Disneyland's Haunted Parking Garage Trip Report - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning and instead of following through on our plans to go to Disneyland this morning, we said, "Let's go to the beach for brunch."
We showered, dressed, called down to valet for our car to be brought around, and waited for what seemed like hours at the elevators - some of the slowest in the world. And conventions seem to be going on 24/7 at the Hilton so the elevators were always packed by the time they arrived at our floor. Eventually, we were on our way.
On the way to the beach we wanted to check out some properties so we drove down Harbor Blvd., past my childhood home in Fountain Valley, past my high school (Los Amigos), and into a pleasant, quiet neighborhood where they still have the drive-through dairies I remembered from my childhood. Ah... nostalgia...
We then drove past the nearest church and thought how pleasant life could be here just a couple of miles from the beach. Then we headed for Huntington Beach and the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway or Hwy. 1), and swung south to Newport Beach for Blue Water Grill - one of our favorite waterside restaurants for a casual seafood meal.
It was Father's Day but we arrived soon after opening and snagged one of the last tables outside. Rich ordered the Salmon Eggs Benedict with a Blood Mary, and I ordered the Crab Eggs Benedict and a glass of champagne - divine!
The channel leading to the Pacific Ocean
Next: Part 2: Balboa Island and Part 3: Angels Baseball Game
After our delicious brunch, we drove over to the beach, parked at the Balboa Beach pier and walked over to the amusement area: ferris wheel, frozen bananas (where they were created), t-shirt shops, candy shops with the best taffy on the west coast (can't compare to my MIL's favorites on the Jersey Shore, though), and the car/passenger ferry to Balboa Island. Kinda like the real Paradise Pier of DCA.
I have many fond childhood memories of this place - swimming in the Bay and all of the above.
When we stopped in the candy shop, the woman said we were lucky to find a parking spot on Father's Day. Guess ignorance is bliss - we just happened to arrive everywhere at just the right time. It was a lot of fun to revisit my childhood, which is what this entire day seemed to be for.
Is this starting to feel like visiting the neighbors and they start showing the family slides back when people did such things? Oops! Sorry about that - we're almost done - one more part coming up.
Next: Part 3: "Calling all Angels" or watch out for those Dodgers fans!
When we heard there would be a freeway series, Angels vs. Dodgers, at Anaheim Stadium the weekend we would be in Anaheim, we just had to get tickets. My mother and father grew up in L.A. and were Dodgers fans that was the first game I ever went to. But I grew up in Orange County so I used to go to Angels games with my friends when I was a teen. Living in Las Vegas, we get to watch both teams on TV but we are definitely Angels fans.
The stadium is one of the best in baseball because it's right there in the suburbs with such easy access - just a couple of miles from Disneyland. Easy in and easy out. And it's always fun to valet park back at the resort after a game when you're wearing your Angels gear - the CMs love to chat with you about the game - even the Hilton staff got into it.
We were surrounded by Dodgers fans and they brought their competitive spirit, although it was all done in fun. But the highlight for us was right before the game started when they played "Calling All Angels." I felt like I had been called home. We hadn't had dinner before the game (5 p.m. game on Sunday night on ESPN) so we headed for the snack bar and got some kind of burrito bowl - tasty but way too much food. Later we managed to find room for some cracker jacks - what's a baseball game without them?
Unfortunately, the Angels lost that night and we headed out early, reading to crawl into our nice, comfy Serenity bed to rest up before the big day at Disneyland, Yes, folks, we really did finally make it to the park.
Next: Why this trip report is named "Disneyland's Haunted Parking Garage" trip report.
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We had been dreading this moment since we first heard about DCA replacing the parking lot at Disneyland. As long as we stayed onsite and parked our car in valet parking, we didn't have to face it. My old high school friends often talked about what a pain it was to go to Disneyland since DCA was built. Staying onsite, we hadn't felt their pain. Finally, it was upon us: to face the dreaded parking garage, which we quickly dubbed the new Haunted Parking Garage attraction at Disneyland.
We arrived before park opening and CMs were doing their usual orchestrating of where to park. Now this may not be too bad in an open parking area, but in a parking garage it's aggravating and claustrophobic. We park in parking garages regularly in Las Vegas, but nobody tells us where to park. When you arrive in the morning at Disney parks, the CMs tell you where to park. So even if you're early, you may end up parking at the far end of the garage because they park you in order instead of roping off the back end of the garage for later arrivals. Then you have to walk for what seems like forever to get to the escalator at the far end near the trams.
There is absolutely no setting of theme or atmosphere in this ugly, creepy, claustrophobic parking garage. How can you feel excited about arriving at Disneyland in such dank surroundings? After walking this huge distance, we chose not to get in line for the tram, but chose to walk the short pathway to Downtown Disney, to enjoy the flora, soak up some fun atmosphere, and to be on our own schedule. Besides, it was faster to walk and we weren't alone in making that choice.
There are several things that Disney could do to improve the situation at the parking garage. Here are 3 things they could add to the garage that would greatly enhance the guest experience as soon as they're on Disney property:
Technology. The Las Vegas and Portland airports (to name 2) both have technology in their parking garages that show which parking spaces are available. A green light above the space shows it's empty, and a red light shows the space is occupied. Plus there are lit numbers at the end of each row indicating how many spaces are available. Disney should adopt this. This allows Disney to know how full the garage is, and points guests to where the open spaces are, eliminating the need to be shoveled into wherever Disney CMs want you to park.
Moving walkway. Like many airport parking garages, Disney could add a moving walkway to move their guests from one end of the giant garage (holds 10,000 cars) to the other.
Theming. In the Las Vegas airport baggage claim area, there are video screens and audio recordings with Las Vegas personalities. Disney could add these screens or audio recordings at the very least. Mickey and friends could greet guests, offer tips, and advertise "big doings" in the park, including where to eat, shop, or otherwise spend extra money.
After that horrid experience, we vowed to never step foot in that garage again, even though it's free for Annual Passholders. Imagining we might find ourselves being Disneyland locals again, we wondered what do locals do? Surely they don't go through that experience just to drop in on Downtown Disney for a couple of hours. No, of course not. There is short-term parking near Downtown Disney where the first 3 hours are free. You can get an additional 2 hours if you eat at a restaurant that validates. After that you pay $2 for every 20 minutes or $6 per hour. It also pays to drop in on Disneyland during the less busy times, before all parking lots are full. Attendance this summer is already reaching maximum capacity even on Mondays. Guess the Birthday promotion is working...
Maybe Disney is already working on this. Who knows? Expensive - yes. But worth it - yes. We feel they could take this as an opportunity to creative a more pleasant experience for their guests while also advertising other money-making options. It'll be interesting to see what happens after they open the new Cars Land in DCA, and the renovation of the Disneyland Hotel. Will they turn their attention to Paradise Pier and other guest attractions/hotel experiences?
In the meantime, we're thinking we'll only want to go to Disneyland when we can afford to stay at the Grand Californian.
Ugh. So sorry about the HPG. It does sound pretty dismal. I love your idea of going to Disneyland when you can stay at the GC. I want to!
One of the things that I found disconcerting at the WDW Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village back in May is the under-the-building parking.
Some find this convenient because of the accessibility, and I would add your point about it being covered. However, it’s pretty unattractive.
Now, I saw this the day Kidani Village opened, on a walk from Jambo House to Kidani with Bob and Lesley after our marvelous supper at Jiko.
I think much of what I saw may be obscured from the DVC Resort entrance, which is above the grade from the walkway. Also, this may be less obvious once the landscaping is more mature. On the one hand, props to the Imagineers and architects for reducing the resort footprint. On the other, though, seeing exposed pipes and conduits is unusual.
The resort interior is wonderful. Great design features and it feels more intimate than Jambo House, the original portion of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You should definitely check it out next visit. The new restaurant, Sanaa, is getting really good reviews, and I hope to check that out on one of the upcoming visits! Yes! Plural! Labor Day and early December. Tsk, tsk, these new DVC members....
Ugh. So sorry about the HPG. It does sound pretty dismal. I love your idea of going to Disneyland when you can stay at the GC. I want to!
One of the things that I found disconcerting at the WDW Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village back in May is the under-the-building parking.
Some find this convenient because of the accessibility, and I would add your point about it being covered. However, it’s pretty unattractive.
Now, I saw this the day Kidani Village opened, on a walk from Jambo House to Kidani with Bob and Lesley after our marvelous supper at Jiko.
I think much of what I saw may be obscured from the DVC Resort entrance, which is above the grade from the walkway. Also, this may be less obvious once the landscaping is more mature. On the one hand, props to the Imagineers and architects for reducing the resort footprint. On the other, though, seeing exposed pipes and conduits is unusual.
The resort interior is wonderful. Great design features and it feels more intimate than Jambo House, the original portion of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You should definitely check it out next visit. The new restaurant, Sanaa, is getting really good reviews, and I hope to check that out on one of the upcoming visits! Yes! Plural! Labor Day and early December. Tsk, tsk, these new DVC members....
We are really looking forward to seeing the new addition to AKL and the Contemporary - you and Bob will have to give us tours the next time we sync up.
When we lived in Windermere, we looked at some condos but the parking situation was a deal-breaker for us - just street parking. We were thinking they needed underneath parking for the hot, Florida summers. But condo parking is one thing. Underneath parking at Disney seems creepy because it darkens the entire experience and detracts from the atmosphere they've worked so hard to create. It could be a welcome thing during the summer but they need to do something about the atmosphere.
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Once we made it to Downtown Disney, we realized we were hungry so we headed for our favorite breakfast spot at DD: La Brea Bakery Cafe. The sitdown restaurant had a loooong line, so we chose to do the quick-service - La Brea Bakery Express. We each ordered the scrambled eggs plate, which came with applewood smoked bacon and their amazing bread. We had a small cup of coffee in the room, but we definitely needed more coffee. It was a great place to sit before entering the park.
We were seated right by the bag check so we did a little people-watching before proceeding to the entry to Disneyland Park - getting busy already - especially for a Monday morning. Later, somebody told us they thought maybe people stayed away on Sunday worried about the crowds on Father's Day. Instead, we all showed up Monday morning. We also heard the previous Monday had been so crowded, the park reached capacity and had to turn people away. Huh? Guess the free birthday promotion is working.
A few of the morning clouds had yet to burn off - such a different weather pattern from Walt Disney World.
Fortified with a yummy breakfast, we were rarin' to go! Off to Neverland, uh, Disneyland.
Actually, for whatever reason, I've been told that during the summer, Monday is the busiest day at Disneyland. I've definitely found that to be true! Too funny about the parking garage! I've never really thought about it before. You need to bring Zack with you because in the morning he very excitedly would wave to the characters painted on the columns of each level. "Hi Mickey!" "Hi Mickey!" Then, in the evening as we were leaving (our tendency is to park there on departure day,) he'll dejectedly say goodbye. "Bye....Mickey..." "Bye...Mickey...." But, we're easily entertained! Can't wait to hear about your adventures in the park.
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Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
I guess the Disney magic spoiled you for staying off property. I think I'd be the same way! That parking garage sounds a little scary. It should definitely be setting the scene for a day at the Happiest Place on Earth. Surprised at the crowds already! Can't wait for more. Also, I enjoy getting a look at other things to do in Southern California.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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