Mission Valley Center Trolley Station

Mission Valley Center is a must have stop for the area (obviously). It’s located across the mall area and borders the San Diego River trails. It’s weird because the shopping center it’s located in is nice, but the stop itself is not very appealing. Considering it’s hidden away as well, it can feel a little unsafe at late nights. It does not have any free parking around the area and just one bus that goes through the area. I don’t advise coming here as your stop to go to big events in downtown or at qualcomm, but overall, it’s a good trolley station to have.

My husband and I took the Mission Valley Center Trolley Station to Qualcomm Stadium for a football game. $ 5.50 per person round-​trip is a deal. We didn’t want to deal with the traffic and outrageous price to park your car. The trolley gets an added bonus that after the football game, the wait was short to hop back onto the trolley.
Tips:
1) Save time by downloading the MTS app and purchase tickets online.
2) Do not park your car in the lot where the trolley station is located at. The last thing you want is to get ticketed or worse, towed. Don’t risk this and park across the street in the mall. You can even park in the structure so your car is shaded.
If I ever attend another event at Qualcomm, the trolley is the way to go!

This station is hidden behind starbucks in the shopping center across from mission valley mall. The only complaint I have is that the signs say you cannot park in the lot if you want to ride the trolley. I understand the lot is not equipped to hold lots of cars but I think it is ridiculous to not offer some parking.

So I had my first solo trolley experience today. I wish I could use public transportation more often, but unfortunately my work is too far from home.
Anyway, I had jury duty today and figured that along with performing my civic duty I’d also use public transportation. I did my homework to see which trolley stop would be the best one for me. I caution any other newbies to check about where you can park your car before heading out the door. After researching I realized that you can’t just park at all trolley stops. I know this is probably common sense for most, but it was news to me! This particular trolley stop is at a shopping center that does NOT allow parking in the lot. Good news is there is street parking that is typically open unless there is something going on in Mission Valley. I didn’t try parking across the street like several other Unilocalers recommended, but it makes sense that you probably can in a pinch since there is a 24 hour fitness in the mall which means the lot has to always be open.
The stop itself is conveniently located next to a Starbucks… SCORE! The trolley was a couple minutes late from the posted sign, but within reason. It wasn’t super crowded when I was there at 6:45 am. From the time I parked on the street to the time i was purchasing my ticket it took about three minutes so you can definitely give yourself some extra time. The area is well lit and the neighborhood is decent so it wasn’t too scary or filled with creepers. It took about 15 minutes to make it downtown.
All in all it was a great experience. I do think they should be required to offer some parking though. If the center is going to benefit from all of the foot traffic they should support some of it by offering parking.

It’s quite convenient with its location, plenty of parking and ease of use.

The stop is well lit and in between Panda Express and Samy’s Woodfired Pizza. I avoid this trolley stop; however, because a few of the homeless here have caused me problems… grabbed my butt, cursed and yelled at me, etc. I’ve chosen to walk in order to avoid waiting here. Security is crap! The folks at Samy’s will look after you though… Thanks guys! :)

You can’t park in the shopping center where this trolley station is, but you can park across the street at the mall and no one will care.

Fun, cheap, efficiant transportation

This trolley station is great in that there are things to do/​see here. One of my favorite chain restaurants is right at this stop (Sammy’s), and it’s within easy walking distance of Mission Valley. It’s served by the Green Line, and is a street-​level station with the tracks going between the platforms. To cross, just walk… the tracks have been paved.

This station is served by the Green Line and Red Line special event trains between Qualcomm Stadium and downtown.
Ladies and gentlement, this is your Trolley reviewer speaking. By now you recognize a «string of pearls» theme along the Green Line. You’ve seen medical centers, colleges and even communities built solely around Trolley stations.
We are now approaching the shopping district. Look outside to the south, that’s the opposite of the river, and you’ll see the station’s namesake, Westfield Mission Valley Center. This is one of the malls in Westfield’s almost complete stranglehold on major shopping centers in the county.
On the north of the river is a more diminutive diversion to drain your dear ducats, Southland Plaza Shopping Center.
And, walking a bit further from there, Friars-​Mission Shopping Center.
Remember to press the button to open the door. Have a good day shopping. Next train will be here in approximately 15 minutes.
Connections: Metropolitan Transit System lines 6 and 14.