Walkability of Plano near Children's Hospital/Medical Center of Plano (Dallas: to rent, hotels) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

delta07 · 10-09-2015, 10:47 AM

I will be going to Plano with my sister-in-law in a few weeks to help take care of my 2 year old niece while my SIL attends a conference at the Children's Hospital. We will be flying into Dallas and staying at a hotel near one of these hospitals for 5 nights. I am trying to figure out whether we should rent a car or if we can get by with walking in this area. Either way, we will need to bring a carseat, as we would have to take a cab or shuttle from Dallas. I don't want to be confined to the hotel with a 2 year old though, so I'll need to be able to at least walk to a grocery store, restaurants and it would be nice if there was a park or something too.

Is it feasible to get by walking in this area? We are coming from a small, relatively walkable city in Oregon. My biggest worry is that we will get there, not rent a car, and I will be stuck either in the hotel, or have to deal with getting a car seat in and out of a cab or the hotel shuttle whenever I want to get out.

taroberts · 10-09-2015, 10:49 AM

Stay at NYLO. They have a shuttle and it is also walk-able. Both to the hospital, shops and restaurants.

delta07 · 10-09-2015, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taroberts

Stay at NYLO. They have a shuttle and it is also walk-able. Both to the hospital, shops and restaurants.

Can you elaborate on what NYLO is?

Aceraceae · 10-09-2015, 10:58 AM

That area is not walkable at all.

TheOverdog · 10-09-2015, 11:02 AM

I'm not sure to which you are going, but the Children's Medical Center and Medical Center of Plano (both different hospitals) are pretty far apart. You couldn't walk between them.

If you are going to Childrens Medical Center (on Preston & Hedgecox) then no that is not walkable, as there is nothing around it you would want to go to. It's mostly surrounded by fields. The NYLO hotel mentioned is about a mile away to the north - technically I guess you could walk to/fro because there are sidewalks, but there is nothing next to Nylo either to take up an entire day - just corporate headquarters-es, empty fields, and parking lots.

That said, there are a few toys and games since the wait times when I've been there are enormous (I'd rate the place pretty low as an occasional visitor), so you probably could entertain a child at Childrens Medical Center for a few hours.

Medical Center of Plano (15th and Coit) is a little better. It's more in the middle of the city, so there is a dollar movie theatre, some neighborhoods with childrens' parks and restaurants nearby. Nothing that would really be of interest to a tourist though. Just other doctors offices and parking lots. No hotels though, so you would have to stay somewhere farther away.

Sorry but in this area you are going to need a car to go to someplace better.

delta07 · 10-09-2015, 11:23 AM

Thanks for the responses! I had a feeling we would need to rent a car. My SIL doesn't want to, but she's the one who will be in class 8 hours a day. I'll be trying to entertain my niece during that time. Her workshop is at the Children's Hospital, but they recommended hotels closer the the Medical Center of Plano, which is why I asked. I'm thinking she could take a shuttle to the Children's Hospital for her class, but as far as me and my niece, I really don't want to deal with trying to take a shuttle with a carseat everywhere. I'm going to convince her that we need to rent a car!

If we do that, I'm guessing there would be a lot more to do if I drive into Dallas, correct? Any suggestions on where to take an almost 2 year old for a few hours of entertainment?

shrapr · 10-09-2015, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delta07

Thanks for the responses! I had a feeling we would need to rent a car. My SIL doesn't want to, but she's the one who will be in class 8 hours a day. I'll be trying to entertain my niece during that time. Her workshop is at the Children's Hospital, but they recommended hotels closer the the Medical Center of Plano, which is why I asked. I'm thinking she could take a shuttle to the Children's Hospital for her class, but as far as me and my niece, I really don't want to deal with trying to take a shuttle with a carseat everywhere. I'm going to convince her that we need to rent a car!

If we do that, I'm guessing there would be a lot more to do if I drive into Dallas, correct? Any suggestions on where to take an almost 2 year old for a few hours of entertainment?

Like others suggested, you would need a car to get around. If you stay close to US-75 and George Bush Turnpke, there are several hotels with shuttle like Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood, Springhill etc... The DART train runs along US-75 into Downtown and beyond to the Dallas Zoo, there is a station at George Bush and 75.

She can take a Uber or something to the hospital and you can take the train to Downtown, Zoo, etc...

TheOverdog · 10-09-2015, 11:35 AM

Need much more info and budget on what you like to do before we can offer solutions. Dallas is a big city, and has tons of things to do - aquariums, museums, site seeing, shopping, etc. With a car in Plano there are tons of things to do with a little kid, like trampoline bounce places, Play Street Museum, decent parks and others.

delta07 · 10-09-2015, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shrapr

Like others suggested, you would need a car to get around. If you stay close to US-75 and George Bush Turnpke, there are several hotels with shuttle like Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood, Springhill etc... The DART train runs along US-75 into Downtown and beyond to the Dallas Zoo, there is a station at George Bush and 75.

She can take a Uber or something to the hospital and you can take the train to Downtown, Zoo, etc...

Thanks. We are actually looking at the Homewood Suites, so we can have some cooking facilities and a separate area so I can hopefully get the little one to nap a bit. I'll look into the train, although, not being used to big cities, or public transportation, that could be a bit intimidating for me with a 2 year old in tow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Need much more info and budget on what you like to do before we can offer solutions. Dallas is a big city, and has tons of things to do - aquariums, museums, site seeing, shopping, etc. With a car in Plano there are tons of things to do with a little kid, like trampoline bounce places, Play Street Museum, decent parks and others.

I honestly have no clue when it comes to this stuff. I don't have children myself, so just looking for a few things to entertain her for a couple of hours. I'm thinking we probably won't want to venture too far from Plano actually, as I'll want to try and get the little one down for a nap during the day. I'll look into the Play Street Museum. Would love any park suggestions and perhaps other museums or things to entertain a 2 year old. I'll chat with my SIL today about budget. Thanks for the help!

taroberts · 10-09-2015, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delta07

Can you elaborate on what NYLO is?

Plano, TX Hotel Near Frisco