Get me to the mouse on time, shuttle options LA - Anaheim

June 27, 2008 9:12 AM

I am in Los Angeles (Silver Lake area) and need to get to Anaheim (Disneyland/Convention Ctr. area) for this library conference this afternoonish. Is the best way to do this to go back to the airport and grab a shuttle, or is there something simpler?

I am on Griffith Park Blvd. in Silver Lake staying with a friend with a car. She can drive me someplace, like Union Station for example, but not all the way to Anaheim. I know there's an airport option and I know there's a convoluted public transpo option, I'm wondering what else there is. Needs to be not crazy-expensive [i.e. no cab] but doesn't have to be dirt cheap [i.e. three transfer bus trip not necessary but a one transfer bus ride would be fine even if it's long because I bet it would be interesting.

I have Googled but this seems like a situation where local knowledge trumps my agile typing fingers since I don't really know where I am or where I am going. Suggestions? Thank you.

posted by jessamyn to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Today?

You can go with us tomorrow. We're leaving at around 6am.

(Shoot me an email anyway—maybe we can get together tonight, and let me know about what you wanna do in Anaheim during your dead period).
posted by klangklangston at 9:39 AM on June 27

You could take the Metrolink train (or even the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner) from Union Station to Anaheim, and then take a quick OCTA bus ride to the convention center. (caveat: I'm not a local, but I have a brother-in-law that lives in OC...)
posted by zsazsa at 9:40 AM on June 27

Also: Metro trip planner. Be aware that sometimes you get wildly different answers by adjusting your departure and arrival times by even five or ten minutes—it tends to be incredibly literal.
posted by klangklangston at 9:41 AM on June 27

To get you there by 5pm.
posted by klangklangston at 9:42 AM on June 27

Yeah, I was gonna say train. Anaheim train station's right in the Big A (Angels baseball stadium) parking lot. Or at least it seemed like it when I passed through there.
posted by LionIndex at 9:46 AM on June 27

6 am is a bedtime, kk, but yeah I'm still around tomorrow after my talk I'll memail you my cell details.

Socaltransport looks like the website that I was missing when I was trying to straighten this all out. Thanks everyone!
posted by jessamyn at 10:02 AM on June 27

FYI, the Anaheim train station is still not in easy walking distance of the Anaheim Convention Center. It is indeed next to Anaheim Stadium, but you have a few miles to walk, if that's what you're intending to do, to get to the Convention Center.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:07 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]

Amtrak's PacificSurfliner stops in Glendale as well as Union Station, and Anaheim. That'd put you 2-3 miles from the convention center and Disneyland.
posted by weston at 10:10 AM on June 27

Am I right that the Metro Bus 460 goes from Union Station-ish to Disneyland? That seems to be what the trip planner is telling me. Long trip, but that would be awesome and simple and $2.45!
posted by jessamyn at 10:10 AM on June 27

FYI, the Anaheim train station is still not in easy walking distance of the Anaheim Convention Center. It is indeed next to Anaheim Stadium, but you have a few miles to walk, if that's what you're intending to do, to get to the Convention Center.

Yeah, I'd walk it--it's about 2 miles and flat, which still counts as easy in my book. But since the station and the convention center are on the same street, I figured it'd be a pretty easy bus ride to deal with after getting off the train, as klang suggested.
posted by LionIndex at 10:23 AM on June 27

If your friend can drop you off somewhere around the route of the MTA #460, it's a great option. It's an express bus that goes directly from downtown Los Angeles to Disneyland. The last time I took it, it originated at Union Station itself, but it seems that it now starts at 5th and Los Angeles. It can take anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours, but it's hard to beat the $2.45 price tag.

On preview..... yes. :)
posted by everybody polka at 10:23 AM on June 27

I checked 511.org, but it doesn't cover the area. That might save someone else the effort.
posted by Pronoiac at 10:34 AM on June 27

Here's the Wiki page for Metro route 460. You are deposited on the Harbor Boulevard side, which is the eastern edge of the park.
posted by mdonley at 11:19 AM on June 27

I made it! Oh my god I am nearly dead from walking around the stupid park to get to the hotel, but the city bus was great, really interesting and a good way to see more of CA than I will otherwise [and only $2.45]. Thanks so much everyone. And come to the Anaheim meetup tomorrow if you're local!
posted by jessamyn at 6:20 PM on June 27