What do you do on non-park days if you don't have a car?

[deedubb]

Was planning WDW at New Year's but that got derailed by thoughts of doing DL instead, during the summer. We would be staying a week at the Grand Californian but only 5 park days. What is there to do besides lounge around the resort on non park days if you don't have a rental car? One day would be Downtown Disney, which still leaves another day to fill. I'm just not familiar with DL like I am with WDW.

 

[superdeluxe]

Was planning WDW at New Year's but that got derailed by thoughts of doing DL instead, during the summer. We would be staying a week at the Grand Californian but only 5 park days. What is there to do besides lounge around the resort on non park days if you don't have a rental car? One day would be Downtown Disney, which still leaves another day to fill. I'm just not familiar with DL like I am with WDW.

Maybe Universal Studios?

 

[sherilaine]

Would you be interested in renting a car for a day? I believe there is an Alamo in DTD that you could rent from for a day. Then you could go to the beach or anywhere you have an interest. Otherwise I believe I have heard mention of a shuttle that will take you from Disneyland to Universal on here before if you were interested in another park day somewhere. Honestly though staying at the Grand, I'd love a non park day to just lounge around there but we do enjoy heading to the beach when we are in the area as we always stay at least 8 nights and of course only have a 5 day pass.

You are off to the right start though - this group of people will fill your paper with ideas!

 

[cruisehopeful]

There isn't much to do in the area other than Disney. Even downtown Disney is quite small and won't take up a whole day. Nearby is an area called Anaheim Garden Walk - you could probably do that in the same day as Downtown Disney. The thing is, they are both basically dining and random shops. Downtown Disney has the movie theater for now, but it will need to be removed soon to make room for the new hotel. There could be a lot of construction at Downtown Disney when you'll be there. The new bowling alley may be open by then, though.

I'd really consider either renting a car for a day or 2 or plan on taking an Uber/Lyft to the beach or to Knott's Berry Farm. There is also a water park next to Knott's Berry Farm and July is a good time for that. Closer to your hotel is Great Wolf Lodge, which has an indoor water park. I do not know if they also have an outdoor one.

 

[AndreAggie]

We're going in May and staying at Grand Californian as well. We'll be coming up from San Diego (flying into there first) and turning in our rental car while we stay in Anaheim. If you're into baseball, the stadium where the Anaheim Angels play isn't far from Disneyland. We don't have any non-park days planned, but we don't plan on being in the parks every day from open until close. We plan to utilize the pools and take advantage of some of the activities offered at the hotel.

Universal Studios in an hour plus drive in to LA. You'd probably need a rental as Uber would be costly. There are several car rental locations around Disneyland.

I would think you make a relaxing day out of downtown disney and the hotel if you don't want to venture too far.

 

[az4boys]

Staying a week, as in 6 nights and 7 days? The first and last days are probably only partial days. I would just stay around the resort. Go to DTD for a couple hours, eat, hang out at the pool for a couple hours, eat, watch a movie, eat, repeat. Relax and save up your energy for park days. I wouldn't spend a whole day all at once in DTD. You'd probably need a rental car for most other excursions. There is a car rental company in DTD.

 

[felice]

Either hire a car or look at the destinations that the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) service goes to from the immediate Disney area. There's quite a decent choice.

The website address is http://www.rideart.org .

Mind you, if you want to go a bit further afield and can plan ahead, there's always Starline Tours, who would take you to Universal Studios and other places.

http://www.starlinetours.com .

Hope these sites help.

 

[chickapin parterre]

catch a metro train north to Union Station and take in sights. many trains heading south location make for a easy day to plan. $15.00 taxi ride to train station from Disneyland. i walk west on kattella and take in the sights of the temple, ethic clubs and just to see what type of neighborhoods surround western Disneyland, of course, being summer for you...maybe not a good idea...but that is a walk I take in December.

 

[22Tink]

We took an Uber to Huntington Beach last summer. We always like to include a relaxing beach day in our plans.

 

[twitch]

Do you like baseball? Are the Angels in town while you are there?

 

[julesann]

There are a couple of (or atleast one) shuttle services you can go on that travel from the Disneyland area to Universal Studios and back. You can google this and you'll find it. That might be a simple option rather than renting a car if that is where you decide you'd like to spend the day.

 

[deedubb]

Staying a week, as in 6 nights and 7 days? The first and last days are probably only partial days. I would just stay around the resort. Go to DTD for a couple hours, eat, hang out at the pool for a couple hours, eat, watch a movie, eat, repeat. Relax and save up your energy for park days. I wouldn't spend a whole day all at once in DTD. You'd probably need a rental car for most other excursions. There is a car rental company in DTD.

We would almost have 7 full days as we would arrive before noon on the first day, and would be flying back on the 8th day.

 

[deedubb]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Never even thought about Universal, but that might be an option, in which case, we might stay an extra day or 2 closer to that area. Wish it wasn't so far from Disney.

 

[deedubb]

Well, bit the bullet and just booked a week in a 1 bdrm at the Grand Californian. Now I'm thinking that we will probably rent a car so we can get some groceries, maybe do some shopping and eat off site on the non park days. Does Disney really nickel and dime you by charging you parking at the resort? That's what it seems to indicate on their website. I'm dumbfounded by this. They don't charge you at WDW.

 

[Pandy220]

Well, bit the bullet and just booked a week in a 1 bdrm at the Grand Californian. Now I'm thinking that we will probably rent a car so we can get some groceries, maybe do some shopping and eat off site on the non park days. Does Disney really nickel and dime you by charging you parking at the resort? That's what it seems to indicate on their website. I'm dumbfounded by this. They don't charge you at WDW.

Yes , if I remember correctly, valet was $30 a day. Not sure about self park

 

[Pandy220]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Never even thought about Universal, but that might be an option, in which case, we might stay an extra day or 2 closer to that area. Wish it wasn't so far from Disney.

There’s a small park in Anaheim called adventure city with rides for little kids or you can try knotts berry farm in Buena Park which is about 20 minutes or so away depending on traffic . Also in that area I believe there’s a movie land wax museum and medieval times. If you check groupon, I’m sure you can find some good deals. Uber/Lyft are better options than a taxi or renting a car, too, so you don’t have to deal with parking fees and you get dropped off right at the entrance !

A nice dinner spot for the family is the Anaheim packing district which is a cool , trendy place with a bunch of food options .

 

[limace]

In that situation, I might just Uber or Lyft if I want to leave-it’s cheap and then you don’t have to deal with parking. I know dvc members don’t have to pay for parking when staying on points but I’m not sure about rentals. Parking is $20 a day unless you want valet.

 

[deedubb]

There’s a small park in Anaheim called adventure city with rides for little kids or you can try knotts berry farm in Buena Park which is about 20 minutes or so away depending on traffic . Also in that area I believe there’s a movie land wax museum and medieval times. If you check groupon, I’m sure you can find some good deals. Uber/Lyft are better options than a taxi or renting a car, too, so you don’t have to deal with parking fees and you get dropped off right at the entrance !

A nice dinner spot for the family is the Anaheim packing district which is a cool , trendy place with a bunch of food options .

Thanks. I'll have to check out the packing district you mentioned.

In that situation, I might just Uber or Lyft if I want to leave-it’s cheap and then you don’t have to deal with parking. I know dvc members don’t have to pay for parking when staying on points but I’m not sure about rentals. Parking is $20 a day unless you want valet.

Thanks. Good to know as we are DVC members.

 

[AndreAggie]

If you're DVC members, you can park up to 2 vehicles per room for free. At least that's my understanding.

It was bugging me, so I chatted with DVC Member Services and you can park for free as long as you're booked using your DVC Membership.

 

[LittleFlounder]

We took an Uber to Huntington Beach last summer. We always like to include a relaxing beach day in our plans.

I was ping to say this same thing. On both my non-car trips to DL I've taken many Uber rides to Huntington Beach.