Let me check with Michael. I get a parking pass but he is the one driving and parking.
Do you have to pay Michael?
Printable View
Thanks, Michael. I didn't think we had to pay. I recall just showing the pass. :)
Thanks Michael! :mickey: Good to know!
well Im thinking im going w a nondisney hotel from the sounds of things. a lot less $. any closeby recommendations?
I would recomend looking a a 'street view' set up to see where exactly the hotel is in relation to the enterance of the park. A lot of places advertise 'one block from Disneyland Resort' when in actuallity, they may be one block from the back of the resort, but quite a distance to get to the enterance.
I've stayed at the Tropicana a couple of times. VERY close, comfortable and clean and free parking. Breakfast isn't very good, though. There is a pool but I've never used it. I've heard good things about the Park Vue Inn as well but haven't stayed there myself. I stayed at the Del Sol once and it was also very close but don't even bother with the breakfast. Not very good, plus I think they purposefully time it that you can't take advantage of it if you want to hit the parks early. (They only start serving a half hour before park opening.) Also, they charge for parking. Don't get me wrong, in a pinch I would stay there, but it wouldn't be my first choice.
Also, just as a side note, there are several restaurants very close to the park enterance on Harbor, IHOP is right across the street, a Mimi's, McDonalds, etc, are in easy walking distance. It's a good alternative to paying huge amounts of money in the parks for food and you really don't need to go very far.
thanks for the tip. Yes i have seen some 1 block listings but thats on the backside.
Havent checked into Tropicana but I will. A friend stayed at Del Sol and said it was ok and close, but i dont know. Ill keep checking though
I suggest the Ramada Maingate. Free parking, standard continental breakfast & super close to the park.
The best way to see this is to Google Maps "Disneyland Resort". You will see Disneyland to the north, DCA to the south. In between there is a space called the Esplanade. If you go directly east of the middle of that spot, towards Harbor Blvd, you will see what appears to be some circles (three of them). These are offsite hotel shuttle loops. This is where EVERYONE who is staying off property enters the resort complex. You will see that the nearest offsite hotel is a Best Western.
The "backside" is the portion of Harbor that intersects with Katella, which runs parallel to the back of DCA. There are many hotels located along this corridor (along Katella), and while they are close to the park (DCA) there is no entrance over there, and thus the walk is much longer.
If you are staying at a Disney hotel, the only way into the parks is by walking through Downtown Disney and entering the Esplanade on that end.