Flying into So Cal

[DisneyDotty]

We're looking to fly into Southern California early Thanksgiving week. We're starting our trip in Disneyland (of course! ) and ending in San Diego. Should we try for flights into SNA and out of San Diego? Or would R/T SNA make more sense? How long is the drive from Disneyland to San Diego?
And does anyone have a crystal ball and can tell me when the airfare will drop below $300 from Chicago to Southern California for that week? Or should I just suck it up and book now? (Southwest doesn't have its sale price airfare for that week yet--their Ding sales only go through Oct. 31 so far. Will they affect the rest of the market?)
Thanks!

 

[grumpy.uncle]

I've always flown into Orange county (John Wayne Airport). Is that the same as SNA? It's a fairly small airport and easy to get to DL from. San Diego is quite a long ways from DL so I think I'd book my return flight from San Diego if that is where you are ending your trip. If you've never been to southern CA, the traffic on the freeways is unbelievable. It is stop and go most days, including weekends when there isn't the commute traffic. When we have driven down to DL from northern CA, the trip is great until we get into LA. It is so frustrating to be 10 miles away from DL and sitting on a freeway for and hour or more. They have improved the roads right near DL. Alot of money was spent improving freeway access, but you still have to get to the exit to be able to get there. You might be able to book you flights a little further out but keep in mind that TG week is one of the busiest air flight times. If you are flying early in the week, you are probably better off. We have been to DL the week after TG. It is a great time to go. The crowds are significantly lower than the previous week. You should have wonderful weather and all the Xmas decor will be up. I love DL during the holidays. I think that's when it's at its finest. Be sure to go to Haunted Mansion as it will be switched over to the Nightmare Before Xmas decor. It's only done during the fall months and as far as I know, it's only done at DL.

 

[Valencia Joe]

Actually Disneyland to San Diego is not that far. Probably a 90 minute drive on the freeway.

With regards to airfare, you have to remember that costs varies by which airport you fly into. I'd do a search on all three airports (LAX, John Wayne Airport - Orange County, and San Diego) and see the price difference. Also, you may want to check into Jet Blue and see if they fly from Chicago to Long Beach. I understand that their fares are pretty competitive and Long Beach is about a 15 to 20 minute drive to Disneyland.

 

[HungryBear]

Go to kayak to search airfare. Check RT to San Diego and click the little checkbox for Show Nearby Airports. (For some reason it gives me SNA when I check San Diego but it doesn't give me San Diego when I check SNA.) Kayak is AWESOME. You can toggle your flight times, fare, airlines, airports and it will adjust your search results. This is the easist way to compare airfare to different cities.

You can also check a multi-city route and can see if it's a good deal to fly in/out of different airports.