Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information Superthread (READ FIRST POST FOR OVERVIEW!)

Oh my goodness! Look at this thread go! I know I should probably update the original post, but I suspect that it would take a complete overhaul at this point. So much has changed with transportation options since I originally started this thread. Who knew how much Uber and Lyft would change the dynamics of public transportation?!? I'm so glad that people chime in on the thread to answer people's current questions. I know for my family of four with two adults and two teens, Uber and Lyft are our go-to methods of travel these days when we don't have our own car. But I will also say that I've used Lansky several times (though it's been a couple of years) and always thought they provided a quality service.
 
I used them through Get Away Today in December and had no issues. On our way to the hotel we were the only passengers which was nice. The kids ride free is a definite plus, it cost less as it did for me when I booked SS but then again it’s just two of us. Either way, they were great and I plan on using them again in summer. Their cars were nice and new on both rides too, very clean and comfy.
 
I used them through Get Away Today in December and had no issues. On our way to the hotel we were the only passengers which was nice. The kids ride free is a definite plus, it cost less as it did for me when I booked SS but then again it’s just two of us. Either way, they were great and I plan on using them again in summer. Their cars were nice and new on both rides too, very clean and comfy.

Thank you! Makes me feel better about possibly using them. The general reviews aren't that great, although better than Prime Time Shuttle.
 
We use Karmel everytime we land in LA to take us to Anaheim. I have booked both through their website and Get Away today. Get away today has a cheaper rate currently than Karmel's own website. Plus they have kids ride free. Karmel is great. Clean, easy, efficient. Once you land, you text or call their toll free number and they instruct you to stand right outside the baggage claim. They are usually at the curb to pick you up 20 minutes or so after you have picked up your bags. If you book with Get away today, they give you a voucher number. Then you call Karmel to give them your voucher number and flight information. I always recommend Karmel to friends or family who are travelling to Disneyland!

Thank you for the explanation! I did notice that Getaway Today was cheaper, but I worried about using a voucher since I had never heard of that done with shuttles.
 


Anyone been recently with Anaheim town car and can comment on the pricing? I have been online to look and I am confused about the pricing as it has leg one to fill in which has the price of $225 on it then when I get to leg two it has the same price of $225 dollars. Does that mean it is going to cost $450 return for the 3 of us or is is $225 for a return trip.?

I have been looking at Lansky and they have extra charges on top Additional 5% surcharge - LAX only (due to the LAX traffic, increase parking fee, trip ticket, etc) Additional $25.00 charge for international flight passenger's pick up from airport (except from Canada).
 
Thank you! Makes me feel better about possibly using them. The general reviews aren't that great, although better than Prime Time Shuttle.
See, this is the thing with general reviews..... people will complain, more than they will compliment when it comes to actually writing reviews. Can really distort things. We have used PrimeTime in the past (several times) with no issues and fine service.....even a few times, the only 2 people on the shuttle and we were taken directly to our hotel without waiting around. Same with Karmel lots of people reporting here about being satisfied and good service and yet, there are bad reviews..
take all general reviews with a grain of salt. thousands upon thousands of customers do not write up reviews when they are satisfied.
 
i just booked with anaheim town car from john wayne and it was 122 round trip, but i called to get the rate.
 


i just booked with anaheim town car from john wayne and it was 122 round trip, but i called to get the rate.
See, this is the thing with general reviews..... people will complain, more than they will compliment when it comes to actually writing reviews. Can really distort things. We have used PrimeTime in the past (several times) with no issues and fine service.....even a few times, the only 2 people on the shuttle and we were taken directly to our hotel without waiting around. Same with Karmel lots of people reporting here about being satisfied and good service and yet, there are bad reviews..
take all general reviews with a grain of salt. thousands upon thousands of customers do not write up reviews when they are satisfied.
I got scared away from those same reviews for karmel and prime, But if it were really was that bad they probably wouldt be in business, Plus Karmel is linke dwith getaway today and i doubt if they were that bad that they would associate with them, they both offer town car service is what i need, but anaheim town car had a goood rate and good reviews, Maybe ill use them in the future, but how is one to gauge whether a business is good or reliable especially when u dont want troubles while traveling
 
I used to use Super Shuttle all the time but I'm not surprised they went out of business. My last few trips with them in both NY & CA were absolutely horrible. In NY waited over 90 minutes to be picked up at the airport with a confirmed reservation and the driver was awful to us. My last trip to DL the ride back to LAX I believe the driver was either drunk or high. He was all over the road. The father of the family in the back seat kept asking the driver if he was OK. We were all in fear of our lives. I was never so glad to get to the airport & out of the vehicle. I've been checking this thread for who to book with & from what I've read I'll probably go with Karmel from SNA.
 
See, this is the thing with general reviews..... people will complain, more than they will compliment when it comes to actually writing reviews. Can really distort things. We have used PrimeTime in the past (several times) with no issues and fine service.....even a few times, the only 2 people on the shuttle and we were taken directly to our hotel without waiting around. Same with Karmel lots of people reporting here about being satisfied and good service and yet, there are bad reviews..
take all general reviews with a grain of salt. thousands upon thousands of customers do not write up reviews when they are satisfied.

Very good point. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Super Shuttle went under, I believe, due to the charges they were being forced to pay at LAX in particular - maybe this was also the case at other airports closer to DL such as SNA but I'm not sure. They were happy to help us get to our hotel even though we hadn't prebooked; just showed up at the new orange 'Shared Ride' area on the outside of the arrivals area.
 
I used to use Super Shuttle all the time but I'm not surprised they went out of business. My last few trips with them in both NY & CA were absolutely horrible. In NY waited over 90 minutes to be picked up at the airport with a confirmed reservation and the driver was awful to us. My last trip to DL the ride back to LAX I believe the driver was either drunk or high. He was all over the road. The father of the family in the back seat kept asking the driver if he was OK. We were all in fear of our lives. I was never so glad to get to the airport & out of the vehicle. I've been checking this thread for who to book with & from what I've read I'll probably go with Karmel from SNA.
Had this same experience with Karmel a couple of years ago- driver drove right over a curb onto a sidewalk, crossed 3 lanes of traffic, kept talking to himself and laughing. Looking back I can't believe we actually stayed in the vehicle (although I'm not sure what else we would have done?) since it was late at night and it was just myself, my mom and my daughter. Very scary.
 
Ok, I finally ended up booking Prime Time Shuttle for our trip 1/16-1/20. Twice as much as Super Shuttle, but cheaper than everything else I checked to/from LAX. I found a couple discount codes if anyone is interested. If it’s your 1st booking with them, “winter10” will get you $10.00 off. And the code “supersave” gets you $5.00 off. I booked my outbound & inbound separately, so I was able to use both codes & confirm they work (as of today at least).
Thanks!!! Do you know when these expire?
 
I'm considering XPress Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle for my trip to LAX...

I figure good/bad reviews are important but then most people will review it when it's bad and not when it's good. If they don't show up by the time they will, I'll just uber.
 
This is mainly for my fellow Super Shuttle peeps that are now wondering what to do transportation-wise.

Just wanted to come back and update with my Karmel experience his week. Getaway Today has a voucher for Karmel, and that helped me decide to go with this shuttle service -- that, and some positive reviews in this thread. I have had good experiences with GAT and figured they wouldn't be associated with Karmel if things were as bad as the general reviews proclaim.

I didn't actually use the voucher from GAT, since the price difference was only pennies. I decided it was best to just work directly with Karmel for my first time.

I made a reservation online for just myself (1 seat in a 9 passenger shared van for $30 + tip) to be picked up from LGB on Wednesday morning. One difference between SS and Karmel: Karmel tells you to collect your luggage AND THEN let them know you are ready to be picked up, as opposed to just showing up at a predetermined time. The day before my flight I received a text, confirming my reservation. When my plane landed I received a text welcoming me to Long Beach, with a "Ready to Go" link to click once I had picked up my luggage. I clicked the link after grabbing my bag and I received a response telling me the number of the vehicle that had been dispatched, and directing me to go to the island curb in the middle and wait for my driver. Three minutes later I received a call from the driver, asking where I was standing. I looked up and saw the shuttle pulling up right in front of the airport rather than in the island area, so I crossed back over and hopped in. (LGB is very small, and all ground transportation is right there in front of the outdoor baggage claim so there is really no question as to where you should be standing.)

I had a very friendly driver (who was playing an 80s station, which was getting me all geared up for 80s Nite...the whole reason I was there 🙂). I was the only passenger. He dropped me off at Best Western Park Place Inn and Suites. It was 50 minutes between the time I was picked up and the time I sneaked up behind my sister at Jolly Holiday and surprised her.

My sister had a different experience. She flew into SNA. She received a text the day before confirming her shuttle reservation ($19 + tip one way). She landed, and received no text from Karmel as stated would be the case in the original confirmation email, so she texted the company as directed in the email. Ten minutes later and still no text response back. She called (as email directed) and asked where they were. They told her they hadn't received a text from her. She explained that was because she hadn't received the "Ready to Go" link (as I did) - so of course they hadn't received a text from her. She ended up waiting 20 minutes for a driver. A couple in their 70s was booked with Karmel and they also had issues. My sister saw/heard the driver yelling. She wasn't sure if he was yelling at the couple, or someone else (he had an earpiece). When the couple got in the shuttle she asked if he had been yelling at them. He hadn't - he was yelling at whoever else he was communicating with, which appeared to be a coworker. My sister's experience left a bad taste in her mouth. (She is also a former Super Shuttle user.)

We both flew out of LGB the next day so I reserved a return trip for 2 on a 9 passenger shared van. Total was $60 + tip for the 2 of us. Our pick up time was 3:30pm, but we were directed to be waiting outside of the hotel lobby 15 minutes early. The shuttle arrived at 3:20. The driver had one more passenger to pick up right next door at Tropicana, but her pick up time wasn't until 3:50pm. The driver called her to see if she was ready. Fortunately she was at the crosswalk waiting to cross so we only had to wait a few minutes. Ride to the airport was pleasant and quick, driver was fine.

I will use Karmel again. My entire experience was great. My sister's experience left a little to be desired but she said she would use them again.

It is worth mentioning that kids ride free with a paying adult if you get the Karmel vouchers through Getaway Today. (1 kid per paying adult, I think.)

I also saw a couple of blue Super Shuttle vans picking up passengers at our hotel. The "Super Shuttle" had been painted over in blue, but I could still see the words. So it was a plain blue van, no other markings. Not sure who the company behind them is now. Just kind of weird to see.
 
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thanks @deejdigsdis I fly transatlantic to LAX and my brain is usually scrambled after a 10 hour flight, so I used to love just checking in with the Supershuttle agent and not having to text or call to confirm my arrival and pick up point. :(

It just means now that I have to switch out SIM cards on the plane and turn my phone back on and have it handy when I land. I also now need to make sure that I put my USA phone number on the booking, ugh this is so much more hassle
 
thanks @deejdigsdis I fly transatlantic to LAX and my brain is usually scrambled after a 10 hour flight, so I used to love just checking in with the Supershuttle agent and not having to text or call to confirm my arrival and pick up point. :(

It just means now that I have to switch out SIM cards on the plane and turn my phone back on and have it handy when I land. I also now need to make sure that I put my USA phone number on the booking, ugh this is so much more hassle
Oh right...I totally forgot about the phone number...
I usually buy a 30 day SIM card, which is just perfect for a 25 day vacation. But if I recall correctly I don’t get a phone number till I activate the SIM card and then the 30 days are running... I don’t know how I feel about booking only 1-2 days ahead of the journey... I definitely need to keep that phone number problem in my mind...

But Karmel is pretty expensive anyways... $173,40 for 3 adults from LAX in a shared van with AAA discount for a round trip without tip... That is quite expensive for a shared van in my opinion...(and the private one is even more expensive ($253)
 
Oh my goodness! Look at this thread go! I know I should probably update the original post, but I suspect that it would take a complete overhaul at this point. So much has changed with transportation options since I originally started this thread. Who knew how much Uber and Lyft would change the dynamics of public transportation?!? I'm so glad that people chime in on the thread to answer people's current questions. I know for my family of four with two adults and two teens, Uber and Lyft are our go-to methods of travel these days when we don't have our own car. But I will also say that I've used Lansky several times (though it's been a couple of years) and always thought they provided a quality service.
If you decide to just start a new superthread instead of trying an overhaul (might be easier in the long run), just let me know and I can close this thread so we can start fresh. Thank you so much for starting this thread! It has helped so many people. :)
 
Morning, this will be our first trip to Disneyland CA and I've been looking at transfers to our hotel from LAX, we were looking at the Disney Shuttle, but that's closed and then got recommended Lyft, but no I've been told that they don't do pick ups from LAX anymore.

Can any of you lovely DIS family help me?

There will only be 2 adults travelling from LAX to Fairfield Inn, opposite Disneyland, and then returning the following week. Happy to share just not sure where to look as there are so many different companies and recommendations are always helpful.

Thank you
 
Morning, this will be our first trip to Disneyland CA and I've been looking at transfers to our hotel from LAX, we were looking at the Disney Shuttle, but that's closed and then got recommended Lyft, but no I've been told that they don't do pick ups from LAX anymore.

Can any of you lovely DIS family help me?

There will only be 2 adults travelling from LAX to Fairfield Inn, opposite Disneyland, and then returning the following week. Happy to share just not sure where to look as there are so many different companies and recommendations are always helpful.

Thank you
Uber and Lyft do still pick up at LAX -- they just don't pick up curb side any longer. There is a designated pick up location, in the structure across from Terminal 1. (You will take a shuttle to the LAXit lot for taxis and ride share.) So ride share is definitely still an option for you. Lansky's Car Service is well liked here. They are pricier, but have very good service and reviews and include a short grocery stop on the way to your hotel (very convenient for picking up bottled water, snacks, fruit, etc. for your week long stay).
Ask any further questions in this thread -- and look over the last few pages for recent information, too -- you'll get good help here!
 

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