DLR Strange Transportation Problem

[woody]

I went to Disneyland Resort today. I was wondering why Disney screwed up the transportation in the resort and getting to the resort.

"In The Resort" Transportation.

Why is there no transportation to Main Entry Plaza from the Disney Hotels or westside of DTD? It's a lot of walking to get there. If the Monorail breaks down, you must walk to Disneyland too.

If you're a hotel guest, the monorail is great to get you to Disneyland, but what about DCA? The lack of transportation to DCA isolates this park although it is only a short block away from Disneyland.

Because the monorail bypasses DCA, DCA seems like a long lost state where its the anti-California park. DCA is where people go when they're tired of the other real California park.


"Getting To The Resort" Parking Problem

I found the parking situation awfully annoying. How do you find the correct parking lot? The street signs aren't clear especially if you're on local streets like Katella or Harbor.

In actuality, you use different streets if you're going to the parks, DTD, or the hotels. It took me awhile to figure this out. If you're going to the Mickey and Friends Parking Lot, you take Ball Road despite the fact the parking structure is on Disneyland Drive. There's no way to get to the Mickey and Friends Parking Lot from the northbound Disneyland Drive unless its a busy day when they would open an entrance on the nearby Pinocchio Parking Lot. If you're already on Disneyland Drive heading north, you goofed because there's no way to get onto the southbound side unless you make a U-turn on Ball Road, which isn't clearly marked.

Disney must fix these problems.

[mickeyjca]

I know exactly what you're talking about. The first time I tried to park in Mickey & Friends, I must have driven back and forth for 20 minutes trying to find the correct entrance (and not end up going the wrong way which would have been really embarrassing). I made u-turns galore searching for the correct ramp to take.

And the problem with transportation from DTD/DLHotel to the Main Gate is also troublesome. I don't see how elderly, handicapped, and other people can do it! I've had sore blistered feet from walking around the parks for days before, and walking from DTD back to the Main Gate was nearly unbearable.

[jeremyh]

We stayed there for 6 days recently and didn't see anything wrong with the "in-resort" transportation. Both Paradise Pier and Grand Californian have entrances into DCA that are either in-the-hotel or across the street (ie really close). Even if you have to walk the length of Downtown Disney, it's not that bad. I've been in shopping malls that are much longer.

Look, if you can't walk that short amount of distance, you really have no business going into the parks because you'll never make it to the back of the parks, either. I think there has to be a certain assumption of ability, whether it be due to physical or machine-assisted.

I see nothing there that needs fixing, although I do find it odd that they didn't build a monorail station in DCA (I assume because then at each station they'd have to worry about what park you have tickets for).

I can't comment on parking because we stayed at the hotel. We found the hotel, parked there, and when we left we followed the signs to 5. My only comment was that the signage for getting to the hotel was poor, but I figured if I just kept going around Disneyland I'd come across it and sure enough, we did. Of course, I didn't bring directions or an address or anything, which anyone who doesn't know the area would/should have.

[Iceman]

Originally posted by jeremyh
Look, if you can't walk that short amount of distance, you really have no business going into the parks because you'll never make it to the back of the parks, either. I think there has to be a certain assumption of ability, whether it be due to physical or machine-assisted.

Okay, that's exactly what I thought but I didn't want to post it and sound insensitive. Now that jeremyh said it first, I will let my insensitivity shine!

As for getting to DLR and parking, I think they've done an admirable job with the traffic engineering and signage! I make kind of the same assumption about walking to the parks as I do for driving to them--if you're too incompetent to get to the parking lot, I don't think I want you bumbling around the resort either.

[mickeyjca]

Originally posted by jeremyh
We stayed there for 6 days recently and didn't see anything wrong with the "in-resort" transportation. Both Paradise Pier and Grand Californian have entrances into DCA that are either in-the-hotel or across the street (ie really close). Even if you have to walk the length of Downtown Disney, it's not that bad. I've been in shopping malls that are much longer.

Look, if you can't walk that short amount of distance, you really have no business going into the parks because you'll never make it to the back of the parks, either. I think there has to be a certain assumption of ability, whether it be due to physical or machine-assisted.

I think it's probably a different situation for those who are staying on site. It's true that there are options available for on site guests that make navigating DTD and the parks much easier. However, most guests to DLR don't stay on site. For those who rely on trams and other kinds of transportation, it's a different situation.

On my last trip to DLR, I stayed off site, but spent 6 days exploring the parks. I'm in pretty good physical shape, but by the end of the 5th day my feet were sore and developing blisters. I felt fine, but my feet didn't! I wanted to shop (spend $$$$) at the DTD stores, but I opted to go back to my hotel and put my feet up instead. Having some type of transportation to the far side of DTD (opposite the Lion King trams) would be very helpful for many guests who are weary but ready for more fun.

To say that someone doesn't have any business visiting the parks if they can't handle the walking is callous and insensitive. Everyone should be able to enjoy DLR regardless of their physical ablilities.

As far as your not being able to locate the hotel entrances easily, well that's the whole point, isn't it? Sure, I found my way in too after driving around for a while. But why should people have to drive around for a while just to find the entrance to a hotel or parking lot?

[Alpha]

I have a cousin who uses a wheel chair at the resort. I do wish they rented strollers and wheelchairs at both ends of the espalade, for use in the whole resort. That would be one at the Mickey and Friends tram exit and another at the hotel tram exit on the east. That way a person could use it for the day: DTD, Disneyland and DCA.

[EEyore]

I can personally vouch for the confusion of finding the parking lots. We have been going to the resort for years, and when all the changes were made it seemed we were always going down the street from the wrong direction to enter the parking areas. Mostly because old habits die hard and we had always came into the area from Katella and not Ball and kept forgetting to plan ahead. Also each of our visits were separated by several months, and I think for awhile during construction things were changed constantly. You never know when you head over to the resort if some little entrance will pop up that you can use that wasn't there last time. And you can't bet that next time it will even be there!!!!

So even if you feel confident knowing your way around the park, it can get somewhat confusing sometimes. I can see first time visitors feeling frustrated. Add to it that most are so excited about finally getting to DL. Which usually means most of the ppl in the car, including the driver, have their faces pressed against the window for the first one to see the Matterhorn. They just drive right past that parking structure sign in bliss!!! "I saw the Matterhorn first, I get the quarter!!!" Gotta love it.

[jeremyh]

Originally posted by mickeyjca



To say that someone doesn't have any business visiting the parks if they can't handle the walking is callous and insensitive. Everyone should be able to enjoy DLR regardless of their physical ablilities.

That's why I said physical or machine assisted. If someone can't walk 50 yards and refuses to use a wheelchair (motorized or manual), what's Disney supposed to do, have cast members carry them around on their backs?

Yeah, our feet were tired and everything else, too, and we thought about this "problem" as well, and realized that at some point Disney has to draw the line. If Disney provides too much short-haul transportation it will encourage people to stay at off-site hotels. Maybe the smart thing would be to have those "pedicabs" at the entrance. If people are willing to pay for it then they must need it. But I bet most people are only uncomfortable enough to want it for free, but not so uncomfotable to be willing to put down money.

Alpha - that seems like a real good suggestion, have you tried turning it in? What if they rented it out of the Disneyland Hotel lobby, would that work? Your "wish" seems like one of the most reasonable ones I've personally heard since I started visiting Disney discussion boards!

[DLMAGICDARREN]

Originally posted by Alpha
I have a cousin who uses a wheel chair at the resort. I do wish they rented strollers and wheelchairs at both ends of the espalade, for use in the whole resort. That would be one at the Mickey and Friends tram exit and another at the hotel tram exit on the east. That way a person could use it for the day: DTD, Disneyland and DCA.

As far as I know, they only rent wheelchairs inside the parks Disneyland, and DCA, not at any end of the Esplanade.

I think if they rented wheelchairs outside of the park, it would be to easy to steel them. DTD is not gated, the way Disneyland and DCA are.

My sister too is in a wheelchair, so I know what you mean, but don't most people who need a wheelchair, bring them anyway? I know my sister does.

[StartedByAMouse]

Originally posted by Alpha
I have a cousin who uses a wheel chair at the resort. I do wish they rented strollers and wheelchairs at both ends of the espalade, for use in the whole resort. That would be one at the Mickey and Friends tram exit and another at the hotel tram exit on the east. That way a person could use it for the day: DTD, Disneyland and DCA.

I went to the Disneyland Resort this past weekend with my wife and her family. Kathy's 92-year-old grandmother was one of our guests, and though she is pretty spry for her age, she has slowed down recently and now uses a cane to walk.

We parked in the Chip 'n' Dale section of the parking structure in the handicapped section. Let me tell you, I was surprised at how far it is to walk from even the handicapped parking to the tram and from the tram drop-off to the main entrance (we went to Disney's California Adventure).

Our plan was to rent a wheelchair for Grandma, which we did, but getting from the car to the park and the park to the car was a slow and difficult process ... one I had never considered before. It would be helpful if they rented wheelchairs somewhere near the parking areas for use throughout the resort.

Matt