Has anyone pre-booked the private vans?

[yipee]

There are 6 of us going from LAX to DL, and we are considering booking a private van through Prime Time (they say $72 on their website, where Super Shuttle says $107). You have to give them alot of personal info, though (ie - credit cards) and I just wanted to check if others have had any experience with this? Did it work out okay, or do you have cautions? Would you reserve by phone, or by internet? Can you book and pay for a private van at the airport, or do you have to book that ahead of time?

Lots of questions, I know.
Thanks for any help!

 

[samkj]

I did this with Super Shuttle and loved the service. Our vans were there waiting for us on time. It was prepaid online. I didn't include tip online since I wanted to receive the service before commiting to a certain tip amount. I will defintely do this again in the future.

 

[lilpixie]

We also booked online with Supershuttle for a private van. I really think the private van is soooo much better than getting packed into a van with tons of other people -- totally worth it!

 

[garate55]

I booked my LAX transfer through Limos.com and got a $102 rate from DK's livery service (private black Suburban) this includes the 15% tip and they give you water on the way to the destination. I will report back tomorrow and let you know how it went.

They even meet you in the airport.

 

[kieran2]

I've been looking at DK for my January trip. It will be great to hear your report!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

We did Primetime, prebooked, and all was great, met us right outside security and helped us to the car... oh, and check your confirmation, tipping is included! And the guy doesn't stand around looking like he needs another tip... he just off-loaded our stuff and said goodbye!

--Lisa

 

[yipee]

We did Primetime, prebooked, and all was great, met us right outside security and helped us to the car... oh, and check your confirmation, tipping is included! And the guy doesn't stand around looking like he needs another tip... he just off-loaded our stuff and said goodbye!

--Lisa

That's cool! Was that the $72 special? Did you book online? Thanks!

 

[deej696]

Curious about this myself for our upcoming trip. Subscribing to this thread....

 

[jakoky]

hi there, we went to DL in may 06 and sept 07...Transportation was very important to me and i knew i did NOT want to be on a bus or shared van...in 06 we went with primetime shuttle and while i was very impressed with our driver and their promptness, there was a strange little detail...first day they pick us up and they put my mastercard through, declined...now this is impossible as i have prepaid and have a VERY negative balance...no problem, we pull out the cash but i begin to worry there could be a problem and what will i do for the rest of the trip...we continue the trip and use the mastercard for everything, no problems..pick up day, they again say the card is declined...i am thinking all they wanted was cash, and they were just lucky we still had some on us..(BTW, got home to a still negative balance)...In 07 we used supershuttle and really liked them..that is probably who i will book thru next trip...Going private is really nice, not having to stop at many different places, not loading and unloading other peoples luggage, PLUS, because we were private we got a 20 minute grocery store stop-a nice bonus...Have a fun trip and i highly recommend a private van
sharon
me, dh, dd-16-, ds- 14-, dd-12-
WDW-Dec 04-first disney experience for my DH, DD, DS, DD and first time at WDW for us all- 9 nights at Pop Century
DL-MAY 06-first time at DL for DH and kids , and my 9th(but the first 8 were all by the time i was about 13) so it was all new to me- 10 nights at Candy Cane Inn
DL-SEPT 07-another amazing DL trip and we got "dreamed"-fastpasses for the day- 10 nights at the HoJo

I WANT TO GO BACK, I WANT TO GO BACK, I WANT TO GO BACK

 

[DizMe]

I've prebooked SuperShuttle and been happy with them. Are you a AAA member? Here are 2 codes you can use that will save you $5 each way on an exclusive van: CSAA1 and AAAMA. You may need to show a AAA card for those. You can also try PGESC, but I'm not sure whether or not it gives you a discount for an exclusive van (it does for an ExecuCar, whatever that is). It will save you $2/per person each way on a shared van. With 6 in your party, you probably won't have more than a few others riding with you, if any. Edited to add: the PGESC code can be used by anyone and isn't a AAA code.

You can also Google "coupon codes for ____" and put in your shuttle service to see if anything comes up. Some codes are only good at certain airports. I know the above codes work at LAX and SNA.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Yep, we had the special... well, I think it was $82, not $72, so you are getting an even better deal!!

--Lisa

 

[jory29]

We used Xpress shuttle -We had pre-booked online a couple of months or more in advance... it was $81 one way for 4 of us in my family, in a nice van. When we got to the airport, we just phoned them to let them know we had arrived, and they were there at the gate we specified within 10 min. For the return trip home, they were there a number of hours prior to our departure time (international flight back to Canada) and all was well. I confirmed the booking by phone after booking online, just to make sure, and also confirmed our pickup from hotel to LAX a couple of days prior, from our hotel. Our driver that took us to the airport was awesome - very nice person. They pre-auth. your credit card during online booking, but you are not charged until you provide your credit card imprint to the driver. We paid cash for a tip, as we think that is most convenient. This was the second time we have used their service, and thought it to be very efficient.

 

[bambigirl88]

We have used both Supershuttle and PrimeTime shuttle and pre-booked them both on the internet but not for private, it was shared. Still, very convenient. Yes, I had to give them my credit card info, but no problems regarding that.

My only suggestion for doing that is to be sure to print off your confirmation (make 2 copies) and bring it with you. The drivers and dispatch check very carefully the prepaid voucher/reciept and it will make things a lot smoother if you can hand it right to them and then they will call dispatch and confirm etc. The main reason we prebooked is that it is actually cheaper to prepay and prebook (less waiting too) than grabbing them at the airport.

If you are out of country or state (like we were) make sure you call and inform your credit card company that you are travelling during that time. We got declined once and the card company said they had no record of us travelling and thought it was a suspicious charge.

 

[kieran2]

I booked my LAX transfer through Limos.com and got a $102 rate from DK's livery service (private black Suburban) this includes the 15% tip and they give you water on the way to the destination. I will report back tomorrow and let you know how it went.

They even meet you in the airport.

Did they treat you well?

 

[garate55]

OK back from the trip and the transportation was great I would highly recommend and hope they treat you just as well.
We had our driver (I think he was the owner of the company) waiting for us when we got to the baggage claim and he loaded all our bags onto a cart he had there with him. He loaded the bags into the Suburban and had a clean carseat for my son (really nice), we all had complimentary water waiting too.
Nice quick service (only 40 min drive) and a clean private vehicle, he was also a good driver for California standards.
I only paid $102 so I tipped him anyway but you don't have to.

 

[ado121]

i am travelling with 3 kids. all need carseats. i HATE travelling with carseats. is there a company that provides them? or doesn't need them. i know in canada the big buses don't require them.

thanks

 

[garate55]

If you go through a private service company some of them will tell you that you need to supply the seat. The company I went through DK's Livery Service they supplied the seat we needed.
You will have to check and see if they have enough seats for your needs.
But if you go with a shuttle bus I believe they don't need to be in carseats.

 

[Dis]

Can you use one of the shuttle services to take you from a Disney Hotel to the pier for Carnival Cruise line?

 

[garate55]

Yes they will go just about anywhere.

 

[Dis]

Thanks!