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

[soma151]

What is the best way to get 7 people from a Disney area hotel to Universal and back for the day? Rental cars would be the cheapest, but they don't open till 8am and close at 6pm.

 

[kathy040690]

We are using Lansky in November to get there and back

 

[soma151]

Have checked a few shuttle companies and it looks like $150 each way for all of us? Does that sound about right?

 

[Jerryp49]

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

This link says $105 one way, $200 round trip . Don`t know how up to date it is

 

[5forMickey]

I WOULD NOT drive it.

JAG Transportation 100% worth the price. They took wonderful care of us in horrendous traffic . Picked us up at the DLH at 5:45 so we were there for early entry and we decided we wanted to leave early and the came right back to get us.

We have also used Lansky from the airport and they were wonderful also.

 

[5forMickey]

Have checked a few shuttle companies and it looks like $150 each way for all of us? Does that sound about right?

Yes. It seems like we paid about $330 round trip and then we tipped the driver $100.00 (he was worth way more)! I think the bus that goes is about $30.00 per person so for just a bit more it is a more pleasant experience - and you get to choose your times.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

Why not drive? We're renting a car for a week for $150. Better deal to have a car the whole time

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Rentals cars, in which you drive yourself, is normally the cheapest route; and if you have a GPS, driving to Universal isn't that bad. Just be prepared for the traffic.

At our hotel, if you are looking for a private transport, we also recommend JAG Transporation! For a family of 7, a van with them is about $140 each way. With them you get to choose your pick up times; so you can be there before park opening and stay after the park closes to walk around Universal City Walk (a shopping and entertainment areas near Universal Studios).

There is also Southern California Grayline, if you already have tickets, they provide a transportation only option to Universal for $30 per person round trip. From our hotel, they pick up at 8:30 am and leave Universal, I believe, around 7 pm. If you don't have tickets, they have ticket and transportation options as well.

HTH,
Kriss

 

[soma151]

We looked into a rental car for the day but all the car companies close to Disney open at 8am and close at 6pm, if we rent one from the airport it would save us some money but our hotel has $20 a night parking fee. Plus parking at Universal, car seats needed, ect. Any one use Uber?

 

[DisBabe94]

I'm a SoCal resident so I've never personally been in this position, but just from my experience with uber I don't think you would be able to fit 7 people in one vehicle and I don't know about the availability of car seats if you are needing those! You can find some uber cost calculators online (the fare is based on both the mileage and the number of minutes) but be prepared for the possibility of having to multiply that by two for two ubers! Other than that I've always had good service with uber, so it just depends on if you are on a budget or what your main concerns are.

 

[PixieT78]

We used Uber to go from the Hilton at Universal to the the Disneyland Hotel on Monday early evening. It took between 75 and 90 minutes if I recall correctly and was $50 for an UberX for that one way. So the price was really good (though we were also only 2 people, not 7). I think it's definitely an easy option and allows you to leave when you want which would appeal to me.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

We looked into a rental car for the day but all the car companies close to Disney open at 8am and close at 6pm, if we rent one from the airport it would save us some money but our hotel has $20 a night parking fee. Plus parking at Universal, car seats needed, ect. Any one use Uber?

Oh good point about parking. We're staying where there's free parking and also plan to go to other places with our rental. Never used uber

 

[soma151]

…Shuttler from Airport to Hotel and back to airport $120…Shuttler from hotel to Universal and back to hotel $300 = $420…..Van rental for 7 including car seat $250…Parking at hotel $100…Parking at Universal $35 = $385 plus gas…Almost a push?

 

[SMD]

Uber would still require the passenger to provide a car seat. Why not just do a 2 day car rental. Pick up at 5:30 PM and return at 8am. You'd only have to pay 2 nights parking at your hotel. Or if you find a location in Anaheim that does after hours drops you could maybe only pay for 1 night of parking by picking up the car the night before.

 

[pennym]

Use a car service. There are lots in the area to compare prices amongst. That way you can set the times you want to be picked up. Leave some time for dinner and shopping at Citywalk afterwards☺

 

[5forMickey]

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.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Uber would still require the passenger to provide a car seat. Why not just do a 2 day car rental. Pick up at 5:30 PM and return at 8am. You'd only have to pay 2 nights parking at your hotel. Or if you find a location in Anaheim that does after hours drops you could maybe only pay for 1 night of parking by picking up the car the night before.

This is exactly what we did. We rented the car the night before and then dropped it off the next morning. It was only two of us and our rental was about $50 and then we paid for parking just for those nights at the hotel. It was really easy to drive there and the drive back wasn't all that bad either - we also went on a sunday to limit traffic.

 

[ParkHopper1]

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

You can quote it out on their web site.

 

[ashley0139]

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.

Only three?

 

[SMD]

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.

There's really no direct route on a single freeway. Taking several interchanges is normal.