To Rent A Car Or Not To Rent A Car

[can]

My 15 year old daughter and I are traveling to DL from 7/29 to 8/03. I haven't been there in over 35 years, so for me it's like going for the first time all over again. My question is, I am debating on if I should rent a car or just use a shuttle between LAX and the hotel (CCI). We are planning on doing the LA/Hollywood Tour one day.
How bad is or isn't the traffic between LAX and DL and around the DL area?

Also, has anyone ever used a car rental agency in LA called DeLuxe Car Rental? Seems like they are in that area only and am wondering if anyone has used them and if they are just as good as Budget, National, Avis, etc.

Thanks for your help. I have asked several questions on the boards in planning our trip and all the answers I have received have been such a tremendous help and informative.

 

[Misskitty3]

Personally, I would take the super shuttle (or shuttle bus) in lieu of a rental car. You won't need a car if you are staying at the CCI.

 

[VegasMike21]

Personally, I would take the super shuttle (or shuttle bus) in lieu of a rental car. You won't need a car if you are staying at the CCI.

agreed you won't really need a car, a car can sometimes get expensive especially if you get that insurance for the rental car. $22 a day is kinda ridiculous.

 

[abby]

Unless you need a car while you are there, forget it. CCI has a shuttle to DL so you don't need a car and who wants to drive in that traffic to the airport. We never rent a car there.

 

[LKHomemail]

I think it depends on what you guys want to do. If you want to get out of the Disney scene once a day and have dinner at a nice restaurant, see the beach, maybe do a little shopping, go to Pink's hot dogs, see Rodeo Drive, or stars homes it might be worth it to rent a car for a day or two. I'd try to find one that rents onsite or that has a shuttle that will give you a free ride back to airport so you can rent / return a car. If everything you want to do / eat is at Disney then there is no reason to get one. good luck and have fun.

 

[GailT]

For me that is a no brainer, I rent a car. Once in Disneey you do not need a car but I do like to venture outside for different things. That is just my two cents. have a FUNtastic trip no matter what you do.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

If I'm not mistaken, there is a car rental place near DL, one of the major ones (National?) If you didn't want a car the whole time, you could use the shuttle to/from the airport, and reserve a car just for the day of your LA tour...

Depends on what is more cost effective. If the cost of shuttle + 1 day's rental is close to the cost of a rental + parking for your entire stay, I'd probably go with the rental.

Our last trip (which actually was our first!) we got a car rental, thinking it would be handy to have for grocery store runs, plus I'd planned to hit the Disney outlet store. We used it once, for a grocery store run on our day of arrival. We never could bear to leave the resort for a trip to shop or to the beach.

This trip we'll take a cab!

 

[RuthieT]

we plan on renting a car for the 7 days we will be there in December. But we are planning a day to Sea World, maybe a Laker game, drive to the beach and so it will be nice to have that and our check in and out days will be before and after the time we can get into our hotel.

 

[can]

Thank you all for such great input and suggestions. One thing I may due is just rent for a day from Downtown Disney at Alamo as I have heard that car rental lines could be quite long on the weekends at LAX. Am thinking on driving to Newport Beach or even Laguna Beach. Thanks again for your help!

 

[iridemyownmc]

My fiancee and I just came back from DLR/DCA and we rented a car from LAX. We rented from dollar rent a car and upgraded our economy car (kia) to a luxury (chrysler 300) for + $10 more a day. All in all we paid $117 for 3 days of rental, with no insurance (our personal insurance was enough).

We picked up our car about 11am on sunday and it took us about 30-35 minute to get to our hotel (Wyndham Anaheim Park) which is 3mi north of DLR. We just used the hotel shuttle for transportation to and from the parks.

On our return trip from the hotel to the airport it took us just a bit longer due to rush hour traffic. We left the park about 4:25pm on a shuttle, got back to our hotel around 4:45 and drove straight to the rental place. It took about 45mins using the car pool lane, and we still managed to get an earlier flight at 6:30pm (our original flight was scheduled at 8:30p)

We used the car our first night after visiting the parks to drive around and find a decent bite to eat. Even though we didn't use the car much it was still nice to have.

 

[Leofoenget]

My 15 year old daughter and I are traveling to DL from 7/29 to 8/03. I haven't been there in over 35 years, so for me it's like going for the first time all over again. My question is, I am debating on if I should rent a car or just use a shuttle between LAX and the hotel (CCI). We are planning on doing the LA/Hollywood Tour one day.
How bad is or isn't the traffic between LAX and DL and around the DL area?

Also, has anyone ever used a car rental agency in LA called DeLuxe Car Rental? Seems like they are in that area only and am wondering if anyone has used them and if they are just as good as Budget, National, Avis, etc.

Thanks for your help. I have asked several questions on the boards in planning our trip and all the answers I have received have been such a tremendous help and informative.

I'm debating this too. I think I decided to rent the car. I like being able to move around on my own. If I knew for sure my friend was going to meet me there I wouldn't, but if she can't I plan on meeting her in San Diego.

 

[mobopolo]

I think if you rent, try and pay the extra for a "NEVERLOST" navigational system. It was the best money we ever spent on our vacation!! It usually has most of the major attraction already programed in the system. She will tell you exactly where to go. And if you miss a turn, she will automatically re-route you! I loved it!! It's been a few years ago, but I think we had rented our car from Hertz.? I think a few other rental Co. have added these systems to their cars. It saved our marriage-ha!! Less stress, and we enjoyed so much more of CA. then just DL. It was money well spent!

 

[joeysmommy]

Only rent the car if you plan on seeing other sights.
We considered it for a second but it would just be parked and unused while we're paying per day..so it would be a waste of money.
We're trying the Disneyland Express bus on this trip.
Since we're staying at PPH we won't have to make 20 stops for other hotels.
It lets people off at DLH the PPH and GCH and then on to the other hotels.
Plus we don't have to schlep car seats!

 

[mobopolo]

Is the Disneyland Express included if you're staying at one of the Disney Resorts? Do any of the Good neighbor hotels have airport shuttles? What are the prices for a a round trip per person/child? I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but does anyone know if the Disney Express will take you to the port for the Disney Mexican Cruise??

 

[mattmommy]

We flew into SNA and took a car service r/t. I got the name off the boards. The shuttles were cheaper, but they seemed to stop only at DL or many other hotels and we wanted to hit the park ASAP.

We wanted to rent a car for a day to go to Knotts for dinner. We were going to walk to Dollar (close to CCI), but James at CCI hooked us up with Anaheim rental cars. They picked us up from CCI to fill out the paperwork and we went out from there. We parked the car in the CCI lot that night, left the keys at the front desk and they picked up the car sometime in the am.

 

[joeysmommy]

http://graylineanaheim.com/airport_info.cfm

I don't believe the Disneyland Express is included if you stay at the DLR.
Maybe some packages include it, but we booked everything ourselves for much cheaper.
The link above also has a $3 off per person coupon to print.

 

[can]

Again, thanks to all for your input and advice. Will take the Disney Express from LAX to CCI. Have rented a car through Alamo in Downtown Disney. Splurged for a navigation system for peace of mind. Using the prepay with Alamo for a midsize car, got a price of $111 for the 4 days.

When using the Disneyland Express, is it easier to just stay on and be dropped off at CCI or which Disney hotel would be the closest to get off at sooner and just walk over to CCI?

Only a few more days left, cannot wait. Even my 15 yr old DD who is not only hormonal, but hard to get excited about anything these days, is very excited about her upcoming trip.

 

[Misskitty3]

Can anyone tell me how the DL express works if you are staying at the GC? Do you get off the bus at the DLH and switch to another bus?

 

[Leofoenget]

Can anyone tell me how the DL express works if you are staying at the GC? Do you get off the bus at the DLH and switch to another bus?

I don't know exactly, but my guess is, they would swing by one hotel and drop off those guests then go to the next. The hotels are walking distance from eachother so I doubt you would change busses.