Disneyland and GCH

[culli]

DVCMIKE's trip report has got me thinking that it might not be a bad vacation. Do they have ME for Disneyland? Is LAX the closest airport? Looks like a rental might be required if no ME? From Mike's comments and pics looks like you can walk to everything from the GCH? I was there when I was in the Marines but it was one day and I was 19........plus first time at any Disney. I assume things have changed since 1989

 

[dr&momto2boys]

No ME. There is one airport closer. I can't remember the name--something with orange in it--I think. It was less than 30 minutes away. They do have shuttles. We had a rental car because we flew into San Diego and did SeaWorld and the Zoo, went to Legoland, and then Disneyland. We never used the car while at GCH. Although there is a ton of other stuff to do (like LA and other amusement parks.) We stayed 5 nights at GCH and loved every minute of it!

 

[stopher1]

There are numerous airports in the Southern California area. LAX is the largest, but not the closest. Orange County's John Wayne Airport is in nearby Santa Ana, and is only about a 15-20 min drive from the resort. Other nearby airports include Long Beach, Ontario, LAX and Burbank (which are all approximately 25-30, 35-45, 45-60 and 50-60 min away respectively (without traffic) - and of course the Southern California traffic can and often does change these estimates greatly at any time of the day or night!).

Southern California has tons of options for things to do when not at the parks. There are some tremdendous beaches about 15-20 mins away, as well as a bunch of other theme parks, zoos and tourist destinations that could easily round out a week's vacation in sunny So Cal.

 

[La2kw]

Fly into Long Beach if you can. jetBlue flies into that airport, and it's a very easy process. Disneyland is about 20 minutes away, and all the rental car lots are located about 30 feet from the terminal.

 

[toocherie]

There are non-Disney owned shuttles available from all airports; and I thought there was a Disney shuttle from LAX? (I'm local so never have the need.)

Really, if you plan to just "do Disney" there would be no reason to get a rental car. If you wanted to check out other SoCal attractions (the beach, Knott's etc.) then a rental car would probably be a necessity.

Molly where are you? Probably getting ready for your early morning flight tomorrow!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Disney operates bus service from both LAX and SNA (Orange Cty) for a charge. I have always used it to return to the airport and once upon arriving. All other times I have used one of the other shuttle services by simply walking out from baggage claim and finding one of the shuttle reps.

And yes - you can really walk to everything from GCH! You'll be shocked at how convenient it is!!

 

[DVC Mike]

Do they have ME for Disneyland? Is LAX the closest airport? Looks like a rental might be required if no ME? From Mike's comments and pics looks like you can walk to everything from the GCH? I was there when I was in the Marines but it was one day and I was 19........plus first time at any Disney. I assume things have changed since 1989

Things changed big time in 2001 with the creation of DCA, DTD and GCH. The city of Anaheim created the Anaheim Resort district and the entire area got a well-needed face lift.

From either John Wayne Airport in Orange Country or Los Angeles International, there is the Disneyland Resort Express.

If you want to see more than Disneyland, rent a car. I did a rental through Hertz via AAA.

 

[DebbieB]

I used the Disneyland Express from LAX last year, it was great service. It isn't free but the cost wasn't too much. They also run from SNA (Santa Ana/Orange Co), not sure about the other airports. You can also use Supershuttle from any airport.

 

[Nikisha421]

I wonder why they havent made this service free? Not like everything has to be free but i thought the point of ME in WDW was to keep more ppl on site to get them to spend more money

 

[DVC&CM]

I wonder why they havent made this service free? Not like everything has to be free but i thought the point of ME in WDW was to keep more ppl on site to get them to spend more money

It's not free because it's not owned by Disney. Unlike WDW, the Disneyland Express is run buy an outside company and really has no affiliation to Disney.

 

[culli]

It's not free because it's not owned by Disney. Unlike WDW, the Disneyland Express is run buy an outside company and really has no affiliation to Disney.

Disney contracts with Mears at WDW, if Disney thought it was going to make them money they would offer it for free.

Thanks everyone for the responses and I will probably get a flight to LAX as I can get there direct then take a shuttle. Looking at Spring 2010 or maybe 2011 depending on what is available.

Happy to see changes made in the area as one thing I did recall is the area around Disneyland seemed to be pretty Cheesy. For those of you in the midwest at know Wis Dells area....well it reminded me of that type of atmosphere. With DVC Mike's recent report and comments about changes in 2001 I now have the itch. I'm an impatient guy so I like that everything is walking distance, especially with 3 young kids!

 

[DVC&CM]

You are better off taking the Disneyland Express rather then Supershuttle. Seems to be more reliable and comfortable.

 

[tjkraz]

I wonder why they havent made this service free? Not like everything has to be free but i thought the point of ME in WDW was to keep more ppl on site to get them to spend more money

Two comments:

1. DL is much different than WDW. Disneyland sits in the middle of a commercial district where every service you could possible need is available off-site within relatively easy walking distance.

In Florida, DME virtually strands people on Walt Disney World property where they are forced to pay Disney prices for everything from batteries to soda pop to bandaids. At Disneyland it wouldn't work because you can walk to a corner drug store 5 minutes away.

2. Everywhere you turn you'll see differences between DL and WDW. They are different in their philosophies toward KTTW cards, Disney gift cards, Fastpass, PhotoPass, and so on. For reason #1 above I don't think you'll ever see free DME at Disneyland, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between the two parks.

 

[tjkraz]

If you want to see more than Disneyland, rent a car. I did a rental through Hertz via AAA.

There is also an Alamo rental desk right in Downtown Disney for anyone who needs one-way or limited vehicle access.

On our last trip to DL we wanted to spend a day at LegoLand outside of San Diego. One day rental with pickup at DL and drop-off at LAX was about $50.

 

[stopher1]

Two comments:

1. DL is much different than WDW. Disneyland sits in the middle of a commercial district where every service you could possible need is available off-site within relatively easy walking distance.

In Florida, DME virtually strands people on Walt Disney World property where they are forced to pay Disney prices for everything from batteries to soda pop to bandaids. At Disneyland it wouldn't work because you can walk to a corner drug store 5 minutes away.

This was exactly what Walt was trying to avoid (first bold above) and conversely create (second bold above) when they bought the Florida property. As he said, in Florida they have the blessing of size. Shortly after Disneyland opened speculators were snapping up the surrounding land quicker than you could blink, and the park was effectively land locked, surrounded by cheap motels, diners and other tacky stuff. Walt couldn't control anything beyond the park's property boundaries simply because they didn't have the money to buy more land. That's why they bought up as much as possible in FL before the news leaked out to the press that Disney was the mystery industry buying up all the land. And keeping people surrounded by the magic is why the Magic Kingdom was situated on the northern-most corner of the property. Way back in '71 when it opened, and you entered way down south on World Drive from the Irlo Bronson highway, it was literally miles and miles of nothing til you arrived at the toll booth plaza for the parking lot and hotels. Even driving themselves as pretty much everyone did back then, it was just much easier to hit the hotel gift shop for incidentals. Today the philosophy continues with the creation a few years ago of the DME service... it's just plain easier to buy stuff in the many resort shops than try to go off-site, especially when you don't have a car.

At Disneyland you really, truly are just a short walk away from all kinds of opportunities to pay less than Disney prices, even though pretty much everything around Disneyland tends to jack their prices up a bit to capitalize on the Disney audience. The McD right across Harbor Blvd. is 10-20% higher in prices than a comparable McD just a mile or so away on Ball Road - simply because it has a built-in captive audience through the numerous hotel and motel guests that walk to the park and want a quick meal before or after their Disneyland day. But at the same time - many of those same guests rent a car at the airport so they can hit many of the other offerings that Southern California has - from Hollywood to the San Diego Zoo, multiple theme and amusement parks, multiple intimate studio tours in addition to Universal, and so many, many other things.