Disneyland to Hollywood using the bus?

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Is this a horrible idea?

We are going to Disneyland in November and my daughter would like to do a side trip to Hollywood one day. I have no desire to drive in LA/Hollywood traffic so I have been looking into alternative ways of getting there.

I have looked into tours that offer transportation and they don't do everything we want to see and add things that we have no desire to see so I have decided to just pay Ala Cart for the attractions/museums we want to do.

From what I have read so far the companies such as Starline tours and Grayline that offer transportation only charge around $20-$30pp and takes 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to get you there. I don't really like the idea of having to get back on the bus at a specific time and the cost is higher than I would like.

I then I went to the Metro Trip Planner to see what public transportation would cost.

http://socaltransport.org/tm_pub_start.php

According to the site, the bus picks up at the Fairfield Inn and drops off at Hollywood and Highland with only one transfer. They estimate the trip to take 2 hours but it only cost $4.40pp each way.

The times seem similar but the cost for the bus is much cheaper and they run pretty early/late so I wouldn't be stuck to a rigid time line like with the tour companies.

Is the bus system horrible? If not I think this will be the way we go.

 

[hsmamato2]

 

[StageTek]

No, the bus system isn't horrible. But that can be subjective.

It is, of course, a public system subject to everything all public transit systems are guilty of. Busses are not always exactly on time, they can be crowded and there can be some "interesting" people on board.

It's been a long time since I have taken the bus form Anaheim to Hollywood but I have a friend who does it two days a week (he works Fantasmic). The last few times I have taken public transportation I chose Amtrak/Red Line. More expensive and doesn't run as often, but I like it. On a weekday you can check out the Metrolink trains to Union Station and then the Red line to Hollywood.

 

[TLinden16]

I can't say anything about the bus system, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in the Starline transportation only option to Hollywood, which I used in January. By the time we got to Hollywood, we only had about five hours there, and they then picked us up and stuck us at Universal Studios City Walk for two hours, which was a huge waste of time IMHO.

I took the Amtrak train from the second day I went to Hollywood on my trip (there is also a metro train that is a bit cheaper that you can look into that leaves from the same station as the Amtrak train). I posted a review of my transportation to Hollywood on the main Disneyland board. You can read it here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2646035

 

[blackpoole]

For 60 bucks for the two of you I would rent a car for the day. You will be so close to Beverly Hills and only a short drive to Santa Monica Pier.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Yeah, I still have no interest in driving in LA/Hollywood. If it comes down to that we will not be doing Hollywood at all .

Besides $60 is still a lot more than I want to spend.

Thanks for the replys

 

[calitook]

I would also suggest looking in to the train. When my DH and I lived in OC we took the train up once on a weekend and then you can take one of the side trains to Hollywood. However this was 4+ years ago and I've heard they've cut back on weekend train/metro service. It's worth checking out the metrolink website.

 

[woody73]

I have taken the train ("Pacific Surfliner") from the Anaheim Station to the Los Angeles Union Station.

From there, I took the Metro Red Line subway to the Hollywood & Highland station.

Woody

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

So I looked into the train schedules and it looks like it is going to cost at least twice as much as the bus (even more if I take a cab to/from the train station), it has more stops involved and will only shave off around 20 minutes. So unless I'm missing something (please tell me if I am) I think I will stick with the bus.

Thanks guys.

 

[perlster]

To clarify - the stop for Metro line 460 going to Downtown L.A. is close to the Fairfield Inn, but not "at" or "by" it. See the third map here - the stop is actually adjacent to HoJo, on the North side of Manchester Ave, at Harbor Blvd.