Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information Superthread (READ FIRST POST FOR OVERVIEW!)

[mrsw94]

Thanks all! We are looking at flying in Sunday morning with a flight from SJ at 10/:30 11:30 am (depending on which airport). We might just convince our parents to give us a ride, or possibly take Caltrain down. Still debating that part.
The return flight is either 9:35 from SNA or 10:30 from Long Beach.

Is on airport or flight better than the other? I need to be home in San Mateo by 4pm. I'm a little bit worried about delays.

 

[gpjacobs]

I need to be home in San Mateo by 4pm. I'm a little bit worried about delays.

First off, I just wanted to say "Hi!" since I'm a San Mateo native that moved to the Sacramento suburbs roughly seven years ago.

I really prefer flying into SNA because of its proximity to the parks. Long Beach is also a great airport but I've been caught in terrible traffic to/from and (luckily) haven't experienced that with SNA.

 

[mrsw94]

First off, I just wanted to say "Hi!" since I'm a San Mateo native that moved to the Sacramento suburbs roughly seven years ago.

I really prefer flying into SNA because of its proximity to the parks. Long Beach is also a great airport but I've been caught in terrible traffic to/from and (luckily) haven't experienced that with SNA.

HI! You are one of MANY people who moved up to Sac!!
It's $40 more to fly out of SNA, but since I"m worried about traffic and missing the flight, I think it's probably worth it.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[lcp9]

We usually get there 1:15 before flights, and that's way too early (even with 4 little kids and strollers etc., that need security checks.) Uber from SNA to harbor hotels for us (we get UberXL - minivan) is usually 25-30.

 

[mrsw94]

Done! Flight is booked!! (Boy was it hard for me to push that button!-Why is that?!?)
We will fly San Jose to Santa Ana on Sunday arriving at 12:55 in the afternoon.
We come home Wednesday morning at 9:35.
I ended up choosing SNA mostly because there were 2 more flights after the one I chose that would get me home before 4pm. Whereas Long Beach only had one, and it was later in the afternoon.
I'm getting so excited!

 

[Pinocchio #1 Fan]

Thanks for that suggestion! I haven't booked our flights yet. I actually think that may give us a slightly later flight on Wed which means a little more sleep. Yay!!

If you look into Long Beach, look at Jet Blue. They are usually the cheapest in and out of Long Beach. I used to live in Orange County, and LGB is by far the easiest airport in California

 

[DizMe]

If you look into Long Beach, look at Jet Blue. They are usually the cheapest in and out of Long Beach. I used to live in Orange County, and LGB is by far the easiest airport in California

Jet Blue is a good airline and the prices can be great, but be cautious about a couple of things. The lowest priced flights do not include a checked bag, and the biggest thing for me is that those lowest fares are non-refundable and allow for no changes. They also don't allow you to switch to another airline in the event that your flight gets cancelled so you can be stuck overnight or worse in those small airports with few flight options or pay full-price for a flight with someone else. I once had a bad experience with them because of that, plus I have a SW cc so I usually fly SW on points.

 

[baozi]

Jetblue used to have 6 daily flights from each of the bay area airports, that's 6 * 3 (3 bay area airports) * 2 (both directions) = 36 flights per day. At that time, flights were often very cheap (like 2000 miles if you use miles).
But now they reduced the number of flights to 1/3, i.e. 12 flights per day. The price also increases.

If you look into Long Beach, look at Jet Blue. They are usually the cheapest in and out of Long Beach. I used to live in Orange County, and LGB is by far the easiest airport in California

 

[j9isawesome]

SNA is the closest & easiest airport to get to Disneyland from so we always fly (when we don’t drive) from SJC to SNA, usually on Southwest. Uber (or Lyft) is going to be the cheapest option & it’s pretty fast. There are plenty of other transportation options but they either cost a fortune or take FOREVER (or both) so I would just stick with Uber. Your price and time estimates sounds about right. Security is usually pretty quick at SNA & it’s not too massive of an airport but we still budget in the extra time just in case. Rather sit at the airport a bit early than be stuck in traffic or security line stressing.

 

[Spork24]

The great news is my family is finally going to make it out to Disneyland this October.

The bad news is our flight gets in just a couple minutes before 7 and the last pick up of the Disneyland express is at 7:00. There is no way I will have time to collect my luggage and make the last bus.

I have 2 children ages 3 and 4, so we will need car seats for both if we cant ride on a tour sized bus like Disneyland express.

I found a company online called "Saferide transport" that will provide carseats, but they have mixed reviews on yelp. Does anyone have experience using them?

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to get to DLR from SNA with kids after 7PM?

 

[smartlabelprint]

Uber or taxi.

Our kids ride in seats on the plane and when we get there. We don’t want to be stranded at our hotel needing an urgent care because we have no car seats.

 

[hoffj070]

We have been trying to figure this out as well. Right now we are leaning towards using Lansky based on reviews I’ve read. I will be following to see what advice others give.

 

[EmJ]

I’d buy some cheap travel seats and use them on the plane. I’d do a Cosco Scenera Next for the three year old, and I would consider a MiFold for the four year old depending on height, weight, maturity, and whether they are a “young four” or “almost five”. Evenflo makes some nice lightweight seats that work well for travel, but they are a little spendier. My four year old travels in an Evenflo SecureKid, though we will move him to a MiFold after he turns five.

ETA: The Scenera and SecureKid can be used on the plane. The MiFold cannot, but it’s small enough to put in a backpack or carryon.

 

[Caesar312]

We are going at the beginning of October and we decided to book Lansky for our SNA to Disneyland trip. We indicated we needed 2 car sets (1 booster, 1 convertible) and they confirmed immediately. So far so good!

 

[Keyframer30]

If you can afford Lansky, I highly recommend it as they will provide car seats for you so you don't have to bring them with you. They'll meet you at luggage claim with a sign with your name on it. If you want, they'll stop at a grocery store on the way. From SNA luggage claim pick up to grocery stop to GCH, it was 25 mins for us. Our kid was 4 at the time.

They also keep track of your flight so if there is a delay, you don't have to worry about letting them know...they're on top of it.

 

[Spork24]

Thanks for all of your replys, Lansky was just what I was looking for, the reviews looked much better for Lansky than the service I had found.

We booked them. I will see how it goes.

 

[lcp9]

If you absolutely will not need car seats (i.e., going straight to hotel and then straight back to airport) I have heard good things about Lansky. However, if there's any chance you will want car seats, uber is really not that bad. We have 4 kids under 8 - so right now two boosters, infant seat, convertible seat - and uber is at SNA within 5 minutes of requesting, takes us about 5 minutes to install and get everyone in, and it's totally fine.

 

[Glynis4]

If you absolutely will not need car seats (i.e., going straight to hotel and then straight back to airport) I have heard good things about Lansky. However, if there's any chance you will want car seats, uber is really not that bad. We have 4 kids under 8 - so right now two boosters, infant seat, convertible seat - and uber is at SNA within 5 minutes of requesting, takes us about 5 minutes to install and get everyone in, and it's totally fine.

I would love to know how you manage the 2 car seats + stroller (assuming you travel with one?) + luggage for 6 people while getting through the airport! We used Lansky last time (they were awesome!), because we could not fathom how my DH would carry 2 car seats + 2 big suitcases (while I push the 2 littles in the stroller). My kids are a bit older now, so we only need 1 car seat for our next trip, but I still don’t know how DH could carry even 1 car seat plus the 2 suitcases. I’ll still be pushing both kids in the double stroller because the 7 year old is the worst for whining about walking and I just don’t want to deal with it while on vacation! Also, what is the actual law in Cali regarding when a child can go into a booster? Would love to be able to take a booster for the 4 year old (the 7 year old will have one too), but she’s not 40lbs yet so not sure if it’s allowed.

 

[EmJ]

I would love to know how you manage the 2 car seats + stroller (assuming you travel with one?) + luggage for 6 people while getting through the airport! We used Lansky last time (they were awesome!), because we could not fathom how my DH would carry 2 car seats + 2 big suitcases (while I push the 2 littles in the stroller). My kids are a bit older now, so we only need 1 car seat for our next trip, but I still don’t know how DH could carry even 1 car seat plus the 2 suitcases. I’ll still be pushing both kids in the double stroller because the 7 year old is the worst for whining about walking and I just don’t want to deal with it while on vacation! Also, what is the actual law in Cali regarding when a child can go into a booster? Would love to be able to take a booster for the 4 year old (the 7 year old will have one too), but she’s not 40lbs yet so not sure if it’s allowed.

We connect the upper anchor strap to the car seat according to manufacturer’s specifications as if you weren’t going to use it (like in an older model car that doesn’t have an upper anchor). Then we loop that strap over the handle of the suitcase so that the back of the car seat rests on the suitcase when pulling. Once we check the suitcase, we move the car seat to the stroller handle and do the same thing. The only trouble is if The Boy is going to be out of his stroller, you have to put a backpack or something in there to balance the weight.

It’s really not too bad, but I’ll be glad when I’ll feel like I can trust the MiFold (we use Super Shuttle usually because we are cavemen who don’t understand the Uber, and I’m not sure about Super Shuttle’s seat belts with the MiFold). According to this website https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/child-safety-seats, children 0-2 must ride rear facing, and children under 8 must be in a car seat or booster. So a 4 year old could go in a booster under law, as long as it was rated for 30 pounds instead of 40.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I would love to know how you manage the 2 car seats + stroller (assuming you travel with one?) + luggage for 6 people while getting through the airport! We used Lansky last time (they were awesome!), because we could not fathom how my DH would carry 2 car seats + 2 big suitcases (while I push the 2 littles in the stroller). My kids are a bit older now, so we only need 1 car seat for our next trip, but I still don’t know how DH could carry even 1 car seat plus the 2 suitcases. I’ll still be pushing both kids in the double stroller because the 7 year old is the worst for whining about walking and I just don’t want to deal with it while on vacation! Also, what is the actual law in Cali regarding when a child can go into a booster? Would love to be able to take a booster for the 4 year old (the 7 year old will have one too), but she’s not 40lbs yet so not sure if it’s allowed.

We have our kids in a Lenny Lamb toddler carrier on our back. Put all our stuff on the double stroller.