Disneyland Transportation
Should you fly or drive to Disneyland? Rent a car or use Uber? In this Disneyland transportation guide, we’ll answer these questions for you. We’ve put this together based on our first-hand experiences visiting Anaheim dozens of times as tourists, and living in Southern California as locals. Here are pros and cons to each approach, as we’ve discovered, so we will share the good and the bad of each transportation option as it relates to Disneyland, and visiting Southern California, generally.
Let’s start with the threshold question of whether you should fly or drive, which is probably not even a question for most of you. If you live on the East Coast or Midwest, the answer to this should be relatively easy. Driving to California for many is time-prohibitive, so flying is the de facto way of getting to Disneyland. Those living in California or the surrounding states may choose to drive, but sometimes it’s even more efficient for these guests to fly.
Unfortunately, there is no one-size fits all answer. Weigh the cost of airfare times the number of people in your party versus the cost of driving. However, don’t stop there. Driving takes longer, so consider how much more time it will take to fly and add the value of your time, and also the wear and tear on your car, to the cost of driving.
For example, if it’s just you and your wife traveling, and airfare will cost $250 round trip for each of you, whereas gas will cost $150, don’t assume you’d be better off driving because the cost is $500 v. $100. Also ascribe a value to your vacation time. I value each day of my vacation as my salary for one day at work. You may value your time differently, but factor it in somehow.
Same with vehicle wear and tear; this should be a per-mile cost. If it would take three full days of your vacation to drive to and from Disneyland, but only one full day to fly, and you value each day of your vacation at $100 for each of you, that’s $400 more to add to the cost of driving. Wear and tear to your vehicle would probably be offset by transportation costs once you get to SoCal if you don’t have a car.
At that point, flying would have the same cost as driving, so you might want to tip the scales in the favor of your preferred way of getting there. As you’ll read below, you likely won’t need a car at Disneyland, so don’t choose driving just because you want to have your car at Disneyland.
Flying to Disneyland
As for airfare being too expensive, before coming to this conclusion, make sure to do your research. Use ITASoftware and Expedia to search all airlines, and multiple area airports. All airports are relatively close to Disneyland, and sometimes LGB or BUR ends up having cheaper flights than LAX or SNA.
My personal favorite is SNA, also known as John Wayne, and not just because John Wayne is a national treasure. John Wayne is the closest airport to Disneyland and typically has the best prices. Plus, it has a statue of John Wayne by baggage claim!
For more information on the pros & cons of each airport, read our Airports Near Disneyland post. It will help you choose the best–not just the cheapest–option. There are a lot of factors to consider.
Ground Transportation
Renting a car at the airport is one option. You can read about the pros and cons of in the next section. The alternative, if you don’t plan on renting a car, is taking a taxi, or limo to your hotel. The driving distance from John Wayne Airport in Orange County (SNA) to Disneyland is around 20-30 minutes, which makes any of these options fairly easy.
The big change for Disneyland transportation as of early 2020 is that shared shuttles are no longer an option. Both SuperShuttle and Disneyland Express have ceased operations from the three Disneyland-area airports. For us, this is not a huge deal as Uber and Lyft are infinitely superior and roughly the same price from Orange County’s airport, but others with unique circumstances may have more of an issue.
As noted above, our recommendation is using Uber or Lyft. From LAX, Uber will likely cost around $50-70, depending upon traffic. From SNA, Uber will likely cost around $20-35. This depends upon traffic, so your amounts may vary, but should be in these ranges.
If you’re new to the Uber or Lyft scene, you can get a free ride by signing up via this link for Uber (or use code tomb3417 if the link doesn’t work) or a free ride on Lyft via this link (or code tom291882). Note that those credits will not cover the entire cost of the ride.
We used to discuss using a taxi in this section, but at this point, Uber is less than half the price of a taxi, considerably more reliable, and a much more pleasant experience. There’s really no upside to a taxi, so we no longer recommend them for anyone except those who don’t have smartphones.
Should You Rent A Car?
Some people can’t travel anywhere without having a vehicle at their disposal. We aren’t like that, but we can understand others always wanting a rental car. If you’ve already chosen to drive to Disneyland, you’ll have your own car. Be aware that most off-site hotels in the Disneyland area charge for parking. Plus, even if you drive to Disneyland, you’ll still want to stay as close as possible to Disneyland to avoid dealing with the SoCal transportation grid.
Transportation at Disneyland is very different from transportation at Walt Disney World. Whereas Walt Disney World is spread out requiring some form of transportation to get around the resort, Disneyland is compact and can easily be canvased by foot. The distance from the front entrance of Disneyland (park) to the front entrance of Disney California Adventure is only about 100 yards.
Downtown Disney is just as close to both of them. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa has its own entrance to Disney California Adventure. Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel overlooks the Paradise Pier area of Disney California Adventure. Disneyland Hotel is adjacent to Downtown Disney. The entire resort has a very small footprint. At Disneyland, your feet are always the best form of transportation.
Since you can easily find a cheap hotel within walking distance of Disneyland, and since many hotels charge for parking, there is no cost-savings to renting a car. So, although the ride from the airport will cost money, and although hotels slightly farther away from Disneyland will be cheaper, the cost of the rental car, plus the cost of parking at your hotel and/or parking at Disneyland will undoubtedly be more expensive than taking an Uber or Lyft and staying at a slightly more expensive hotel within walking distance of Disneyland.
The real reason to rent a car is if you want one or if Disneyland is just one stop in your California trip. It’s difficult to visit other Southern California attractions without a rental car (although not impossible) as you have to rely upon public transportation or taxis. The cost of taxis can add up quickly, and the time wasted in relying upon public transportation makes a compelling case for getting a rental car. If you do elect to rent a car, we recommend Hotwire.com (look for their “Our Lowest Price” special car rate) and Costco.
As stated above, we recommend staying in a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland even if you do decide to rent a car. These hotels can be found for as little as $89/night, and walking to Disneyland Resort is much more convenient than relying on the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) system, public transportation, your hotel’s shuttle, or driving to Disneyland and parking there. To help choose the right hotel for you, refer to our Disneyland hotel guide.
In the event that you do choose a hotel a little farther away from the parks to save more money, ART is a viable option. These buses have stops right in front of many popular hotels, and ART drops you off directly at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. In addition to the parks, ART connects you to restaurants, shopping, dining, and other destinations in the area, including the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, and Orange.
You can purchase ART tickets via kiosks with credit cards or cash, or with cash on-board. You can also purchase ART passes at participating hotels, or online in advance.
Back when we were tourists, our preferred way to visit Disneyland was by flying into John Wayne/Orange County Airport and taking Uber to our hotel. We’d be sure to book a hotel that was right across the street from Disneyland’s Esplanade (so, around a 5 minute walk to Disneyland), and costs $120/night or less. We would not rent a car, but if we do decide to visit somewhere else in Southern California, we’d utilize Uber. Most of our trips were Disneyland-only, so that was the most convenient option.
Now that we are locals, most of this obviously does not apply to us, personally, but we’ve learned a lot in the process of living in California. One big thing is that there’s a wealth of things to see and do here. From the ocean to downtown Los Angeles to the studios in Burbank and far, far more. This can make having a rental car really nice. However, we realize that’s one of those “do as we say, not as we do” things. If we were still tourists heading to Disneyland, we know it would be hard to pull ourselves from the parks. In that case, avoiding the hassle of a rental car is still ideal. As they say, your mileage may vary. 😉
Hopefully by using this guide along with your personal preferences and circumstances, you can determine the type of transportation best for you to utilize while at Disneyland. As with all things on this site, your mileage may vary!
As for figuring out the rest of your Disneyland trip, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, the best restaurants for dining at Disneyland, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Trip Planning Guide!
Your Thoughts…
What tips do you have for Disneyland transportation? Do you recommend renting a car, or just walking? Any questions about getting to Disneyland or around Anaheim? Share your thoughts in the comments!
One thing not mentioned here is car seats. The state of California requires children to be properly restrained until the age of 7. This includes shuttles, taxis, and Uber. I called the shuttle company and was advised if we did not have a car seat the driver is required to turn us away.
So plan on renting or taking a car seat for the little ones!
Yes! This is why we will likely use a bus (Disneyland Express) since I am not planning on carting our car seat.
I just booked a super shuttle from lax to the Grand California for the non stop business car, for 4 people for $72 (not including tip), one way. This will be for a Friday in July.
It’s a little bit annoying, if you try to exit the page, it says if you book now, you get 5% off, and as I was going to book, I clicked that button, and it did not calculate a 5% decrease.
How about Amtrak transportation to Disneyland? Is there transportation from the train station to the parks?
Thank you for your information. I have also planned a Disneyland trip with my husband and now i will take care about all these things to saving bucks and all.
I’m currently booking my first trip to Disneyland in California, and am trying to get a shuttle from LAX to our hotel. I went to the SuperShuttle site you recommended, but it’s going to cost $96 for 2 of us roundtrip. Does that sound accurate? The article I read suggested about $10 per person, per trip. I feel like this is high and that I might be doing something wrong. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!
Look for a shared shuttle via SuperShuttle. Sounds like you were pricing out a private car.
Nope, SuperShuttle prices must have went up. I was just quoted $78 round trip from LAX to Disneyland for 1 person.
You say you prefer to book a hotel about 5 minutes away for less than $90 a night. I’ve read through your hotel posts, but what is your number one recommendation. We’re two pathetically tiny young twenty something girls traveling alone, so we prefer not to be in the “scary” category, but we also don’t need anything fancy!
Can you take an Uber from LAX to a Disneyland area hotel and if so what is the rough cost?
We are a large family renting a house within 2 miles from Disney. We are planning on driving there and parking at Disneyland (two vans in all). Half of us plan on resting for a few hours during the day and head back to our rental. It would be great to just catch a taxi back ‘home’ and schedule a pickup/dropoff for returning later. Are there regular taxis that have car seats for children? If not, is there in/out priveledges for parking?
Just a quick comment – thanks by the way for this fabulous in depth site about Disneyland and all the Disney parks!
In planning the trip I will be taking with a 4 year old come Saturday morning, I found that the Disneyland Resort Express is indeed more expensive than the Super Shuttle – but only if you have all adults. The Disneyland Resort Express (run by Grayline) is $35 round trip for one adult (from SNA), and you can have up to 3 children for free. So…if you’re just one adult with a child or two then it is less expensive than taking Super Shuttle ($11 each way for all parties unless under the age of 3). Just in case there are some single parents out there with a child or two or three 🙂
Just was going to say the same thing, but also undercovertourist.com recently started selling discount tickets for the Disneyland Resort Express so it was only a couple dollars more than super shuttle for us from LAX. But I thought it was more convenient knowing we would be one of the first stops whereas you have no idea how long the other shuttles could take.
Thanks for the undercovertourist tip. Saves a few bucks anyway (churros!). Already have to use the shuttle to avoid needing a booster seat, so why not?
Great advice, but we have both walked to and from our hotel and used the ART (Anaheim Transport System). In my experience, with all of the walking that you are going to be doing at the parks, using the ART is the best option unless you are staying right across the street. We usually stay within 1-1.5 miles (La Quinta) and have never had a problem with ART. buy the week pass so that you can ride unlimited from the hotel front desk. Also we recently discovered that if you are disabled there is a discounted pass available for you. The disability pass can be purchased at a kiosk to the far right before going through the inspection terminals. It’s kinda tricky to see but it is there. Just let the ART driver know that you are purchasing that pass at the park, he will need to see your disability ID, but there should be no problem riding that first time without the pass.
Rental cars are also good for the all important pilgrimage to In-N-Out! But I totally agree with you – if you’re staying at or near the resort, a car is a real inconvenience.
Hi Tom,
First, thank you for providing such an amazing and informative blog! I truly enjoy readng it, learning, and seeing comments from other Disney fans.
Quick question on the transportation, for whomever can give their advice or personal experience. We are flying for the first time to Disneyland California, and will not be getting a rental car. I’ve been goin to various shuttle/limo/and cab websites to figure out what the best cost vs convenience. (Personally, I myself am leaing more towards convenince.)
Ironically (to me anyway), the taxi cab is the cheapest, coming in at $38.00 from SNA John Wayne to our hotel. That’s for 4 people too. Limo was way expensive, and the shared shuttl would be around $30.00. The taxi is looking good to me at this point.
What are your experiences with the taxi cabs in the Disneyland area?
I’ve only had one taxi cab ride in my whole life,and it was terrifying. I was 16, parentless in Chigago with a group of other teenagers competing for scholarships. I swore I would never ride in another taxi. Haha
Thank you 🙂
Sara, don’t know if you still need the info or not, but from SNA (Orange County, a.k.a. John Wayne Airport), take the Disneyland Resort Express (google it). I have had very good luck with them, both from SNA and LAX. Kids ride free. You don’t have to have a booster on a bus, so you don’t have to worry there. Easy, clean, convenient. I’m so jealous of your trip, hope you have a magical time! (I’m not getting to go this year 🙁
Coming for just the day. Need transportation from Orange County Airport to Disneyland and the from Disneyland back to Orange County Airport all in the same day. Will be traveling wig husband and 5yr old, who needs a booster. Thanks for any help you can send my way.
Tom,
This will be my first trip to DL after 10 trips over the last 7 years to WDW. We will be spending the first two days at DL/DCA, then jumping around to some of the other amusement parks and attractions before spending our last day at DL/DCA once again. That said, I like the idea of the SuperShuttle from the airport, especially when we won’t need a car at least for the first two days. After that however, are there any car rental places right near DL/DCA that you know of? We’re potentially going to stay at one of your recommended hotels or the Quality Inn right there for the entirety of our trip. Any help or recommendations you can provide are appreciated – we’re planning on going near the second week of August, 2014, so we’re still in the very early planning stages.
Thanks.
There is an Alamo Rental Car ‘store’ in Downtown Disney! We’ve used them in the past for a car to take to Glendale.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/shops/downtown-disney-district/alamo-rent-a-car/
Thank you for this information! I am planning a trip to DL this fall, but will be in San Diego for a couple of days before hand, but didn’t really want to pay for the rental car (and hotel parking) while I’m at the park. Now I know I can rent the car in San Diego and return it at Disneyland and then take the shuttle to airport a couple days later. Saves me some money, and I’m all about that!!
I was wondering what your transportation recommendation would be for traveling with a child. Specifically a 31/2 year old who needs to be in a car or booster seat still. I had emailed Disneyland and their recommendations were similar to yours however they could not relay to me if a car or booster seat was necessary in a shuttle or taxi.
I know this is an older post but I wanted to answer this one for those browsing. You and the cab or shuttle driver have to obey the laws of the area, which includes booster seat car seat etc. Some cabbies wont pick you up without one.
Would it be better to wait and get a taxi or limo when we arrive or schedule ahead of time. I am traveling with a 5 year old, 2 year old, and my husband. Does anyone know the rules about car seats and limos? Everywhere says a taxi or limo would be more cost and time effective for us-so we are planning on bringing the car seatsand shooting for that. I have heard that if you just walk out of the baggage area you can negotiate the cost for a limo for your whole party-rather than scheduling ahead of time. Because they are standing around not making any money if they are not driving-supposedly they may be less expensive? Anyone have any experience with this??? recommendations??
I found a place called mickeys aaa space shuttle who quotes adults at 22 dollars and children at $15 and can provide the baby seats if you need, supershuttle will not provide one but requires one.
they also will match prices to any shuttle and here is a coupon
http://anaheimoc.org/coupon/7-mickeys-space-ship-shuttle
I just have a question regarding transportation as myself and 2 other friends are going to Disneyland Park for the first time before we head back home to Australia.
We will be staying around Hollywood are and we want to purchase the one day pass. But we are not very clear on what our options are on how to get there and back as we would like to spend as much time as we can and hopefully hang around for the midnight fireworks and somehow make our way back to were we are staying, any suggestions will be appreciated.We are really excited to go!!
Taxi or public transportation. Taxi will be EXPENSIVE, public transportation will be slow. The other option would be a one-day car rental.
“There are other shuttles serving Disneyland, including the Disneyland Resort Express, but they’re more expensive than SuperShuttle and do exactly the same thing, so discussing them in more depth is pointless.”
You should give this a little more thought/research. SuperShuttle costs as much, or even more, than the Resort Express from LAX. When price is not an issue, the real trade-off becomes waiting for the hourly Express vs. waiting in a cramped Suppershuttle while your new friends are dropped off.
Not true anymore, ever since Disneyland Resort Express (DRE) raised its prices rather steeply and cut back service in summer 2013. For two or more people not traveling with children, DRE is now a significantly more expensive option than SuperShuttle or other shared-van services. We switched away from DRE for our airport transfers last year because of this.
The backstory is DRE wanted to win more family business, so they raised their adult prices by around 40 percent with the bonus that children ride free. That now makes DRE more attractive for families with kids, but unfortunately also makes it a less economical option for visitors without kids.
In addition, DRE also used to have 30-minute arrivals during morning and evening peak flight times. This was eliminated from the schedule in 2013, leaving only hourly service. So if you pre-pay your fare online, but just miss a DRE bus upon arrival, you’ll be sitting at LAX or SNA for an hour waiting for another one.
We switched to Karmel Shuttle, but they’re a bit dicey. We’ll use SuperShuttle when we visit DLR for HalloweenTime this year. Hoping that they will be a good option.
Another choice (the one I use) is Amtrak. The Amtrak station is just down the road at Angels’ stadium and is a stop for many shuttles and the ART.
Good suggestion. How long does using the Amtrak typically take you?
Usually takes 5 hrs using Amtrak. It takes about 3 1/2 to 4 driving, when traffic is light.
The trains have plenty of leg room, you can get up and walk around whenever, I don’t have to worry about traffic and with gas costs it’s cheaper for me.
Great article! All three of the Disneyland resorts charge for parking though (I believe it’s $15 for self park and $22 for valet.)