RENTING A CAR

If you are planning a visit to Disneyland Resort exclusively, you probably don’t need to rent a car—use the Disneyland Resort Express, SuperShuttle, Prime Time Shuttle, or Uber, mentioned on the previous page. On the other hand, if you are one of the many vacationers whose plans include visits to other Southern California attractions, you’ll find a car very handy and the most economical method of travel. Driving in Southern California can be confusing to first-time visitors, so if possible we suggest taking a shuttle or taxi/Uber to your hotel and then renting a car once there. Many car rental agencies have offices in or near hotels. In fact, Alamo has a car rental office in Downtown Disney near the AMC Movie Theaters. Within walking distance of Disneyland are many agencies: Hertz has an office at 221 W. Katella Ave., just a couple of blocks from the parks, as well as one in the Anaheim Marriott (see page 58). National and Alamo have an office at 711 W. Katella Ave. Avis is at 200 W. Katella Ave., as well as at the Park Vue Inn on 1570 S. Harbor Blvd. (across the street from Disneyland Resort). Budget is at 2132 S. Harbor Blvd. (a few blocks south of Disneyland). Enterprise is at 231 W. Katella Ave. Thrifty is at 1855 S. Harbor Blvd.

If renting a car near your hotel is not an option, all four airports offer rental cars through most of the major rental companies. LAX has about 40 rental car companies, all of which are located off-site and provide free shuttles to the rental car offices (factor in a 15-minute wait time for a shuttle). Just follow the signs to the Lower/Arrival Level and wait under the purple rental car signs for the appropriate rental car company shuttle. At John Wayne Airport, seven major companies are on-site (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty), with eight more companies located off-site. Rental car counters are located in the Ground Transportation Center across the street from baggage claim. At Long Beach Airport it works similarly, with its rental car counters (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and National) located across the street from the terminal.

Thanks to the huge numbers of car rental companies, rates are competitive and cars are plentiful. Expect to pay at least $30/day or $240/week for an economy car rented from LAX (rates were higher elsewhere). To get the best rates, visit travel reservations sites such as Travelocity (http://www.travelocity.com), Expedia (http://www.expedia.com), or Hotwire (http://www.hotwire.com). You can also contact the car rental agencies directly via phone or their web site. We recommend you reserve a car before you leave home—if you change your mind later, there is no penalty.

The above rates do not include collision damage waiver insurance, which can be expensive at $15–$20/day. Before you accept the insurance, check with your credit card companies—some may offer free coverage when you charge the rental car cost to the credit card. At the time of writing, the Disney Visa card offers this protection if you use the card to initiate and complete the entire rental transaction and decline the agency’s insurance. See your credit card benefits booklet for more information, or call their customer service.

If you opt for a rental car, you’ll need to consider parking—at your hotel, the parks, and in parking garages (it’s difficult to find street parking in Los Angeles). You’ll find parking rates in both our “Staying in Style” chapter and our “Touring the Lands” chapter. Disneyland Resort parking is detailed on page 85.

Tip: It can be difficult to spot an unfamiliar rental car in a large parking lot at the end of a long day. Be sure to note your parking location on one of your PassPockets (Deluxe edition) when you park it. If you have a digital camera or a smartphone, take a picture of your parking location (including signage) in the event you need a refresher at the end of the day. We also recommend you bring something to attach to the car’s radio antenna, such as a brightly-colored ribbon (note that Disney antenna balls are common around here).