Best way to get to/from LA from Anaheim

[maxbuffmelvin]

Another vote for rent a car

 

[irlandaise]

Still not keen on hiring a car -- neither my wife nor I are confident in LA traffic and everywhere wants $40 per day for parking, and it just doesn't seem necessary. For the Hollywood section of the holiday it seems we can get to everywhere we want to get inexpensively either on the Metro or via Uber. For the Anaheim section, there's nowhere we really need to get to other than the parks so not worth the cost of a car.

With your new plans you may indeed not need a car, but FYI, the Candy Cane Inn has free parking, and I've seen people on this forum mention some other hotels/motels near Disneyland that also do.

 

[akadada]

Re LA Traffic. It is sometimes difficult to drive in because it's so crowded, but the phone apps like Google Maps and Waze have dramatically improved ones ability to navigate it. There's also times where it's just a breeze. We never really had any major traffic issues that weren't expected. It's busy like any major city and gets congested, but it's not horrible like it used to be to me when I had to paper map it.

If you're uncomfortable driving a car, that makes sense, but even with mandatory parking fees, it's still not necessarily cheaper assuming you drive every day.

Disneyland hotel parking was $35/day and my work hotels were $45 (Pasadena) and $25 (Coronado). So it just depends where you go. My car rental $100 a day (I rent nicer cars at that rate plus I have premium status due to travel regularity, but you easily could find something for $60-$80/day) plus gas is pricey close to $6 a gallon, add at least $100 to a week at that rate. I assume your insurance will cover the car, but given you're overseas, perhaps not. If not then your car rental rate goes up another 20%-50%.

Assuming your insurance does cover it, though, figure for a week $800-$1200 on the car. So then you just have to back that out of Uber or cab per day use in your situation assuming you are not pricing in a convenience fee of having a car in your case because you don't want to drive. If Uber is $100 or less a day, then no different.

Wishing you a great trip!

 

[anenzeder]

I’ll start by sayng I’ve driven in the US and Canada several times so I’m coming at it from that perspective. LA traffic can definitely be a bit of a shock but being on the wrong side of the car and on the wrong side of the road kinda makes sense lol And GPS is a game changer, so much easier than when one of us was trying to navigate using a map from the passenger seat! For us, family of 5, car hire for our entire trip is cheaper than return airport shuttles so it was a no brainer. We aren’t doing as much in LA as you are, we will probably leave the Anaheim area for two days out, but having the car will be super convenient for shopping, groceries, going to a local baseball game etc. We chose a property with free parking because we will have the car. We will be visiting a few places that require paid parking but it’ll still be cheaper than Uber etc. LA is not known for its ease of getting around but it does sound like you’ve come up with some good alternatives

 

[akadada]

I’ll start by sayng I’ve driven in the US and Canada several times so I’m coming at it from that perspective. LA traffic can definitely be a bit of a shock but being on the wrong side of the car and on the wrong side of the road kinda makes sense lol And GPS is a game changer, so much easier than when one of us was trying to navigate using a map from the passenger seat! For us, family of 5, car hire for our entire trip is cheaper than return airport shuttles so it was a no brainer. We aren’t doing as much in LA as you are, we will probably leave the Anaheim area for two days out, but having the car will be super convenient for shopping, groceries, going to a local baseball game etc. We chose a property with free parking because we will have the car. We will be visiting a few places that require paid parking but it’ll still be cheaper than Uber etc. LA is not known for its ease of getting around but it does sound like you’ve come up with some good alternatives

That's an interesting point about shopping convenience. Definitely a big money saver to be able to run to a grocery store. For example, one beer at Disney is $12 v. an entire 6-pack at a grocery store is probably less than $12. Chips, Guac, salsa, sandwich stuff, maybe $100 for a family of four covers days, whereas just one BF or lunch at Disney is $100+. I didn't think of that, but it hugely saves on the car rental. OR you can do a uber to a grocery store, but round trip that at $50+ may lose it's benefit.