JW Marriott Anaheim Resort Opens Today - 8/19/20

Darkbeer1

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
This is good news! The JW Marriott brand is always top notch, and this one looks par for the course as far as their sleek corporate style. This is a dramatic improvement for Anaheim over the vacant lot that had been there for the last 20 years, after a cheap motel there was torn down in the 1990's.

Now all this place needs is an operating theme park and an operating convention center to give people a reason to visit!
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
planodisney said:
How is the surrounding area and is it a good route from the hotel to the parks, as far as homelessness
and just general dinginess?
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You walk north on Clementine, which is a quiet street. Then west on Disneyland Drive and up the two blocks on Harbor to the Disneyland esplanade entrance. The two blocks on Harbor are the usual ragtag bunch of homeless crazies, beggars, and souvenir salesmen.

But before you get to Harbor, you walk by the entrance of GardenWalk and get to see these guys, so it's worth it.

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Darkbeer1

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
TP2000 said:
You walk north on Clementine, which is a quiet street. Then west on Disneyland Drive Disney Way and up the two blocks on Harbor to the Disneyland esplanade entrance. The two blocks on Harbor are the usual ragtag bunch of homeless crazies, beggars, and souvenir salesmen.
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Fixed that for you. Disneyland Drive was West Street in the 1990's and got renamed when Disneyland became a resort. (The street that goes under Downtown Disney.)

Also, at Harbor and Disney Way, cross the street to the west side of Harbor to bypass the ragtag bunch for the most part.
 
Darkbeer1

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
TikiDisney said:
Hope they offer shuttle service soon. Can't imagine walking among all the homeless that sleep on the streets there.
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Multiple ART Routes stop at GardenWalk.

City rules don't allow shuttles provided by Hotels (with a few grandfathered).

But if you can afford the JW, you can pay for a Taxi!
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
TikiDisney said:
Uber Black maybe. I'd never take a taxi.
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You have to fight against the horrible Uber drop-off zone on Harbor. It's usually like trying to get into LAX the day before Thanksgiving. A total mess because it's a small narrow strip of land designed in 1997 as a short-term parking lot that was then turned into a woefully inadequate drop-off zone 20 years later for a technology (ridesharing) that didn't exist in 1997.

From the JW Marriott and GardenWalk, it's actually just faster and easier to walk the 3 blocks.

But if you have to Uber, do what I do. Arrange for the Uber to take you to the Disneyland Hotel. Tell the toll booth attendant you are meeting friends for lunch/dinner/meeting (depending on time of day). Tip your Uber driver, and walk to the monorail station at Downtown Disney. When you leave the park, walk out through the Grand Californian Hotel and arrange for an Uber to pick you up there on the porte cochere. It's almost as easy and slick as being @realBobChapek or senior TDA execs who get free valet parking at the Grand Californian to keep them away from all the dirty tourists!

It probably helps that I've never been questioned on this sneaky tactic because I'm a bachelor who rolls down the rear window of the Uber to talk to the toll booth CM's like a man in a Grey Poupon commercial. So if you've got a family wearing mouse ears, try and play it cool.

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NobodyElse

NobodyElse

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
You walk north on Clementine, which is a quiet street. Then west on Disneyland Drive and up the two blocks on Harbor to the Disneyland esplanade entrance. The two blocks on Harbor are the usual ragtag bunch of homeless crazies, beggars, and souvenir salesmen.

But before you get to Harbor, you walk by the entrance of GardenWalk and get to see these guys, so it's worth it.

View attachment 492137
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These guys really should be seasonally decorated, like the topiary porpoises in Corona Del Mar.

If they're not sporting jaunty Santa hats in December, I may be forced to rectify the situation personally.
 
mandelbrot

mandelbrot

Well-Known Member
I checked out the JW yesterday. We wandered around the common areas of the hotel and had IPA's and truffle fries out on the patio overlooking the pool. It's all very nice but kind of stark. I'm sure once everything is open (especially the rooftop bar!) and there are more people around it will feel more welcoming. It's apparently not yet on the Uber or Lyft app so set your destination for the La Quinta Inn across the street for now.
 
SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
You walk north on Clementine, which is a quiet street. Then west on Disneyland Drive and up the two blocks on Harbor to the Disneyland esplanade entrance. The two blocks on Harbor are the usual ragtag bunch of homeless crazies, beggars, and souvenir salesmen.

But before you get to Harbor, you walk by the entrance of GardenWalk and get to see these guys, so it's worth it.

View attachment 492137
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I don't know if it's because this is a callback to your earlier criticisms of GardenWalk, but this post cracks me up way more than it should. Great work Troy... I mean Al... I mean Zenia... I mean TP.
 

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