Airport

[PrincesCJM]

I'm curious. What airport have you flown into or plan to fly into when traveling to Disneyland? I'm not completely confident which airports are within a reasonably driving distant to Disneyland. Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

The local airports are LAX (Los Angeles airport), BUR (I think that's it for Burbank), SNA (Orange County/John Wayne airport), LGB (Long Beach airport), and ONT (Ontario airport).

If you're renting a car, LGB and SNA are the closest. I hear that LGB is a straight shot home along a city street. SNA would likely involve the highway for a tourist.

The drive from LAX is fast and hectic in our opinions, but isn't horribly bad as long as you've timed it away from heavy drive times. Takes about an hour if I recall correctly.

I used Super Shuttle for ONT and it was a long and scary ride for me. Plus the SS cost was VERY high from that airport. SS for SNA is the cheapest.


Be sure to check the rental car rates for any of the airports that you're looking at, because things can vary widely, and can eliminate any possible savings you might get from going into a certain airport.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I'm curious. What airport have you flown into or plan to fly into when traveling to Disneyland? I'm not completely confident which airports are within a reasonably driving distant to Disneyland. Thanks!

There are several airports within driving distance, but rush "hour" can also factor into the driving time from certain airports more than others. A good example is Burbank (Bob Hope Airport) which is only 41 miles away, but can take over two hours travel time during rush hour. Most people generally use either John Wayne (Orange County) or LAX airports, but another little gem is Long Beach airport which is only a mile further than John Wayne.

Transportation from the different airports to DLR can vary widely depending on the type you are looking for -- taxi, limo, shuttle, or Disneyland Express. I put together a thread that covers the airports closest to DLR, their distances from DLR, and most of the major shuttle, taxi, and public transportation options. See Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information

The local airports are LAX (Los Angeles airport), BUR (I think that's it for Burbank), SNA (Orange County/John Wayne airport), LGB (Long Beach airport), and ONT (Ontario airport).

Hey Bumber...I like how you referenced the international airport codes! I updated my transportation thread with the abreviations for all the closest airports. Thanks for another great idea!

I used Super Shuttle for ONT and it was a long and scary ride for me. Plus the SS cost was VERY high from that airport. SS for SNA is the cheapest.

This is definitely true! At least the cost part (again, see the transportation thread). The long and scary part is probably due to the Super Shuttle driver. Poor Bumber! The actual drive is usually a nice one.

 

[clb79]

Depending on how many are in your party often times you can get a rental car cheaper than the Shuttle Services.

Of course that all depends on what kind of rate you can get on the car, if your hotel has parking fees, etc...

For example in the past we have gotten a car at SNA for 15.00 a day and then stayed at a hotel where parking was 4.00 dollars a night. That ended up being cheaper than buying RT shuttle service on a short 2 night trip.

Keep in mind you do have to factor the time at the counter when picking up and dropping off the vehicle too.

 

[ZenMouse]

We're flying in to lgb on Sunday the 15th. I've heard it's a nice airport because it's smaller and actually closer to dlr.

 

[clb79]

We're flying in to lgb on Sunday the 15th. I've heard it's a nice airport because it's smaller and actually closer to dlr.

We absolutely love Long Beach.

Its been a few years since we flew into their (anywhere for that matter). Last time we were there you walked on the tarmac and up the stairs to board the plane. Baggage Claim carousels were in what felt like a covered patio. Rental Car Offices were in Trailers across the street. Lost of construction or renovations going on to to the terminal itself so I am not sure what its like now...

You'd think that was a laundry list of complaints, but it isn't!!! It was very charming and quaint in my opinion. If we could get the best fare there always we wouldn't ever look back.

The drive even if slightly longer than to SNA is actually more direct and less congested and the time saved at the Airport istelf makes up for the extra distance too!

 

[drag n' fly]

We always fly into LAX. It is the cheapest for us as we are from Canada. That is the only Ap we can fly direct into. I did fly into John Wayne once and that was SWEET but did have a connection!

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Our vote goes to LGB - wonderful LITTLE airport! We love the "feel" of it - very Southern California with the outdoor areas and the palm trees. Sigh....can't wait until we are landing there in March!

 

[Brady's Mom]

We have flown into Burbank, Long Beach and John Wayne.

Burbank - lovely little airport - awful, awful drive to Anaheim. Will never fly into BUR again - if I'm going to Anaheim - if I'm going to Burbank for something I would definitely use this airport. We rented a car here for a reasonable price, but hate the drive on I 5.

Long Beach - small, quaint, old - easy drive to Anaheim, we chose to take Katella straight East to Anaheim - took about 25 minutes, even on city streets. Car rentals from here are not quite as inexpensive as SNA, but still reasonable. Super Shuttle runs from here, but costs $35 for the first person and then $9 each additional person. Too pricey for us, so we rent a car. JetBlue flies here non-stop from Salt Lake - so if we can get good fares we fly.

John Wayne - I love this airport - easy on and off freeway access, very close to DLR. Car rentals from here are reasonable and Disneyland Express Bus and Super shuttle are also available - SS is MUCH more reasonable from SNA than anywhere else, some report about $9 or $10 a person.

We have never flown into LAX and wouldn't unless we were going International - it is less hassle and more convenient for us to fly into a smaller airport that is closer to DLR.

 

[iKristin]

I have flown into all of the airports but LBC is awesome because it's so small and traffic is no where to be seen

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I've only flown into LAX & LGB (and SAN but part of the trip was in San Diego) ~ I very much prefer LGB over LAX.

 

[ballarinamom]

We've done LA. SNA and LGB. WE so prefer SNA or LGB. LGB is amazingly easy to get in and out of. We literally walked about 50 yards to get off the plane and tarmac, then through the gate and to our luggage. The only issue was on our return flight. We wanted to get something to eat. The only thing available was the restaurant before you go through security. I went back and got take out and it was fine. It just wasn't convenient. But if that is the worst compaint??

 

[onelilspark]

We were going to fly into Burbank, but got talked out of it Now we're flying into Long Beach.

 

[karylrocks]

We were going to fly into Burbank, but got talked out of it Now we're flying into Long Beach.

GOOOOOOOD choice.

I have used LAX and SNA. I avoid LAX unless it is WAY cheaper, like if I can save a few hundred dollars for my famlily to fly. Lately it has been just as expensive to fly to SNA so we are switching to LGB for our December trip and also for my solo trip in February. I have a friend who works for TSA in Portland and she recently flew into LGB and LOVED it! So for me the only acceptable options for Disneyland are SNA or LGB, and LAX only if I save a ton of money. If I was going to spend part of my trip in or north of LA, I would look into the other options, I heard ONT is nice.

 

[DizMe]

I like SNA mainly because it is so close, inexpensive for shuttle/car, and SW flies there . I would use LGB but I've never found a flight that was cheap enough to even out the cost difference on the transportation.

We recently rented a car at SNA and got the rate of $56 for 3 days. Awesome deal; HOWEVER: you must factor in the cost of gas & insurance. I have my own insurance but I still went with the $9/day 'ding' insurance since if I'd gotten a ding on the car it would have cost me $500. With gas, my total cost was $101. That's considerably more than I pay for SuperShuttle. I needed the flexibility of a car this time because we made a trip outside the resort, but I generally prefer to skip a car and use the shuttle. It's so cheap from SNA--with coupon code it's only $7 pp. each way.

As for the good rental rate we got, I did not find it online. I only got it when I called Enterprise directly. The online price was considerably higher.

 

[c&m]

We've flown into LAX, SNA, and LGB.

Our fave is LGB. It is a simple airport. Everything is right there. Rental car pickup is right there. You are out of there so much faster, and the drive into Anaheim is only about 25 min.

And our flight into LGB was so cheap this past March when we went. It was $49 each way from Seattle. Couldn't get any better than that!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I've flown into LAX, ONT and SNA.

SNA is very convenient but I have a hard time finding good airfare into there! I find it a very easy, small airport and would always go threre first if possible.

Ontario is also a very nice airport. Its a fair distance to Anaheim but when we fly in there in the eveing, and out of there in the morning, it seems like the traffic is mostly going the other way. I have flown into ONT three times with good results each time.

LAX. Not as bad as I thought it would be. I think I have flown in there now four or five times. It took us about an hour when we landed there two weeks ago since we caught the tail end of rush hour. Going back, it was midday and it took us less than half an hour. No traffic whatsoever. I don't mind LAX at all but do try to book off times to avoid the traffic.

I like to use Goldenwest Express if my fil can not pick us up. They service all the airports, do free grocery stops and they are very nice people to work with. For the four of us, its generally around the same as a cab and not too much more than Super Shuttle. The grocery stop is a huge bonus!

 

[NattysMom]

I've been reading about the takeoffs needed at John Wayne (SNA) airport because of the noise abatement ordinances and they are scaring me a little! Is it a big deal? Is it something that would worry a child?
Do ears pop more?

I've never been to any airport in California but because of price and proximity to Disneyland I'm leaning toward John Wayne.

Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[greens_in_WA]

We've flown into LAX and LGB both are the same price for us, so we usually fly into LGB. However, for our Feb 2010 trip we're flying into LAX because we're renting a car for the first time and the car rental prices were MUCH cheaper there than LGB. Booked Enterprise through Costco 4days + a couple of hours for about $100.