Disneyland Express?

[KatieCharlotte]

I know there have been many discussions about airport transportation, but I'm still having trouble deciding. Super Shuttle seems too cheap and too much of a hassle, and I'm not sure I can justify the cost of Lansky, especially if I add a tip.

I wondered if anyone has up-to-date information about the Disneyland Resort Express? When google, I find what I've read is a shady service using almost the same name. Links to the actual DLE give me an error message. I know that Grayline no longer offers the service. Is it still operating through another company? What is the website? Is it still $48/adult with a free child (under age 11?), and is it still semi-reliable? Online reviews are confusing because I don't think every reviewer is talking about the same company.

 

[BriannaRuth]

https://dre.coachusa.com/ShuttleReservations/Home

This is the link to the Disneyland Express. It looks like it's now being run by Coach USA. I get a warning from my computer that there is potentially trouble with the site, but the reason appears to be an expired certificate. I also checked the main website, coachusa.com, and you can get to Disneyland Express site from there as well, same web address, so it appears to be ok.

I took it August 2016 ... the bus was not in as good of condition as it was when it was run by GrayLine but I'll probably give it one more shot this year because my kids love it.

 

[Davin_Felth]

If you prepay, use the promo code AOC to get $10 off per person.

Edit:. Added a key word.

 

[bumbershoot]

Super Shuttle seems too cheap and too much of a hassle

SS isn't my choice*, but it's not more of a hassle than Disneyland resort express. I actually consider the bus to be more of a hassle.


*Karmel Shuttle is my choice from SNA and LAX.

 

[fly girl]

Uber! Just used for my family of 3 and it was $51 during some pretty heavy morning traffic.

Easy peasy and no hassle.

 

[lalasmama]

I know there have been many discussions about airport transportation, but I'm still having trouble deciding. Super Shuttle seems too cheap and too much of a hassle, and I'm not sure I can justify the cost of Lansky, especially if I add a tip.

I wondered if anyone has up-to-date information about the Disneyland Resort Express? When google, I find what I've read is a shady service using almost the same name. Links to the actual DLE give me an error message. I know that Grayline no longer offers the service. Is it still operating through another company? What is the website? Is it still $48/adult with a free child (under age 11?), and is it still semi-reliable? Online reviews are confusing because I don't think every reviewer is talking about the same company.

I haven't used them if/since they changed companies. However, I can confirm the "Disneyland Express" buses (opposed to the Disneyland RESORT Express) totally uses the confusion to get their customers. DLE are 20-or-so-passenger mass transit buses/vans like this: http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12349022/arboc-collects-substantial-orders-in-june . DLRE buses are large coach buses like a Greyhound bus, a la https://www.viator.com/tours/Los-An...-Airport-and-Anaheim-Resort-Area/d645-3457P54. However, people still seem to miss the difference, and hop on that tiny white bus and are in for a bit of a shock when their pre-paid fare is useless since they hopped on the bus of another company. So, make sure you hop on the right bus!

 

[princesscate]

Uber! Just used for my family of 3 and it was $51 during some pretty heavy morning traffic.

Easy peasy and no hassle.wairpo

Uber! Just used for my family of 3 and it was $51 during some pretty heavy morning traffic.

Easy peasy and no hassle.

Which airport did you use Uber from?

 

[fly girl]

@princesscate, we used Uber from LAX

 

[Disney Dory]

We used the Disneyland Resort Express bus in April from John Wayne and we too noticed the bus was not kept as well as it was when Grayline owned it. The bus was dirty and our seat was broken and a couple of the TV's were not working. By the time we collected our luggage and got out to the bus stop, we had about a 45 minute wait for the next bus. We sat and patiently waited for the bus along with about 5 other families. When the bus arrived, we all boarded and expected to leave since the departure time had passed, but nooooo!! Here came another family waving at the bus to stop and allow them to get on, which would have been no big deal, but then another family....and another family!!! 40 minutes later we finally left! If we had know they were going to do this, we would have never used this service! Next time we will be using a cab or shuttle!

 

[Davin_Felth]

Did your return trip have problems like this? That would be a huge problem considering people are counting on it to get to the airport on time.

 

[LoverDisney]

How are they from DL to LAX? Thanks.

 

[Disney Dory]

Our return trip on the DLRE back to the airport left about 10 minutes late so it wasn't a big deal because we took the bus that would get us to the airport 2 hours before our flight. If we had waited to take the next one, minutes would have counted! We used to use the DLRE all the time when it was owned by Grayline and never had any issues. It was always clean and an enjoyable experience. Too bad that Coach doesn't do as well!

 

[sashasmommy]

I have not used it, but after reading all of the reviews and looking at the schedule, I decided it was not for me. I have read the reviews that talk about the "other" shuttle service that tries to trick you, and I thought I could overcome that by looking for the big busses with the Disney pictures on the side, but then I read another review that said the bus they got looked different and was just a white bus. I will be there alone with my 4-year old and stressed out enough, so I didn't want to deal with anything confusing or shady. Also, they only leave the airport every hour. Our flight gets in at 2:30, there's no way we'll make the 3 pm bus, so we would have to wait until 4 to catch the bus. Likewise on the way back, we would have to leave the hotel 4 hours before our flight to get to the airport early enough to be comfortable. I needed a car seat, so I decided to go with Sunny's Transportation private car service. I just looked on Yelp for services with good reviews. The quotes I got from the 3 companies I checked were all about the same.

 

[Davin_Felth]

I had no idea that the DL Express had changed operators and I pre-purchased tickets out of habit. We're taking the kids to WDW in 2018, so our youngest should be old enough to not be required for a booster when we go to DL again in 2019. Guess we'll have more options on that trip. I sure hope it's not so bad I end up regretting it this trip coming up.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

Hmm, this was the plan to go when we went, because lugging carseats along is such a pain. I'm hoping it's not too bad, but I'm disappointed to hear the new operators aren't as good. The kids love going on the bus with the big pictures on the side.

 

[Satchmo128]

Saving this thread. I have never heard of Karmel Shuttle and may look into them for our October trip.

 

[BriannaRuth]

I have not used it, but after reading all of the reviews and looking at the schedule, I decided it was not for me. I have read the reviews that talk about the "other" shuttle service that tries to trick you, and I thought I could overcome that by looking for the big busses with the Disney pictures on the side, but then I read another review that said the bus they got looked different and was just a white bus.

The copycat one is the white bus. The real one is a big coach with pictures on the side. There is even a copycat company online -- I came across it while looking for the original -- so it's possible that whoever this reviewer was that got just a white bus booked from the wrong site online, or was fooled into taking that bus at the airport. If you want the coach with the pictures on the side, you must book the Disneyland Resort Express, NOT the Disneyland Express, which is a copycat.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not seeing the value of the Disneyland Express, which would be $144 for my group and leave me stressing about getting in the wrong vehicle. At that point, I'd might as well spend an extra $90 and get picked up in baggage claim by a private Lansky driver. I will be researching Karmel though -- thanks for the suggestion. Basically, we want to get to Anaheim with the least hassle and then be assured that we will have no problems getting to the airport on time when we go home, but I don't want to just throw money away that I could spend on treats in the parks.

 

[Davin_Felth]

If you were to use the promo code AOC on their website, it would be $114 instead.

I took a look at the e-mail I got last week when I pre-paid for our trip. The address on the ticket says "Pacific Coast Sightseeing" and the e-mail says "Thank you for Choosing Southern California Gray Line". I also just double checked my e-mail from two years ago when I had pre-purchased our fair, the e-mail came from the same e-mail address and the address in the e-mail matches the one from last week. Looks to me like it in fact is the same company that I had used previously.

On our past trips, it was easy to pick out the correct transportation because it was a full sized charter bus, with Disney characters on the side and said "Disneyland Resort Express". The fake "Disneyland Express" was in a much smaller shuttle van, around the size of a SuperShuttle.

 

[BriannaRuth]

If you were to use the promo code AOC on their website, it would be $114 instead.

I took a look at the e-mail I got last week when I pre-paid for our trip. The address on the ticket says "Pacific Coast Sightseeing" and the e-mail says "Thank you for Choosing Southern California Gray Line". I also just double checked my e-mail from two years ago when I had pre-purchased our fair, the e-mail came from the same e-mail address and the address in the e-mail matches the one from last week. Looks to me like it in fact is the same company that I had used previously.

On our past trips, it was easy to pick out the correct transportation because it was a full sized charter bus, with Disney characters on the side and said "Disneyland Resort Express". The fake "Disneyland Express" was in a much smaller shuttle van, around the size of a SuperShuttle.

Can you provide a link? When I go to Pacific Coast Sightseeing's website it redirects me to "Pacific Coast - Coach America," which is the dre.coach.usa I linked above. It also won't accept the coupon code you provided.

I also found that you can book the DRE via Viatour for less $$, but it looks like they only offer one way and booking two one-ways for a round trip is more expensive than booking a round trip on dre.coach.usa website. There's also a Groupon available, but there's no savings by doing that as it's through Viatour and is just their regular rate.

You really don't have to worry about getting the wrong bus as long as you know you're looking for a big coach and not a white van. If a guy in a white van with a cheap looking "Disneyland Express" plastered on the side invites you to get in, just say no.