airport options

[cruise cruise cruise]

What are my airport options?
I know there are a few to choose from as to where to fly into? What are they?
And which is closest, easiest, preferred?

Thanks everyone

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

john wayne is closest SNA

But I find that LGB long beach is cheaper 9 out of 10 times only 4 or 5 miles longer.

 

[avalon451]

There's 4 airports:

LAX, approx. 35 miles away: pros, often the cheapest and has the most flights and times available, Disney Resort Express bus runs on a frequent and convenient schedule. Cons, can be expensive for ground transportation because it’s the farthest away; it’s your typical huge, dirty, loud international airport.

ONT, Ontario: approx. 30 miles away: pros, often fairly cheap to fly into, not as big. Cons, ground transportation can be pretty expensive since it’s quite a distance.

SNA (also known as Orange County or John Wayne airport) approx 12 miles away: pros, the closest airport, small, yet very nice and convenient. Disneyland Express also runs here. Cons: it’s usually the MOST expensive of all the airports. Don’t know why, but it costs us over $100 or more extra, per person, to fly into SNA.

LGB, Long Beach, approx 14 miles way: the choice of many. It is a small, clean, quaint airport (you deplane down stairs onto the tarmac!) and nearly as close as SNA; yet it can cost considerably less to fly into. Cons: ground transportation can cost more here; Super shuttle is 3x as much for some reason, although a taxi will cost you the same as from SNA ($40 flat fee one way). Disneyland Express doesn’t operate from here.

Hope that helps!

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Thank you. That is exactly the info I needed. I come from an area where there is one airport. So this idea of having options is beyond me.
I am currently finding a flight into SNA at $100 per person cheaper than I can get at Long Beach. Looks like it may be the way to go....

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

go SNA if it is the cheapest book it now

 

[Sienna]

We've flown into SNA (John Wayne, Orange County, or whatever you want to call it!) two times now. Both times it's been great. While it might be a tad more expensive to fly into that airport, the transfers to/from DL are cheaper because it's closer. Usually it evens out, or comes close. Including the transfers, I think our package was $30/total more (not each) to fly there on our last trip as compared to LAX. Definitely worth it for us.

 

[JaneJetson]

We always fly to SNA. I don't care how much more expensive it is...it's worth it. It's the easiest airport. And it's so close to Disneyland.

For the heck of it, I searched flight from where I live to LAX and to SNA for the dates we're going in January.

The cheapest LAX flight is $244. The cheapest SNA is $400. But the total travel time to LAX is 9 hours or more. The total travel time to SNA is only a little over 5 hours. We'd also save tons of time driving to our hotel from SNA than from far away LAX. Plus getting in and out of SNA is a lot easier and less time consuming.

So for us, paying the extra $156 is worth it for all the extra time.

Really it just comes down to what you want....the cheapest or the most convenient. And if you're lucky, the cheapest will be the most convenient (but that seems to rarely be the case.)

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

There is also Burbank, about a 30 minute drive to DL (45 with some traffic). We found it to be the cheapest when we were booking airfare.

 

[heatherleigh]

Everything I've read on this board since I joined, indicates SNA is the way to go. Because of all the good reviews, my mom flew in there last year. She said it was not too big, and she was able to locate the Disneyland Express easily.

 

[mousemom11]

My 2 personal preferences are 1)SNA and 2)Long Beach. They are both small airports close to DL. You're in and out quickly and they are both much more convenient than LAX.

 

[bumbershoot]

go SNA if it is the cheapest book it now

Definitely.

Both times it's been great. While it might be a tad more expensive to fly into that airport, the transfers to/from DL are cheaper because it's closer. Usually it evens out, or comes close. Including the transfers, I think our package was $30/total more (not each) to fly there on our last trip as compared to LAX. Definitely worth it for us.

Yep.

It's very much worth it to figure out all the ground transportation costs before even searching for airfare. That way you can easily see the total cost.

Our first flight down there I chose ONT b/c the flight was less expensive than SNA. But then the SuperShuttle was a bit over $50 for me and DS, then hubby was flying separately so he counted as another "first passenger" cost (most of that $50 of me and my son), and another big hit on the way back. Well there went most of our savings going into ONT, and it took AGES to get to Harbor from ONT.

When I booked myself into SNA, the cost was a bit higher, but then super shuttle was 10 dollars. Minus 2, if memory serves me, with an Entertainment Book discount. This was me when I realized the enormous difference in SS costs from the two airports:

We always fly to SNA. I don't care how much more expensive it is...it's worth it. It's the easiest airport. And it's so close to Disneyland.

Yep, time can feel like money! Of course that first trip is so hard, b/c you don't know the distances or how long the distances will feel. You don't know what your anticipation level will feel like, and if it will make ONT to Anabella feel like 4 hours (oh it felt so long...), etc etc. So you just have to figure out what you think the best combo of distance, cost, and ease (perhaps the GrayLine Disneyland Express feels easiest, so that's SNA or LAX, or perhaps SuperShuttle feels easier, and that's any airport, and you just have to look at cost and time).

I've probably confused things. Sorry!

 

[avalon451]

BTW, there's a couple of coupons on this website, for the Disneyland Express or Super Shuttle, $2 off coupon each person, each way. It's not a lot, but hey, every little bit helps, right?

http://www.anaheimoc.org/Articles/Archive/Webpage10153.asp

There's other coupons in there you might find helpful. 10% off McDonalds, House of Blues in DTD, or Disney Character Warehouse.

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Hmmm utah people get bent over I just check my trip in oct for airfare wow it is 90 bucks more a ticket into SNA then long beach.

270 bucks more to get a couple miles closer for 3 people I dont think so.

I know this isnt the case for everyone at all I guess this is why I dont fly into SNA.

People in utah where do you find the deals into SNA because 5 trips now and it is always at least 50 bucks more a ticket into SNA then long beach.

Now between burbank and long beach 20 bucks a tickets more is not worth it might as well book long beach.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I hate Burbank! The airport feels very far away from DLR. We flew there in March and it was a big mistake. The freeway from Burbank to Anaheim really stinks. Sometimes it was down to 1 lane! And it seems like it should only take 40 minutes or so, but it took us 1 1/2 hours to get there for our return flight. Which we missed! Because the Delta people at Burbank are not very helpful!!
So even though we saved a "little" bit of money to fly into Burbank, we made up for our savings by having to pay the $50 extra per person because we "missed" our flight. (It's a really long story, and we were there in plenty of time, but you know, sometimes the airlines suck!)