Question re Supershuttle from LAX - average time to get to DL?

[chepar]

Hi-

I am flying into LAX next Friday morning, arriving at 5:00 a.m. Normally I fly into SNA, but the fare for that route was over $100 per person. I have never taken a shuttle from LAX to DL before, the only previous time having rented a car.

I've booked a round trip shared ride Supershuttle for our trip, but became concerned when I talked to a coworker, who just returned from DL yesterday. He arrived midweek at around 2:30 p.m. Got in the Supershuttle van, which after they got in, had only the front passenger seat available. The van proceeded to make 2 more loops through the airport, looking to fill the one remaining seat. After that seat was filled, stops were made on the way to DL and they didn't arrive at their hotel until 6:45 - over 4 hours later.

I get that the shared ride shuttle is just that - other stops may be made before yours. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether my coworker's experience is somewhat normal - and whether it may take that long when I arrive at 5:00 a.m. next week. I was hoping to be entering the parks near opening time that day.

If the shared ride shuttle really normally takes that long, I may look into a car service, though with just 2 people it will pretty much double the cost.

Thanks for any advice you may be able to provide.

 

[benolathe]

Holy Cow - that is horrible for the SuperShuttle to take four hours! I would have been steamed.

Sorry, cannot answer your question. But my normal plan for any trip is to avoid SuperShuttle if at all possible. From what I've heard, it always takes much longer than other forms of transportation from airport. But I understand that it is a much greater price difference when there are only two people.

 

[chepar]

But I understand that it is a much greater price difference when there are only two people.

Yeah, that's what's getting me. I've been searching the forum and have seen other posts that it is common for Supershuttle to circle the airport to fill the van.

I'm wondering if there's a limit to how many times they can circle before they have to leave - not sure how many people are arriving at 5:00 a.m., but I don't want to be circling the airport forever.

 

[DebbieB]

I used DL Express one time from LAX, it was about an hour. Considering the distance, I think the bus is safer than a SuperShuttle van. They only go around once, the bus does not have to be full.

I've used SuperShuttle to Glendale for work, they go around the airport twice.

 

[chepar]

I used DL Express one time from LAX, it was about an hour.

DL Express was my first choice, but then I saw that their first scheduled departure isn't until 7:30 a.m.

 

[grandpa6]

Hi-

I am flying into LAX next Friday morning, arriving at 5:00 a.m. Normally I fly into SNA, but the fare for that route was over $100 per person. I have never taken a shuttle from LAX to DL before, the only previous time having rented a car.

I've booked a round trip shared ride Supershuttle for our trip, but became concerned when I talked to a coworker, who just returned from DL yesterday. He arrived midweek at around 2:30 p.m. Got in the Supershuttle van, which after they got in, had only the front passenger seat available. The van proceeded to make 2 more loops through the airport, looking to fill the one remaining seat. After that seat was filled, stops were made on the way to DL and they didn't arrive at their hotel until 6:45 - over 4 hours later.

I get that the shared ride shuttle is just that - other stops may be made before yours. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether my coworker's experience is somewhat normal - and whether it may take that long when I arrive at 5:00 a.m. next week. I was hoping to be entering the parks near opening time that day.

If the shared ride shuttle really normally takes that long, I may look into a car service, though with just 2 people it will pretty much double the cost.

Thanks for any advice you may be able to provide.

We booked with: http://www.karmel.com/

There are 7 of us though, so we are by ourselves on their van, they advertise they don't circle the airport, all 3 kids are free, but it was the same price as DL bus, we are not staying on property, so we knew it would be many stops before we were delivered to our hotel. We are going directly there and already have return reservations back to LAX with them. I picked them because of what I read from another poster on this site.

 

[bmg_40]

I've had good experience and the lowest price with prime time shuttle they may circle the airport twice max the site says. I must of just gotten lucky cause I've never had to.

 

[mickeyfreak13]

The last time we went to DL, 5 years ago, the van made 2 passes and then left LAX. We made 2 stops before DL. As I looked out the window during the ride I came to realize that we were passing ALOT of people. I peeked at the speedometer....almost 100.The trip lasted a mere 50 minutes.

So, good luck.
We will not be taking this service again any time soon.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I don't have any experience with supershuttle but just wanted to add that it might have taken your coworker longer because of the time he arrived. If he arrived at the airport around 2:30 he might not have gotten on the van until 3 (just guessing) and then if the van circled around a couple of times it might have been close to 3:30 when they left. Well that's right when the freeways start to get crowded and backed up. You might have a similar problem in the morning if it takes awhile for the van to get going but I don't know.

 

[Smbertram]

We are stopping at DL a few days in Feb before a disney cruise and are still up in the with transportation to and from the airport and cruise terminal, When is your trip? If it happened already, how was the service. There is 8 of us and one company needs to use 2 cars, ugh. If anyone else has any suggestions, please send them my way.

Shawn

We booked with: http://www.karmel.com/

There are 7 of us though, so we are by ourselves on their van, they advertise they don't circle the airport, all 3 kids are free, but it was the same price as DL bus, we are not staying on property, so we knew it would be many stops before we were delivered to our hotel. We are going directly there and already have return reservations back to LAX with them. I picked them because of what I read from another poster on this site.

 

[stacieberry]

I used Super Shuttle one year ago. It took about 3 hours from LAX to Disneyland! We were the second to the last customers to be picked up. There was a lot of traffic, but I think what took so long was dropping off one couple in Long Beach. All the other passengers were in the Disneyland area.

Other than timing, you should also consider the quality of the drive. Our Super Shuttle driver was crazy! He would go super fast, then screech to a stop, and then super fast again. My boyfriend and I got so sick. I told myself not to worry about throwing up in the van because it would be the driver's fault, and he would probably have to clean it up.

On a previous trip, I also used GoSedan, which is a private town car (sort of) service. It was about $90 (including tip) one way from LAX to our hotel, but after my Super Shuttle experience, I think it might be worth it. The driver met as at baggage claim and calmly drove us to our hotel in just under an hour even with traffic. The car was very nice and we knew we weren't going to stop for anyone else. The private car was great because it was just me and my boyfriend, but I'm not sure how things will work if there are more people in your party.

Hope I helped!

 

[smile4stamps]

I used Prime-Time shuttle in October. Our flight arrived at 6:40pm. We got our bags a little after 7pm. We got right on a shuttle and then proceeded to circle the airport for about 40 minutes. I'm not sure if it was 1 or 2 loops. I thought the sign in the window said they make 1 loop but it may have been 2. The drive then took about an hour? We were checked into our room at about 9pm. The shuttle stopped at 2 other hotels before ours.

 

[Canadianfamily]

I see stacieberry mentioned taking a private car service, has anyone else had good experiences booking a car? We hope to get into the parks our first day and since our plane will be landing around noon I thought that was possible. However I don't want to take a few trips around LAX, then stop at other hotels and finally check in at the GCH late in the evening. It seems taking one of these shuttle buses added a couple of hours to your travel time We're not really on for that, we like to hit the ground running!

 

[chepar]

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

After reading other reports about scary Supershuttle drivers and how long it took for other people to get to their destination, I bit the bullet and booked a private ride with Supershuttle's ExecuCar service. From what I understand from their website, it's a private ride, but without the meet/greet at the baggage area.

It almost tripled the cost for myself and my daughter , but I wanted to be able to get into the park that morning at around opening time. I figure that morning (12/17) may be the least crowded of all the days we'll be there, so I want to take advantage of it.

For the ride back to LAX we'll do the Disneyland Resort Express bus.

 

[AlexJanessa]

Whew! I'm glad someone posted about this today. I wanted to book our shuttle this week and will now be staying clear of Supershuttle. There are just so many shuttles out there, its hard to know which ones are any good.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I had problems with Execucar on my solo trip Oct of this year, and you need to be aware of. On the way out I had no problems, just called their 1-800 number after picking up my luggage, and was at HOJO's an hour later. But coming back around the time that I had booked my Honda Odyssey for my return leg a SuperShuttle 9 person van arrived, and insisted that I get in. It was suspicious that he had all my personal info, even though I booked with Execucar. I argued with the shuttle van driver, and he demanded that I show him my confirmations, which I had on hand. After 5 mins of arguing with him, and not letting him leave until the ride that I had bought and paid for arrived, the Honda Odyssey mysteriously arrived and drove me to the airport without any further problems. So be aware of this and if any problems arrive, be prepared to have copies of your confirmations handy in case they try this on you.

 

[chepar]

I had problems with Execucar on my solo trip Oct of this year, and you need to be aware of. On the way out I had no problems, just called their 1-800 number after picking up my luggage, and was at HOJO's an hour later. But coming back around the time that I had booked my Honda Odyssey for my return leg a SuperShuttle 9 person van arrived, and insisted that I get in. It was suspicious that he had all my personal info, even though I booked with Execucar. I argued with the shuttle van driver, and he demanded that I show him my confirmations, which I had on hand. After 5 mins of arguing with him, and not letting him leave until the ride that I had bought and paid for arrived, the Honda Odyssey mysteriously arrived and drove me to the airport without any further problems. So be aware of this and if any problems arrive, be prepared to have copies of your confirmations handy in case they try this on you.

Thanks for the head's up, Belledozer - as a rule I always carry all confirmations when I travel, but I'll be sure to be extra aware - no way am I getting in a shared van when I've prepaid over $80 for a private van.

So are the ExecuCar vehicles always minivans - and are they marked "ExecuCar"?

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Their Honda Odyssey's are the same royal blue/ sometimes dark grey as Super Shuttle, with the Execucar logo discreetly displayed. On the way from the airport to the hotel on the outward bound leg of my trip I was upgraded to a Lincoln Town Car at no extra charge, maybe that's why they tried to do the bait and switch on the return leg of my trip. Just make sure that you have your confirmations close at hand, and be prepared. They do have a Town Car service for I think $99USD, but the Honda Odyssey worked well for me. I chose Execucar as I was a solo traveller, and didn't want to be stuck in a bus or shuttle van for over 2 hrs with strangers. It was worth it the extra cash to get transportation direct over the wandering long route the shuttle drivers take.

 

[chepar]

Their Honda Odyssey's are the same royal blue/ sometimes dark grey as Super Shuttle, with the Execucar logo discreetly displayed.

Thanks for the help - now I know what to look out for.

Hopefully we'll be at our hotel and storing our luggage by 6:30 that morning - with time for a quick breakfast and over to DL at opening.