Parking and transportation at resorts/ Downtown Disney questions...

[Belle5]

I understand that if I want to visit table service restaurants at the resorts my parking will be validated. I was actually planning on dining at the quick service restaurants, Tangaroa Terrace and/or White Water Snacks. On my arrival day I will not be going into the theme parks. I was wanting to look around Downtown Disney and tour the Disneyland resort hotels. I also wanted to stop at a ticket booth and upgrade my passes before my first day in the parks. Can you tell me how to best handle the parking situation and get around to all these places. To recap, I need to have my tickets upgraded, visit and dine at the two main resorts (GC and DL Hotel) and visit/shop at Downtown Disney. How do I best get around, keeping my parking charges to a minimum. Thanks!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

To have your DTD parking validated, you must shop in DTD or dine at CS or TS in DTD, not in the hotels. The hotels do not validate for DTD parking. So be careful about that. If you shop at a DTD store or eat at a DTD CS location (e.g. EOS, Starbucks, Napolini, etc.) and spend min. $20 in one location (this is important -- the $20 must be on one receipt), then you get 3 hours parking. If you eat at a DTD TS location (e.g. Jazz Kitchen, Catal, Tortilla Jo's, etc.), you will get a validation for 5 hours. Here is the DLR link for DTD parking info: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/downtown-disney-district/parking-cost/.
Just make sure that you have at least one DTD shopping or CS receipt for $20 for 3 hours of parking or one DTD TS receipt for 5 hours of parking. The shops and restaurants usually ask if you need your parking card validated, but be sure to remember if they don't ask. The hotels only validate for their own individual lots.
You can park in the DTD lot, go through DTD bag check, walk to the esplanade, take care of your tickets, do some shopping and dine in DTD (CS or TS, depending on how much time you need to validate), then cruise the GCH and the DLH on your way back to your car. Remember that you will need to go through security on your way back to DTD from the GCH. You will exit security on your way to the DLH, but you can go to the DTD parking lot from that hotel without having to re-enter the secure zone. The sidewalk path is pretty clear.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

There is parking for DTD. As long as you spend $20 at a restaurant you can park for free for 3 hours if you eat at a quick service restaurant or 5 hours if you eat at a sit down restaurant. Then it is something like $14/hour. I would assume 3 hours would be enough time to do everything you listed, 5 hours might give you a little more buffer.

 

[Belle5]

To have your DTD parking validated, you must shop in DTD or dine at CS or TS in DTD, not in the hotels. The hotels do not validate for DTD parking. So be careful about that. If you shop at a DTD store or eat at a DTD CS location (e.g. EOS, Starbucks, Napolini, etc.) and spend min. $20 in one location (this is important -- the $20 must be on one receipt), then you get 3 hours parking. If you eat at a DTD TS location (e.g. Jazz Kitchen, Catal, Tortilla Jo's, etc.), you will get a validation for 5 hours. Here is the DLR link for DTD parking info: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/downtown-disney-district/parking-cost/.
Just make sure that you have at least one DTD shopping or CS receipt for $20 for 3 hours of parking or one DTD TS receipt for 5 hours of parking. The shops and restaurants usually ask if you need your parking card validated, but be sure to remember if they don't ask. The hotels only validate for their own individual lots.
You can park in the DTD lot, go through DTD bag check, walk to the esplanade, take care of your tickets, do some shopping and dine in DTD (CS or TS, depending on how much time you need to validate), then cruise the GCH and the DLH on your way back to your car. Remember that you will need to go through security on your way back to DTD from the GCH. You will exit security on your way to the DLH, but you can go to the DTD parking lot from that hotel without having to re-enter the secure zone. The sidewalk path is pretty clear.

Are you saying that if I park and spend $20 at one place in DD there is a way to get to the ticket booth from there and also the hotels? Do I walk or is there bus transportation? Is there a ticket booth in DD?

 

[ImDMous]

DTD is in between the hotels and the parks, they are all pretty much attached. It is also within the security perimeter for the parks. You will have to go through bag check to get into DTD and then you will be able to walk to the park ticket booths that are at the entrance to DL and DCA. The Disneyland Hotel is on the opposite end, just outside the security perimeter so you would have to go back through the bag check coming back from the hotels. GCH is in the middle of DTD, the entrance from the hotel into DTD has a bagcheck.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

If you don’t want to eat table service in DTD, you can always just park in the Mickey and Friends parking structure and pay the $25 parking fee. That way you don’t have to stress about how long you’re there and whether you’ve reached the validation you need.

 

[dina444444]

If you don’t want to eat table service in DTD, you can always just park in the Mickey and Friends parking structure and pay the $25 parking fee. That way you don’t have to stress about how long you’re there and whether you’ve reached the validation you need.

I second this.

 

[Belle5]

If you don’t want to eat table service in DTD, you can always just park in the Mickey and Friends parking structure and pay the $25 parking fee. That way you don’t have to stress about how long you’re there and whether you’ve reached the validation you need.

So, there is a bus from Toy Story parking to DTD?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Are you saying that if I park and spend $20 at one place in DD there is a way to get to the ticket booth from there and also the hotels? Do I walk or is there bus transportation? Is there a ticket booth in DD?

The Disneyland Hotel is maybe a 10-minute walk from the ticket booths, with DTD in between. So they’re all right there, together.

I’ve been known to park at DTD and buy a $20 Starbucks gift card to get “free” parking - I use about $40 at Starbucks each month anyway.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

So, there is a bus from Toy Story parking to DTD?

Well, there’s a bus from the Toy Story lot to the parks/DTD, but the Mickey and Friends is also walkable to DTD.

 

[Belle5]

The Disneyland Hotel is maybe a 10-minute walk from the ticket booths, with DTD in between. So they’re all right there, together.

I’ve been known to park at DTD and buy a $20 Starbucks gift card to get “free” parking - I use about $40 at Starbucks each month anyway.

That's a great idea! I am really inclined to park at DTD, even if that means that I need more than 3 hours. I can exit with the receipt from one $20 purchase and re-enter, buying something else that I need anyway (food, souvenir, etc.) for the next 3 hours.

 

[figment_jii]

As others have said, you can easily take care of everything once you've parked (regardless of where you park). It's less than 0.5 miles from the DL main entrance to the DLH lobby (it's a little more the same distance if you walked from the main entrance of DL to Splash Mountain).

 

[Belle5]

If the pizza at Naples is anything like Via Napoli's in Epcot, I would love to eat there! Since Naples is a TS, that would give me 5 hours of parking, correct?

 

[figment_jii]

If the pizza at Naples is anything like Via Napoli's in Epcot, I would love to eat there! Since Naples is a TS, that would give me 5 hours of parking, correct?

Naples is a TS, but it's not the same as Via Napoli. They have some dishes with the same name, but the presentation (and flavors to some degree) are different. I like Via Napoli much better than Naples.

 

[tlovesdis]

Are you staying at a hotel nearby? Maybe take the shuttle or ART from your hotel. You would hit the ticket booths first, then continue on to DTD and all the way through is the DLH. Then you wouldn't have to worry about any kind of parking.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can also use Uber/Lyft to the DTD lot drop off/pick up spot. If you look at the map in post #12, there is a parking lot just north of the DLH, then another lot just north of that with rows of trees. The drop off/pick up spot is by that lot (with the rows of trees). There is a 15 minute grace period so the Uber/Lyft drivers don't have to pay for parking. If the Uber/Lyft roundtrip fare will be less than parking in DTD or M&F, then just use that and forget parking. The walking directions to get to DTD, the ticket booths, the GCH, and the DLH are all the same.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Are you saying that if I park and spend $20 at one place in DD there is a way to get to the ticket booth from there and also the hotels? Do I walk or is there bus transportation? Is there a ticket booth in DD?

You are going to be amazed (and, I think, quite pleased) by how walkable everything is at DLR! From hotels on Harbor across from the parks, to the parks themselves, to DTD, to the on site hotels -- everything is very close and walking distance from each other. If there are no mobility issues involved, just use your legs to get where you want to go!

 

[Belle5]

You are going to be amazed (and, I think, quite pleased) by how walkable everything is at DLR! From hotels on Harbor across from the parks, to the parks themselves, to DTD, to the on site hotels -- everything is very close and walking distance from each other. If there are no mobility issues involved, just use your legs to get where you want to go!

I am really looking forward to this! Thank you for all your advice! I posted this question above but haven't received an answer. If we dine at the TS, Naples, will we have 5 hours of parking? My son and I would probably share pizza, salad and two beverages. I didn't see a spending minimum, just receipt from a TS at DTD.

 

[dina444444]

I am really looking forward to this! Thank you for all your advice! I posted this question above but haven't received an answer. If we dine at the TS, Naples, will we have 5 hours of parking? My son and I would probably share pizza, salad and two beverages. I didn't see a spending minimum, just receipt from a TS at DTD.

Yes

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I am really looking forward to this!..

Just for context, we can walk from the DTD bag check to the DL or DCA front gates, at a comfortable pace, without stopping, in about 15-20 minutes (depending on pedestrian traffic and whether I see anything cute in a shop window). That's the distance you're picturing in your mind. From the parking lot to the front gates and ticket booths -- about 15-20 minutes, walking.
And if the weather is nice, ask to be seated with a view of DTD so you can people watch.