Hey OP, we just got back from
Disneyland so I hope you can use the following:
Flying back on Monday at 10:45pm, we looked to book tests for Saturday but when checking the Walgreens site on Thursday night things were already getting a little slim as you have to book a separate test for each person you are traveling with and there are 4 of us.
I booked two appointments at the W Orangethorpe Walgreens for my wife and myself. I was at 11:30 am and hers at 1:00 pm. For the two kids, I booked the E Chapman location at 2:15 and 2:30 pm. These were the closest locations that had appointments available and the available times were disappearing even as I was booking them.
On the day of we pulled up to the W Orangethorpe window and got my test done. They had no problem doing my wife's test as well at the same time. The same with my kids, though their appointments were back to back. Tests were easy peasy, swirl up each nostril and put the q-tip back in the bottle they give you. Both stores promised results in 24-36 hours. Plenty of time.
What we did not know what that different stores used different labs. One was in FL, the other was in TN!
We got the results for my wife and myself by midday on Sunday. Our flight, as mentioned, was at 10:45pm on Monday so there was still plenty of time. Well, Monday came and went and we're at the airport and still no results for the kids. The LAX testing had just shut down at that point as well (open 7am - 7pm). There was a clinic nearby but no guarantee that we could get the results in time and still make the flight.
We spent about an hour trying to figure out what to do. It was $150/ticket to cancel and rebook with Air Canada. At one point, I was going to fly back and my wife would stay hoping that the kids' results came in for the morning. I should note here that the timing of the 72 hour window starts with the time you booked your test, not when you took it. So my window closed at 11:30 am on Tuesday, but my wife had until 1:00 pm, even though she took her test at the same time.
The first flights the next day were at 9:30 am and 11:35 am, so I'd only be able to make the 9:30 am flight. The AC agents were genuinely concerned for us and did everything they could to help us but there wasn't much they could actually do since we needed the clean test results to board the plane. Finally, like I said, after about an hour we decided we would take the 9:30am flight and take the kids to the 24-hour clinic overnight. At one point we were talking about leaving the kids (16DS and 18DD) at the airport to wait for their tests. An AC agent said, "I wouldn't leave my kids here overnight." We thought she was just calling us bad parents (believe me, no one was pointing that finger more intently than myself), but as we soon discovered the number of homeless people who live at LAX is pretty astounding.
AC recommended taking a shuttle to the Renaissance hotel as the 24-hour clinic is in the next building. We did that and got the tests done in about 3 hours at $150/test. It's a walk-in clinic, so there were other people ahead of us for other medical services. The Covid tests took about 30 mins to get results. What we didn't know was how to get back as we couldn't just ask the hotel to call the shuttle to bring us back to the airport! Me and the kids ended up WALKING back to the airport. Not a long walk, certainly not after Disney, but there are plenty of homeless and sketchy people out in the middle of the night. At least you can walk into LAX. I have no idea how you would get back to Toronto airport on foot.
I must say that Air Canada went above and beyond as they waived our rebooking fee for moving the tickets. The agents were very nice and sympathetic to our issue. I think us being nice and the fact that we weren't demanding the kids be let on or shouting (there were some tears, though) helped our cause. And the fact that we DID try to get the kids tested, just that the lab hadn't sent back the results yet probably helped as well.
At the end of a very long day, the kids tests came back clean. We got on the 9:30 am flight back home to Toronto. Landed at 4:50 pm, found out our ride home wasn't able to make it due to medical reasons, so I had to take the the bus home and come back with the car. All told, we were finally able to grab a pizza and be home by 9:30 pm on Tuesday.
tl;dr: My advice is to book everything as far out as possible. The only store I can vouch for is W Orangethorpe, but they were great. Stay away from E Chapman. Be prepared to get a second $$$ test. Fly Air Canada.
