ukstitch
<font color=deeppink>I'm not sure I'm quite your a
- Joined
- May 5, 2008
As part of my recent trip, I took a total of 4 excursions using two different tour companies to the following parks:
- Magic Mountain
- Sea World
- Universal
- Knotts
The companies I used were allanaheimtours (Magic Mountain) grayline and Knotts (all others).
Both companies requested that I phoned them a couple of days in advance to confirm my bookings and pick up times. Both companies offer 714 anaheim numbers so it's a free call
Pickup times in the morning were 8:30 (grayline) or 9:00 (allanaheimtours).
Pickup times from the park were normally quite close to closing - only Knott's was before closing and this was 6pm with the park closing at 7. The other parks closed at 5 (universal), 6 (magic mountain) and 7ish (sea world) and I was picked up after these times.
Both tour companies collected me from the curb in front of my hotel (HoJo's) and then took me to their depot. At the depot, you change your voucher for a boarding pass, then get on the bus that takes you straight to the park. The return journey did not require a boarding pass.
For returning, grayline collected from the park and delivered me back to my hotel. Allanaheimtours were a little different - they collected from magic mountain, but they then took me to universal (they combine their universal and magic mountain buses as universal is "enroute" to magic mountain), where I had to then change bus (we were parked right next to the second bus). This second bus then dropped me back to my hotel.
For the "further afield" tours (universal and sea world), grayline had a nice continuation of using the same bus and driver. It was a different bus/driver for Knotts as it's so close to anaheim anyway. Allanaheimtours used a different bus and driver.
Personally, I felt grayline were better organised. I had a couple of slight problem with allanaheimtours - firstly they had problems parking at magic mountain so collection from there was a case of catching the driver while he was driving round, although it all worked out fine in the end.
The second problem was that I was told pickup from my hotel was 9:05am - I was a little late getting up so wasn't down there until just after 9 (but not 9:05). The driver turned up at 9:15 and informed me he'd already been to the hotel but I wasn't there - when I asked what time he'd arrived, he said he was there at 9.
I guess I was lucky he came back for me and I should have been a little more prompt, but it was annoying that I was there at the time they gave me and he had already been and gone - I would have been even more annoyed had he not come back for me.
The other thing I liked about grayline was that the drivers seemed more "chatty" so it made the journey go by quicker.
Prices weren't too bad - sea world and knott's were the price of a non-discounted entry ticket to the park ($52.99 for Knott's, $65 for Sea World I think). Universal was a combined tour of universal so was about $90 and Magic Mountain was about $100. With these prices in mind, I'd say grayline are a little cheaper
I'd certainly use either company again - given the choice, I'd opt for grayline every time as they seemed both better and cheaper, but allanaheimtours were ok for magic mountain, which is a park that grayline do not cover.
- Magic Mountain
- Sea World
- Universal
- Knotts
The companies I used were allanaheimtours (Magic Mountain) grayline and Knotts (all others).
Both companies requested that I phoned them a couple of days in advance to confirm my bookings and pick up times. Both companies offer 714 anaheim numbers so it's a free call
Pickup times in the morning were 8:30 (grayline) or 9:00 (allanaheimtours).
Pickup times from the park were normally quite close to closing - only Knott's was before closing and this was 6pm with the park closing at 7. The other parks closed at 5 (universal), 6 (magic mountain) and 7ish (sea world) and I was picked up after these times.
Both tour companies collected me from the curb in front of my hotel (HoJo's) and then took me to their depot. At the depot, you change your voucher for a boarding pass, then get on the bus that takes you straight to the park. The return journey did not require a boarding pass.
For returning, grayline collected from the park and delivered me back to my hotel. Allanaheimtours were a little different - they collected from magic mountain, but they then took me to universal (they combine their universal and magic mountain buses as universal is "enroute" to magic mountain), where I had to then change bus (we were parked right next to the second bus). This second bus then dropped me back to my hotel.
For the "further afield" tours (universal and sea world), grayline had a nice continuation of using the same bus and driver. It was a different bus/driver for Knotts as it's so close to anaheim anyway. Allanaheimtours used a different bus and driver.
Personally, I felt grayline were better organised. I had a couple of slight problem with allanaheimtours - firstly they had problems parking at magic mountain so collection from there was a case of catching the driver while he was driving round, although it all worked out fine in the end.
The second problem was that I was told pickup from my hotel was 9:05am - I was a little late getting up so wasn't down there until just after 9 (but not 9:05). The driver turned up at 9:15 and informed me he'd already been to the hotel but I wasn't there - when I asked what time he'd arrived, he said he was there at 9.
I guess I was lucky he came back for me and I should have been a little more prompt, but it was annoying that I was there at the time they gave me and he had already been and gone - I would have been even more annoyed had he not come back for me.
The other thing I liked about grayline was that the drivers seemed more "chatty" so it made the journey go by quicker.
Prices weren't too bad - sea world and knott's were the price of a non-discounted entry ticket to the park ($52.99 for Knott's, $65 for Sea World I think). Universal was a combined tour of universal so was about $90 and Magic Mountain was about $100. With these prices in mind, I'd say grayline are a little cheaper
I'd certainly use either company again - given the choice, I'd opt for grayline every time as they seemed both better and cheaper, but allanaheimtours were ok for magic mountain, which is a park that grayline do not cover.
