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View Full Version : Mickey & Friends Exit ramp: help or hinderance?



Niwel
05-24-2006, 10:30 AM
At the end of an awesome day at the park who decided we needed the headache of the exit lanes at Mickey and Friends? If you park at pinocchio it is not as big a deal because you don't have to worry about "cross traffic" since you can exit onto the street. But it always seems like when I want to be in the lanes for the ramp -- I'm not; and when I don't want to be -- I am. And you really have no say in the matter -- because depending on what floor you park on, you exit where you exit (you can try and get over but that can be dangerous).
And I still don't understand why those cones are up when you cross Ball next to the Sheraton -- we have to merge for 1 second just to un merge?
So should they develop a new solution to the exit? (like at the Grove where you can select which "exit" street you want). Are those dividing cones really necessary? I just had to vent -- because no matter what I do, I always have this problem.

Andrew
05-24-2006, 10:45 AM
There are so many things wrong with M&F that it would exceed the post length limit were I to discuss them all. The exit ramp is just one example. Among the others:
- Poor pre-construction soil compacting resulted in subsiding concrete spans (the up-and-down action on any of the upper levels).
- Parking lanes face the wrong way, leading people to walk in active traffic lanes.
- And of course, way way way too huge to not include a moving sidewalk, more than one elevator, or at least a second tram stop.

carolyn
05-24-2006, 10:49 AM
When I leave DL I need to be on Ball Rd, not the 5, and it's like risking my life to merge all the way over to the right lane when everyone else is trying to get to the left for the 5.

adriennek
05-24-2006, 11:29 AM
When I leave DL I need to be on Ball Rd, not the 5, and it's like risking my life to merge all the way over to the right lane when everyone else is trying to get to the left for the 5.

Me too.

HINDERANCE.

Nevermind the things in the road that you have to play obstacle course around to get into the lane you want, add to that the lovely combination of locals who know where they're supposed to be and tourists who don't.

Fun times. :rolleyes:

Adrienne

tonytone
05-24-2006, 01:59 PM
I used to have a hard time trying to figure out exactly what the heck which road/lane I needed to be in in order to get to I-5 from M&F...I'd almost always lose my bearings getting out of the garage--LOL!!!

But now that I try to stay at one of the Good Neighbor hotels on Harbor whenever I'm at DL, I don't have to worry about parking at M&F since of course our family can just walk the 10 minutes from our hotel to the DL turnstiles. :D

Phantom2006
05-24-2006, 04:35 PM
I know i have seconds to get from the exit ramp out of the parking structure to get on the ONE on-ramp for the I-5 south. I just pray that cars will let me over. One time I was forced to get on the I-5 north because no one would let me over.

Tinkermommy
05-24-2006, 04:42 PM
When I leave DL I need to be on Ball Rd, not the 5, and it's like risking my life to merge all the way over to the right lane when everyone else is trying to get to the left for the 5.

I feel your pain!! I, too, need to make that right turn onto Ball Road to get to the 57, and it's terrifying to have to merge all the way from the left to the right in such a short distance. We call it the "merge of death," and I curse the foolish mortal who decided everybody who goes to Disneyland lives off the 5 freeway.

You can go straight across Ball, but it takes you waaay out of your way and is a much darker, more isolated route than this mommy cares to take with just a child in the car with me...

Niwel
05-24-2006, 05:01 PM
I actually had to take the over ramp -- get on the freeway south and get off at Harbor just to get to my hotel -- that is just wrong!

Darkbeer
05-24-2006, 05:44 PM
For those wanting the carpool lane , here is one option.

Take the Ball Rd exit, and make a right on Ball (going east), go down to State College (where ARCO and McDonalds are), make a right on State College to Gene Autry, where you make a right. At the end of Gene Autry, a right gets you onto the Northbound 5 Carpool lane, a left gets you onto the Southbound 5 carpool lane.

One warning, make sure that there isn't a big event at Angel Stadium.

Alex S.
05-24-2006, 06:00 PM
I've never had a problem doing the merge to turn right on Ball.

I'm fine with the parking garage the way it is.

stan4d_steph
05-25-2006, 06:38 AM
It's a bad design.

tod
05-25-2006, 06:46 AM
I actually had to take the over ramp -- get on the freeway south and get off at Harbor just to get to my hotel -- that is just wrong!

I've had to do that too -- rather than merge through five lanes to make a right on Ball, take the flyover bridge, get on the 5 north and get off at Harbor -- but it doesn't bother me. In fact, I think it's easier to go with the flow than it is to fight my way to the right-turn lane through a bunch of confused tourists.

It's all in how you look at it, I guess.

--t
who has done his share of parking-space manipulation ("We just sit here for a couple of minutes, wait for the Cast Members to leave, and then let's look for a good space") but takes his chances when he leaves

CrazyTrain
05-25-2006, 03:25 PM
When I leave DL I need to be on Ball Rd, not the 5, and it's like risking my life to merge all the way over to the right lane when everyone else is trying to get to the left for the 5.

And that is the problem. You don't HAVE to merge all the way over to get to the 5. You can go down through the stoplight. But the signs aren't obvious until you get out into the mess of traffic. They have the little signs that say "5 - All Lanes" but that doesn't stop people from trying to get all the way to the right anyway. They need better signage, if anything.

Another Dimension
05-25-2006, 07:15 PM
help or hinderance?

Hassle.

I park in DtD far more often now... and just do shorter trips to the DLR, most times I don't take anytime for lunch or dinner anymore, and then just leave.

I hate the Eisnerplex.

It was designed and built BADLY and it's general operations policies are a JOKE.

I'll keep parking in DtD and taking the Monorail in (as long as I can)... or just keep walking into DCA.
I actually like it better than way... DCA first, thru the Grand Californian, DL later!!

I probably won't even pay for parking with my next AP.

Why does Disney keep raising the AP parking fee?
The operations in the Eisnerplex have done nothing but gotten worse and worse, with it seems, ruder and ruder CMs (and the Eisnerplex has some serious corkers for CMs)... and it's not like Disney is charging more fees to actually maintain or paint the building or repaint any of the parking lines... since the place was built 6 years ago. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Walking thru DtD I get a nicer walk, less confused crowding at the security checks, fun entertainment from various talented musicians and I get to walk thru the AC in the Grand Cali... all I get from the (always few running) trams (with only a couple open load areas :rolleyes: ) is the same in-audible, gravely voiced CMs yelling... and infrequent Guests (or APs) babbling tons of mis-information they got from somewhere :rolleyes: , as if they were Dave Smith.... :confused:

Dtd = win win!! :D

averagedork
05-26-2006, 08:53 AM
I don't like the ramps to get up to the levels! I am okay negotiating my way down the ramps, but I just got a stick shift! When the lines are long to get up to the level everyone in my car gets tense and I get so stressed I start to swear. Then we start praying because I don't want to stall and roll back. It's not fun. I even said to one CM "I just started driving stick, can you please let me park on the first level." The CM was a jerk about it too!

mypupmickey
05-26-2006, 01:05 PM
When I leave DL I need to be on Ball Rd, not the 5, and it's like risking my life to merge all the way over to the right lane when everyone else is trying to get to the left for the 5.

Me too. And last Saturday night I left during the fireworks and 5-6 cars decided to line up & stop right at the curve where you have to merge right to get on Ball. Like it was a fireworks viewing spot! Hello!

Side note: It was the first time I'd left during fireworks and it was pretty funny to hear all the car alarms going off from the boom of the fireworks! Pretty comical.