Shuttle/Taxi From L.A. - Questions

[Sherry E]

I look to you all, my knowledgeable Disney friends, to share your facts and figures. I have a tentative trip to DLR in the works for December 26 - 29. Whether or not we go depends on a lot of factors that have to be examined between now and then, and there are also several options on the table to alter the plan in terms of hotel choice or number of days, etc. so it could change substantially in the next month and a half.

Anyway, one of the things that I definitely want to do IF the plan stays as is, is to do a VERY early pre-check in at the hotel on Friday, Dec. 26th. I mean EARLY - like before most people are up and about. We did it last year just before Christmas, right around 6:30 a.m., and I have a feeling the 26th will be crazy busy this year, so a pre-check-in would be crucial to saving us time standing in line in the lobby when the masses begin to arrive later. I would want to get there by 6:00 a.m. I live up in L.A., kind of near Beverly Hills/Miracle Mile area. I don't have a car. My friends and I usually go to DLR together, but this year there is a SLIGHT chance my friend will not be able to get to DLR until later in the day. I don't want to wait until the afternoon. I would want to just get down there at 6:00 a.m. and get the paperwork taken care of and out of the way, and store my bags until the room is ready. I have to find a way to get down to DLR from home. I am not going to bother with the train and getting to the train station at that time of the morning. I just want to leave straight from home.

So, I know there are tons of shuttle services and taxis, but the shuttles I have checked with either won't pick me up from my home and bring me straight to DLR - they are airport-centered only - OR if they are willling to take me to DLR from my home, they are charging something outrageous like $150 for ONE WAY, not including tips, which seems awfully expensive to travel from Beverly Hills to DLR. Most taxi companies I find will not give a flat rate and are very vague about even the approximate costs to get from L.A. to DLR. They may not be any cheaper than $150, but I couldn't leave it to chance and get down there, only to find that my taxi tab is $200 or something!!! Does anyone know of a shuttle company that will pick up from residences, go straight to DLR and not charge an arm and a leg, OR a taxi company that will give a flat rate or a decent rough estimate? I thought Karmel Shuttle wouldbe my answer because they used to do things like that years ago and charge maybe $80 for one way to DLR, but not now. They are one of the companies that would charge $150!!!

This trip may not even happen, but I need to be prepared if it does!

 

[Gisele]

Why not Amtrak? it does not take very long from L.A. Then take a cab to Disneyland. In the meantime, I will keep any eye out (not sure which one right now ha ha! ) for this type of information.

 

[Sherry E]

I would consider Amtrak if I were going at a later time in the day, on a less busy weekend. But, as it is, I am going to have get up super early in the morning (like 3:00 a.m. or earlier) to finish packing my stuff and get myself together just to be ready to be picked up and get down to DLR at 6:00 a.m. We would have to leave my place at 5:15 a.m. to get there at 6:00 a.m. Struggling with getting myself down to the train station - which is nowhere near me - and then onto the train with baggage and then waiting for a taxi once down in Anaheim is more trouble than I am willing to go through at that time of the morning. I would literally have almost no sleep the night before!

For this specific trip - if the trip happens at all - it will have to be a shuttle or a taxi, directly from home. I still think my friend is not going to have to work on the 26th as she fears she will, because it is right between Christmas and the weekend, so the shuttle/taxi idea will just be an emergency back-up plan for me. But there MUST be one that will pick me up directly from home and take me one way to DLR without charging $150!!!

Thanks for the suggestion, Gisele - and if you come up with any good shuttle or taxi ideas, let me know!

 

[Gisele]

Have you asked for any suggestions from the companies that you have called for which services will or might work out for you? The way I figure it, surely someone will drive from L.A. to Anaheim, without charging $150.00 one way. That just sounds like such a ridiculous amount to me. Do you know anyone that might commute into Anaheim in the early a.m.? Maybe a friend or neighbor can give you a ride, for a fair price? Maybe just for the cost of gasoline?

 

[Sherry E]

Have you asked for any suggestions from the companies that you have called for which services will or might work out for you? The way I figure it, surely someone will drive from L.A. to Anaheim, without charging $150.00 one way. That just sounds like such a ridiculous amount to me. Do you know anyone that might commute into Anaheim in the early a.m.? Maybe a friend or neighbor can give you a ride, for a fair price? Maybe just for the cost of gasoline?

You are thinking along my lines - I thought of that option as well. It is a tricky time of year, though, because certain friends and neighbors I know are out of town for that whole weekend until Sunday the 28th, so a lot of folks will not be around!! Otherwise, that is exactly what I would do! I am going to keep brainstorming though, JUST IN CASE I need to do this. I still don't think I will need it, but I have to be ready just in case. I don't know when Karmel Shuttle became so outrageous in their pricing. Maybe 5 years ago, they quoted me a price of $80 if I ever need to go to DLR. How it jumped to $150 in five years is beyond me!!! That IS ridiculous - you are right!

 

[Gisele]

It might be easier just to hitch hike j/k although.........

 

[Sherry E]

It might be easier just to hitch hike j/k although.........

I know! And if the neighbors and friends I have who live in SoCal were in town that day, they would likely take me for free, though they may not be happy about leaving that early in the morning! I am going to call Karmel Shuttle again and talk to someone different, maybe in a few weeks or so. That rate just sounds TOO high for one way, and I wonder if the guy who quoted that knew what he was talking about. I mean, I know gas prices are high and the economy is in a slump and all, but still....

 

[Sherry E]

You know something I just now thought of - I wonder if DLR would know of a good service? I imagine the concierges at the three DLR hotels get asked all sorts of transportation-related questions and are probably accustomed to answering them, since they deal with people from all over the world on a daily basis. They might actually be able to give me a lead. I know if I were already down there at DLR and had to ask the concierge or Guest Services about a good shuttle or taxi service to take me back to L.A., they would probably have some sort of solution, but the question is, can they answer me when I am still up here in L.A. and have to get down there??

 

[Gisele]

I was thinking too, that perhaps Disneyland's Guest Services or one of their hotel concierges could give good suggestions on that subject. I do not see why that would not be possible. I would give them both a call.

 

[Gisele]

How far are you from LAX? I am reading the information for L.A.'s Yellow Cab service, these fares look o.k.

http://www.layellowcab.com/rates.html

 

[Gisele]

http://www.877yellowcab.com/

 

[Sherry E]

How far are you from LAX? I am reading the information for L.A.'s Yellow Cab service, these fares look o.k.

http://www.layellowcab.com/rates.html

I am probably about 20 minutes from LAX. Not too close. About ten miles, roughly. The taxi/shuttle companies would consider my area to be closest to Beverly Hills, even though it is not exactly right in the heart of Bev. Hills, but it is close. And the problem with a lot of these shuttle and taxi companies is that they use LAX as a landmark to estimate a price, and then they only know how to charge based on trips to and from LAX. They get all confused when they have to figure out a rate for another part of Los Angeles, and they end up overcharging!!! I also had one place many years ago just lump me in with the LAX rates, even though I am not close enough to LAX to cost the same! I think I will check with DLR and see if they have any ideas. Again, they must get asked tranportation questions on a daily basis and perhaps they have a better lead than what I came up with!

Oh, and thanks for the links to the Yellow Cab page, Gisele!

 

[Gisele]

What if those cab services charged from your home to LAX then then charge the flat rate from LAX to Disneyland. Maybe it won't cost too much, and it will not confuse the drivers.

 

[Sherry E]

What if those cab services charged from your home to LAX then then charge the flat rate from LAX to Disneyland. Maybe it won't cost too much, and it will not confuse the drivers.

That sounds like an idea that could work. I am weighing all options at this point, but I am curious to see what DLR says, and if they have any good companies they refer guests to. Even if I don't need to do this in December, it might be good to know for future reference!

 

[Gisele]

So many cab services, so many confused drivers. That does not make for good sense. It may cost less to hire a limo.

 

[Quest4fun]

6AM is a pretty tall order if you're going to depend on somebody else for a ride.

If you have a driver's license I'd recommend renting a car. You can get a compact for next to nothing. You'd most likely have to rent one for three days to make an early arrival at the park and spend the whole day there but you're still looking at less than $100 if you go with a cheap rental company.

Rent a Wreck in Los Angeles is fantastic. Don't let the name fool you. They use slightly older cars (by a year or two) but they're not junkers.

I'd tell you check out my sticky thread on Southern California navigation but I'm not popular enough on the DIS for that.

Your only other option is to take a cab or hire a private car. The former is a little less expensive but not that much.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you drive and have insurance, I wondered if you have looked into something like zipcar.com?

And as quest mentioned, rent a wreck isn't bad at all. I once got a caddie (not what I wanted, but oh well) for the price other places were charging for Geo Metros.


I'm going to PM you info that I got from a cab driver yesterday.

Oh by the way, at the Anaheim train station, there are cabs waiting out there. Even at 7 in the AM. It was scary, but VERY easy. And the cab fare was just over 13 (though the cabbie had negotiated a flat rate with me before that, and only turned on his meter to show me that he wasn't highballing the estimate) to Disneyland Hotel (would have been 11 or 12 if he had dropped me at the gates, but I wanted to see if DLH would hold my bags for the day (they would NOT)). That's just in case you ever do want to try Amtrak. I went from San Diego to Anaheim on "guest rewards" points, all earned from HoJo Anaheim stays!