Monorail? About This Page:

[Tonichelle]

does it go to all of them or just the GC? my aunt swears it goes to the DLH.. but I'm not seeing that info on the DLR site.

[DopeyGirl]

It goes between Tomorrowland and just beside the Rainforest Cafe, which gives you easier access to the DLH. It doesn't actually go TO the DLH though.

Back when there was no DTD, DCA or GCH, the Downtown Disney stop would have been considered the DLH stop, though.

[MelissaL]

Our Walk in Walt Footsteps guide said that the monorail stop wasn't moved, but that there used to be an entrance plaza (fountain, etc.) for the Disneyland Hotel next to the monorail station. I have read elsewhere that the station was moved when Downtown Disney was built, though.

In any case, the previous post is correct that the only stations are in Downtown Disney and in Tomorrowland in Disneyland park. On the way from DL to DD the monorail goes through California Adventure and the Grand Californian hotel, but doesn't stop in either place.

[disney777]

If the monorail station was moved, it wasn't moved by much. It was near the street (Disney Way?), and it is still is. I used to love going over to the hotel area and having a meal at the Monorail Cafe. I really miss that place. It was sort of a 50's diner, and we'd often go for ice cream sundaes!

[Tonichelle]

Originally Posted by MelissaL

....the monorail goes through California Adventure and the Grand Californian hotel, but doesn't stop in either place.

how depressing!... I guess we'll be staying at the DLH then, since the monorail stops close by?

though I'd love to stay at GC...


we will have (for sure) one five year old, possibly two, and so we want to have a quick and easy way to get to and from the resort to the park... and by we I mean my aunt lol... not sure it'd be any quicker than waiting for a shuttle or driving ourselves...

[HeatherD]

Originally Posted by Tonichelle

how depressing!... I guess we'll be staying at the DLH then, since the monorail stops close by?

though I'd love to stay at GC...


we will have (for sure) one five year old, possibly two, and so we want to have a quick and easy way to get to and from the resort to the park... and by we I mean my aunt lol... not sure it'd be any quicker than waiting for a shuttle or driving ourselves...

I think you don't have a scope of how close everything is. Even though the monorail doesn't physically stop at the GC, it's still the closest hotel to the monorail stop, since GC is in the middle of DTD. Either way, you're close to both hotels from the monorail.

However, it sounds like you are thinking the monorail would be a good transportation from hotel to park. It's not. Yes, it's saves actual footsteps, but it does not save any time (especially when the line in Tomorrowland is crazy). At DLR, the monorail is considered more of an attraction, as opposed to WDW where it is an alternative to buses and the like.

The DLR, which includes both parks, DTD and 3 resorts are all within walking distance of each other. Walking from the east side of DLR (called Maingate) through the plaza (DL would be on your right and DCA on your left), through Downtown Disney to the hotel is no further than going from the front of a park to the back. If you stay on property (DLH, GC or PP), you will have no need of a bus or shuttle. The monorail, like I said, might be a nice rest, but not a time saver.

And the Grand Californian has a private entrance into Grand Californian for the days you spend at that park. If your aunt has limited mobility or tires easily, then I'd recommend Grand Californian.

[disney777]

I agree with what was said above. Everything is within walking distance, and the monorail isn't always that convenient. (but it does give you a nice view of the surroundings, and a view from above the parks.) DLR is a pretty compact resort area, and even when staying offsite there are plenty of places that are within walking distance. Probably about 10 or so that are fairly close, just not as nice as the DLR hotels.

[MelissaL]

Originally Posted by HeatherD

The DLR, which includes both parks, DTD and 3 resorts are all within walking distance of each other. Walking from the east side of DLR (called Maingate) through the plaza (DL would be on your right and DCA on your left), through Downtown Disney to the hotel is no further than going from the front of a park to the back. If you stay on property (DLH, GC or PP), you will have no need of a bus or shuttle. The monorail, like I said, might be a nice rest, but not a time saver.

And the Grand Californian has a private entrance into Grand Californian for the days you spend at that park. If your aunt has limited mobility or tires easily, then I'd recommend Grand Californian.

I completely agree. It didn't seem much farther from the "side entrance" of Grand Californian (which opens onto Downtown Disney) to the Disneyland entrance than from the Disneyland Hotel to the monorail station. If you're not in the "main" tower at the Disneyland Hotel, the walk to the monorail would be even longer. I can't say whether the additional cost of the GC is justified, but it sure was convenient to get to the parks from there.

Melissa

[w-steele]

Originally Posted by Tonichelle

how depressing!... I guess we'll be staying at the DLH then, since the monorail stops close by?

though I'd love to stay at GC...


we will have (for sure) one five year old, possibly two, and so we want to have a quick and easy way to get to and from the resort to the park... and by we I mean my aunt lol... not sure it'd be any quicker than waiting for a shuttle or driving ourselves...

If you are basing your hotel stay on the facts about the DTD Monorail Station, I would suggest if you really want to stay at the GCR, DO IT. The walk to DLH and the GCR is just about the same.

[mechurchlady]

Stay at DLH. You walk across the street to the the GCH and through the lobby to the side exit to DCA which is about a two block walk. Not far compared to the trams. at the DLH hotel you would walk a block to the monorail and it is not that far and comparable to Hojos and other offsite hotels. GCH can mean a long walk of about a third of a mile to the front entrance. Any how you look at it it is a long walk from any hotel.

They did not move the Monorail Station at all.

[shellybelly72]

I'll be staying at the GC in 2 days! I am sure from what I have seen and heard about this hotel, I'll be able to convince you to stay there... LOL

[Tink and co.]

If you can afford it, by all means, stay at the Grand Californian. It's the most convenient, especially with mobility issues. You can literally be from DCA to room in less than five minutes. As others have said, the monorail is an attraction at DLR, not really transportation.

[Tonichelle]

I guess I misconstrued some of the issue - there is no one with mobility issues... my aunt is strictly thinking of her grandchild and her boyfriend's grandchild (she's basically his sugar momma, so we'd be taking his granddaughter too so the two girls can "get to know one another" I could rant for days - and I do!- about this situation). I'm sure boyfriend will whine about any walking he might have to do on this trip and he thinks it's a dumb idea all the way around. I say leave the slob at home.

Anyway it sounds like waiting/walking is going to happen no matter what - and no I'm not keen on where everything at DLR is compared to everything else... I've always thought the hotels were further away not because of how WDW is spread out, but because they came later than the original park...

[w-steele]

Originally Posted by mechurchlady

Stay at DLH. You walk across the street to the the GCH and through the lobby to the side exit to DCA which is about a two block walk. Not far compared to the trams. at the DLH hotel you would walk a block to the monorail and it is not that far and comparable to Hojos and other offsite hotels. GCH can mean a long walk of about a third of a mile to the front entrance. Any how you look at it it is a long walk from any hotel.

They did not move the Monorail Station at all.

I hate to dispute what you have written here but my wife and I have stayed at both hotels and I have to rely on an ECV and the difference in distance from the DTD Monorail Station to DLH and GCH is just a matter of one or two hundred feet. MAX. I think that if someone were to actually measure the distance from the enterance to the Monorail to the front desk of both hotels, they too would find that the difference is 1 or 2 hundred feet. Of course all of this is true if you use the DTD enterance to the GCH and not walk all of the way around to the main enterance. Yes, it would see to be different but I seriously doubt it. Sorry.

[Donald_Quackers]

From what I've seen, I would also agree, but that's not going to stop me from riding it while I'm there...especially with the new monorail trains.

My next stop has to be Las Vegas monorail