Question regarding transporation to and from resorts

My friend and I, who are planning our first trip to Disneyland (!!!), are trying to figure out the deal with transportation. At WDW, if you stay on-site, you can board one of their shuttle busses. However (and please correct me if I'm wrong), it seems that there are no shuttles at the on-property hotels at the Disneyland Resort (although there are at some of the Good Neighbor hotels in the area??). If I'm reading this correctly, it seems that both of the parks are within walking distance from the hotels -- is this right? It also seems that the Disneyland Hotel is closer ... although Paradise Pier is cheaper. Is the time and accessability difference between Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier that different? Is there one you would recommend over the other? How far is this walking distance? And what do you do if it's raining?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'm really trying to get a feel for things in advance! Many thanks to all for your help! :rocks:

All 3 of the Disneyland Hotels are an easy walking distance to the parks. There is a Monorail stop in DTD about 5 minute walk from the DLH and about 10 minute walk from the PPH. If you are looking to spend less money, the PPH is a great alternative. You can take a short cut through the Grand Californian and get to DTD just 3 minute walk from the Esplanade security lines. As a guest of the DLR you can also use the GCH entrance to DCA as well.

Most of the off-site hotels are located on the Anaheim Resort Shuttle and you can use it for a nominal fee. The hotels right on Harbor Drive (Best Western Park Place Inn, Park Vue Inn, Carousel Inn, Ramada Inn Maingate, Fairfield Inn) are all in walking distance and are normally a fraction of the cost of the DL Resort Hotels.

The Disneyland Hotel and the PPH are very different. Both have very large rooms and have a nice Disney Theming and very good restaurants.

Thank you SO MUCH! What about transportation from the airports to the on-property hotels and vice-versa? I read somewhere that for a relatively small fee, you can take Disneyland Express busses from both John Wayne Airport as well as LAX, and then back again. Is that still in effect?

You can check out THIS THREAD for the answers on the Disneyland Express. Feel free to check out the other threads, there's tons of info that goes around.

Anything else? Just ask. :mickey:

Do you need to book the Express in advance??

If you pre-purchase there is a small discount, but you can just get on and pay when you ride. During the day there's a bus every 30 minutes, there s no reserving a seat, you just get on board.

I just wanted to mention that you can see a good bird's eye view of the DLR (including Downtown Disney and the hotels, as well as both parks) using Google Earth.

This will give you a good idea of walking distances.

However, just so you know, if you stay at any of the on site hotels, it is not a long walk at all. Paradise Pier is the longest, but it's only 10-15 min at most from the front gates of either park. It's less if you cut through the Grand Californian lobby/parking lot and cross the street to the Paradise Pier front lobby entrance.

I actually think staying at the Disneyland Hotel subjects you to the longest walks, since it does not make sense to cut through the Grand, but since there are separate buildings at the DLH, you may have more walking involved than if you stay at Paradise Pier.

I would personally recommend the Grand Californian or Paradise Pier, in that order. For a REAL splurge, choose the Grand. It's an awesome Disney hotel! I'll go so far as to say it's the BEST Disney hotel I've ever stayed at (better than any at WDW).

Oh, and this isn't Florida. You don't have to worry about rain in June or July. There is about a 1% chance of rain happening on any given day in June or July in Anaheim. It would have to be a totally freak storm, and you would know it was coming DAYS in advance. You WILL have to worry about BLAZING HOT, SUNNY, and CROWDED. But rain? Nope. Not a chance.

We prefer the Disneyland Hotel over Paradise Pier... You can take the monorail to enter the park directly into tomorrow land, by Indy Speedway.

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Originally Posted by disneymama09

We prefer the Disneyland Hotel over Paradise Pier... You can take the monorail to enter the park directly into tomorrow land, by Indy Speedway.

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Indy Speedway? I think you mean Autopia... :thumbsup: