Flying out of LAX

[Flitterific]

Hi Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for a while...work has been crazy hectic and I crash when I get home. I was totally looking forward to a March trip but my supervisor is pregnant and it looks like I won't be able to go to DLR for a while. DBF knows how sad I am and said he is willing to cut our upcoming Vegas trip (next weekend) one day short so we can drive to DLR and hit the parks for one day! We normally fly out of SNA but we can save about $130 by flying out of LAX.

I want to spend as much time as possible at the parks and try to catch one of the last flights out (probably around 9pm on Tuesday, Feb 22nd). I know how horrible LA traffic is. Google Maps say that the drive from DLR to LAX is a little less than 40 minutes without traffic but can be more than 1.5 hours with traffic. Anyone have suggestions on which route to take to avoid getting stuck in traffic and what time we should leave the parks? I will need to factor in car rental return and checking in our bags as well. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! TIA!

 

[bumbershoot]

I, personally, would pay to fly out of SNA. Assuming that difference is total (not per person). Because we're arrive-2-hours-before people, and because we once almost missed our flight out of LAX (running to the gate from security, the only thing that saved us was that the flight hadn't even boarded 5 minutes before it was supposed to take off), I would be leaving the gates of DLR 4 hours before that flight...and $130 would allow me to stay at the parks a bit longer with much less road stress.

I am not an LAX hater by any means, I actually quite like arriving and departing from there...but the stress of that drive, especially for such a short visit...it's worth paying more to avoid it.

 

[Golfing Goofy]

I have to agree with Bumbershoot. I fly in and out of SoCal many times throughout the year. I find flying out of LAX is much more time consuming than SNA. You just have to allow yourself plenty of time because you never know how traffic will be running that day.

Maybe here is an option. Sometimes, I can split up my arrivals and departures. So, I will fly into LAX and then out of SNA. Flying into LAX is a breeze....It can be a little cheaper than flying roundtrip in and out of SNA. (But, not all carriers allow that at a discounted rate.)

Hope that helps. Have fun!

 

[Flitterific]

I, personally, would pay to fly out of SNA. Assuming that difference is total (not per person). Because we're arrive-2-hours-before people, and because we once almost missed our flight out of LAX (running to the gate from security, the only thing that saved us was that the flight hadn't even boarded 5 minutes before it was supposed to take off), I would be leaving the gates of DLR 4 hours before that flight...and $130 would allow me to stay at the parks a bit longer with much less road stress.

I am not an LAX hater by any means, I actually quite like arriving and departing from there...but the stress of that drive, especially for such a short visit...it's worth paying more to avoid it.

You are correct in that we are saving about $130 for the both of us. Wow...4 hours before the flight? Hmm...that means that regardless of if we fly out of SNA or LAX, we will need to leave the parks around 4:30ish. I was hoping to squeeze a little more park time out but perhaps we'll just fly out of SNA like you suggested as that is what we are used to. That way, I'll be able to get home earlier and rest up.

I have to agree with Bumbershoot. I fly in and out of SoCal many times throughout the year. I find flying out of LAX is much more time consuming than SNA. You just have to allow yourself plenty of time because you never know how traffic will be running that day.

Maybe here is an option. Sometimes, I can split up my arrivals and departures. So, I will fly into LAX and then out of SNA. Flying into LAX is a breeze....It can be a little cheaper than flying roundtrip in and out of SNA. (But, not all carriers allow that at a discounted rate.)

Hope that helps. Have fun!

Thanks for the suggestion as well! We are actually flying to LAS and then driving from Vegas to DLR Tuesday morning (as opposed to flying) and then flying out of the LA area. I guess I'll just fork out the extra $130 and not have to stress about missing my flight due to horrible LA traffic.