Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to and from the theme parks, letting you off near the entrances and saving you the cost
of parking. The rub is that they might not get you there as early as you desire (a crit-
ical point if you take our touring advice) or be available at the time you wish to return
to your lodging. Also, some shuttles are direct to Disneyland, while others make stops
at other motels and hotels in the vicinity.Each shuttle service is a little bit different, so
check out the particulars before you book your hotel. If the shuttle provided by your
hotel runs regularly throughout the day to and from Disneyland and if you have the
flexibility to tour the parks over two or three days, the shuttle provides a wonderful
opportunity to tour in the morning and return to your lodging for lunch, a swim, or
perhaps a nap; then you can head back to Disneyland refreshed in the early evening
for a little more fun.
Be forewarned that most hotel shuttle services do not add more vehicles at the
parks' opening or closing times. In the mornings, your biggest problem is that you
might not get a seat on the first shuttle. This occurs most frequently if your hotel is
the last stop for a shuttle that serves several hotels. Because hotels that share a shuttle
service are usually located close together, you can improve your chances of getting a
seat by simply walking to the hotel preceding yours on the pickup route. At closing
time, and sometimes following a hard rain, you can expect a mass exodus from the
parks. The worst-case scenario in this event is that more people will be waiting for the
shuttle to your hotel than the bus will hold and that some will be left. While most (but
not all) hotel shuttles return for stranded guests, you may suffer a wait of 15 minutes
to 1 hour. Our suggestion, if you are depending on hotel shuttles, is to exit the park
at least 45 minutes before closing. If you stay in a park until closing and lack the en-
ergy to deal with the shuttle or hike back to your hotel, go to the Disneyland Hotel
and catch a cab from there. A cab stand is also behind the ESPN Zone in Downtown
Disney and another is at the Grand Californian Hotel.
The shuttle-loading area is located on the Harbor Boulevard side of the Disney-
land Park's main entrances. The loading area connects to a pedestrian corridor that
leads to the park entrances. Each hotel's shuttle bus is color-coded yellow, blue, red,
silver, or white. Signs of like color designate where the shuttles load and unload.
You'll also find a passenger drop-off loop (parking strictly prohibited) off Harbor;
taxis may deposit here, but they are not supposed to pick up. If you are staying near
the corner of Harbor and Katella, you can walk into the Toy Story parking lot and use
its park shuttle for free.
Anaheim Resort Transit
Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) provides shuttle service to the Disneyland Resort,
GardenWalk, and the convention center. The service operates 18 routes designated
1-19 (excluding 13). There are just three to nine well-marked stops on each route, so
