Best way to get from Disneyland area hotel to Universal for the day?

[ADLFAN]

Alamo in DTD allows you to do after hours drop off for sure.

If your car seat occupant is 4 years or older, the inflatable Bubble Bum booster seat is easy to travel with. I know Super Shuttle "requires" the customer to provide their own car seats, but no one checked or noticed... It's hard because CA has legal requirements stating that kids up to 8 years old or 4'9" tall need a car seat. However, I think there is an exemption for busses.

 

[DLRExpert]

It may take a longer time, but what about the Metrolink train from Anaheim Stadium station to Union Station then red line subway to universal city station.

 

[Kindermouse]

YIKES... I'm not sure if LA traffic is always as bad as it was when we went to Universal but you couldn't pay (or save) me enough money to drive it myself. Now if your used to that traffic ( local) it's another thing. If we were driving ourselves it would have ruined the whole day. I consider my husband an excellent driver, but that traffic was something else. Our driver switched freeways three times I think based on information he was getting about the best route. We would never have been able to do that so who knows how long we would have been on the road. Based on Your analysis it doesn't look like it would really save you either.

We had the same experience-It was well worth it for me to pay a service. Since we were only a party of 2 it was no question that we would use the Grayline bus. WE liked watching a movie and and sitting at a table and eating dinner on the way back on the bus. It was very comfortable and worth every penny.

for 7 people...you can book a point to point dedicated SuperShuttle van service.

You can quote it out on their web site.

Please be aware that you need car seats for young children in shuttle vans. all passenger vehicles that use seat belts require car seats for children under 8 or 80 apparently. When I was there a couple of weeks ago I watched a supershuttle van driver refuse to drive a family with 2 small children to the airport from Candy Cane Inn because they didnt have car seats. I asked the Dad what he was going to do-I felt awful for him since he clearly wasnt expecting this and it must not have been enforced on his way to the hotel from the airport for this issue to have caught him by surprise like that. He said he the best he could come up with was to take the CC in shuttle to the DL drop off and then walk to the DL hotel and use the Disney bus from there. What a nightmare.

 

[soma151]

A two day car rental away from the airport is almost as much as renting it for the 5 nights. But then when you ad the parking at hotel and Universal and shuttle to and from airport to hotel and back.

We had the same experience-It was well worth it for me to pay a service. Since we were only a party of 2 it was no question that we would use the Grayline bus. WE liked watching a movie and and sitting at a table and eating dinner on the way back on the bus. It was very comfortable and worth every penny.



Please be aware that you need car seats for young children in shuttle vans. all passenger vehicles that use seat belts require car seats for children under 8 or 80 apparently. When I was there a couple of weeks ago I watched a supershuttle van driver refuse to drive a family with 2 small children to the airport from Candy Cane Inn because they didnt have car seats. I asked the Dad what he was going to do-I felt awful for him since he clearly wasnt expecting this and it must not have been enforced on his way to the hotel from the airport for this issue to have caught him by surprise like that. He said he the best he could come up with was to take the CC in shuttle to the DL drop off and then walk to the DL hotel and use the Disney bus from there. What a nightmare.

Thanks for the heads up, we have a 2 and 5 year old. Having to take two car seats would ad another $100 to the air line check in. Plus who wants to hall around two car seats the whole trip? I can't believe a place like Disneyland and the taxi & shuttlers don't have car seats? I think we will just rent the Van with the car seats and pay for the parking. Thanks every one.

 

[Kindermouse]

A two day car rental away from the airport is almost as much as renting it for the 5 nights. But then when you ad the parking at hotel and Universal and shuttle to and from airport to hotel and back.

Thanks for the heads up, we have a 2 and 5 year old. Having to take two car seats would ad another $100 to the air line check in. Plus who wants to hall around two car seats the whole trip? I can't believe a place like Disneyland and the taxi & shuttlers don't have car seats? I think we will just rent the Van with the car seats and pay for the parking. Thanks every one.

The airline cant charge you extra for the car seat if you use them on the plane. Lugging them around can be a hassel but when mine was little I just bought a car seat bag with wheels and a handle so I could push it since I had a huge britex. The 5 year old could also just use a small booster seat if that helps.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I've been dealing with the exact same plan, but we ended up making Universal our last day and flying home out of Burbank, so that made things easier. I was able to rent a car from Alamo DTD for $48 for the day, dropping it at BUR the next morning before we fly out.

I looked into the meltrolink, but it's a journey that will take a couple of hours. I didn't want to chance Uber because of surge pricing and all that jazz. Even though LA traffic gives me hives especially since we plan on going to Universal on a Monday morning, it just seemed the most convenient even with parking charges, etc.

I'm bringing my booster base, but I also considered buying a Bubble Bum from Amazon. It's an inflatable booster seat for travel that folds up small when you aren't using it. We only have my DD5, so bringing her base isn't a huge deal, but I can see how it would be with multiple/younger kids. Alamo can provide car seats for something like $12.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...c-608b-4992-992d-ae8ef1ac960c&pf_rd_i=desktop

 

[soma151]

Alamo allows for after hour drop off, so we can rent that for the day ( they open at 7:30 and park doesn't open till 10 the day we are going) and drop it off when we get back from Universal. $102 for 9 passenger van and two car seats. A car seat rental company at airports would be a good business to open.

 

[5forMickey]

Alamo allows for after hour drop off, so we can rent that for the day ( they open at 7:30 and park doesn't open till 10 the day we are going) and drop it off when we get back from Universal. $102 for 9 passenger van and two car seats. A car seat rental company at airports would be a good business to open.

I'll pray for you lol .......Have a great trip.

 

[soma151]

I'll pray for you lol .......Have a great trip.

I always say L.A. must be one of the best places in the world to live, with 50 million people wanting to do it. But i have driven threw Mexico City, Tokyo Japan, Manilla PI, and am guessing L.A can't be any worse then those places. Don't worry I'm leaving the guns at home and bringing lots of 420.

 

[grelca]

Also if you do decide to rent a car and drive yourself, it's very easy to get between Disney and Universal, and they're both really close to the freeway with signs directing you to them before you even exit. Get on the 5 going north (there are signs all around Disney property leading you to the interstate), when you get near downtown LA you'll use a left side exit to get on the 101, and then follow the signs to Universal Studios once you get into the San Fernando Valley (because it is not, in fact, in Hollywood). Then do the opposite to get back to Disney.

Disney -> 5 North -> 101 North -> Universal
Universal -> 101 South -> 5 South -> Disney

There could definitely be a faster route depending on the time of day, but if you're not familiar with the area, I would personally recommend going this way because it's very easy.