Looking for a hotel that allows all day parking on check in and check out days

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster. My family and I are going to Disneyland next Saturday and DCA next Sunday, and I booked the Fairfield Inn on Harbor for Saturday night only (we live about an hour away). I was hoping to be able to arrive very early on Saturday and park there all day, and then park there all day on Sunday, too. Yesterday I received an email from the hotel stating that we can’t park there prior to noon on Saturday, and need to leave by 11 am on Sunday.

Are there any hotels I could switch to that would allow us to park both days for the full day? I have heard of the Anaheim Hotel allowing offsite guests to park for a fee, but it seems that the secret is out and they are now filling up extremely early. We stayed at Howard Johnson a couple of times and they allowed us to park until 3 or 4 pm on Sunday, but would prefer not to stay there again due to the moon shining through the skylight all night. We could also park in the Toy Story lot, but are they running shuttles?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

1 Like

I believe that the shuttles run once they open the parking lot.

1 Like

This is a common issue on Harbor. If you stay onsite, you can park all day, both days. There are rooms at both Paradise Pier and Grand Californian next Saturday. They have never restricted how long you can park.

3 Likes

The Anaheim Marriott parking fee ($26 now) covers 24 hours, midnight to midnight. Pull ticket when you park in morning and exchange that one for an in/out ticket when you check in. That ticket allows exit until midnight of check out day. I stay there frequently. Can take ART to parks from right in front of hotel (“Grand Plaza” line, not necessarily on a reliable schedule, buy pass at hotel), or walk to parks, or cross Harbor and ride Toy Story shuttle for free. You do not have to park there to ride the shuttle. Now that TS busses are running, security screening should be happening in TS lot before you board bus, at least in the morning.

2 Likes

If you can’t find another hotel on Harbor that has all-day parking, you might be better off financially just parking at the Mickey and Friends lot and moving your car at the end of the day. Cheaper than getting a more expensive hotel room. But the best solution if money is not an object is to stay onsite. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Is money ever an object when it comes to Disney trips? Asking for a friend…

:rofl:

7 Likes

Thanks, everyone! I watched a YouTube video this morning showing how busy the Harbor entrance was on Tuesday compared to the Downtown Disney entrance, so ended up switching to the Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn and adding Friday night. So Saturday we will be set, and if we end up having to move the car on Sunday, so be it. Good to know for future visits about the Anaheim Marriott having all day parking!

1 Like

To clarify the DD entrance is the one by Disneyland Resort? So from Paradise Pier it’d be the same one?

1 Like

Yes, it’s the same one, right by the Disneyland Hotel. I walked in that way last Tuesday 6/15 (from the Anaheim Marriott), no wait at all at about 8:45 a.m.

3 Likes

Perfect. I booked Paradise Pier and the old guidebook said that was the longer security line so I was worried. Do you know if they are using the new fancy machines like WDW where you don’t have to get your bag searched?

1 Like

Unfortunately, no. When we were there for Touch of Disney I was reminded about how inefficient having someone check your bag is. I hope they get the scanners soon.

2 Likes

Darn. I’ll try to go bagless which is easier to do in DLR honestly cuz I don’t really need to be prepared for rain and carrying a poncho and umbrella every single day just in case cuz Florida.

3 Likes

A friend of mine is in your exact situation and he was saying he just booked the Quality Inn on Katella and they would allow him to park all day on the day he checked out. May be worth looking into.

1 Like

We were in that mess on Tuesday!! It seems like DLR just wasn’t ready or wanting to cater to the huge demand that showed up. Now that the busses started running again (Friday) they seem to have gotten their act together and Harbor isn’t that massive crush. We also walked around to the west side from Tue-Fri but tried Harbor today and they had it running very efficiently (we were also running later not getting there until after 8am).

3 Likes

I’m excited to hear details about your trip when you are able to collect your thoughts! Especially curious what you ended up doing Saturday. :joy:

1 Like

I am so excited to get around to a trip report once we are settled at home (on the long drive back now), but I’ll spoil the rest day and day we ended up planning nothing, sleeping in, and then midday making our way to Downtown Disney where we spent a solid 4-5 hours eating lunch, shopping and brought dinner back to the hotel to rest some more (and do a little pre-packing). If no one had been at the hotel pool when we got back we had swim suits ready for the kids to take a swim. But they were also happy to play with their new toys from the shopping.

2 Likes

That sounds like a very relaxing way to spend your rest day! Good call. :slight_smile: