Flying into Las Vegas or Phoenix instead of LAX

[jcourtney]

We live in Regina, SK and we're considering going to Disneyland next fall. We like to fly direct whenever possible but living in SK, direct flights are hard to come by. We have in the past driven to Calgary and flown direct to LAX from there but it's about an 8 drive for us. Also I hate LAX, it's not a nice airport and the traffic around there is awful. I've looked into flying into John Wayne (SNA) but we'd have to layover overnight in Vancouver (not really an good option).

Am I crazy to be considering taking a direct flight from Regina to Las Vegas or Phoenix and renting a car and driving the 4-5 hours to Disneyland from there? Has anyone done it?

I know that I could just take a flight from Regina that has a short layover in Calgary or Vancouver. But I'm wondering if the direct flight plus avoiding LAX is worth the rental car that the drive.

What does everyone think? Feel free to tell me I'm crazy. Haha.

Edit: I don't have any prices to compare yet as this is still about a year away. But I'm thinking that flights to Vegas might be a little cheaper than to LAX, just from past experience.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Personally I'd rather deal with LAX(which is indeed one of the worst US airports) than drive another 5 hours, but that's just me.

 

[Lumpy1106]

In order of (my) preference, check these airports;
SNA (Orange County)
LGB (Long Beach)
ONT (Ontario)
LAX (Los Angles)
BUR (Burbank)
* CLD (Carlsbad - by Legoland)
SAN (San Diego)
* PSP (Palm Springs)
* SBA (Santa Barbara)

* Longshots - but what the heck? Might as well check

ALL of these are 2 hours or less from Anaheim. If you are flying into Vegas, might as well consider doing a layover there and catching a cheap flight into So Cal from there (same for Phoenix). IMHO, if you hate the drive from LAX to Anaheim, you are REALLY going to hate the drive from Las Vegas. Phoenix is a 6 hour drive and you will drive through Palm Springs 4 hours into it - so check flying in there for sure is you are seriously considering driving from Phoenix. FWIW - SJC (San Jose) and OAK (Oakland) are about a 7 hour drive away, so yeah, fly then drive from Phoenix is not a great idea.

 

[jcourtney]

In order of (my) preference, check these airports;
SNA (Orange County)
LGB (Long Beach)
ONT (Ontario)
LAX (Los Angles)
BUR (Burbank)
* CLD (Carlsbad - by Legoland)
SAN (San Diego)
* PSP (Palm Springs)
* SBA (Santa Barbara)

* Longshots - but what the heck? Might as well check

ALL of these are 2 hours or less from Anaheim. If you are flying into Vegas, might as well consider doing a layover there and catching a cheap flight into So Cal from there (same for Phoenix). IMHO, if you hate the drive from LAX to Anaheim, you are REALLY going to hate the drive from Las Vegas. Phoenix is a 6 hour drive and you will drive through Palm Springs 4 hours into it - so check flying in there for sure is you are seriously considering driving from Phoenix. FWIW - SJC (San Jose) and OAK (Oakland) are about a 7 hour drive away, so yeah, fly then drive from Phoenix is not a great idea.

Thanks that's really helpful!

 

[youngdeb12]

We are in Northern BC, so even though we have direct flights to Vancouver, Calgary & Edmonton, and all are about an 8 hour drive away, it has never crossed my mind to drive anywhere for a direct flight. I will avoid staying the night to connect unless it's my only option or so much cheaper that it negates any hotel costs, but we haven't had any issues with our connections and just sort of accept that it's par for the course living where we do. I will say having a direct flight is always preferred, but myself and the rest of my family spending longer in a car and essentially extending the length of our trip that much longer seems worse than a connection or two.

 

[Chickinvic]

Just fly from Regina with a short layover. Anything else sounds like way more hassle to me. It is impossible to get direct flights to LAX from Ottawa too. I just take whatever connection I need to.

 

[Chickinvic]

Personally I'd rather deal with LAX(which is indeed one of the worst US airports) than drive another 5 hours, but that's just me.

And as much as I don't care for LAX, it really isn't that bad. Certainly not bad enough that I would take an 8 hour drive (both ways) to avoid it. I prefer it to Pearson actually (my least favourite airport). I find Orlando airport pretty bad too, but I'll deal with it since I have to.

 

[Sdickenson]

Check the Long Beach airport. Thats where we flew Into. It’s about a 20 minute drive to Anaheim.

 

[hopemax]

There are some places, where driving through the US countryside might be a nice day trip for non-residents. The PHX to DL drive is not one of them. The rest stop is the same exit as a prison. There are sections where you drive 40 miles without an exit (which is why you have to stop at the rest stop next to the prison), through a very desolate area. And the traffic once you get into the greater LA area can drive you crazy, if you mis-time it, or chose the wrong freeway option. It's been 11 years since we made the drive, so I'm sure it's even more annoying.

 

[starvenger]

And as much as I don't care for LAX, it really isn't that bad. Certainly not bad enough that I would take an 8 hour drive (both ways) to avoid it. I prefer it to Pearson actually (my least favourite airport). I find Orlando airport pretty bad too, but I'll deal with it since I have to.

As someone who lives in the GTA and goes through Pearson on the regular, I'll gladly take my home base over LAX any day of the week - and I'm not really a fan of YYZ.

LAX isn't the worst airport I've been to (Looking at you, LaGuardia), but it's certainly not what I call "good". When you go to the offsite rental car lots, it can take a long time just to get out of the terminal loop. And then there's fun things like the WestJet check-in/bag drop being in Terminal 2, while the actual departure gates are in Terminal 3. And the TSA lines looked brutal - fortunately we had TSA Precheck (thank you, NEXUS).

But I think the thing that's most damning about LAX is the legendary Los Angeles traffic. It's pretty bad - although not half as bad as Chongqing (Let that sink in). So bad that when we were flying out we left way earlier than our usual (we try to be at the airport about 2 hours before takeoff) just to account for possible traffic.

Anyway, for the OP. I'd look into San Diego if there's a direct flight. About 2 hours from the OC, plus if you get a CityPass or similar you can use it for the Zoo and/or Legoland.

 

[SgtTibbs]

I rather enjoy the drive through the desert. Very zen. Of course that's only if you use Google maps time feature to make sure you don't hit the world ending traffic that road has from time to time.
Also factor in either the cost of a one-way rental car or the time for the drive back to Vegas and I suddenly remember why I never actually take this option.

 

[Chickinvic]

As someone who lives in the GTA and goes through Pearson on the regular, I'll gladly take my home base over LAX any day of the week - and I'm not really a fan of YYZ.

LAX isn't the worst airport I've been to (Looking at you, LaGuardia), but it's certainly not what I call "good". When you go to the offsite rental car lots, it can take a long time just to get out of the terminal loop. And then there's fun things like the WestJet check-in/bag drop being in Terminal 2, while the actual departure gates are in Terminal 3. And the TSA lines looked brutal - fortunately we had TSA Precheck (thank you, NEXUS).

But I think the thing that's most damning about LAX is the legendary Los Angeles traffic. It's pretty bad - although not half as bad as Chongqing (Let that sink in). So bad that when we were flying out we left way earlier than our usual (we try to be at the airport about 2 hours before takeoff) just to account for possible traffic.

Anyway, for the OP. I'd look into San Diego if there's a direct flight. About 2 hours from the OC, plus if you get a CityPass or similar you can use it for the Zoo and/or Legoland.

I've never had as bad a time driving there as in Toronto lol. I have never had it take me that long in LAX to get through the security. Given the choice I would fly to another nearby airport, but LAX is not that bad IMO. Getting through security in Orlando is far worse if you don't have pre-check.

 

[jcourtney]

There are some places, where driving through the US countryside might be a nice day trip for non-residents. The PHX to DL drive is not one of them. The rest stop is the same exit as a prison. There are sections where you drive 40 miles without an exit (which is why you have to stop at the rest stop next to the prison), through a very desolate area. And the traffic once you get into the greater LA area can drive you crazy, if you mis-time it, or chose the wrong freeway option. It's been 11 years since we made the drive, so I'm sure it's even more annoying.

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[prairiesarah]

Well I don't think you're crazy, but also Regina (rural) resident here too..... The flight situation out of Regina is brutal. I would actually drive the 8 hours to avoid the small Westjet Encore planes. We are going to WDW in February and I am so hoping the direct flights hold with all the changes and them pulling routes due to the MAX 8 situation. I specifically booked them and booked 2 solid weeks because of the direct flights (otherwise probably would have done 9 or 10 days). Anyway, I think being on the prairies you get a different sense of driving not being too big of a deal - we drove to and from Saskatoon in one day for an appt - not really a bit deal. I would definitely consider one of them - I really like Phoenix airport. If you do go there, I'd look at offsite car rentals - last time I went there (a few years ago for a girls weekend) we got a smokin' deal offsite - like 1/4 of onsite.

 

[BarlowFamily]

I think you've received great some great advice above! I'm a Southern CA native, and lived in Arizona for 4 years. I would try for San Diego or Long Beach for your flight. I enjoy the drive from Phoenix to SoCal, but I know not everyone does. I just think the desert is beautiful. It's a peaceful drive with a nice playlist or audiobook. I'm also sure you can get inexpensive flights from either Phoenix or Las Vegs to a good SoCal airport (like SNA). There are some discount US airlines that have lots of flights, just be prepared for all the fees (baggage, seat selection etc.) You've left yourself plenty of time to plan this. Have a great trip!

 

[kyden]

If the flight to LAS is cheap, go for it. But caution on what day of the week and time you will be driving to DL. We just did it on a Sunday morning and it took us almost 5 hours to get to Anaheim. Any later in the day and it would have been even worse. Plus the desert doesn't have much to offer, scenery wise. But we stayed in LAS a few days first. Otherwise, I'd fly into SNA or LGB if possible. LAX has so much traffic around it, and then if you drop a rental car, you sit in horrible traffic on the shuttle bus that drops you at the terminal. No thanks!

 

[Lumpy1106]

Well I don't think you're crazy, but also Regina (rural) resident here too..... The flight situation out of Regina is brutal. I would actually drive the 8 hours to avoid the small Westjet Encore planes. We are going to WDW in February and I am so hoping the direct flights hold with all the changes and them pulling routes due to the MAX 8 situation. I specifically booked them and booked 2 solid weeks because of the direct flights (otherwise probably would have done 9 or 10 days). Anyway, I think being on the prairies you get a different sense of driving not being too big of a deal - we drove to and from Saskatoon in one day for an appt - not really a bit deal. I would definitely consider one of them - I really like Phoenix airport. If you do go there, I'd look at offsite car rentals - last time I went there (a few years ago for a girls weekend) we got a smokin' deal offsite - like 1/4 of onsite.

FWIW - I did notice that Westjet has flights into Palm Springs. The drive is a little long to Anaheim but not bad. You book-end the trip with a stay in one of the very nice resorts in Palm Springs - that would be hard to beat!