The Disneyland Resort runs nearly 29,000 parking spaces for its visitors and employees, but guests still sometimes get backed up or have to park far away on crowded days.
And this week, they had to start paying $2 more — a total of $14 — to park a regular car there.
With the ongoing expansion of Disney’s California Adventure, Disney has been working to ensure that enough space is available for guests per zoning laws. In July, the Timon parking lot with 2,226 spots was closed to clear space for Cars Land, which is under construction at California Adventure.
Now, on busy days, visitors often are directed to designated Disney spots at the Anaheim GardenWalk mall and the Anaheim Convention Center lots.
Click on graphic for interactive map of Disney parking lots.
New parking spots are on their way. A new lot is under construction on Harbor Boulevard on the lot of a former strawberry field and is due to be completed this winter.
A parking structure might be built on the spot where the Pumbaa lot now sits on Disney Way.
To navigate your journey to the Disneyland Resort, we’re providing you with a map (right), tips and facts to help out. If you click on the map, you’ll see how many spaces are in each lot.
Here are some tips on how to get to theme parks:
- Take Anaheim Resort Transit shuttles. Not only do the shuttles run from nearby hotels, but visitors also can pick up the shuttles at The Block at Orange, Anaheim GardenWalk and the Crystal Cathedral. The Block and cathedral have free parking. But visitors should check on site about parking rules before staying there for long. The shuttle cost is $4 for adults and $1 for kids for day passes. Go to the ART Web site for locations and schedules.
- Ride the train. The shuttle also runs from the station in the Angel Stadium parking lot. It may not be cheaper, but you can avoid traffic jams on the freeway. Check with Amtrak or Metrolink for schedules and prices.
- Park at Downtown Disney. Disney discourages it, but parking is free for the first three hours at the Downtown Disney lot. Also, you can get validated from participating locations. Plus, you can pick up the Monorail from the Downtown Disney stop and skip the walk into the park.
- Get on the bus. Plan your trip on Orange County Transportation Authority’s Web site. A bus will drop you off at the shuttle stop.
- One reader wrote that the family parks in the neighborhood and walks to the shuttle. But that is definitely discouraged and might be illegal, depending on where you park.
- The Mickey and Friends parking structure — that’s the huge one off of Ball Road — is supposed to be the easiest place to park with regular tram rides to the theme parks’ entrance.
- MiceAge.com has a complete parking guide with information about each lot and ideas of how to avoid crowds. Check out the parking guide HERE.
Here are some facts about parking from Anaheim city documents:
- Disney must provide at least 26,863 spots under city zoning laws.
- The resort currently has 28,898 spots — 2,035 more than is required, according to a September document.
- Of those spots, at least 20,300 spots must be designated for theme-park goers and employees, given a projected attendance of 20 million.
- At Downtown Disney, at least 2,500 spots are required with an expected annual attendance of 2.5 million guests. There are 2,723 spaces now.
Around Disney bloggers Sally French and Adam Townsend contributed to this blog post.
Previous Disneyland parking posts:
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