Disneyland Express

[jlx2]

I have read mixed reviews online about the Disneyland Express online. I was wondering if anyone could share their personal experiences? We are flying into LAX on Delta and we are staying at the Anaheim Marriott. Is the pick up area for the bus easy to find at the airport and if anyone has stayed at the Anaheim Marriott is the pick up to return to the airport reliable? Where there are no reservations I am afraid that the driver won't see us waiting and will drive off. Any idea how long it takes to get to the Marriott? Thanks so much in advance.

 

[KalamityJane]

So there are 2 different companies. Are you talking about this one? http://www.disneylandexpressshuttle.com/
Or Disneyland Resort Express? http://www.graylineanaheim.com/airport_info.cfm

My experience with the first is that they totally try to get people that are looking for the second because of the similarity in names. I personally won't give my business to them for that reason; they seemed totally sketchy. I have used Disneyland Resort Express (bus) many times and always been happy.

 

[taffy]

We have had great service with the Disneyland Resort Express (graysline) and never had a problem, they always saw us. We used them as we have children that require car seats and this is the only service we can use as they have coaches and not shuttles. They are always the Cars themed coaches.

As for all the knock off disney express shuttles I would stay away. I once had a terrible experience with them as they even tried to convince me they were the official disney coach service. On my return journey they did not want to honour the return voucher and he tried to make me pay again. I will never use these again and always stick with the Official coach service run by graysline or the shuttle services like Karmel.

 

[jlx2]

Yes we are looking at the Disneyland Resort Express by Gray Line. I feel better with your reviews.

So we should look out for the Disney Express shuttle imposters, good to know! Do they have motor coaches as well, how do we tell the difference and make sure we are getting the right one? Are all of the Disneyland Resort Express busses wrapped in the Cars theme? We will most likely pre-pay our tickets online.

Thanks again.

 

[KalamityJane]

Nope, the imposters have maxivans, not busses. DRE is the Greyhound bus that has Disney plastered all over it. They have pictures of their busses on the site, the last couple have been Cars, but we have had Ariel in the past.

 

[Masonmj84]

We took the Disneyland Resort Express bus from LAX on our last trip (didn't use it for the return trip).

The best aspect of it is price and the fact that it goes directly from the airport to the hotels (we stayed at the DLH and were the first stop). I also like not having to socialize with the driver and the fact that you do not need to bring car seats.

From the perspective of a WDW vet, I didn't like where we had to wait for the bus. You have to wait outside of the airport on an island between the first and second lanes of traffic. There were lots of people smoking around us and, given that there was traffic on both sides of us, it made watching kids somewhat nerve-racking.

The other thing that I didn't like about it was that we had to stand on that island for over 20 minutes waiting for the bus. During peak times, the buses are supposed to come every half hour, but it's completely unpredictable when the bus will show up (especially given the unpredictability of LA traffic and the fact that LAX has many terminals and the buses make a stop at each one). You might be lucky and board right away. Or you might wait over 30 minutes.

In contrast, at WDW, you wait for Magical Express inside of the airport. No standing outside in the middle of traffic. No second hand smoke. So a much better experience waiting to board a bus. And I've never waited for more than 10-15 minutes for a Magical Express bus.

So while Disneyland Express is cost-effective, it has some drawbacks. Next time we're considering a car service (currently looking at Lansky and Execucar). For our family, these average being nearly twice as expensive as Disneyland Express. But I'm starting to think the extra expense might be worth it.

 

[jeanico2000]

So there are 2 different companies. Are you talking about this one? http://www.disneylandexpressshuttle.com/
Or Disneyland Resort Express? http://www.graylineanaheim.com/airport_info.cfm

My experience with the first is that they totally try to get people that are looking for the second because of the similarity in names. I personally won't give my business to them for that reason; they seemed totally sketchy. I have used Disneyland Resort Express (bus) many times and always been happy.

This, absolutely! We found the Disneyland Resort Express excellent and also noticed the 'Disneyland Express Shuttle' trying to get the business of confused passengers looking for the Resort Express (which is a big, comfortable bus). We were surprise they were even allowed to use such similar names!

 

[KalamityJane]

We took the Disneyland Resort Express bus from LAX on our last trip (didn't use it for the return trip).

The best aspect of it is price and the fact that it goes directly from the airport to the hotels (we stayed at the DLH and were the first stop). I also like not having to socialize with the driver and the fact that you do not need to bring car seats.

From the perspective of a WDW vet, I didn't like where we had to wait for the bus. You have to wait outside of the airport on an island between the first and second lanes of traffic. There were lots of people smoking around us and, given that there was traffic on both sides of us, it made watching kids somewhat nerve-racking.

The other thing that I didn't like about it was that we had to stand on that island for over 20 minutes waiting for the bus. During peak times, the buses are supposed to come every half hour, but it's completely unpredictable when the bus will show up (especially given the unpredictability of LA traffic and the fact that LAX has many terminals and the buses make a stop at each one). You might be lucky and board right away. Or you might wait over 30 minutes.

In contrast, at WDW, you wait for Magical Express inside of the airport. No standing outside in the middle of traffic. No second hand smoke. So a much better experience waiting to board a bus. And I've never waited for more than 10-15 minutes for a Magical Express bus.

So while Disneyland Express is cost-effective, it has some drawbacks. Next time we're considering a car service (currently looking at Lansky and Execucar). For our family, these average being nearly twice as expensive as Disneyland Express. But I'm starting to think the extra expense might be worth it.

Agreed, not in love with pickup at LAX. SNA isn't bad though. If we can fly into SNA, I try to. Also, anyone that does DRE, use the code AOC for $10 off a roundtrip adult price. It's from the Anaheim OC county site.

 

[jlx2]

I really appreciate all of the feedback, thank you so much!
Is it difficult to find where you wait to pick up the bus at the airport?

 

[taffy]

No it is very easy to see where you catch the bus.. Everything is color coded to let you know which area to stand. But agree LAX is very busy hence why it is busy where you catch the bus.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

where do you go from SNA? the LAX one scares me I am glad we are going to SNA now but wonder where we wait for the bus?

 

[taffy]

We have done both airports.

For SNA there is a map here

http://www.ocair.com/maps/groundtransportation/

 

[lalasmama]

where do you go from SNA? the LAX one scares me I am glad we are going to SNA now but wonder where we wait for the bus?

A previous poster already posted the link for the map. Essentially, you go out the automatic doors in front of baggage claim, turn left, and follow the signs that clearly say, "Ground Transportation." Keep walking. You'll think, "Gee, did I miss it?" and you'll keep going. You'll see when to cross the street to the right, where there will be busses, shuttles, and taxis. Personally, I always think it seems like such a long walk, but it's not... I'm just so anxious to get to Disneyland that it seems like it's much farther away than it really is!

 

[DisneyMommy77]

We have used grayline Disneyland Express twice from SNA and loved it. I have never used it out of LAX as I always fly to SNA. Both times there was always a bus there and we easily boarded. (I believe there are hourly times they depart the airport)
Pickup back to the airport was easy too. We have even stayed at hotels that they don't drop off at and they actually made a special stop for us, and then on the way back to the airport they sent a white shuttle van to take us to Disneyland Hotel for the big bus to take us to the airport.
I would highly recommend them!

 

[DisneyMommy403]

Thanks to fellow Disers, I was advised to avoid the ultra aggressive "Disneyland Express" which are shuttle vans, not the grayline I had pre paid vouchers for. They come by a lot while you wait, and are really insistent. From LAX, in Nov 2012: We must have just missed the bus, cause we did wait an hour for it. Then, in rush hour traffic... Something went wrong with our bus. We had no reassurance, or communication whatsoever... She just pulled over, then called on her radio a bunch of times, then did what I assume was smacking the engine with a wrench a few times. Then we were off again. The bus was dead silent, we asked about the movie screens and got no response. Traveling with 3 littles from a five hour flight, after our first flight was cancelled and we had to run to catch the next... Our family was irritated, and wiped out, and very, very, cranky. Plus, Our driver was not friendly at all driving into Anaheim, and it took what seemed like years to get to our hotel.

Our return trip from the hotel to LAX was way different. On time from the one posted in the brochure, friendly, and fun... Our driver made the long drive seem like a breeze. Movie screens were on, AC was perfect... We tipped him generously after that.

I think perhaps the first driver had a helluva day. We still tipped her, and thanked her kindly, but the second driver made us very comfortable, and kept the Disney vibe going all the way to our departure. Bottom line, we are using them again, and feel they're a great service to utilize if you're like us - with 4 kids in boosters and car seats. It helps travel big time not lugging all those chairs through the airport!

 

[Mividadisney]

We were impressed with the DL resort express. It's themed, comfy, clean and the one that picked us up from LAX played and movie and that made our drive go by fast and it also, got us excited before we even hit DL. While waiting for our bus we did have 2 other shuttles (larger vans) try to get us to go with them but we politely declined and waited for our bus that arrived 15 minutes later.

 

[bumbershoot]

From the perspective of a WDW vet, I didn't like where we had to wait for the bus. You have to wait outside of the airport on an island between the first and second lanes of traffic. There were lots of people smoking around us and, given that there was traffic on both sides of us, it made watching kids somewhat nerve-racking.

Just stay inside the building until it's closer to the time the bus should be by. That's what we do. Get the bags, hang out in the area.

OR we walk up to Terminal 1 so we're first on the bus.

Is it difficult to find where you wait to pick up the bus at the airport?

Not at all. There's a pickup spot outside each terminal.

 

[DebbieB]

Just stay inside the building until it's closer to the time the bus should be by. That's what we do. Get the bags, hang out in the area.

OR we walk up to Terminal 1 so we're first on the bus.

Not at all. There's a pickup spot outside each terminal.

I wouldn't trust the times they list for pickup at the airport. The one time I rode it, it was about 15 or 20 minutes late and my friend experienced the same this summer. We were both at terminal 1 so it should be the time they list but it's not surprising with airport & LA traffic. My friend was ticked because they were there before the time listed but someone said they just missed it. Most likely it was the one before theirs they just missed.