I am going to Disneyland in the beginning of June and was thinking of heading to Universal Studios for one of the days that Grad Nights is going on. We will not have a car. How hard is it to rent a car just for the day in the Disneyland area? Has anyone done it? What are the factors I should be considering?
While I haven’t rented a car for a single day, I have rented a car in the Disneyland area. The Alamo in Downtown Disney was overpriced IMO, so I paid about $20 for a cab to take me from the DLH to an Avis in Santa Ana. I drove back to DLH, picked up my party, and had no issues driving around LA for 3 days (including to Universal for a day and the WB Studios). The best part was we could drop it off at any Avis, so we left it at Long Beach airport on our way to SFO.
Carrentals.com had a great price, including insurance, and the process was super easy. They even upgraded me to an SUV from an Impala. For single day rentals, I’m assuming they may charge you for an overnight. Still, it’d be better than paying the parking fee at the resort for a day (that can be $20 or more).
I would check and see what the price of Uber or Lyft is it might be cheaper than renting, or at least more convenient (factor in parking too). So Cal can be a headache to navigate. Another option is they have a shuttle that will pick you up at one of the DL resorts for the day. I thought this option was a bit pricey and I like having the freedom to go and leave as I please.
There are 2 Alamo’s that are a pretty easy walk depending on which side of Disney you’re staying on. The Alamo on Katella office also does National. There’s also a local car rental place in one of the hotels across from the East entrance (Select Rent-A-Car). Enterprise, Hertz and Budget also have places a little further out on Katella so you have some options.
I’d compare the one day rates to the cost for Uber to determine. Driving in LA at rush hour is no fun so if it is close, I’d go Uber/Lyft.
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