Downtown LA to Disneyland Hotel

[abeyst]

I'm extending a business trip by 2 days to go to Disneyland. We'll be in Downtown LA, and leaving downtown Friday about 6 and heading down to check in at Disneyland Hotel.

We're thinking we'll just need transportation down to the hotel. How should we travel? Is renting a car one-way the best idea? We found a couple rental places (Enterprise, Hertz) downtown so we won't have to go back to the airport. We'll be staying on property and going to the airport Sunday morning.

Another question: A coworker heard about a shuttle for $16 to get us back to the airport to go home - what can you guys tell me about that? Is it decent?

This is our first trip to Disneyland - we're SO excited!!!

 

[hawky7]

Amy

How exciting that this is your first trip!! You did say first right? Oh lord my memory already!!!

About the shuttle...ughhh. I'd rent a car. You can get one for fairly cheap especially if there is more than one of you who will be using it. The shuttle sucks and its $16 pp per way, which can really add up. Also you may want to think about going to dinner first, heading from LA to Anaheim at 6 pm, is going to cause you an awful lot of traffic headaches!!!

I'd definately go with a rental car if I were you!!!

Let me know if you have any questions about the Happiest Place on Earth! Always glad to help! Have a blast!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Find something to do in LA until 7pm. You will be sooooo much happier when you arrive at DL - and you won't get there much later than if you leave at 6pm.

Have a great time at Disneyland! How I wish I could feel that 1st timers excitement again!

 

[MAH4546]

I'm extending a business trip by 2 days to go to Disneyland. We'll be in Downtown LA, and leaving downtown Friday about 6 and heading down to check in at Disneyland Hotel.

We're thinking we'll just need transportation down to the hotel. How should we travel? Is renting a car one-way the best idea? We found a couple rental places (Enterprise, Hertz) downtown so we won't have to go back to the airport. We'll be staying on property and going to the airport Sunday morning.

Another question: A coworker heard about a shuttle for $16 to get us back to the airport to go home - what can you guys tell me about that? Is it decent?

This is our first trip to Disneyland - we're SO excited!!!

Don't leave until 7.30!

Traffic is a nightmare, especially on the stretch of I-5 that is only three lanes.

Have dinner downtown, lots of really good places to eat in downtown.

If you leave at 6PM you might not get to Disneyland until 7.30PM. If you leave at 7.30PM, you'll be at Disneyland by 8.15PM (or, if you average 80-85, like I typically do, 8PM).

 

[abeyst]

Thanks everyone! I was going to leave right away to try and get a night in at DL Friday night, but I'm not a fan of traffic AT ALL, so we'll have dinner downtown and then drive to Anaheim.

OK, so I got a 'no' on the shuttle - anyone else want to give their 2 cents? Right now we're renting a car to get to Anaheim then turning it in, and taking a shuttle Sunday back to the airport.

 

[jlmarr]

The best shuttle from the DLH to LAX would be the Gray Line Disneyland Express, and since you wouldn't have any intervening stops I think it would be a very good option. I think the complaint a lot of people have with SuperShuttle, PrimeTime, etc is that they have numerous stops between point A and point B, but as the name implies, the DL Express is non-stop from the DLH (there is a feeder bus to get people from other hotels to the DLH). I thought I heard their rate had gone up to $22 but the brochure shows $20. Anyway, here's a link to their brochure including schedule: http://graylineanaheim.com/docs/GL Anaheim DRE Brochure 2008.pdf

As for getting to DL from downtown L.A., you could take a taxi to Union Station and from there take Amtrak to the Anaheim station, and then a taxi to the DLH. If you didn't have bags to deal with I'd suggest taking the Red Line subway between downtown and US, and ART from the Anaheim station to DL. As for the train there's also Metrolink, the commuter train, but I'm sure they don't have checked bag service.

 

[Queenbillabong]

I would second the DL Express. We've done SuperShuttle with a shared van (NEVER again!) and the DL Express and we prefer the DL Express. The ride was more comfortable and quick. If you're leaving from the DL Hotel, that's the last stop before leaving to the airport, so no stops along the way

 

[abeyst]

As for getting to DL from downtown L.A., you could take a taxi to Union Station and from there take Amtrak to the Anaheim station, and then a taxi to the DLH. If you didn't have bags to deal with I'd suggest taking the Red Line subway between downtown and US, and ART from the Anaheim station to DL. As for the train there's also Metrolink, the commuter train, but I'm sure they don't have checked bag service.

Amtrak - Do you happen to know the commute time? I found the map online, and it looks like there's a number of stops along the way. Will the Metrolink be faster?

 

[jlmarr]

Here's the schedule - just the Fullerton stop between LA and Anaheim, and it looks to be about 40 minutes ... http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct08/W31.pdf ...

Metrolink won't be any faster since it shares the same track. Metrolink does run more frequently during commute hours, and it is cheaper, but if you have to carry your own bags onto a crowded commuter train it might be a bad option.