Transportation from LAX

[OnePrincessMom]

We will be landing at LAX at 1 pm on Monday 8/31. I was planning to take the Grayline Disneyland Resort Express, mainly because it seems to be cheapest (daughter is still 11 so therefore free). If we land at 1 (hopefully we'll be on time), would we catch the bus at 2? Does it run hourly or is it more like just wait for the next one? Of course we want to get to the park quickly, and I believe the DLH is the first stop, do you think we could be there by 3:30 or so? Thanks!!

 

[offwithyourhead]

I would call gray line to be sure. They can tell you exactly what you need based on when your flight gets in, the hotel you're staying at, etc.

Also posting the cost of your trip with gray line and how many adults/kids you'll be with can help us tell you if there's any cheaper or better options timewise for you

 

[BadPinkTink]

Have you checked out Supershuttle? I am just back from a Disney / LA trip and I used them several times on my trip. They cost $17 per adult from LAX to Disney.

LAX is basically a horseshoe shape, with many pick up areas. Most transport give a pick up time for Terminal one, as the traffic is one way system and at times it can take over 30 minutes to get from Terminal 1 at one end of the horseshoe to Terminal 6 at the other end of the horseshoe.

Once out of the LAX backlog of traffic it can take up to 1 hour to get to Disney, depending on the time of day and traffic.

My advice is just go with the flow and don't stress about being on a schedule on your arrival day. Contact Greyline and ask them where the pick up point is for your arriving terminal. They will probably give you an estimated time of pick up. Dont start stressing about the transport being late or getting caught in the LAX traffic, you will get to Disney, but in LA time

 

[OnePrincessMom]

Also posting the cost of your trip with gray line and how many adults/kids you'll be with can help us tell you if there's any cheaper or better options timewise for you

It is one adult and one eleven year old, looks like $38 round trip with coupon from Orange County visitors center, which sounds pretty good.

 

[OnePrincessMom]

My advice is just go with the flow and don't stress about being on a schedule on your arrival day. Contact Greyline and ask them where the pick up point is for your arriving terminal. They will probably give you an estimated time of pick up. Dont start stressing about the transport being late or getting caught in the LAX traffic, you will get to Disney, but in LA time

Good advice, I will try my best!!

 

[lalasmama]

You can *hope* to get on Greyline at the time they say, but be forewarned that they don't necessarily run on time... Apparently the last time I took it, I must have just missed one... and waited nearly 2 hours before the next one came! When I called at 75 minutes of waiting to see when the next one was due, I was told "they should be there any moment now" and they were still another 30+ minutes.

Like the PP said, just "go with the flow." It's much easier to go with the glow instead of worrying about the time that the bus will arrive.

If you hit traffic, the drive from LAX to DLR can be up to 2 hours. Unfortunately, it's taken us that long more than once...

And all the unknowns time-wise is why we avoid going to Disneyland on our arrival day. Just too much frustration and anxiety on each/any delays!

 

[OnePrincessMom]

I just read reviews on Yelp for both Disneyland Resort Express and Super Shuttle and now I am nervous about relying on either one

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

What times of the day have the most traffic?

 

[PatMcDuck]

I wanted to use Uber, but they cannot pick up at the airport? I arrive August 9.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I've never had an issue with the Greyline, for what it's worth. My kid looks forward to the "orange bus" and it has wifi on board, which is handy. I tend to go at slow times of year, but it's usually pretty empty as well, so lots of room to spread out.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I have never had an issue with Super Shuttle. I used them last year and several times to and from the airport on the trip I have just returned from. I would never go by those Yelp reviews, many times I think people have unrealistic expectations and don't realise the hell on earth that LAX traffic can be. If you are waiting at Terminal 5 for example, it is possible that the transport company gave an estimated pick up time for Terminal 1 and it takes 30 minutes for the bus to get from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5. First time visitors don't understand the one way traffic system and may expect to be picked up at the exact time the transport company said, which is unrealistic.

On the other side, Super Shuttle is a shared ride transport. It is very clear during the booking system that the shuttle will be picking up at other hotels. You are given a pick up window, which means that you may be picked up at any time during that window and you may have to pick up other passengers before the journey to the airport. Again peoples expectations of a shared ride transport may be very different from the reality.

People only leave YELP reviews when they have a negative experience. I would put more faith in DIS Board members and their experiences, than random YELP reviewers

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We've used Super Shuttle countless times and have always been very happy. Don't trust Yelp "reviewers", I think you'll be fine either way but LA traffic can just be horrible so keep that in mind.

 

[NannyBeBe]

We used Disneyland Express both ways this past week and were very pleased with the service.

 

[GoBears 1980]

I haven't used SuperShuttle for many, many years due to some bad experiences, but I've had good luck with their Execucar division.

Disneyland Resort Express gets pretty positive reviews, so do Karmel, Zippy and 4Most Coach.

 

[taffy]

WE always take the DLR Express and have always been happy. I have never had to wait more than 10 mins over the stated time. Here is a link to all the info you need. http://www.graylineanaheim.com/docs/DRE Brochure.pdf

I have taken Super Shuttle when traveling alone but usually stick with the DLRE as I find it more reliable as the SS can depend more on the driver and how quickly they fill up a Van.

 

[librarygeek]

Thanks for this post and everyone's experiences! We are actually arriving the same day as you and trying to figure out which method of transportation to use (2 adults). I will be looking into these!

 

[maltdizzy]

What times of the day have the most traffic?

In L.A.?!? There is a local saying, "20 minutes or two hours depending on traffic" when people has how long it takes to get anywhere. L.A traffic is not exaggerated, though can usually be bypassed completely on surface streets....L.A. is far from the worst traffic in the country (the D.C. metro area ranks #1), but the sure size of greater L.A. can mean backups that go on for 60 miles.

Like any metro area, it's worse during rush hour times, for heading west from LAX to DLR, that's usually the evenings. A typical trip from LAX to DLR by car is usually ~35 minutes with no traffic. On a Monday, at mid-day, it should take you less than a hour. Buses get to use the carpool lanes.

 

[emsstacey]

I booked Super Shuttle's ExecuCar service for later this month. I'll update with our experience!

 

[4Siamese]

here is the link for the info on pickup times, both from LAX and the hotels for your return trip.

http://www.graylineanaheim.com/airport_info.cfm

At that time of day they have a bus running every hour and the posted time for pickup is x:45, if you have a 1 pm arrival you would catch the 1:45 bus. We had a very similar arrival time (1pm) during our trip in April. we had no issues getting to the pick up zone for the 1:45pm time. At that time of day (barring something unforeseen) the trip should take just a hair over 1 hr.

We have always had a good experience using grayline disneyland express.

 

[lalasmama]

In L.A.?!? There is a local saying, "20 minutes or two hours depending on traffic" when people has how long it takes to get anywhere.

I just need to say, "Thanks!" for the giggle. It made me think back to my youth, when "Clueless" was my favorite movie, and at one point the main character, Cher, is being told by her dad be home in 20 minutes, and, when she argues, he says, "Everywhere in LA takes 20 minutes!"