Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information Superthread (READ FIRST POST FOR OVERVIEW!)

[mamapenguin]

Karmel Shuttle. I love them (I usually catch them from SNA). I travel alone a lot too and feel completely safe with them.

I’m glad you posted this, that is who I am thinking of using.

 

[Pamela M]

I can't speak for shuttle from the airport to Disneyland - I drive from SF bay area.
But as a solo female traveler I would look at staying just a little closer.
I travel solo a lot and I'm very comfortable walking alone around Disneyland but.... once you get past Harbor & Katella the mass of people thin out a little bit and it just puts me on edge. And I work in SF so comfortable walking around a big city.
If you do stay at the Anaheim Hilton it's still walk-able or you can take the bus that drops off at the Toy Story lot (accross the street from Hilton). I've heard they have changed where you get the bus though and have to walk to the middle of the parking lot now.

 

[becauseimnew]

I can't speak for shuttle from the airport to Disneyland - I drive from SF bay area.
But as a solo female traveler I would look at staying just a little closer.
I travel solo a lot and I'm very comfortable walking alone around Disneyland but.... once you get past Harbor & Katella the mass of people thin out a little bit and it just puts me on edge. And I work in SF so comfortable walking around a big city.
If you do stay at the Anaheim Hilton it's still walk-able or you can take the bus that drops off at the Toy Story lot (accross the street from Hilton). I've heard they have changed where you get the bus though and have to walk to the middle of the parking lot now.

I arrived fat LAX at 10:30am Tuesday, it’s a work trip so I get reimbursed for transfer. At LAX you have to take the shuttle to the Uber/Lyft/Taxi area. Uber was quoting $42-$53, Lyft was $49. I used Lyft. I felt safe using it. it was a 40 minute drive.

I’m staying at a hotel across from Toy Story parking. I walked to Disneyland in the evening, was about a mile from my hotel to security.On the way back I took the Toy Story shuttle, it was .4 miles from bus drop off to my hotel. Probably took longer to use the shuttle but my feet were tired. I will probably continue to walk in the morning and use the shuttle at night.

 

[froganon]

Karmel Shuttle. I love them (I usually catch them from SNA). I travel alone a lot too and feel completely safe with them.

It's awesome that you feel safe with them! I'll definitely check them out.

 

[lalasmama]

I'm a 40-something lady who travels solo to the DLR area a few times a year. I've used Lyft for a few years now. I've had some great drivers, some okay drivers, an awkward driver or two (talking politics once, and the other unloaded all her family drama at me), and 2 drivers that drove a little fast for my preference (but I arrived completely unscathed of course). The only uncomfortable driver I had was one who didn't speak any English, so I wasn't sure if he was understanding what I was asking/saying, and it was a 2 hour drive from Burbank to Disneyland. Hubs was with me that time, thankfully.

At any rate, I was so scared to use Lyft, but once I actually did it, I found I loved it! So much quicker than the Disneyland Resort Express (and no waiting, waiting, waiting for the bus to get back to the airport!).

 

[Becca1007]

Also you can set up your safety contacts in Uber so that they can see your drivers information and where you are on your route. I believe the driver gets an alert that you are sharing the information too.

 

[VandVsmama]

Do you know how much lansky is from lax? I can’t find any prices.

https://www.golansky.com/services.html

 

[jacandjan]

There is also primetime shuttle. I have used them twice from LAX. Most rides are from the new LAX-IT pickup area now which is an easy walk or bus ride.

 

[froganon]

LGB is the closest airport of the 3 mentioned. Very easy, small airport... transportation is across the street.... taxis and shuttles (and rental cars). You can book a shared shuttle or walk over and talk to the drivers.

The one time I was at LGB was great. It was easy and the people there were great in my experience. I had no idea you could just book a shared shuttle like that!

 

[starry_solo]

There’s a really big discussion of this issue in the DLR board.

i think Karmel shuttle has vouchers with Get Away Today

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I'll be using Karmel for the first time as well next month. What's the procedure again for contacting them upon arrival at LAX? Just call them after I've got my bags? I thought I read where they send a text or something around your plane arrival time to confirm you are ready for pickup? Or, is it a must that I call them?

On the confirmation email they send you is the phone number you call once you have your bags. Just follow the prompts and the person will tell you what to look for - a van with a number on it (white), or a black SUV (which was super cool and made me feel like I was FBI, ha!), or whatever they send. They are very insistent you wait until you have your bags with you. I haven't waited more than 20 minutes in the past, so I'm not too concerned about wait times.

 

[erinlynn2020]

If you can find a flight into SNA I just uber from there or taxi it is cheap and fast. We are flying back home through LAX I also try to avoid them at all costs, but there were no flights out of SNA for us to get home with so that is our only choice. I am thinking I will book a transfer with someone so I am interested to hear everyones options,

Same! Flying in to SNA & out of LAX due to available flights, so watching this thread as well

 

[dismsn]

Just took Karmel from the GC to LAX. The driver called 35 minutes prior to pick up to say he was downstairs waiting. We were prepared to be waiting outside 15 minutes prior to pickup time but we felt really rushed getting called early.

When we got to the next pickup stop, those people said they also thought they were being picked up the same time we were told.

Other than the really early pickup, everything went well. No issues with the driver and the van was a repurposed SuperShuttle van so Karmel must have purchased some of their vans.

I would definitely use them again but I'd be prepared for an earlier than expected pickup.

 

[dhorner233]

I flew into John Wayne last Monday. Took a taxi to the Tropicana on Harbor Blvd. I think it was $46. Split the fare with my cousin. Love the convenience of just walking out from baggage claim and bam there are taxi's waiting right there.

On the way back to the airport we used Uber for the first time in our lives. Worked out fine and cost, I think, $29. Only my cousin made the reservation from his room at the back of the hotel and the app told the driver we were behind the hotel. I showed my cousin how he could have put the name of the hotel in the comment section. It was nice the way you could track the driver on the app.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Since this thread is seeing a little more activity lately, I decided to do a copy and paste of my Karmel Shuttle review from a January 2020 trip originally posted a few pages back. Hope it helps:



This is mainly for my fellow Super Shuttle peeps that are now wondering what to do transportation-wise.

Just wanted to come back and update with my Karmel experience his week. Getaway Today has a voucher for Karmel, and that helped me decide to go with this shuttle service -- that, and some positive reviews in this thread. I have had good experiences with GAT and figured they wouldn't be associated with Karmel if things were as bad as the general reviews proclaim.

I didn't actually use the voucher from GAT, since the price difference was only pennies. I decided it was best to just work directly with Karmel for my first time.

I made a reservation online for just myself (1 seat in a 9 passenger shared van for $30 + tip) to be picked up from LGB on Wednesday morning. One difference between SS and Karmel: Karmel tells you to collect your luggage AND THEN let them know you are ready to be picked up, as opposed to just showing up at a predetermined time. The day before my flight I received a text, confirming my reservation. When my plane landed I received a text welcoming me to Long Beach, with a "Ready to Go" link to click once I had picked up my luggage. I clicked the link after grabbing my bag and I received a response telling me the number of the vehicle that had been dispatched, and directing me to go to the island curb in the middle and wait for my driver. Three minutes later I received a call from the driver, asking where I was standing. I looked up and saw the shuttle pulling up right in front of the airport rather than in the island area, so I crossed back over and hopped in. (LGB is very small, and all ground transportation is right there in front of the outdoor baggage claim so there is really no question as to where you should be standing.)

I had a very friendly driver (who was playing an 80s station, which was getting me all geared up for 80s Nite...the whole reason I was there ). I was the only passenger. He dropped me off at Best Western Park Place Inn and Suites. It was 50 minutes between the time I was picked up and the time I sneaked up behind my sister at Jolly Holiday and surprised her.

My sister had a different experience. She flew into SNA. She received a text the day before confirming her shuttle reservation ($19 + tip one way). She landed, and received no text from Karmel as stated would be the case in the original confirmation email, so she texted the company as directed in the email. Ten minutes later and still no text response back. She called (as email directed) and asked where they were. They told her they hadn't received a text from her. She explained that was because she hadn't received the "Ready to Go" link (as I did) - so of course they hadn't received a text from her. She ended up waiting 20 minutes for a driver. A couple in their 70s was booked with Karmel and they also had issues. My sister saw/heard the driver yelling. She wasn't sure if he was yelling at the couple, or someone else (he had an earpiece). When the couple got in the shuttle she asked if he had been yelling at them. He hadn't - he was yelling at whoever else he was communicating with, which appeared to be a coworker. My sister's experience left a bad taste in her mouth. (She is also a former Super Shuttle user.)

We both flew out of LGB the next day so I reserved a return trip for 2 on a 9 passenger shared van. Total was $60 + tip for the 2 of us. Our pick up time was 3:30pm, but we were directed to be waiting outside of the hotel lobby 15 minutes early. The shuttle arrived at 3:20. The driver had one more passenger to pick up right next door at Tropicana, but her pick up time wasn't until 3:50pm. The driver called her to see if she was ready. Fortunately she was at the crosswalk waiting to cross so we only had to wait a few minutes. Ride to the airport was pleasant and quick, driver was fine.

I will use Karmel again. My entire experience was great. My sister's experience left a little to be desired but she said she would use them again.

It is worth mentioning that kids ride free with a paying adult if you get the Karmel vouchers through Getaway Today. (1 kid per paying adult, I think.)

I also saw a couple of blue Super Shuttle vans picking up passengers at our hotel. The "Super Shuttle" had been painted over in blue, but I could still see the words. So it was a plain blue van, no other markings. Not sure who the company behind them is now. Just kind of weird to see.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

I'd like to book our airport transfer today for the end of the month. Well be arriving at LAX mid afternoon on a Tuesday. 4 of us, with one folding booster, staying on Katella. I'm thinking Karmel shuttle to avoid the Lax It parking lot. My question is if I should do round trip or one way and do Uber XL to get back to the airport? Uber/Lyft might be a little cheaper and more reliable. (Zippy and Lansky had really high rate quotes.) I've never used ride share and we usually rent cars on vacation so this is new to me.
Second question: do you have to use your own bags at stores like CVS or Walmart in Anaheim? I do at home but it's not required.

 

[mcrowder1978]

Last summer when my daughter and I were there we flew into Orange County but back out of LAX. We used the Lyft XL (because I get Delta miles for it lol) and it only cost about 45-50 bucks I think with tip. From Orange County it was 30 for the XL. We are flying into LAX this summer and plan to do the same thing, my only concern is with the new ride share situation at LAX and having to go to a centralized pick up location. Probably still use the Lyft just because it was easy and they will bring us right to the door.

As for the using your own bags at CVS or Walmart in Anaheim, while we were there last summer you could use your own at Walmart or pay 5 cents per plastic bag I think it was. Probably $1 per cloth bag is my guess but I am not sure.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I usually use Karmel shuttle. We don't have Uber/Lyft where I live so it doesn't even enter into my mind to use them. I like Karmel a lot.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Second question: do you have to use your own bags at stores like CVS or Walmart in Anaheim?

You’ll be given the option to purchase a plastic bag for 10 cents. Reusable bags are also available to purchase.

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We took a Lyft XL on Sunday afternoon from DLH to LAX and it was $80.