We’re sharing everything you need to know to get from the hotel to the theme parks to Downtown Disney, or anywhere else onsite, with Disneyland Resort’s transportation options.
Yes, it’s true that Disneyland Resort is significantly smaller than Walt Disney World Resort. In fact, it’s so much smaller that trying to compare transportation at the two resorts is kind of silly – while very little is within walking distance at Disney World, pretty much everything is just a short walk away at Disneyland.
As a result, Disneyland first-timers are often surprised at just how close everything is situated. Whether you’re staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel or somewhere off-property but nearby, you’ll be mere minutes away. Need to get from the theme parks to your car? That’s just a hop and a skip of a tram ride.
But even though Disneyland Resort’s transportation is pretty simplified, it’s still very much worth knowing before you arrive. Below, we’re covering everything you need to know so you get around with ease.
Explore Disneyland Resort Transportation
Disneyland Trams
Disneyland’s trams pick guests up at the resort’s two parking structures. Photo by Cliff Wang
If you’re stay off-property and plan to drive to Disneyland Resort each day of your trip – or you’re simply driving in for a single-day visit – trams are the mode of transportation you’ll likely rely on. Once you’ve paid for parking, the trams are free to use.
Disneyland’s trams ferry guests from the parking structures to a central location at the Esplanade, right where Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and Downtown Disney all intersect.
You’ll need to take a tram if you park in one of the following locations:
- Mickey and Friends Parking Structure
- Pixar Pals Parking Structure
These two structures are located just about 2 miles from the theme park entrances. It is walkable (more on that in a bit), but it’s a bit of a hike if you’re schlepping kids, backpacks, and more with you.
Both parking structures feed right into the tram pickup and dropoff zones. Take the escalator or elevator down to the ground floor, and you’ll head through a security checkpoint to pick up a tram.
Once you’re done for the day, you can grab a tram right back to the parking structures.
Disneyland Buses
Disneyland’s bus system is pretty limited. Buses will pick up and drop off guests only at one location: the Toy Story Parking Lot on Harbor Boulevard. Once you pay for parking and enter the lot, these buses are free to use.
This expansive parking lot doesn’t utilize trams because it has to drive on Anaheim’s city streets in order to get guests to and from Disneyland Resort. So, with the slightly more complicated (but still very short) route, buses like those at Disney World are used.
After parking your car, you’ll head to the Toy Story Lot bus pickup and dropoff area. Sometimes there’s a security checkpoint set up so you can have your bags and strollers examined before entering the park; sometimes there isn’t. It simply depends on crowd levels and how the parking lot is staffed for the day.
The Toy Story buses drop guests off right at the start of the Esplanade, just inside Disneyland Resort’s Harbor Boulevard entrance gate. You’ll return here to pick up your bus back to the parking lot at the end of your visit.
The Disneyland Monorail
The Disneyland monorail picks up guests at the Downtown Disney District station. Photo by Danny Shuster
The Disneyland Monorail is iconic… but it’s not exactly the most helpful mode of transportation at the resort. In fact, it’s really just an attraction, though it will drop you at one destination outside of Disneyland Park.
You can pick up the Disneyland Monorail in two locations: the Tomorrowland station, which is inside Disneyland Park, or the Downtown Disney District station, which is located at the west end of Downtown Disney.
In order to ride the monorail, you need both a form of valid theme park admission (a ticket or Magic Key) and a valid theme park reservation for the date of your visit. You can board at either station, or you can stay onboard and ride the full loop back to your starting point.
The monorail can be most beneficial if you’re staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels and simply don’t want to walk back and forth between the parks and resorts at any point.Â
For example, if you’re bringing the kids back to the hotel for a nap, it’s helpful (if there’s not a long wait) to hop on the monorail and save their energy. Or, if you’re heading into the parks again after a midday break, you can hop on the monorail and save everyone a little time and energy.
Walking at Disneyland Resort
Ultimately, because of Disneyland Resort’s small size, the most effective and efficient mode of transportation is often walking. The resort is highly walkable, and that means you can get pretty much everywhere you need or want to go on foot.
You can walk from the Harbor Boulevard entrance gate all the way to the Disneyland Hotel at the other end of the resort. Want to park hop between Disneyland and California Adventure? You’ll need to walk across the Esplanade.
You can even walk to and from the two parking structures to the hotels or Downtown Disney (and from there, into the theme parks) via the handy pedestrian bridge. And walking is really the only way to get into Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, to hotel restaurants like Goofy’s Kitchen or Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar, and even to many nearby Good Neighbor Hotels.
While there are some walks you might want to skip – like that long walk between the parks and the parking structures – walking can save you time at certain times of the day. For example, tram lines get absolutely crazy after the fireworks or at the end of the night. Instead of waiting 30-plus minutes for a ride back to your car, you can simply walk through Downtown Disney, use the pedestrian bridge, and eliminate the wait altogether.Â
As long as your feet are up for the walk, it’s almost always easier to skip the crowds and get in a few more minutes of walking (and hundreds more steps!)
