and check reviews against Trip Advisor to see which one appeals to you the best. HoJo and CCI are really, nice though.

As for Grand Californian, it's probably just as convenient to Disneyland as the Harbor hotels directly across form the entrance, and it's certainly the most convenient to DCA.

We hit the parks at opening, took about a 5 hour break mid-day, and then closed the park during our stay there last July. (We were at HoJo) It was a 10 minute walk there, a 15 minute walk back (obviously tired). While SoCal is warm, it's not as humid as Florida so August in Anaheim is easier on me than August in Orlando!

As for your plan, you should have plenty of time. Given your background, I suspect the same rules apply for when to visit parks/attractions and on which days of the week.

I follow your posts, so I'd enjoy whatever you have to write about comparisons, and photos as well!

Dirk

 

[TTATraveler]

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland and California Adventue for August. We've got plane tickets and a general idea of an intenerary...

But, we've also got questions...

1. Is there any resort that's "close" to the theme parks? Even the official DLR hotels seem to be a long walk away, even the Grand Californian looks like a walk from DL, and you have to be in the right part of DCA to be convienent. It actually looks like the offsite hotels on Harbor are closer to the main entrances - is this true?

I know myself, i don't do heat well and allergies knock me out at random so I want to be close to my hotel for breaks in the day. I know it wont be FL heat, but there will be heat. What to do?

2. What sort of CM perks do WDW CM's get at DLR? My other half just signed on for atleast the summer working at WDW, I was a CM but never really looked at DLR benefits when I was there. I seem to recall a 30-days-out-only policy about booking DLR hotels. It'd be nice if it was a discount like the WDW resorts. *shrug* Info would be nice. Oo, for that matter, what's the blockout on maingates at DLR?

3. Any general advice? Our dates are set in stone, we booked the tickets with airline reward miles. We're flying into John Wayne (SNA) from Tampa International. Aug 19-23, flying in midday and out midday. 4 nights. Still need to finalize hotel and tickets.

Let me know any insider tips Thanks in advance.

The Grand Californian is the closest to the entrance of both DL and DCA. At GC, you follow the signs to DL and it will lead you out into the middle of Downtown Disney and then it is a short walk to the Esplanade and the turnstiles. Paradise Pier is the furthest, but when I stayed there, I walked across the street to the GC and cut through the lobby and out through Downtown Disney so it was easy. DLH will be about a 5-10 minute walk. The hotels on Harbour are at the other end of the Esplanade and are just as close, closer then DLH and Paradise Pier, equally as close at the GC.

The ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) services a lot of the hotels in the DL area and runs pretty good. Most of the hotels within a 2 block radius are definately walkable.

John Wayne is a great airport to fly into. It'll take about 20-25 minutes to get to DL from there. Not sure if you are getting a taxi or not, but Super Shuttle will cost around $10 a person to the hotels. They use passanger vans so it is relatively quick to get everyone to their hotel.

Be sure to see Remember Dreams Come True from the hub! It is trully an awesome presentation. It does get crowded. Have a great time!!

 

[darthjohnny]

It's true even the Disney hotels aren't that close. When I stayed at Paradise Peir, I had like a 10-15 minute walk just to get to the Downtown Disney Monorail. Does anyone know if its just me or was there ever a "special entrance" from the Paradise Peir. I know they used to advertise one.

 

[ScrapIron]

It's true even the Disney hotels aren't that close. When I stayed at Paradise Peir, I had like a 10-15 minute walk just to get to the Downtown Disney Monorail. Does anyone know if its just me or was there ever a "special entrance" from the Paradise Peir. I know they used to advertise one.

There was an entrance from the PP, but no more. The monorail stop in DTD used to be the DL hotel stop, they just changed the name, but not the location. There's something on www.mouseplanet.com that shows the actual distances to various area hotels. I'd find it, but the computer has been on too long, and it's starting to balk at simple tasks, so I need to restart before I can even get to another site. If you can't find it, just search the boards or ask. Like noted earlier, there are several off site hotels that are a 10 minute walk from the park gates, so we get a suite there for half the price, or less, than a regular room at an official hotel.

Cheers.

 

[darthjohnny]

When I went to Paradise Peir they said there has never been a seperate enterance even though it was still being advertised on their information channel on TV. Does anyone know why they stopped it. Was the enterance across the street or was it a bridge over the street?

 

[TTATraveler]

When I went to Paradise Peir they said there has never been a seperate enterance even though it was still being advertised on their information channel on TV. Does anyone know why they stopped it. Was the enterance across the street or was it a bridge over the street?

The separate entrance to DCA was across the street. It was a plane brown gate that you had to inser your key into. You walked around behind the shops and brought you out in between Mullholand Madness and Golden Dreams. Anyone walking past the brown gate wouldn't even know what it was for and would assume it was for the cast.

 

[BRER STITCH]

Have a GREAT trip, MOUSERMERF!

You're gonna love it!

There's LOTS of happy memories to be made at DL like I have done on my visits there.

Something about the "extra magic" that an East Coaster gets from a trip to the California Parks. In many ways it feels lots more like a vacation than some of my trips to WDW.

You may have seen my comments in other threads about the FANTASMIC BALCONY DESSERT PARTY and I highly recommend it for those who may never get back to DL again!!! :sohappy:

My last trip, I surprised my Mom and Dad with an anniversary trip to DL from our original vacation destination of Las Vegas. Because I figured they may never get to DL again time soon, I was sure to try and book every special thing I could think of, including the Fantasmic thing and lots of good meals.

To this day, it is one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken and produced some of the best pictures I have ever had from any Disney trip.

HAVE FUN!!!!

:wave:

 

[TP2000]

Blockout dates for CM's Main Gate/Silver Passes are as follows this summer;

Disneyland - June 24th (Pirates Premiere), July 4th, July 14th thru August 20th.

DCA - June, 24th (Pirates Premiere)

So basically, Disneyland is blocked out for the six peak weeks of summer, plus the 4th of July. DCA is only blocked out for the Pirates Premiere. You can even sign yourself into DCA on the 4th of July.

As a comparison, The Magic Kingdom at WDW has only one CM blockout date this summer; July 4th.

If you are arriving August 19th and were planning on using your CM pass for entry to the parks, it looks like the first full day of your trip will be spent at DCA.

 

[maelstrom]

We stayed at the Best Western right across from Disneyland in 2000 and it was very nice as far as I remember. In 1996 we stayed at the Anaheim Plaza which was a bit of a ways down (the whole area was different as this was pre-DCA). I'm not sure if that hotel is still there now. We had no problems walking to DL from either hotel.

 

[ScrapIron]

There's something on www.mouseplanet.com that shows the actual distances to various area hotels.

Forgot I had it bookmarked:hammer:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm060329as

Cheers.

 

[nelsonj3]

I just booked 5 nights at the Candy Cane Inn. All of the reviews of the hotel that I read were excellent.

 

[netenyahoo]

I just booked 5 nights at the Candy Cane Inn. All of the reviews of the hotel that I read were excellent.

That is an excellent choice. It is my favorite non-Disney hotel and very close to the parks. Free breakfast is a nice plus and the rooms are nice.

 

[steve2wdw]

We spent 6 nights at the DLR in April of '05 and ended up staying in all three Disney hotels. Our first three nights were at the Paradise Pier hotel, and we didn't find the walk that far at all. Being Eastcoasters and used the huge distances at WDW, we found the DLR to be really convenient. Heck, on our last trip to WDW we stayed at Saratoga Springs and it took us 15 minutes just to walk to the lobby from our room. At DLR, it took us about three minutes to get from the back entrance of the PP hotel to DTD and then another 3 to 5 minutes to get to the DL entrance. The DL hotel put us about 2 minutes closer and the GC hotel another minute closer. All in all we found the experience great. Loved having to walk through DTD all the time. We felt we enjoyed DTD at the DLR far more than the WDW version, as it's quite an effort to get to DTD in Florida. I feel you can't go wrong with any of the DLR hotels.

 

[goofy_fanatic]

Well, all hotels are pretty far away, but you will benifit from the Disneyland hotels because you would have to walk to the parking lot just to get your car and driving there would take a longer time. One time we stayed at a hotel across the street and it took even longer! I recommend the Disneyland Hotel

And if you have allregies, why dont you just take the medicine in your bag and take it in a restroom or something? If you answer "Im embarressed" thats just stupid, nobody cares! Mostly there are just kids going.

I have some advice,
♥If you are planning on going in the morning, go on the faster rides first♥
♥Go to restraunts in the park later then usual bc @ noon it will be too crowded♥
♥GET FAST PASSES♥
~*~and~*~
♥If you are never in the mood to get lunch or dont want to pay, just buy or brings snacks to snack on in the park♥

 

[1stStarIC2nite]

One thing that really helped as far as fastpasses go: Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin is on a different system than all the other fastpass attractions. This of course means then that you could have a fastpass for RRCS and Space Mountain at the same time. Likewise, at DCA, Grizzly River Run is on a different system as well, so you can have a fastpass for GRR and Soarin' at the same time. So overall, due to the proximity of the parks... you could have 4 fastpasses at once... it's very nice

 

[MainSt1993]

I'm planning my first trip to Disneyland and California Adventue for August. We've got plane tickets and a general idea of an intenerary...

But, we've also got questions...

1. Is there any resort that's "close" to the theme parks? Even the official DLR hotels seem to be a long walk away, even the Grand Californian looks like a walk from DL, and you have to be in the right part of DCA to be convienent. It actually looks like the offsite hotels on Harbor are closer to the main entrances - is this true?

I know myself, i don't do heat well and allergies knock me out at random so I want to be close to my hotel for breaks in the day. I know it wont be FL heat, but there will be heat. What to do?

2. What sort of CM perks do WDW CM's get at DLR? My other half just signed on for atleast the summer working at WDW, I was a CM but never really looked at DLR benefits when I was there. I seem to recall a 30-days-out-only policy about booking DLR hotels. It'd be nice if it was a discount like the WDW resorts. *shrug* Info would be nice. Oo, for that matter, what's the blockout on maingates at DLR?

1. GC is only slightly further away than the parking lot tram drop off. You'll be surprised how much closer everything is compared to WDW. And walking is good for you!!

2. Back in the day ('93-'95), DLR didn't stamp WDW passes, and vice versa. I would be surprised if this policy changed.

August is the hottest month, but there's no humidity. Unlike the east coast, it does cool off substantially at night so pack accordingly.