DLH vs GCH distance to Disneyland(not DCA)

[starry_solo]

One other perk of staying at the Grand Cal is walking through DCA on your way to Disneyland (or the other way if on your way to the room for a break) if you have a hopper or Magic Key. We find the security at the park entrance to be a bit friendlier and we love the theme of the Grizzly Trail and Buena Vista street. Take some time to stop and look at the theming of the (usually) dry river that separates the park from the hotel, the beautiful windows of Napa Rose, etc..

One downside, we occasionally will get flagged for going through DCA too fast and a supervisor will have to approve to let us in to Disneyland.

Except you can't hop until 11 am now.

 

[sophy1996]

Oh, I didn't know that. Why do they care, if you have a hopper and you're withing the allowable hopping period?

I’m not really sure, but I heard vaguely it was an anti-fraud measure, in case people were somehow passing their tickets to others. Maybe from the days before they took your picture at the gate?

 

[DizMe]

I had that happen recently. We had a dining reservation in DL and were coming from the DLH. We hadn't been to DL yet that day and thought it would be nice to just take the monorail in, so we scanned in at the station and went up to the platform. After quite a long wait, it was announced that the monorail would be detained for some time. Our reservation time was coming up fast so we went back out and hurried through DTD to the front gate. It hadn't been long enough for us to enter without flagging the system and we had to wait for a CM to come and override the denial. Fortunately, that didn't take too long and we still made our reservation time. That was the first I'd ever heard of that re-entry rule.

 

[DLgal]

Oh, I didn't know that. Why do they care, if you have a hopper and you're withing the allowable hopping period?

It's a way to stop annual pass sharing. Some family members look enough alike that they "share" a ticket or pass. This is a way to prevent park entry twice within a short window of time to catch/deter people from doing this. The second time you scan in, it requires a manager to override. The actual purpose of that is to look VERY closely at the photo and ensure it is the same person.

And yes, people did/do this. A LOT.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

We almost always stay in the frontier tower. I posted this elsewhere (I know I’m repeating myself) It’s about an 11 min walk to the Disneyland turnstiles on my old knees. It’s 17 min walk from the monorail station in Tomorrowland to the DLH. I know cause I timed it when we tried to take it back one night and it was down . Shortcut from frontier tower for DCA. Exit out the back, walk down paradise, cross the street and enter in the paradise pier gate. Depending on the traffic light it’s 5-6 mins and you’re right there at the Corn Dog Palace. Or you can not enter that gate, and keep walking into GC and enter through their gate.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

The walk back to either hotel from DL at the end of the evening, you get to GCH just at the point when you ask yourself how much longer you have to walk.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

that all the 1/2 bedroom suites are further away

The DVC rooms are further away. The GCH 1 and 2 bedroom suites (the ones you’d typically find available to book on Disneyland.com) are not all in 1 place and can be close or far.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

She was trying to tell me The Westin was as close as DLH when it came to walking which made no sense.

There are perhaps seven or eight offsite hotels that are a shorter walk than parts/all of the Disneyland Hotel. The Westin is not among them, which to your point is quite obvious if you look at a map.

 

[Disneysince82]

We almost always stay in the frontier tower. I posted this elsewhere (I know I’m repeating myself) It’s about an 11 min walk to the Disneyland turnstiles on my old knees. It’s 17 min walk from the monorail station in Tomorrowland to the DLH. I know cause I timed it when we tried to take it back one night and it was down . Shortcut from frontier tower for DCA. Exit out the back, walk down paradise, cross the street and enter in the paradise pier gate. Depending on the traffic light it’s 5-6 mins and you’re right there at the Corn Dog Palace. Or you can not enter that gate, and keep walking into GC and enter through their gate.

I would be lying if I didn't do an audible gasp when I read 17 mins I just saved that shortcut to my notes LOL I heard murmurs(I have not heard it again) that that monorail was not going to be back up and running by December & I did get a little scared.

I know the Frontier tower is the furthest but I am really hoping for a balcony, so I had them put it in the request at reservation. Is there a reason why you prefer the the Frontier?

 

[DizMe]

There are perhaps seven or eight offsite hotels that are a shorter walk than parts/all of the Disneyland Hotel. The Westin is not among them, which to your point is quite obvious if you look at a map.

While technically true, it can also be misleading to just look at the actual distance on a map. You also have to figure in crowds, traffic, red lights, how many security lines there are and things like that. It always feels farther to me to walk to/from an off-site than on-site, but a big part of that is the atmosphere around you. However, saving a bunch of money goes a long way toward mitigating the off-site factors

 

[irlandaise]

It's a way to stop annual pass sharing. Some family members look enough alike that they "share" a ticket or pass. This is a way to prevent park entry twice within a short window of time to catch/deter people from doing this. The second time you scan in, it requires a manager to override. The actual purpose of that is to look VERY closely at the photo and ensure it is the same person.

And yes, people did/do this. A LOT.

Never knew that! But how do they do the handoff? If one of them goes out to the Esplanade to meet the other, then you've got two people outside the turnstiles and one pass. I don't see how the handoff could be made from inside the turnstiles without a CM seeing it.

 

[Disneysince82]

While technically true, it can also be misleading to just look at the actual distance on a map. You also have to figure in crowds, traffic, red lights, how many security lines there are and things like that. It always feels farther to me to walk to/from an off-site than on-site, but a big part of that is the atmosphere around you. However, saving a bunch of money goes a long way toward mitigating the off-site factors

A big part of staying 'in the bubble' and this might be just me being naive is the safety factor. We live in a city(well suburb) and our son walks places all the time and we let him be pretty free range per say. I figure if we are onsite I would allow him to go into the parks alone and he also really wants to bring his sister(5) into the parks. Even if it is across the street I don't think I feel really good about it. But not going to lie those Courtyard prices look like a steal next to to onsite LOL

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

A big part of staying 'in the bubble' and this might be just me being naive is the safety factor. We live in a city(well suburb) and our son walks places all the time and we let him be pretty free range per se. I figure if we are onsite I would allow him to go into the parks alone and he also really wants to bring his sister(5) into the parks. Even if it is across the street I don't think I feel really good about it. But not going to lie those Courtyard prices look like a steal next to to onsite LOL

I have never felt unsafe on Harbor. There’s always cops at Harbor and the park entrance, usually 2-3, plus Disney security. Park Vue and BWPPI are visible from where those cops stand.

Cops also patrol the street seemingly endlessly, as they do Katella and the ACC property, especially during conventions. The sidewalk on Harbor is reasonably well lit and there’s nowhere really to hide, at least on the Disneyland side of the road. Disney has security at Harbor and Disney Way as well, because of the truck entrance. I tell my kids to stay close on Harbor but that’s more so they don’t run into traffic.

Of course, YMMV. I don’t know how old your son is so that makes a big difference

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

Never knew that! But how do they do the handoff? If one of them goes out to the Esplanade to meet the other, then you've got two people outside the turnstiles and one pass. I don't see how the handoff could be made from inside the turnstiles without a CM seeing it.

One person brings out a whole bunch and then scans back in.

 

[Disneysince82]

I have never felt unsafe on Harbor. There’s always cops at Harbor and the park entrance, usually 2-3, plus Disney security. Park Vue and BWPPI are visible from where those cops stand.

Cops also patrol the street seemingly endlessly, as they do Katella and the ACC property, especially during conventions. The sidewalk on Harbor is reasonably well lit and there’s nowhere really to hide, at least on the Disneyland side of the road. Disney has security at Harbor and Disney Way as well, because of the truck entrance. I tell my kids to stay close on Harbor but that’s more so they don’t run into traffic.

Of course, YMMV. I don’t know how old your son is so that makes a big difference

I haven't been to DL in way too long -- it was the 50th anniversary the last time we went sadly. But now I am sitting here planning 2 back to back trips LOL When we went last time I had zero issues and I am ashamed to say I can't even remember where we stayed but it was one of the hotels that was on Harbor.

Our son will be 15 when we go but he is pretty savvy so I know it wouldn't overwhelm him. We live in a suburb of Denver but he has no problem navigate himself around. He wanted to go be able to go in and out of the park himself so that is what we were only worried about. Ive heard a lot of people say it has gotten 'rougher' and more homeless in Anaheim and I hate to say this but we that even living in the suburbs its something we deal with. I couldn't imagine Anaheim police dropping their guard around DL. Ive heard amazing things about BWPPI & Park Cue they seem to have a strong following.

 

[DisneylandFreak2013]

We have stayed at the Grand Californian numerous times in the past 5 years, latest time was in room 4452 this past month. I just mapped it. The walk from that room to the main gate of Disneyland is .43 miles. This was not the furthest room away, because that room is .46 miles from the main gates of Disneyland. The closest room is .36 miles away.

The Frontier Tower at the Disneyland hotel, from the furthest room is .53. That is the furthest away room, if you were to stay in Adventure tower it is .47 away from the Disneyland main gates.

Of course DCA will be shorter because the entrance is right there, but if you have a Disneyland start day you will need to walk down the hallways to the lobby and then to the courtyard and out to Downtown Disney to the main gates. No other way around it due to park hoppers starting at 11am.

The Grand Californian is a magnificent hotel, but there is no reason to minimize how long the hallways are. Minimizng the walk is doing a disservice to those who are making decisions on staying there. It sets people up for disappointment if they are expecting a short walk out of the hotel. We've never had a room that close in the all the years we've been staying at the GCH. That is why myself and I've seen others say that the rooms can be just as far as the DLH.


And just to give a total comparison: Park Vue Inn on Harbor is .28 miles away from the Disneyland main gates. Courtyard by Marriot Theme Park Entrance is .50.

 

[LKing]

I don't understand your last sentence. Are you saying that you're rushing through DCA when the park opens to get to Disneyland and there are CMs who ask you not to do that?

This happens to us often. We eat at GCH and then walk through DCA to get to DLR. Now we just tell them straight up why we are moving between parks so quickly. Either that or we exit through GCH through DTD and avoid the hassle.

Never knew that! But how do they do the handoff? If one of them goes out to the Esplanade to meet the other, then you've got two people outside the turnstiles and one pass. I don't see how the handoff could be made from inside the turnstiles without a CM seeing it.

The MK passes are on your phone. You don't have to physically pass off anything. You can just send a screen shot to someone else. For what it is worth, I always take a screen shot of my pass before I enter the park. It is much easier to pull it up that way (for discounts, etc.) than it is to wait for the app to load. Plus, there are certain areas in the parks where cell reception isn't the best (ex. under Silly Symphony Swings). Inevitably, those are the areas where they give out the MK freebies.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Never knew that! But how do they do the handoff? If one of them goes out to the Esplanade to meet the other, then you've got two people outside the turnstiles and one pass. I don't see how the handoff could be made from inside the turnstiles without a CM seeing it.

All tickets and passes can be in the app now. And someone can also take a screenshot of their ticket and send it to someone. There is no need to physically hand off a ticket anymore, which is why this security measure is now in place.

 

[irlandaise]

Thanks to all who reminded me that phone-based tickets are now the norm! And especially for Magic Key holders, I guess. That would make it very easy for people who look similar to use the same pass for multiple people.

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

Never knew that! But how do they do the handoff? If one of them goes out to the Esplanade to meet the other, then you've got two people outside the turnstiles and one pass. I don't see how the handoff could be made from inside the turnstiles without a CM seeing it.

I bet they send another family member out with the pass to give to the other family member to use to enter the park.