Taxi, shuttle, or other?

[mzspaz]

This is the last piece that I need to get in place for our trip in a few weeks.

We will be arriving at SNA on a Saturday afternoon and will then be traveling to the Disneyland Hotel.

There will be 2 adults and a 7 year old. I would like to do a town car, DH said a taxi would be fine, the 7 year old wants the lightning McQueen bus.

Looking for feedback on what would be the best option, one that is cost effective and relatively easy as this is our first trip to the west coast and I'm not sure how everyone will be feeling after a long flight and a time change.

Thanks!

 

[SMD]

A town car makes sense from LAX because a taxi is over $100 anyway. At SNA a taxi is only $45 flat rate, but a town car isn't going to be half as much as it would from LAX, unfortunately. But the problem you run into with a taxi or shuttle, is that if a 7 year old is is under 56 inches you have to provide a car seat. Some town cars will provide one. The large buses are exempt, so you don't need one.

 

[mzspaz]

Thanks SMD....that is great information! The 7 year old is only 50 inches. He may just get his wish for the Lightning McQueen bus!

 

[Geemo]

I go by taxi. I ask the driver what the flat rate is. It ranges from $40 to $45 for a trip from SNA to the DLR area.

We have done a variety of transport options over the years. Once I found out about the flat rate, a taxi is our choice now.

With a taxi there is less waiting. You walk out to the transportation center across the street from baggage claim and there's a line-up waiting.

We've used a taxi mini-van for 6people, with 2bags each. There was plenty of room for all. Can't beat the price for getting that many people to the hotel.

Have a fun trip.

Geemo

 

[mzspaz]

Thanks Geemo! I like the idea of the car waiting and a flat fee....but I guess we would have an issue with the car seat for the 7 year old. I don't plan on lugging a car seat all the way across the country.

 

[Aladora]

Thanks Geemo! I like the idea of the car waiting and a flat fee....but I guess we would have an issue with the car seat for the 7 year old. I don't plan on lugging a car seat all the way across the country.

At 7 years old, you would need a booster seat in a taxi or shuttle not a car seat, unless your 7 year old is quite tiny. Our 9 year old still uses a backless booster here at home and we will likely bring it on our trip in February. All airlines will check your child's booster free of charge, at least I have yet to find one that will not.

To answer your original question, we used to take a shuttle from SNA but switched to taking a taxi on our last three trips. The difference in price was only around $15 and the convenience of taking a taxi outweighed the difference in cost for us.

 

[lalasmama]

Thanks Geemo! I like the idea of the car waiting and a flat fee....but I guess we would have an issue with the car seat for the 7 year old. I don't plan on lugging a car seat all the way across the country.

Booster seats are considered a "free" carry-on (they don't count against your carry-on limits). They can't be used on the plane, so it will just be placed in the overhead bin. My DD is a bit older (10), but a skinny light-weight (54", 66 lbs), and doesn't fit in a regular seatbelt in a lot of cars, so we take the booster with us on vacation. She's able to carry it herself, but, even easier, is just using a bungee cord to connect it to our rolling carry-on suitcase. Some other people like a "Bubble Bum" booster seat (bubblebum.co/us/) is an inflatable booster seat. Easy peasy and safe to use!

We used to do the Disneyland Resort Express, but more than once I've waited 2 hours at LAX waiting for it, and we've had them try to charge us differently than other customers, which seems to be a common experience. I'm just not a fan of them now. We won't get into the stops/drop-offs that change based on the driver....

 

[mystic_path]

TAXI TAXI TAXI!!!! From SNA you will get a flat rate of about $45 and it takes you directly to your hotel. No waiting around for anyone else to fill up a van or bus be dropped off before you for a similar price. Cabs are constantly lined up outside the SNA airport. Just ask for one and off you go.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Would SNA be a better choice for a flight to MCO after spending a few days in Disneyland, instead of going back to LAX?

 

[starjazz]

Prime Time Shuttle says car seats are recommended, but not required.

 

[palenskec]

Check out Payless Shuttle. We just used them (from LBG) and they provided a car seat or booster for no extra charge (it was a Britax), and was clean and quick and not a shared service. A little more than a taxi, but we didn't want to bring a car seat either.

 

[mzspaz]

Thanks for the suggestion to take his booster seat along. I forgot about doing that. We did that on our last trip to WDW and it worked well so we might just do that this time and then just hop in a taxi!

 

[starjazz]

Check out Payless Shuttle. We just used them (from LBG) and they provided a car seat or booster for no extra charge (it was a Britax), and was clean and quick and not a shared service. A little more than a taxi, but we didn't want to bring a car seat either.

Very nice - yeah, they apparently will hit SNA and LAX as well. We are getting a quote for our group of 9 from SNA. Hoping they are comparably priced cuz I don't want to lug booster seats around just for the to/from the airport.

 

[kerouac5]

I guess we're horrible parents.

We just all hopped in a cab (our boys are 4 and 6) and they took us to the hotel. no thought to booster seats or carseats, and no one batted an eye.

 

[bumbershoot]

I guess we're horrible parents. We just all hopped in a cab (our boys are 4 and 6) and they took us to the hotel. no thought to booster seats or carseats, and no one batted an eye.

Glad that you didn't get into an accident. Apart from whatever medical problems would have ensued, there would have been legal ones as well for not following the strict CA car seat laws.

 

[TheChapman6]

Glad that you didn't get into an accident. Apart from whatever medical problems would have ensued, there would have been legal ones as well for not following the strict CA car seat laws.

That was super rude. I did the same thing with my 7 and 9 year old. We stayed on property so we only were in a car to and from the airport no sense in lugging 2 booster seats. I highly doubt they there would be legal problems from not having a child in a booster seat.

 

[Aladora]

That was super rude. I did the same thing with my 7 and 9 year old. We stayed on property so we only were in a car to and from the airport no sense in lugging 2 booster seats. I highly doubt they there would be legal problems from not having a child in a booster seat.

I hate to disagree, but the California car seat law clearly states that children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat of a car. While your 9 year old is able to sit in the car without a booster seat, unless your 7 year old is taller than 4 foot 9, he or she would need a booster seat.

The person who took their 4 and 6 year olds in the car without either a car or booster seat was absolutely doing something against the law. The law is pretty clear.

California Law (Effective 01/01/2012):

Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat.

Children under the age of 8 who are 4' 9" or taller may be secured by a safety belt in the back seat.

Children who are 8 years and over shall be properly secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint system or safety belt.

Passengers who are 16 years of age and over are subject to California's Mandatory Seat Belt law.

 

[DizMe]

It sounds like you're staying at DLH. If so, for your return to the airport, ask for a flat rate taxi voucher before you leave (I like to get it ahead of time so I don't have to worry about it the day we leave). It's $35 to SNA and the taxis are waiting right outside the hotel--no need to phone ahead.

 

[starjazz]

To and from the airport involves interstate driving. In California. I'm gonna be sure I either bring car seats, or the company i use provides them.

However, I'm also not gonna call out any other parents for doing something different.

It was just something I hadn't thought of when I started looking at shuttle services.