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UPDATED 28 JULY 2017
To many it may seem obvious, but there are a lot of visitors who may not know the best way to get to the Disneyland Resort when you're not staying on property. Whether you drove, flew, took a taxi or are using some pixie dust there are some methods of getting to the DLR that you may not have known about. Here are some important resources to help you finish planning your trip and actually get you and your family to the parks. |
Car
This one is a little more obvious. If you are driving to the Disneyland Resort either from home or from the airport, follow the signs to Disneyland or nearby roads like Harbor Blvd, Katella Ave or Disney Way.
For parking, there are a few options. The two largest and closest parking structures are the Mickey & Friends parking structure and the Pumbaa lot. There is a complimentary tram from the Mickey & Friends structure into Downtown Disney and the Pumbaa lot is located across the street from the transportation plaza, so walking is a cinch. For those who don't want to walk, Disney provides free shuttles from the Pumbaa lot to the transportation plaza.
The Toy Story parking lot is much further away from the resort and the Downtown Disney guest parking is only free for the first 2 hours and then very pricey for each additional hour after that, so not the most recommended options.
For parking, there are a few options. The two largest and closest parking structures are the Mickey & Friends parking structure and the Pumbaa lot. There is a complimentary tram from the Mickey & Friends structure into Downtown Disney and the Pumbaa lot is located across the street from the transportation plaza, so walking is a cinch. For those who don't want to walk, Disney provides free shuttles from the Pumbaa lot to the transportation plaza.
The Toy Story parking lot is much further away from the resort and the Downtown Disney guest parking is only free for the first 2 hours and then very pricey for each additional hour after that, so not the most recommended options.
Shuttle
If you only want to drive your car far enough to get to the hotel, most Good Neighbor Hotels offer a shuttle service for a small fee per day of use which will drop you off at the transportation plaza. It's nice if you don't want to walk everywhere all the time, but if your hotel is one of the last to be dropped off you'll be on the shuttle for some time. Inquire at your hotel lobby for more information and specific pricing.
Disneyland Resort Express
If you're flying into either LAX or Orange County for your Disney trip, you have a few options to get to your Disney-area hotel.
- Rent a car - If you're renting, simply follow the same guidelines above.
- Ride Share - The next cheapest option is Ride Share services like Uber or Lyft. Your out-of-pocket expense will be smaller, but it doesn't always have the same convenience as taxis or rental cars. That depends on the airport and the time of day your traveling. Prices can be up to half those of taxis.
- Taxi - Most choose to take a taxi to their hotel. Expect to spend around $80 for a taxi from Orange County and at least $100 from LAX. Trips back to the airport can be much cheaper since most hotels provide flat-fare taxi discounts to either airport.
- Disneyland Resort Express - An unofficially official option is the Disneyland Resort Express airport shuttle provided through Southern California Gray Line. For as little as $35 from Orange County and $48 from LAX round-trip, you can reserve a spot on this shuttle that leaves the airports just about every hour and stops at most major DLR area hotels, including the Disneyland Resort Hotels. Make sure you consider how many children you're taking with you as you are only allowed one free child per paying adult. If you have a large family, a rental or taxi may be cheaper but smaller families can really benefit from the Disneyland Resort Express. For more information, click here.
