Best Airport Option?

[cckovach]

We are planning on going to DL from St. Louis and I'm not sure which airport to pick.

There are so many to choose from!

Which airport is likely to be the cheapest? Which airport is likely to be the least "pain-free"?

 

[ballarinamom]

We've always done Orange County because it's close, small/easy and Southwest was cheap in going there. But this year we are going tthrough Long Beach. It's smaller than Orange County/John Wayne. You actually exit onto the tarmack!! It's less than 5 miles further but US Air is $600 cheaper than the other airlines for our 4 tickets from San Antonio
You also have LAX, Burbank and Ontario as 3 more options. We went on expedia and tried all airport options and then went straight to the websites of the best options and ordered. I feel more comfortable buying air from the airlines instead of the discount sites. There actually was no savings

 

[8gr8mouseketeers]

We always fly into Long Beach. We really like it as it is small and easy. We flew into LAX once and my dh said never again.

 

[Disney_Villain]

LAX = cheapest
SNA = more expensive, closer to DL, smaller (John Wayne, Orange County)

We do LAX more often than SNA due to the cost of fares. We endure LAX. It isn't the worst airport in the USA!

 

[avalon451]

Here's my airport info from a tips thread I was writing a while back: It's missing Burbank, but that one has never been considered a really good choice anyway, because it's farther and the traffic is so bad in that direction.

--------------------

Airfare and airports

Start checking your airfare as far in advance as possible. There are four possible airports to fly into, and they all have pros and cons.

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!

 

[Canyon girl]

Last Sept., we flew from St. Louis non-stop to SNA/Orange County/John Wayne. It was a great experience! We rented a car; since, we were going a few other places besides Disney. It was a little more expensive, BUT for the direct flight and little traffic woes at this airport...It was well worth it! I think we flew American. My husband had to fly into LAX recently for business. He said never again!!! My vote is to spend a little extra money and have a lot extra piece of mind.

 

[avalon451]

Last Sept., we flew from St. Louis non-stop to SNA/Orange County/John Wayne. It was a great experience! We rented a car; since, we were going a few other places besides Disney. It was a little more expensive, BUT for the direct flight and little traffic woes at this airport...It was well worth it! I think we flew American. My husband had to fly into LAX recently for business. He said never again!!! My vote is to spend a little extra money and have a lot extra piece of mind.

SNA is nice! We flew in there last time. However, this time, our flights would have cost us over $350 each. Flying into LGB brought it down to $214. I guess it depends on the amount you're willing to spend for about 3 miles' difference in distance.

Another consideration, if the price difference is close, is the ground transportation. Renting a car is soooo easy at Long Beach; the counters and the cars are literally yards away from the baggage claim. However, shuttles cost much more! They both have the same flat taxi rate of $40, though.

 

[Eeyore76]

I guess maybe it depends where you're flying from.

We're flying out of Phoenix, and I couldn't decide whether to pick LAX, or Orange County.

On the US Airways website, for the time we are going, the prices were the same for either one.

We decided on the OC, because it's closer, and I agree with the above poster about LAX. Talk about ginormous. Also, less freeway time from the airport to the DLH is a big plus for us too.

HTH.

 

[Hester]

Here's my 2¢, as a resident of SoCal for many years... in order of convenience, not price:

Orange County
Long Beach
Ontario
Los Angeles
San Diego

 

[JaneJetson]

Actually, SNA is sometimes the same price (and maybe even cheaper) flying from some locations than flying into LAX.

For the dates we're going in January (flying out of Omaha) it's only $3 cheaper to fly to LAX. So obviously we'll be flying to SNA. Actually, we fly into SNA everytime no matter what the price difference. My time is worth it.

I checked my dates in January (since I dont know the dates for the OP) flying from STL to SNA and from STL to LAX. LAX is only $45 cheaper. Not much unless you're a huge family.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I SNA. We flew into SNA last Sept. and it was great. We chose Burbank in March and that was a huge mistake. The airport itself is nice, but the drive from Burbank to Anaheim is HORRIBLE! It took waaaayyy longer than we were told and traffic was a real pain. I would avoid I-5 like the plague if you can.

We should have chosen LGB instead, but had never flown Jet Blue and their times weren't quite as convenient as Burbank. I would choose less convenient times at LGB or SNA over Burbank any day!