1st Trip West - Woohoo!!!!!

[2skibums]

We are veteran WDW travelers going to Disneyland / California Adventure for the 1st time in April 2014. We will be staying close by but not at a DL or "good neighbor" hotel. We will not be renting a car and plan to use ART for commuting between Disneyland / California Adventure and our resort. We will be flying into either SNA or LGB and are wondering if there are any suggestions as to which is the better way to get to & from the airport using taxi's, buses, limo's?

 

[Dream.Finder]

If you're looking for the BEST way to get to and from the Disneyland Resort specifically, look no further than the Disneyland Resort Express: http://www.allanaheimtours.com/body.asp?tour=ANA-TRN04&page=TourDetails

I have always used this service when travelling to the Disneyland Resort area without a rental car and have always been pleased with it. The service is usually great and is probably the best value as far as shuttles go! The Disneyland Resort Express is owned and operated by Southern California Grayline... so you can expect a big, comfy, spacious tour bus to be picking you up. It even has the current Disneyland promotions as decals on the side of the bus so it really makes it feel like official Disney transportation, even though they are only affiliated with Disney. And if you book through All Anaheim Tours (the link I provided you with above), you will find it at the cheapest price of any other website that offers it as well. Don't worry about it being sketchy, I've used this website many times and it is prefectly professional and legit. You could also try scheduling a SuperShuttle, but my first pick is and will always be the Disneyland Resort Express! I wish you a happy first visit, be sure to get your "1st Visit" buttons at City Hall on Main Street USA!

 

[Cinderpamela]

We have done both a taxi and a town car when not renting a car and either are fine. I have found that I prefer the ease of just getting off the plane, grabbing our stuff and heading to the taxi queu.

With the towncar service our flight had a slight delay and thus arrived late, even though the driver had the flight information that he should have checked flight status with, he was wanting to charge us extra for us being late. That is not something that is going to happen to everyone, but it is something to consider.

I need to just add in my two cents on not staying within walking distance. You did not mention your reason for not staying closer... one of the big advantages of DLR is being able to walk to and from the resort with ease (as opposed to WDW). I am not a big fan of ART, while it is fine, I always recommend staying within walking distance, or at a hotel that has its own dedicated shuttle (as opposed to ART where you share). Lots of people use it and have a fine trip but to my mind why hassle/waste valuable park time with buses, unless you have to.

That said, either way you go with, you are at DLR and that's super fun!! ... once you get there!

 

[butterflymouse]

I have no idea about transportation from airport as we always drive down from Northern California, but I just wanted to say welcome to Disneyland! There's an extra bit of magic in Disneyland park! You can feel Walt everywhere.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

DRE from SNA is a good option. Just remember it isn't free like DME is. Long Beach is a tiny airport and not served by DRE. Your best option there is probably a taxi. (About $50 each way.) ART works really well once you're in the resort district. There's only one bus drop-off/terminal area at DLR for ART, so you'll access both parks from there.

Be ready to be shocked at the compact nature of the entire area. Your ART rides will be shorter than WDW bus rides, and down busy local streets lined with hotels, not highways lined with undeveloped land. But it's still somewhat Disney Bubble-ish because almost everyone in those hotels is there for the same reason you are. The whole "resort area" was redeveloped for Disney's benefit, and it feels it.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

If you're looking for the BEST way to get to and from the Disneyland Resort specifically, look no further than the Disneyland Resort Express

I have always used this service when travelling to the Disneyland Resort area without a rental car and have always been pleased with it. The service is usually great and is probably the best value as far as shuttles go! The Disneyland Resort Express is owned and operated by Southern California Grayline... so you can expect a big, comfy, spacious tour bus to be picking you up. It even has the current Disneyland promotions as decals on the side of the bus so it really makes it feel like official Disney transportation, even though they are only affiliated with Disney. And if you book through All Anaheim Tours (the link I provided you with above), you will find it at the cheapest price of any other website that offers it as well. Don't worry about it being sketchy, I've used this website many times and it is prefectly professional and legit. You could also try scheduling a SuperShuttle, but my first pick is and will always be the Disneyland Resort Express! I wish you a happy first visit, be sure to get your "1st Visit" buttons at City Hall on Main Street USA!

Here's the OFFICIAL link to Gray Line:

http://graylineanaheim.com/shuttles.shtml

 

[2skibums]

Thanks to you all for the great input. We are sooooo excited to go to Disneyland knowing that it is NOT WDW but that it IS the original!!! So far it is myself, DH & DGD, still waiting to hear from others in the family. For DH & myself it is childhood dreams coming true!!! We both remember when Disneyland opened!