PDA

View Full Version : Travel modes, and souvenirs, re DLR



potzbie
09-28-2005, 12:36 PM
(I hope I am posting this data to the correct MousePlanet MousePad; it concerns off-property stuff, but related to Disneyland.)

***

When I was in Fullerton, CA (a city north of Anaheim) yesterday, I made a special point to stop by two areas.
I tried to kill two or three birds with one stone, you might say, as I drove from my home to Disneyland Resort ("DLR").
(I am an Annual Passholder who lives in the County of Los Angeles.)

***

1.) I visited the "Disney Character Warehouse" outlet store.

(This place was mentioned by a regular poster to this MousePad.)
It is near the corner of Orangethorpe and Lemon, in a mall, and technically it is in Fullerton, not Anaheim.
If you aren't picky, you can save 50% on sweats and pajamas and tee-shirts and jackets.
I am sure that their inventory changes too often for anyone to say what they will have during any one season.
I saw clothing with Disney-like illustrations that suggested to me that they were "slow-movers", and "close-outs."
(Anyone for 2005 calendars? Big, BIG savings! [smile])
(Anyone for Stitch plush toys, dressed in Santa Claus suits?)

I saw an entire rack of little princess SNOW WHITE and CINDERELLA costumes.
(Are they incoming, because of Halloween, or are they the outgoing old models?)

Me? I tried on the GOOFY pajamas, because the list price was something like $28, and the sale price was something like $12, and the material was good flannel.
Also, I was tempted by the polo (golf) shirts, at half off.

They had boxes-of-chocolates (!?), and mugs, where you buy one, you get TWO for FREE.

There was one item, which I remember because it struck me as a huge savings.
The jacket was like a leather flight jacket.
The "list price," it said, was $285.
The sale price was $132.
That is more than 50% off.

Similarly, I saw stuff with the original white price tag still attached that said $20 or $32 or so, which the store sign indicated was on sale for like $7.99 or $12.99.

Lots of childrens clothes. I daresay the majority of the racks were for little tykes.
But I saw enough of my size (male, 2X) to conclude that the store is not exclusively for females or for children.

Catch as catch can.
"Caveat emptor."

***

2.) I stopped by the Amtrak-MetroLink-OCTA station in Fullerton, off Harbor Blvd.

Someday, I plan to go to/from DL via train or bus, just for the experience.
Thus, I am researching the particulars.
Fighting traffic homeward, or driving home while physically tired (feet! legs!) is not something to look forward to at 6:00 or 8:00 or 10:00 at night.

I wanted to pickup a current train schedule, and just to see the station itself, and judge its distance to DL.
The whole station complex is nice.
It is clean, with good parking, at least on a Tuesday afternoon when I visited.
Being off Harbor, it is a straight shot, south, to DL. More than 5 minutes, but less than 10, per my judgment.

It is a more "complete" station than the train station on Katella (at Anaheim Stadium). There is a cafe, and the OCTA bus platforms (one for N.-bound, one for S.-bound) are shaded, and more convenient for train travelers than the Katella station.

By map-distance, the Katella station is closer to DL, but the Fullerton station is not as sparse, or Spartan, as the Katella station.

A regular MousePlanet poster had posted that the cost, from L.A. UNION STATION, is greater for Katella than for Fullerton.
I forgot to ask for prices. Dang!
(Add that to my To-Do list.)

It might be even quicker from Fullerton, since in the time it takes a heavy train to travel from Fullerton to Anaheim, and wait for on/off boarding and luggage, an OCTA bus could already be taking you from Fullerton, south, down Harbor Blvd., at a comparable speed, while the train is building up steam for the next stop at Katella.
Remember, once at Katella, you will have to wait a similar number of minutes for the OCTA bus serving Katella to make its rounds, if you do not use a taxi cab.

However, while I saw taxi cabs at the Katella station, ready to go, there were NO taxi cabs lined up at the Fullerton station.
I wondered why this is the case.
So, there is a trade off in that regard. -- A taxi is a nonstop mode of transportation, whereas a bus shall make stops, regularly, even as it inches toward Disneyland.
This is a consideration, to be weighed.

To be complete, I did notice that there is a GREYHOUND bus depot on Anaheim Blvd., about parallel with (east of) Disneyland's Harbor-side.
So a taxi from the GREYHOUND bus depot is maybe the quickest route, than using either Fullerton or Anaheim stations.
Like I said, I just happened to notice the Greyhound station, as I drove south on Anaheim Blvd.
I have not researched the Greyhound schedules, or not visited the Greyhound website.
This might be my next project.
Since Amtrak has vacation deals, then surely Greyhound would not be silent as to its Disneyland location and convenience, no?

I hope that data helps someone plan their travels.

BalooNumberTwo
09-28-2005, 04:11 PM
Wow thats great information on the Character warehouse...my girlfriend and her mom plan on taking a bus trip up S harbor One day of our trip.

Anyone know about how long a trip from lets say katella to orangethrope would take?