Disneyland without a car

[Aurora_Disney]

Greetings,

My husband and I are trying to plan a short 3 day weekday trip to DL for our 5th anniversary and my 30th birthday. I am trying to save as much money as possible so I have considered not renting a car. Is it possible to do this? We are only going to go to DL while there and I am looking at a hotel with a shuttle to the park. One concern is from the airport to the hotel. I have never used Uber before and I don't know how expensive it would be or if it is even a good option.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[amyg1975]

We never have a car when we go. Where are you flying in to? If it is SNA, Uber will be about $20 on average. If you are flying into Long Beach, you can't take Uber, but you can get a flat rate taxi for $45.

Most hotels do not have shuttles, and many hotels are within walking distance of the parks. If it is not walkable, you can catch the local bus, ART, to get to the parks. Best Western Park Place Inn, Tropicana, Howard Johnson, and Candy Cane Inn are popular hotel choice (Candy Cane Inn does have its own shuttle, but also very easy to walk from).

 

[Elima2015]

It is definitely possible to not rent a car - especially if your plans are limited to the parks. We took Uber from SNA and it was $19 plus cash tip each way. We stayed at a hotel along Harbor that provided breakfast, which solved both park transportation (our feet) and one meal per day.

 

[StageTek]

Yes, it's possible to do this. There are several options from the airport to the
hotels. Go to the Uber website where you can get a fair estimate. I did it and
amyg is correct - the fair is between $16 and $22. From LAX about $40.

Ask your hotel if they provide or can recommend a shuttle service from the
airport. Often they offer discounts for specific shuttle services.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Unless you are visiting other parts of Souther California outside of Disneyland there is zero need for a car during a DL trip.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

When we fly in just to visit Disneyland, we never rent a car. This thread should give you the basic options on transportation options from whichever airport you are using to Disneyland:

Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information

 

[otten]

Yes it is possible, especially with two adults and no kids. We are renting a car but that's because we are travelling with two small kids and it's the easiest option for us with that in mind. If I weren't travelling with kids that need car seats I wouldn't rent a car.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

Honestly if you are just going to Disneyland youbwill not need a car. Most hotels have shuttles and even better most are right across the street!! We are fans of super shuttle as it gets us where we want to go and it is not that expensive. Last summer it was $18 round trip ..airport to hotel and hotel back to airport..per person...at $9 each way we were hooked! Plus we've never had a super crowded van and never have to wait too long.

 

[ludari]

As others have mentioned it is possible to get to Disneyland without renting car. As far as transportation from the airport to your hotel as you and others mentioned there is a taxi service, shuttle or Uber but hopefully your hotel offers shuttle service. If not, to save on your transportation cost if you can fly into Long Beach that is one way to save on your transportation expenses. One way to save a little on Uber or taxi is to take the free shuttle from LAX to the metro green line station. Take the metro green line train east (fare is $1.75 per person) to the Norwalk Station (last stop going east) from that location you can call Uber/Taxi service or even take the bus (but I wouldn't recommend it because it will take probably an hour or more). Hopefully you don't have a lot of luggage because it's not fun taking public transportation with a lot of luggage to handle. Good luck.

 

[lcp9]

We rented a car once and realized how dumb it was (for us.) Generally speaking, we only use it to and from the airport, and parking costs + rental fees aren't worth it. We have 3 kids (5, 3, 1) that all need car seats, and even then it was less than 5 minutes to install them in the uber and get going. Last time we went to Palm Springs afterwards, and my husband took an uber from our anaheim hotel back to SNA to pick up the car and then come get us. Totally worth it to not deal with a rental at the airport coming in with the kids.

 

[Spyral]

If we fly into visit/stay just at DLR, we don't rent a car. We've taken SuperShuttle to/from the park and SNA. Uber is cheaper and we may try that next time. We picked up a Mifold car seat for easy traveling w/ my son (it's small!).

We were there for a week for our last trip. We stayed at GCH (but would have done same if stayed off-site within walking distance). We ordered some groceries through Vons.

 

[Belle83]

We didn't rent a car last trip and we aren't planning to this time either. I didn't want to deal with a car seat for DS We take the bus (Disneyland Express) to get from the airport to the hotel. https://dre.coachusa.com/ShuttleReservations/Home

It was $35 per adult round-trip from John Wayne airport. I would be worried about suitcases fitting in an Uber but I've never used it, can you tell Uber what size car you need? Last trip we were at GC so we just walked to the park but this time we'll take the ART shuttle to get from our hotel to the parks. We could walk from our hotel theoretically but I'm sure we'll take the shuttle.

 

[Aurora_Disney]

Thank you everyone for the info! This will help me a lot.