Well, that was fun.......not

Originally Posted By TP2000

And add me to the list of people who think the current DTD parking price structure is way too cheap!

3 Hours Free. 2 more Free Hours with validation. Then a measly 6 bucks per hour after your five free hours.

Those prices haven't changed since DTD opened 14 years ago, and it shows.

If I owned the place I would do the following pricing, effective immediately:

1 Hour Free
2 Additional Hours Free With Restaurant/Movie Validation
$10 Per Hour Thereafter

It has to be more expensive than the Theme Park Parking Charge of $17. But still allow folks to go in for dinner or a movie fairly easily.

As it stands now, DTD Parking is de facto Theme Park Parking for savvy Annual Passholders. That has to stop. It should have been stopped somewhere around the 50th Anniversary, but better late than never.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

"Sounds like a mess for parking, and yet I just have to ask...

Why the heck would anyone try to go to DTD or Disneyland Resort area in general on the last Sunday of Christmas Vacation? And the first Sunday that all the AP's become unblocked after a few weeks of blockouts?

Choosing to go to Disneyland Resort to just bum around DTD and watch football sounds like something only a masochist would enjoy attempting."

Well, since you've decided to be a dick about it- none of your freaking business? We had our reasons? My wife wanted to go and I didn't want to disappoint her, yet Disney took care of that for me?

The overriding point you've chosen to miss here is that it was very early in the day. The DTD lot was nowhere near capacity. There appeared to be no sane, compelling logical reason to make anyone park so far away other than the apparent relatives of yours who make these decisions decided to do it. Alrighty?

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

>>In any case, I don't blame SPP for bailing out of that mess. How frustrating to go through all that for no reason.<<

When I was in L.A. last March for a conference in Claremont, I decided to skip a lunch-time plenary and go to Downtown Disney to get my kids a Disneyland gift. Google said traffic wasn't bad (and it wasn't), so what the heck, I thought.

Ran into the same problem. I stuck through the pain and misery only because I figured I'd come this far...but it was just a nightmare. I got from my hotel in Pomona to off the Orange freeway *faster* than it took me to get to DL and park in the DTD lot. Lot was half full, if that.

 

Originally Posted By 9oldmen

>>1 Hour Free
2 Additional Hours Free With Restaurant/Movie Validation
$10 Per Hour Thereafter<<
I think the "1 Hour Free" seems kind of pointless. That's sounds like about enough time to maybe pick up a piece of merchandise that's already been chosen, or something like that. I would just make it 3 hours free with the validation. Although even that's a little tight. There have been a LOT of movies lately with nearly 3 hour running times, or more. I would add another 2 hours for a movie with no cost for parking.

 

Originally Posted By TP2000

>>"Well, since you've decided to be a dick about it- none of your freaking business? We had our reasons? My wife wanted to go and I didn't want to disappoint her, yet Disney took care of that for me?"<<

Woah dude, we are talking about shopping mall parking, not global politics.

Although, it actually became my business when you posted it on a message board for anyone on planet Earth with an Internet connection to talk about. So I did.

I'm sure you had your reasons why the football game could only be watched in Downtown Disney at ESPNZone on the last Sunday of Christmas Vacation when all AP's became suddenly unblocked. I have my reasons why I like to get my haircut only on Mondays. My point was that... well, what did you expect by going to Disneyland on that day? Or any busy Sunday, really?

I have no relatives that have ever worked for the Walt Disney Company, much less the Disneyland Parking Department. (My families only real brush with corporate greatness was when my Great Grandfather sold some property in Orange to Marie Callendar so she could open her first pie shop back in '64.)

That said, it's fairly understandable to see what Disneyland's parking team is doing on very busy Sundays with high AP visitation. They are trying to protect and save inventory on days when there won't be nearly enough parking inventory to go around. So in the morning they force everyone to the perimeter lots and save the main lots for peak afternoon arrivals. I'm sure there were already people parked in the DTD lot by mid-morning, which is what you saw, and those were likely employees or early arrivals who got in before the parking control program got underway later in the morning.

I'm not a parking engineer, but that seems to be what they do on most busy Sundays. And it kind of makes sense.

This whole thing could be avoided in my opinion by raising the parking fees for DTD from their original 2001 rates, and reducing the hours of free parking you get right off the bat.

Where are you going to watch the Super Bowl? Las Vegas? Think you'll find a parking spot there on that day?

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder


"Where are you going to watch the Super Bowl? Las Vegas? Think you'll find a parking spot there on that day? "

It's a thread about parking and you make it personal. Congratulations.

 

Originally Posted By TP2000

Okay. Not to say you don't have legit concerns about how poorly the Disneyland Resort parking infrastructure works for its paying customers. (It's been this way for years, if not a full decade now)

But you likely won't impact much change by posting this info on a very, very sleepy (if not near-death) message board. I think you should contact Guest Services, or send them an email.

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

TP2000 - I'm not sure why you feel it's necessary to call out SPP in this way. Your comments read very snarky.

SPP was sharing his experience, and you're pulling the 'well if you don't like it, don't go' routine.

I say, Disneyland Resort should really have a better system to manage these insane crowds they're getting. Both in and outside of the park.

And that includes people who want to stop by Downtown Disney and watch a football game.

I don't think SPP was expecting smooth sailing, but certainly to do feel that what he wanted to do should be that far out of the realm of possibility.

 

Originally Posted By TP2000

I don't mean for these comments to be full of snark, honestly.

And yet this is such a common thing to have happen on Disneyland Drive on Sundays.

Especially holiday/peak period Sundays. Also Friday nights. TDA's parking team has been pulling this kind of crap for years and years now. If not a decade.

It's why I avoid the entire Resort area on Sundays.

I also avoid Friday nights. And any weekend when all the AP's have just become unblocked or are about to be blocked; mid June, late August, mid December, early January, mid March, mid April. Plus any hint of a holiday weekend in October, November, January, February or May, or any weekend there's a RunDisney marathon with street closures. Also major events at the Anaheim Convention Center like the annual NAMM Convention, the Dental Convention, the Auto Show, the Home Show, and that ComicCon thing.

The parking and traffic control, particularly on Disneyland Drive and the western flanks of the Resort, is utter crap on anything above a moderately busy day. For years it's been like that, with absolutely no change in sight.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

"TP2000 - I'm not sure why you feel it's necessary to call out SPP in this way. Your comments read very snarky.

SPP was sharing his experience, and you're pulling the 'well if you don't like it, don't go' routine."

I appreciate the support.

Even if has been happening for years, which is not something I've noticed, it needs to change. Re-route people once the lots are full, not early in the morning when the place isn't crowded.

 

Originally Posted By SuperDry

It's not clear to me who is making these traffic routing decisions. Since most if not all of what SPPH is talking about is traffic management on public roads, it's not really within DLR's authority to make unilateral decisions on these matters. While I have no doubt that "DLR has a good working relationship with APD" and that the two cooperate on such matters, that doesn't really say where these decisions are being made. It's also possible that the Anaheim Resort District has some management role in such matters.

It's also not clear what the driving force of the decisions are. Are they to maximize convenience and overall traffic flow of DLR guests? (even if this means that for some guests at certain times, it creates inconvenience) Or is it to minimize detrimental affects of DLR traffic for other ARD businesses, or at least to create more of a balance? Or is it to minimize the affects that DLR/ARD traffic creates for the rest of Anaheim?

Misguided or not, it's clear that somebody is trying to accomplish something, but the Who and What are not at all clear.

 

Originally Posted By phruby

Friday morning I went to DL and headed towards the Mickey and Friends lot. The cops were directing cars away from the lot and down the street to Toy Story. I put out our disabled pass and the cop directed me into the M&F lot no questions asked. Other cars tried to follow me but were shut down by the cop.

 

Originally Posted By trollinda

Exact same thing happened to us. Twice as a matter of fact within a month...back to back, so I have no idea if it was going on on days when we didn't even attempt it. Attempted to park in the parking structure off of Katella, and that was blocked by cops who made us go over the bridge. The street into DTD was blocked, and they had everyone park at the convention center? What? No way. Went home. The following time DTD was closed off too, but circled around a second time and then the parking structure was opened. I don't know what they're doing....we have had passes for 15 years now, and this is something new....at least for us.