Disneyland. do i need a car

[Joel0917]

I'll be renting a car on June 14 in lax...hanging in Los Angeles for a day...then on Sunday June 15 driving to Disneyland about 4pm. Staying at VGC Sunday through Friday. Do i need my rental car? i'm used to having one in WDW...but do i need one there...will i want to leave and drive to go eat elsewhere?

i was going to rent a car Friday afternoon and drive back to LAX on Saturday.

Savings: $210 for my plan renting only 3 days in essence. versus $548 for a weekly rental to have it on site. I'm staying DVC..so parking is included. Thoughts?

thoughts?
W

 

[aleighc1]

We were there for 8 days with our 8 children, and found no need for a car. We ordered groceries from Vons (free delivery to the hotel), and then just walked everywhere we went. At one point my husband had to take our youngest son to the ER in the middle of the night (we were concerned he might have fractured his wrist, but it turned out to just be a bad sprain), and he said the Taxi fare was really cheap. I would have to think that in the event you did need to travel outside of the resort area, you would save a lot of money just using a taxi than to keep a rental car for the week. Everything at Disneyland is very close and easily accessible.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

I'll second the above---you really don't need a car, if you are planning on just staying at the Resort, and taking advantage of what is offered there!

 

[Meriweather]

We drive to DLR, park the car and don't use it again for the rest of our stay.

You don't need one............unless you want to go somewhere other then Disney parks.

 

[Nonsuch]

...Staying at VGC Sunday through Friday. Do i need my rental car? i'm used to having one in WDW...but do i need one there...will i want to leave and drive to go eat elsewhere?

You will not need a car

Never using a car or bus or tram for your entire visit is what makes VGC (and GCH) so magical
You will not even need to cross a street.

Your villa should be ready when you arrive at 4PM, so you might want to do a grocery run before giving up your rental. Rather depends the size of your party and villa.

 

[cmpeter]

I agree that you don't need a car. We were there for four days and did use ours once to go eat dinner off site one night. But, I would also recommend you look for a better deal on the car rental. $548 for a week is crazy expensive for a rental.

Do you have a Costco membership? I am seeing prices in the $250 range for a whole week there.

 

[bumbershoot]

We like having a car, even if we have to pay parking, to go grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, to hit Panera, and to go to our Weight Watchers meetings (and Starbucks afterwards). We've also found ourselves at Best Buy and JCPenney during trips. Vons as well; I know we could make an order, but I seem to have a problem figuring out what I want without walking up and down aisles.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

When I first started going to DLR with my DF (Disney Friend), she always rented a car, in case we decided to go off-site for something. Except we never did, and it was actually kind of a pain.

It took time to pick up, particularly near LAX, then she had to pay for it while it sat in the lot at DLR, then it always seemed to take forever to get out of the lot, and we had to schedule extra time to fill the tank and return it when we were headed back to the airport.

So, yeah, another vote for not needing a car. We use a towncar service to and from the park (with a stop at the grocery store), and if we ever do decide to go off-site, that's what cabs are for!

 

[wiigirl]

I'll second the above---you really don't need a car, if you are planning on just staying at the Resort, and taking advantage of what is offered there!

 

[jdb in AZ]

We used to rent a car and it just sat in the hotel parking lot. and sat. and sat.

Now we just take a shuttle from LAX or a taxi from SNA. So much simpler.

 

[yoyoyo]

We usually drive to DL since we're in NorCal, but we have flown a couple times and still rented a car. For us, having a car is worth it, in case we decide to go somewhere for dinner that's off-site, or have to pick up a couple things here and there. My wife and I usually do things spur of the moment, so if we wanted to go to Newport Beach or San Diego, we can without worry about how to get there.

 

[Mr Snappy]

We always have a car...ALWAYS.
However, we do a lot of things in SoCal, not just Disney.

What did catch my eye was that you said you always had one at WDW

We have been to WDW three times and have never once needed a car.

That may change the next time we go to WDW, we plan to go and see the Harry Potter stuff.

 

[wiigirl]

I'll second the above---you really don't need a car, if you are planning on just staying at the Resort, and taking advantage of what is offered there!

 

[Tommy_B]

If you are content with the restaurants you can walk to, you can stock up on all the groceries you think you'll need, don't want to visit a beach area like Laguna Beach, visit Knott's Berry Farm, do any shopping off site or do anything but Disney for a week, then sure, drop the car, but I wouldn't. There are too many great places to eat you can't walk to, too many other sights to see to not get out and see the area.

 

[disneychrista]

Unless you plan to leave Disneyland Property you do not need a car. We rarely use it while in Anaheim, unless we have side trips planned.

 

[mrsklamc]

If you are content with the restaurants you can walk to...

Is there a lot you can walk to? We are thinking about flying into SNA, no car for Anaheim, taking the train to San Diego, and doing our car rental/beach time/driving around stuff there.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

One of the unique aspects of the west coast Disney "bubble" (vs. Orlando) is not needing a car and being able to simply walk almost everywhere. Cheap taxis and ART (Anaheim Resort Transit mini-buses) take up the slack. That said, you can easily rent a car in Downtown Disney or on Harbor if need be for a day or two for side trips without having to pay for days you don't need by keeping a car the whole time that you won't need.

 

[BlueBayou]

We don't ever use our car unless we want to see our nephew in Hollywood or our best man in Northridge. We never take the car out otherwise.

 

[SGDisneyFam]

Unless you have any other shopping you need to be doing while you are there there is no reason to keep a car while you are there.

 

[Mr Snappy]

Is there a lot you can walk to? We are thinking about flying into SNA, no car for Anaheim, taking the train to San Diego, and doing our car rental/beach time/driving around stuff there.

Just curious....do you really want to experience the train? I think it sounds like a fun idea, but I hope your reasoning is not that it will save you money.

If you are already going to rent a car in San Diego, I would suggest renting it in Anaheim and drive to San Diego. The train mostly follow the same route as I-5 (The San Diego Freeway)

We always go to San Diego and it is probably my favorite city in all of California....maybe the entire US! But I really suggest having a rental car because of how spread out all the attractions are.