Ground transportation - what would you do?

[cypressmom]

We're flying into SNA and need to get to the Anaheim Fairfield Inn. I can't decide which is a better option with a 4 and 6 year old.

1. Disneyland Express
   Pro - No car seats/boosters to lug
   Con - Have to wait for shuttle. Possibly a long ride due to drop offs
2. Super Shuttle/ Exucar
   Pro - Car will be waiting for us and bring us directly to hotel
   Con - Have to bring a booster and car seat.

We're arriving around 10:30 am, and I'd love to be in the park for lunch. Any idea where the Fairfield Inn is on the drop off schedule or how lon it might take us to get there if we went with Disneyland Express? I do know they leave SNA every 30 minutes.

 

[Perdygirl]

I used the Disneyland Express for a Sunday arrival, mid April. It was really easy. I guess I got lucky, because the bus arrived within 5 minutes after I walked out of the airport. I was staying at the VGC, and the bus stopped there first, so I can't tell you exactly how many stops it made after that, but I'm guessing not many, because the bus wasn't very full. My flight landed at around 1pm, I was checked in (luggage left with bellman), and in the park by a few minutes after 2pm. I didn't buy DE tickets ahead, I just picked them up curbside. I probably could have saved a little if I'd bought them earlier. I will use them again in the future.

On the way back, I was traveling from the Hilton. I had moved over there for a meeting. I took the Super Shuttle going back. It was easy too. I called from a phone in the lobby of the hotel, and arranged a pick up time. When they arrived, they called my cell phone to tell me they were outside. I thought that was pretty nice service.

 

[love dland]

We used the Disneyland Express last year, and while it was the most cost effective and my kids are old enough to not worry about car seats, it was a longer wait than I wanted. We were staying at Hojo's and we were the last stop on the route. Not sure if that is a normal route. Fairfield is close to Hojo's in proximity. The service was very good.
I just had to relax about it and looking at the overall scheme of things, it was probably worth the hour or so more that it took to save the money.
However, next month, I will be taking a taxi from SNA to Hojo's ......

 

[cypressmom]

Thank you for the replies. I am leaning towards using the Disneyland Express, especially since I am now thinking about bringing a stroller, which I originally wasn't planning on.

 

[jacobsmommy]

Do you have to bring carseats when riding SuperShuttle? I wasn't planning on that... I looked on their website and couldn't find any info. about car seats.

 

[ado121]

Do you have to bring carseats when riding SuperShuttle? I wasn't planning on that... I looked on their website and couldn't find any info. about car seats.

id like to know that too.

 

[cypressmom]

Do you have to bring carseats when riding SuperShuttle? I wasn't planning on that... I looked on their website and couldn't find any info. about car seats.

Yes. The state law applies - 6 years old or 60 lbs.

From the Super Shuttle website - "While laws vary from state-to-state, we at SuperShuttle support the strongest safety standard by recommending that small children 5 years and under be secured in a child restraint seat for transportation. Additionally, SuperShuttle does not provide child restraint seats. It is the reponsibility of a child's parent or caregiver to provide the Child Restraint System when transporting children in van and/or taxi cabs."

 

[jacobsmommy]

So our 6 year old doesn't need a carseat but our 2 year old does for the shuttle ride? Can we just bring a booster seat for her?

 

[cypressmom]

So our 6 year old doesn't need a car seat but our 2 year old does for the shuttle ride? Can we just bring a booster seat for her?

Your 6 year old doesn't legal need a booster, but he/she might physically need one. Any certified car seat technician would tell you that best practice is to be in a booster until the child is 57 inches. If he/she can sit and the seatbelt doesn't cut across the neck and sits across the hips, not the stomach, they ten are ok without a booster. At 6 years old, a no back booster is acceptable. It's about the seat belt placement, not added protection.

What does you two year old weigh and how tall is she? High back boosters have a 30 lb and 38 inch minimum. That said, I would NEVER put a two year old in a booster. Would she pass the 5 step test?


1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

 

[haydeecm]

Regardless of what the law is, I think most people that ride supershuttle dont bring carseats. Last time we rode, none of the 3 other kids, or baby in arms used a carseat. The driver even sugested to my husband that we not use our carseat. They didn't give me a hard time for using it, but it felt like that was not the norm.

I have talked to supershuttle on the phone, and they stated that they do not require people to use carseats, but they can if they want to.


We wouldve used Disneyland Express in order to avoid the carseat issue, but they stop running from the airport at 10pm, and we were going to cut it too close. If you are not going to come too late in the day, I probably would go with them just for the carseat issue, even though you could get away with not bringing it on supershuttle. Just peace of mind.

I really enjoyed supershuttle, they were super fast going to the airport, even got there a little earlier than they were supposed to. However, my son was dying to ride one of those Disneyland Express buses, they looked too cool with all the characters on them. Supershuttle buses are definitely NOT as cool in the kid factor.