I love flying into John Wayne Airport. It's, also, easier for us to get to Disneyland from this airport. That's our personal preference. I graduated from UC-Irvine and prefer this area if I decided to stay at nearby hotel.
John Wayne is meant to be closer but LAX wasn't to far away either. When our shuttle picked us up at the airport it was about 8.35 and we got to the hotel in Anaheim at 9.15