[Question] Parking Again!

[KarlinVV]

Does anyone know why they were sending us to the Garden Walk Parking early in the morning yesterday before Mickey and Friends was full?

[Druggas]

Re: Parking Again!

They're testing out different parking schemes, which also includes parking at the Anaheim Convention Center.

[DisneyIPresume]

Re: Parking Again!

Because that parking area is better overall than Mickey and Friends?

[scarlett_3184]

Re: Parking Again!

What a bummer!
That's the main reason I go to the parks early...Parking!

[h2opolodad]

Re: Parking Again!

RANT AHEAD!!

Because Disneyland parking is THE least customer-oriented department in the entire resort!

Think about it: where else at the DLR do they make you go to the end of the line (like in the M & F parking structure) when there is 100's of open spaces much closer to your goal than where you are currently headed?

Sorry, but it just has always put me in a bad mood when I park in the section farthest from the escalators and then walk by 50 open spaces on my way, and then another aisle opens up, to people who got there LATER than me, who now get to park closer!

[KarlinVV]

Re: Parking Again!

Thank You!
It was frustrating it took us 50 minutes to drive to the park and an hour once we got off the freeway to get parked and onto the busses to the Front Gate.

And the Parks were not even that busy we had a great time when we finally got in.

[OC2Epcot]

Re: Parking Again!

On one of my recent trips I got there at 10:30 in the morning, and they were sending people to Garden Walk. I ended up making a U turn and parked in Pumba ... When I asked a CM why (3 were standing together) they all looked at each other like nobody really knew. One CM said because Mickey & Friends was getting too backed up. Didn't seem like a good answer to me, but I just said OK and went on to the park.

[DisneyIPresume]

Re: Parking Again!

On one of my recent trips I got there at 10:30 in the morning, and they were sending people to Garden Walk. I ended up making a U turn and parked in Pumba ... When I asked a CM why (3 were standing together) they all looked at each other like nobody really knew. One CM said because Mickey & Friends was getting too backed up. Didn't seem like a good answer to me, but I just said OK and went on to the park.

M&F as well as the other parking areas wouldn't get so backed up if they had all booths open and they didn't spend 5 minutes or more talking to the drivers.

[aashee]

Re: Parking Again!

I would imagine it's like a baseball game looking at the weather report. If Disneyland knows they are going to reach parking capacity in the M&F structure it's much easier to redirect early rather than waiting until one is totally full and having everyone have to turn around and create a traffic mess.

This is much better than what we have seen in the past which is a nightmare on Katella and Harbor.

[DuffyGuardian]

Re: Parking Again!

If your asked to park somewhere else other then M&F, do they offer shuttle service? I ask because my mom has a bad knee and can't do a very long walk. (we get her an ECV once we are in the parks)

If you go to the M&F do they tell you to go somewhere else? We would be going at like 7:30 am on a weekend?

[dland_lover]

Re: Parking Again!

RANT AHEAD!!

Because Disneyland parking is THE least customer-oriented department in the entire resort!

Think about it: where else at the DLR do they make you go to the end of the line (like in the M & F parking structure) when there is 100's of open spaces much closer to your goal than where you are currently headed?

Sorry, but it just has always put me in a bad mood when I park in the section farthest from the escalators and then walk by 50 open spaces on my way, and then another aisle opens up, to people who got there LATER than me, who now get to park closer!

Umm... how to put this gently... okay I can't.

• #1- The universe does not revolve around you.

Ok, and now that that's out of the way:

• #2- They have the best parking set up, that I've ever seen, anywhere. They have us park this way, I'm sure, to make sure that everyone who is parking/just parked can get out of their cars safely, without having to worry about getting hit by an incoming car. Have you seen the way people take up a parking space, getting all of their stuff out (people included) of the car? Throw on top of that now having to park more cars, right there and it could potentially be a bad situation, and at the very least, slow for the cars who are now having to wait for people to clear out of the way before they themselves can park. It really is an efficient, and safe system, that they use.

And since when did walking a little more ever kill anybody? (and I'm talking in real world terms here, not some fictional setting from a movie)

[dland_lover]

Re: Parking Again!

If your asked to park somewhere else other then M&F, do they offer shuttle service? I ask because my mom has a bad knee and can't do a very long walk. (we get her an ECV once we are in the parks)

If you go to the M&F do they tell you to go somewhere else? We would be going at like 7:30 am on a weekend?

The only lot that does not have bus/shuttle/tram service is Simba, which is behind the Paradise Pier Hotel.

[Ortizmo2000]

Re: Parking Again!

I originally planned not to post of what happened yesterday, but since I happened upon the subject of this thread....I'm giving in to my irritation.

My GF and I like to partake in the DLR whenever possible. Since we've adopted a puppy, those times are fewer lately. We prefer to spend time with her rather than leave her kenneled up for hours at a time, but yesterday we'd decided that it had been a few weeks and we missed the park. She also had never seen DLR all "Christmased out" so we thought it'd be cool to head down that way from her place in Hemet. Being Sunday, I thought it would be best for us to take both vehicles since I would be returning home to Huntington Beach that night for the work week.

So we made our way down the 91 with her carrying the pooch in the SUV safely inside her extra large kennel. Once we exited down Ball, I see the sign that's directing us to make a left on Harbor to the Buzz lot. I knew what this meant....frustration ahoy. The last time we saw this sign, I tried to head over the 5 to the M/F structure anyway, only to be diverted right thru the property to the other side on Harbor.

This time, I just resigned myself to the fact that things were going to be effed already and rolled with it. We could've left earlier, yes. It was around 1ish by this point and I thought..."okay, we just gotta start leaving earlier then". The holidays are coming is this is gonna be a fact of life. So we both head for the lot and are instantly separated by people cutting left and right and generally driving like boneheads. It's California. Whatcha gonna do?

In a desperate last act, i call the main info line to ask a living breathing human is the M/F structure has a snowball's chance in hell of opening at all today, and she responds with a curt "no". Okay....again, I resign.

My GF arrives at the Buzz gate first and has her AP swiped. She is then promptly told that since she has a pet she cannot park there....however she can turn around and go park at M/F. The CM puts a pink slip under her window-wiper that says "EXIT". She calls me and tells me this and I see her turning about. Dopey me.....I'm in the middle of three lanes trying to get into Buzz. Trying to follow her at this point would be hell and there's no guarantee that I won't be turned away from M/F. I just tell her to go park and I'll be there as soon as I can. I just head in to Buzz, thankfully parked rather quickly, and chose to walk up Harbor to the esplanade. The lines for the shuttle were long enough to where I'm thinking I can just walk and make better time.

Meanwhile....at Mickey and Friends....

The gate CM that greeted my GF, a guy we'll call Mr. Lecture, swipes her AP. He of course gets the alert that the pass had been swiped into the system already. Mr Lecture then unleashes on her how that she now has to go and park in that lot and he's not gonna let her in. "If you go to one lot to use your pass, you have to park in THAT LOT," he barks - evidently not seeing the pink pass on the window.

My GF has been driving for almost 2 hours and is doing the bursting bladder bounce by this point, not to mention the dog.

Speaking of said pooch, she explains that she was diverted to M/F because of the dog. Mr Lecture peers thru the window like a highway patrolman.

"Can I see your vaccination records?"

She is flabberghasted. The records are in the dog-duffel we use to carry her food, dogbed, blankets and it is all kept together for when we actually arrive at the kennel. She tells him there is NO WAY she is gonna get out and dig that stuff up for him right then and there. She also informs him that he better have a bucket on hand because there is shortly going to be an accident there at his gate booth.

Mr Lecture than sees that there are cars piling up behind her and with a "hmph" finally relents. She carries the pooch and all her stuff down the escalator alone (I tell her I'm on my way over but she's insistent that she's fine and I should wait at the esplanade) and finally reaches the end of the tram ride with a weak, exhausted smile. I notice that by this time an hour has gone by since we turned left on Harbor.

Being a former CM myself, I make it a point never to go off on cast members. I may point out delusions of superiority from time to time, but these people are hard workers providing us with a valuable service.

Mr Lecture though needs to be re-educated on a few things. First of which being that HE IS NOT A COP. I dont know what SOP is for the parking CM's but I'm reasonably sure that you don't just start peekin in the windows like a poor man's Barney Fife. Ask to see the dog. She will turn on the cabin light. Easy....simple.

Secondly.....the vaccination records. The kennel CM's are the only people that should be worried about that kind of thing, and if you are aching for those days of being the junior high hall monitor Mr Lecture, the main parking gate just aint your gig, bub.

...and while I'm, on the subject I'd just like to say that the kennel CM's are among the best of the best. Always helpful, friendly, and seem to very much enjoy taking care of those animals.

So yeah, it looks like things are changing as far as parking goes for the DLR, at least for the holidays. I can accept this, but CM's with ill-informed approaches to their jobs isn't going to help and tempers are simply going to flare with all this supposed parking testing going on - if that is indeed true.

Sorry for the rant. The universe usually does revolve around me.

[spacejockey]

Re: Parking Again!

Has anyone complained to Guest Relations? I was wondering what their response is. I thought a new garage similar to Mickey and Friends was going near GW? Why are they waiting so long to build the new structure? All these cars going on surface streets with all these coach shuttle buses sounds lame and will cause grid lock.

[Ortizmo2000]

Re: Parking Again!

Has anyone complained to Guest Relations?

It's going to take a lot more than this to get me to actually submit a complaint to City Hall. I'm an AP, so if only one day happens to suck for me, chance are the next one won't. Life is too short to stand in line to complain. I'd rather get on a ride.....even if its just the tram.

[aashee]

Re: Parking Again!

Has anyone complained to Guest Relations? I was wondering what their response is. I thought a new garage similar to Mickey and Friends was going near GW? Why are they waiting so long to build the new structure? All these cars going on surface streets with all these coach shuttle buses sounds lame and will cause grid lock.

I have a feeling Disney knows all too well that the parking situation is a mess. Being heard is a good thing and I think and email would work just as well. I bet the CM's aren't happy about the parking either with the roads being clogged up from the lack of available spaces.

[h2opolodad]

Re: Parking Again!

Thank you, Ortizmo, for AGAIN proving my point.

No, I do not think the world revolves around me. And YES, I do think that Disney has the best method of parking people that is available. We use it every year at church to park people for our Halloween festival.

My problem, is with the ATTITUDE of the people associated with the parking system, much as Ortizmo so deftly demonstrated. It is that, as I said in my original post, the parking people have the LEAST customer-oriented attitude in the entire DLR system.

Now I have been on the receiving end of some incredibly great service, from the parks to the hotels to the characters, much of which I have shared on these discussion boards. But the whole point of my rant (and I believe this was my first ever) is that the parking system currently STINKS!! Sorry, but that is my opinion, and I don't believe that this is a great way for Disney to introduce a guest to their Disneyland experience.

[Darkbeer]

Re: Parking Again!

OK, a couple of points...

First off, the agreement that Disney has with the Anaheim GardenWalk is that they MUST park the lot before Noon, as AGW wants the parking to be easily accessible for ITS customers. Disney has bought the rights to some specific spots, basically on the west side of the structure, to allow the AGW guests easy access to their stores when they arrive.

I agree with the fact that Disney has DROPPED the ball in regards to parking. They should have had the new lot they are building next to Buzz Lightyear open PRIOR to closing down the Timon lot for the Cars Land expansion.

As for the "new" parking structure, they HAVE to get the new lot open prior to closing the Pumbaa lot for the construction. As I understand it, it won't be until the Fall of 2010 that they can start the construction. Disney wants to see how the parking situation plays out this upcoming summer, especially with the premiere of the World of Color Show. No permits have been filed for the project, so there is no chance of anything happening quickly.

More on the Parking Situation can be found in my last "In the Parks" article.

[WestsideCM99]

Re: Parking Again!

The structure definately needs to be in place before the completion of the major DCA attractions or else this will be an already bad situation that gets much worse!

[brenden]

Re: Parking Again!

Parking is getting to be such an anxiety issue for me, when M&F is closed it just starts off the whole day on the wrong foot.