I’ve been watching people do it on videos that’s why I asked. We entered DCA from grand cal when we stayed there. I’ve never been in DTD on that side. Is that security point busy
It's never been busy in my experience. I've only ever had to wait, at most, a minute or two. The Downtown Disney entrance is actually the only way I've ever gone in. I've never been to Harbor. I always stay at hotels on Katella.
The gate off the sidewalk into the Grand Californian is locked and can only be opened with a valid Grand Californian hotel room card. 95% of the time the CM staffing the parking booth will stop you from entering if you can't/don't scan your valid hotel card to prove you are staying at the Grand.
The CM's often do this with questionable graciousness. A few years ago I had family staying in a Concierge level two-bedroom suite at the Grand and I had a valid hotel card after self-parking my own car across the street.
I let in a cute young family of strangers from the Paradise Pier whose young boys were all hyped to go to Cars Land and were talking about it waiting for the crosswalk light, and the snotty CM staffing the parking booth bellowed at them to scan their Grand card. I told her that I let them in because they were heading to Cars Land and I was staying in the Grand, and I got lectured and scolded for my good deed. She finished the public scolding, literally yelling at me over two lanes of incoming traffic, by telling me "Sir, next time you need to follow the guidelines you agreed to in your room contract!"
It was so hilariously memorable because she yelled the word "guidelines" as if those are immutable laws of nature. And this CM, exhibiting Disney's world-famous standards of hospitality and service, yelled at all of us and I got scolded for violating the "guidelines" in my "room contract".
Now imagine that scenario playing out at a Four Seasons or the Montage. It never would, because their customer service standards are infinitely higher than the Grand Californian. But I digress...
@beachlover4444 in order to avoid public shame and scolding from Grand CM's, you need to exit the back door of the Paradise Pier and cut through the abandoned service road behind the abandoned AMC theater, and then enter the park via the security screening area next to the abandoned ESPNZone. The green arrow is your route, with the security screening noted by the blue line.
Do not attempt the red arrow route, because you have a room contract and guidelines to obey!
View attachment 594125
I actually just had this convo with my brother in regards to a trip in March. He was thinking of staying at PP, and I had to "walk" him
out of that idea. Our first visit we stayed at PP, and the distance rivals almost any decent hotel at half the price. It would be fine if the rooms were somehow worth the current cost, but that just isn't anywhere near true. Ironically, you can leave DCA thought the GC with no issues whatsoever to get to PP. Sacred ground goes one way? 
I actually just had this convo with my brother in regards to a trip in March. He was thinking of staying at PP, and I had to "walk" him
Ironically, you can leave DCA thought the GC with no issues whatsoever to get to PP. Sacred ground goes one way?
That was the room we stayed in, minus the Pixar pillow. Maybe that would have made all the difference (soft remodel indeedThe Paradise Pier Hotel was built in 1985, over 35 years ago, as a non-Disney hotel and has had one hard remodel and slight remodels to soft goods and interior decor since then. It's nothing special. The rooms are average size for a mid-grade hotel.
Paradise Pier Hotel Standard Room 2019 - You are immersed in beige!
The facilities in the hotel range from mediocre (swimming pool, gym, lobby gift shop) to disappointing (the lobby bar is the saddest thing ever), to simply closed indefinitely with no known replacement (PCH Grill restaurant, Yamabuki restaurant).
PCH Grill restaurant is Closed - The 1990's made a comeback just as they closed this!
And yes, the ceiling panels throughout the lobby really do look that wonky and dingy. Immersed!
About one third of the rooms (east facing, above 5th floor) have nice views of the backside of Paradise Pier and the OC hills beyond. About 20% of the rooms offer quite stellar views of DCA from above the 10th floor.
But half the rooms in the hotel face west, and have views of... hotel pool, massive surface parking lot, Anaheim tract homes stretching to Stanton tract homes.
Which makes it all so ridiculous. And more than a little sad that the Grand Californian management would train their entry-level CM's to uphold such nonsensical "guidelines!" to paying customers.
)
That was the room we stayed in, minus the Pixar pillow. Maybe that would have made all the difference (soft remodel indeed
And we had the lovely parking lot view although only a partial view of the pool. Which made it a little more mysterious because we weren't sure exactly how to get there from our room above....
But the quality can be beat pretty handily by some place like the SpringHill Suites down the road for about a third of the cost. We stayed there in September and it was about the same distance walking wise and a really comfortable room.View attachment 594244.
