In the Unofficial Guide (Disneyland), it says “Secondary parking… Toy Story lot south of the corner of Katella Avenue and Harbor Blvd (a favorite of local pass holders and our top pick for the most convenient place to park)…”
My question is WHY is Toy Story convenient? On a map, it looks farther away than the main areas. In May, we’re renting a house a couple miles away, and this lot is closer to the house. But it is really convenient to the parks?
Also, what time should we plan on parking, and how early is there a shuttle from that lot?
Hi. We go to DL a lot, and Toy Story lot is a much better option, in my opinion. There are large, air conditioned buses that leave from there and will get you to the parks quickly. They start 1 hour before open, so arrive at the lot about 7:50 for a 9am open. The only time I would choose Mickey & Friends lot is if you are trying to attend magic morning, in which case M&F opens 1.5 hours before open, so 30 min before the start of magic mornings on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. M&F is a HUGE parking structure, and the waits to get on the open air shuttles from there can be very long. You won’t regret choosing the Toy Story lot, especially when it is hot and you want an air conditioned ride back to the parking lot. The shuttles to M&F are open air and they pack them full.
We usually park at Mickey and Friends because we like to walk when the tram and security lines are long. Is there a walk option from Toy Story? The last time we stayed at an offsite hotel waze/apple map kept wanting me to park at Toy Story, but I’d never parked there so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Where does the bus drop you off in relation to the front gates?
You can walk from the Toy Story lot, but it would be further than the walk from Mickey & Friends. It’s 20 minutes according to Google maps. The shuttles drop you off just east of the Esplanade, right outside security.
I’m a local AP and hate TS with a passion. With small kids and a stroller the bus is a pain in the rear. There is no more wait for a tram at M&F than there is a wait for a bus at TS, and on the tram you don’t have to fold the stroller. You can also choose to walk back to the car avoiding a tram/bus entirely (if baby is asleep and you want to milk that as long as possible by NOT moving them until you get to the car!) Also the traffic around the TS lot is much more congested, I avoid the area at all costs by using the 5 freeway flyover to get straight into the garage and back out onto the freeway, but even taking side streets around the back of the garage on Ball is much less congested than driving near the convention center, I never touch Harbour Blvd.
M&F is also an enclosed garage. TS is an open lot. On a hot day I’d taking coming back to a car that isn’t boiling in the sun over 5 minutes of AC on a crowded bus.