Disneyland Express Shuttle vs. Super Shuttle??

[poohs_hunny]

We will be flying into and out of Orange County airport. Which shuttle would be best as far as efficiency? We would be landing at about 12 noon on a Friday and our return flight leaves at 11:30AM on a Monday. For the return trip, how far before your flight do they pick you up? Thanks for any info you can give!

 

[samkj]

How many people? We did a private van (family of 5, including a wheelchair) with Super Shuttle in February and was VERY happy with the service. The van were ready and waiting at the reserved times and the drivers efficient and courteous. If we fly again we will definitely use them again. My only complaint was 6:40pm was the latest they would pick up for a 9:30pm flight, but gettign to the airport that early made check in at the airport easy and stress-free.

 

[silence]

my mom and DS used the Super Shuttle on Saturday. We will use them all the time. They called in advance of pick up to say they were on their way. She accidentally left her camera on the shuttle and called them right away and they came right back to drop it off to her.

they "attempted" to use the Disneyland Express Bus from the airport to the hotel. a van pulled up with DISNEYLAND EXPRESS printed on the side. she asked if it was them, she had a coupon printed from online and the guy said yes. after their FOURTH trip around the airport, she sees the bus and said that is what she THOUGHT he was driving her too. turns out it was some unknown shuttle company passing themselves off using this name and he was looking for additional faires to help justify driving from LAX to our hotel. by the time they got to the hotel, he tried to charge her MORE money and not accept the coupon. she walked away paying him only what she would have paid the bus with him still yelling at her. i know this was not the bus's fault, but just beware.

 

[ByTheHook]

We wouldn't do Super Shuttle again. Despite our reservations, confirmations, and re-re-confirmations, the driver who was there at our appointed time didn't have our name anywhere on his clipboard, loaded a bunch of walk-on passengers first and then expected us to either just squeeze into too few remaining seats (without the kids in their car seats!) or else "just wait for the next van." None ever showed.

We called their reservation office about 5 times and their national customer-service center at least 3 times after that. No one ever expressed a real apology nor any kind of an acknowledgement of our plight.

Finally, the driver who did show up about 1 hour later got us to the airport directly and quickly, but this was after we had to endure all of that stress and corporate indifference in the meantime.

We did manage to catch our flight somehow. However, Super Shuttle failed to "call us back" the next day as they promised "with a customer care specialist" to really apologize or to win us back for future business.

Next time we'll just spring the extra for a really good cab service (know of any? ), or better yet, we'll just drive.

 

[brenda1966]

I used Super Shuttle and it worked just fine. The driver was actually a few minutes early but waited for us. The downside to Super Shuttle is they make a lot of stops. We went clear over by Knotts Berry farm to pick someone up. It made for a nice long air-conditioned nap for DD.

We used Super Shuttle because I only needed to book one way and it was cheaper. If I were doing a round trip I would probably try Disney Express because it only goes to hotels in the Disney area. However, one drawback is that there are "bus stops" and they won't pick you up at your hotel (unless it happesn to be one of their stops) so you may have to roll your luggage a half a block to get to a bus stop.

 

[grizbuzz]

We used Disneyland Resort Express this past weekend. We arrived at the stop (which is just outside baggage claim) just as a bus was pulling away and then had to wait for 15 to 20 minutes until the next bus arrived.

The bus went first to Grand Californian, then Disneyland Hotel, then Paradise Pier and only then to the other area resorts. We were staying at Marriott Fairfield Inn that first night and were the last stop. The bus did stop at our hotel.

You can get discounted tickets beforehand online (48 hours prior) at:
http://graylineanaheim.com/airport_info.cfm

One more thing...be sure to build in enough time for your return trip to the airport for the many stops the Disneyland Express makes. We forgot about this and ended up having to take a taxi back to the airport, as we didn't have enough time for the Disney Express return ride.

 

[godalejunior]

We have used DL express bus three times now, this last weekend included. The bus stops at the DL Hotel first and then on to PP and GC. After these stops it moves on to Good Neighbor and other hotels.
They have always been on time and reliable and we will only use them in the future. It is ideal especially if you are staying on site as they are the first stops and the last pickups.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We have used the Disneyland Express twice and are using it again on our upcoming trip in December. Our first trip we stayed at the GCH and were the first drop off and the only pick up on the return. I think we caught the shuttle that left about 1.5-2 hrs before our flight time and we were fine. The second time we stayed offsite at Desert Palm Hotel and Suites and again we were the first drop off (maybe nobody was staying at any of the Disney hotels?). They weren't a scheduled stop on the return, so we called and asked them to be there at the time we wanted and they were there and we were the only pick up so it worked out well. We'll be staying at the GCH in Dec. so hopefully it's just as smooth. Oh and we've flown into/out of SNA each time.

 

[DizMe]

I've always used SuperShuttle (when I don't have my own car), and have been very happy with it. We've never had to wait more than a few minutes. For larger parties, though, I don't think it's the most economical option. I think a taxi is probably cheaper once you have more than 4 in your party. SS used to have a $47 flat rate for a van that held up to 7 passengers, but it has gone up in the last month or so to $67, though that price now covers up to 9 passengers.

There is a van/limo service that has been mentioned several times on the board, but I've never used them. Their prices look good, though. http://www.alimoking.com/samples.htm

I have posted codes for SS that give you $4 off roundtrip/pp for a shared van or $5 off each way on a reserved car if you reserve and pay ahead. You can cancel within a few hours or something. Here is the link again if you're interested. http://www.retailmenot.com/view/supershuttle.com I used PGESC code, which made our cost from OC to Disneyland go from $50 each way (party of 5) to $40. That's about the cost of a taxi, so some might prefer to go that route. I like having things prepaid and reserved but I've never tried the taxi so it might be better. I've just heard that you MAY not get the same rate going back, plus you have to call for the cab. With SS they tell you when they will pick you up so you will get to your flight on time and you don't have to call them while you're down in Disneyland.

 

[godalejunior]

I think it also depends on the time of year you go, the busier the time the more stops the bus will likely make.

 

[poohs_hunny]

Thanks for the input so far. It sounds like both shuttles get decent reviews. We will be two adults taking the shuttle and are staying at Howard Johnson's. Does the Disneyland Express Shuttle stop there or is it a general area stop? Any other opinions would be appreciated!

 

[grizbuzz]

The bus stopped at Fairfield Inn for us, which is right next door to Hojos (I think). He made stops at four hotels along Harbor.

 

[stampinshauna]

Here's a $3 coupon for a round trip on the Disneyland Express. I just used it a couple weeks ago on my trip, so it made the round trip $21 from Orange County. When you get there they will leave the airport every 30 minutes (so 12:15 and 12:45). I think the drop off order varies, when I was there they actually dropped off all of the harbor hotels first and the disney ones last (GCH was 2nd to last). You can get a schedule that will tell you the return trip times. It will show what times they pick up at each hotel, and then it officially departs from the Disneyland Hotel and arrives 30 minutes later at the airport so you can plan when to go. It runs each hour for the return trip, so you can look at the schedule and figure out what time you want to be picked up. I bought my round trip ticket at the booth at the curb where you get on the shuttle, and that is where I got the schedule.

http://graylineanaheim.com/images_new/coupon_GrayLine_Shuttle_2007.gif

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, we just used super shuttle yesterday....they were awesome...we just came home from 10 nights in anaheim (fun, fun, fun)...we didnt book super shuttle until the night before(we were booked with someone else we had come with, but didnt really like them)...they were on time, very friendly, plus we had a coupon and got a deal...we paid 70 dollars for a private van for 5 of us...i highly recommend them
sharon
me, dh, dd-16-, ds- 14-, dd-12-
WDW-Dec 04-first disney experience for my DH, DD, DS, DD and first time at WDW for us all
DL-MAY 06-first time at DL for DH and kids , and my 9th(but the first 8 were all by the time i was about 13) so it was all new to me

JUST BACK YESTERDAY FROM OUR 10 NIGHT STAY IN ANAHEIM-5 DAYS AT DL-WE HAD SO MUCH FUN AND IT IS SO SAD TO BE BACK HOME TO THE REAL WORLD-

 

[mtblujeans]

It looks like the bus information online is only for times and prices thru December, 2007....?