How do you get from the airport to your hotel?

[Mike482]

My wife and I used to use taxi but it was $45-$50 from SNA to hotel near Disney. We tried Uber a couple of years ago and it was only $20 or so each way and haven't taken a taxi since. Its always been great service. With a larger group and more luggage we took an Uber XL one trip and it was like $10 more in an SUV which was still cheaper and nicer than the taxis we have been in. At SNA you go out the doors by the baggage pick up and all of the concrete columns outside are numbered. The app will ask you to put in what number you are standing at and the car will be there within a couple of minutes. Plus when you sign up for Uber you get your first ride free. On one trip we rented a car for the day from one of the car rental places near Disney so we could go to Universal because Uber there and back was quite a bit more expensive than the single day rental.

 

[T0rrent]

As someone who both drives for uber/lyft and uses them for getting around on vacations and going to San Francisco, I'd do Uber/Lyft over a taxi any day of the week. If you get a bad taxi driver, you are pretty much stuck. Uber moreso then Lyft if you have a bad experience, they will typically do a refund or partial credit for the ride.

That said, a few things to keep in mind if you are going to use Uber/Lyft.

1. If you travel with small children, make sure you have a proper car seat. I can't remember the exact weight/height requirements, but we also do not carry car seats with us. If you have a toddler/baby and no car seat, you won't get a ride.
2. If you are a large family (3-4 people) all with large suit cases, don't select regular Lyft or Uber X. Do an XL. It will cost you a bit more, but it's better then having a driver cancel on you upon arriving cause they pulled up in a Prius C or a Ford Fiesta.
3. Keep in mind drivers can't control surge pricing. If the price is surging, don't take it out on the driver.
4. If you feel uneasy about the driver, do not hesitate to ask to end the ride. We are required to drop you off at the first available safe space if the rider requests that a ride end for any reason. You don't even need to say a reason. With that said, also if your driver makes you uncomfortable or is doing something dangerous, immediately report it to Uber/Lyft once the ride is complete. I had a driver a few months ago that for the entirety of the 5 minute drive from our Hotel to Disneyland, kept his phone in his hand and was staring at the GPS the entire time instead of paying attention to the road. Uber gives us dash/window mounts when we sign up and do our inspection, they should be using them.

 

[jrjankowski8]

I'm not seeing a consensus in this thread as to what people prefer. Maybe Uber/Lyft (I've never used).

Right now I'm traveling from 9/8-9/14 from LAX to Harbor Blvd (Courtyard Convention Ctr.) I have SuperShuttle booked for $77 RT for 2 with tip included. We get into LAX on Friday at 3:30 so I expect a lot of traffic. We're not going to park that day so it's a wash. I am assuming that the shared ride will be people going to Disney area anyway so it could be a few stops, but most in the same vicinity.

Does anyone see any issue with using SuperShuttle in this case? To me it's a good price and should be manageable.

 

[mxkris]

Does the Disneyland Express have to be scheduled or do you just hop on one at the curb? Also, is there an expense for it?

 

[Tinkaboo]

We usually get town car service but I'm thinking of using Lyft this year. Does anyone know if they will stop at grocery store on the way?

 

[xtina!]

Great thread. So is there a consensus on the best way to LAX to an off site hotel with 2 toddlers? We don't want to do a shuttle involving multiple stops, after a long flight we need to get the kids to the hotel ASAP. I was going to look into what companies could take us directly to the hotel (recommendations welcome!), but it sounds like Uber is an option if we bring our car seats? We would be arriving on a weeknight, after 9pm, 3 adults plus 2 tots.

 

[Elima2015]

Great thread. So is there a consensus on the best way to LAX to an off site hotel with 2 toddlers? We don't want to do a shuttle involving multiple stops, after a long flight we need to get the kids to the hotel ASAP. I was going to look into what companies could take us directly to the hotel (recommendations welcome!), but it sounds like Uber is an option if we bring our car seats? We would be arriving on a weeknight, after 9pm, 3 adults plus 2 tots.

We have taken Uber (from SNA) with two kids in car seats and it worked wonderfully. You will need an UberXL. We got minivans both times we booked an UberXL. I installed car seats while DH loaded luggage. The drivers were patient while we did this. They didn't charge us wait time, though I think they could have. We tipped well as they were so accommodating with the car seats.

 

[mpadilla89]

Great thread. So is there a consensus on the best way to LAX to an off site hotel with 2 toddlers? We don't want to do a shuttle involving multiple stops, after a long flight we need to get the kids to the hotel ASAP. I was going to look into what companies could take us directly to the hotel (recommendations welcome!), but it sounds like Uber is an option if we bring our car seats? We would be arriving on a weeknight, after 9pm, 3 adults plus 2 tots.

We are going to use Lansky. We will have a 6yrd old with us that will need a booster & i do not want to be carrying that around. I believe they quoted us $160 which is a bit much but they will greet you at the airport and make a stop at a grocery store if you need to. I like to get to the airport and leave and no have to wait around for either a text or uber. It seemed like the Uber was a bit more or about the same.

We are arriving in Long beach. Which is why it is probably a bit more.

ETA: they provide a carseat/booster

 

[WonkaKid]

How do you get from the airport to your hotel?

I tell the pilot to land in my hotel parking lot. Usually does the trick.

 

[gillep]

We are going to use Lansky. We will have a 6yrd old with us that will need a booster & i do not want to be carrying that around. I believe they quoted us $160 which is a bit much but they will greet you at the airport and make a stop at a grocery store if you need to. I like to get to the airport and leave and no have to wait around for either a text or uber. It seemed like the Uber was a bit more or about the same.

We are arriving in Long beach. Which is why it is probably a bit more.

ETA: they provide a carseat/booster

It depends on the Uber service you are taking. We frequently fly into long beach and it costs us <$30 each way to Disneyland in UberX. Took UberXL one trip, and it was ~$50 each way, Uber Black is certainly more than that, although I have never taken it, so I don't have the trip receipts to check.

 

[Laurasue13]

It depends on the Uber service you are taking. We frequently fly into long beach and it costs us <$30 each way to Disneyland in UberX. Took UberXL one trip, and it was ~$50 each way, Uber Black is certainly more than that, although I have never taken it, so I don't have the trip receipts to check.

Yep, and the taxi is a fixed rate of $45. Obviously we have to bring our own car seats, but taxi or uber is a quick and inexpensive way to get to DL from LGB. We aren't worried about the grocery stop because Vons delivers to the hotel (free your first order!).

 

[amyg1975]

It depends on the Uber service you are taking. We frequently fly into long beach and it costs us <$30 each way to Disneyland in UberX. Took UberXL one trip, and it was ~$50 each way, Uber Black is certainly more than that, although I have never taken it, so I don't have the trip receipts to check.

I can't find any current information about UberX and Long Beach. We always use Uber TO the airport, and I know they were doing a trial run FROM their airport. Can UberX still pick up at the terminal?

 

[gillep]

I can't find any current information about UberX and Long Beach. We always use Uber TO the airport, and I know they were doing a trial run FROM their airport. Can UberX still pick up at the terminal?

We were able to be picked up from the terminal a couple months ago via UberX, and it is still listed on the Uber website with no caveats, so I think you are ok.

https://www.uber.com/airports/lgb/

 

[mpadilla89]

It depends on the Uber service you are taking. We frequently fly into long beach and it costs us <$30 each way to Disneyland in UberX. Took UberXL one trip, and it was ~$50 each way, Uber Black is certainly more than that, although I have never taken it, so I don't have the trip receipts to check.

We use uber a lot when we travel. When i checked a few weeks ago the estimator it would only bring up one car type that was about $100 each way. I just searched now and it brings up many more with different prices.

Would the Holidays in December have any effect on availability or pricing?

 

[tzeitel]

We have done car rental, Uber, and shuttle - always from SNA

• Renting a car is super convinient, and is not expensive - I have found cars at SNA for as little as $9 a day!
• Uber was super easy, waited less than 5 minutes at the airport and less than 10 from the hotel (bit of traffic on Harbor). It was the first time either DH or I had taken an Uber and we got $20 sign up bonuses (plus I got a referral for siging DH up) so it was free both ways
• One weekend trip was just DD and me so we took a shuttle. We used http://www.snashuttle.com/ and were very happy. Easy to find, clean vans, friendly drivers. No one else was in the shuttle with us - to/from the hotel - so it was a straight shot. I timed it and we went from the airport to the hotel in 17 minutes.

 

[gillep]

We use uber a lot when we travel. When i checked a few weeks ago the estimator it would only bring up one car type that was about $100 each way. I just searched now and it brings up many more with different prices.

Would the Holidays in December have any effect on availability or pricing?

I think it was just a glitch in the estimator not showing all of the different Uber types. My understanding is that surge pricing isn't seasonal. You may have higher prices due to overall demand, to encourage drivers to pick up fares, but it is more temporal, for instance after a baseball game lets out there will be a surge for pickups around the vicinity of the ballpark. I think that the fares and availability that you see now will be pretty comparable to those around the holidays, but there may be certain times, in certain areas, where demand is high that pricing will increase until the demand goes down, or supply catches up.

 

[xtina!]

thank you mpadilla89 and Elima2015, this is super helpful! DH and I have used Uber without kids and love it. Sounds like these are both great options, just depends on whether we want to bring 2 car seats or not. We'll definitely be bringing at least one for the 2 year old on the plane.

 

[mummabear]

We rent a car, with 5 people it has been the most cost effective way and we find it the most convenient because we want to be able to easily head to Walmart etc