Kath

I'm taking my 8 year old son to San Diego again this March. We had a great trip there last year and can't wait to go back. This time I'd like to try to make an (albeit long) day trip out of Disneyland in Anaheim. Rather than drive, I thought it might be nice to take Amtrak up from San Diego. There are very early trains that leave San Diego as well as late evening returns back from Anaheim.

My concern is getting from the train station in Anaheim to Disneyland. My guidebook says that there is a shuttle bus, but I found no info on the internet about it. Has anyone used this shuttle? I would also be willing to take a cab from the station to Disneyland and then back, but I don't know if this is feasible. Has anyone seen cabs at the Anaheim station or at the Disneyland gate? I will have a rental car in San Diego, so if this seems like too much trouble for what it's worth let me know. Thanks to anyone who has any info on this.

Chele60

I live near Disneyland, so I've never had a need to take transportation from the Anaheim station. However, the station is very close to Disneyland - less than 3 miles. You could get to Disneyland a few different ways.

1. When you arrive at the station, have them call for a cab. They do not "hang out" at the station, but there will be many in the area. To catch a cab back to the station, either call for a cab before leaving Disneyland or go to one of the Disney hotels and get a cab from there.

2. Hertz operates a rental agency from the Anaheim station, so you can rent a car for the day. Consider you would have to pay for parking at the park, so it might be cheaper to take a cab.

3. If you are truly adventurous, you could take the bus. You only need to go straight down Katella for a couple of miles. I'm not sure how long the buses run at night, however, so you would need to check schedules.

There probably is a shuttle to/from the station, because Disney is usually anxious to make the park easily accessible to tourists. If I were you, I would contact the Anaheim station and ask if there is a shuttle and when it operates. (You might have to call for it.)

If you can make the train thing work, I think it would be a better option than driving. Good luck!

Kath

Chele

Thanks so much for the great info. I would really like to try to take the train. I will call the Anaheim station to find out about the shuttles. If not, then a cab it is...

Kath

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Kath

Well I will answer my own question here in case anyone else ever needs the info.

It is very easy to take Amtrak from San Diego to Anaheim for a day trip to Disneyland. The train ride was approx. two hours and the views are great. There is no shuttle from the station to Disneyland but arriving at the Anaheim station we called a cab from the cab phone there and he arrived in less than five minutes. The cab ride was under ten minutes and cost $8. They drop you off in front of Disneyland. When we were leaving we walked back to the same spot where we were dropped off and there were many cabs there waiting. They took us back to the station in under ten minutes.

Round trip train fare for one adult and one child was $50 and I paid $12 to park in an all day lot near the station in San Diego. I thought this was well worth the money & effort and I was glad not to have to fight the traffic on the 5, especially after we were so tired from being at Disney all day.

Chele60

Kath, thank you for letting us know how it went! I've thought about this post once or twice since you wrote it and wondered how things worked out for you.

Glad to know things worked out well for you! And the cost is minimal compared to the hassle of driving up from San Diego for one day!