Flying out of YYC to DL

[BijouBabe]

This year when we went on our trip to DL we booked through my school's travel agency and I was none too impressed with the service, so for next February I plan on booking on my own or through a professional travel agency/airline. Who do you recommend to book through? Do you prefer booking packages or everything separately? We flew into SNA on our trip and loved that it was so close to our hotel and the parks as opposed to LAX but from what I hear it's cheaper to fly through LAX and the selection for flights is much better, so which one would you consider a better option?

 

[KateDrake]

I've never flown to either from Canada (we just moved up from the States), but I would go with whichever one has the better deal or flight times that work best for you. LAX is about my least favorite airport on the planet, but as long as you don't have to transfer there, it isn't that bad. I much prefer SNA (and Long Beach is even better), but if you can save a ton by going to LAX, I would do it.

Now if it is pretty much the same, or even just a little bit more, I would choose SNA in a heartbeat!

ETA: I always book my own arrangements, because I can usually find a better deal booking components separately. I would highly recommend booking a non-Disney hotel, because the price just isn't worth it to us to be in the Disney bubble at DLR. I'd ask a few questions on the Disneyland board, they are all really nice and super helpful!

 

[BijouBabe]

I've never flown to either from Canada (we just moved up from the States), but I would go with whichever one has the better deal or flight times that work best for you. LAX is about my least favorite airport on the planet, but as long as you don't have to transfer there, it isn't that bad. I much prefer SNA (and Long Beach is even better), but if you can save a ton by going to LAX, I would do it. Now if it is pretty much the same, or even just a little bit more, I would choose SNA in a heartbeat! ETA: I always book my own arrangements, because I can usually find a better deal booking components separately. I would highly recommend booking a non-Disney hotel, because the price just isn't worth it to us to be in the Disney bubble at DLR. I'd ask a few questions on the Disneyland board, they are all really nice and super helpful!

Thanks and welcome to Canada! From what I could see flights seem to only be $100 more to fly into SNA and I loved that airport. I've done LAX in the past for a transfer and hated it. We stayed offsite last time and I didn't mind the place (Castle Inn) but the noise was horrendous. I was woken up by the people upstairs turning their shower on there was no sound proofing at all between floors. We went with friends last time and seeing as how it is just me and DS this time can be more pickier about where we stay as we only need one bed. Do you book through hotel sites or is there specific sites you use? I love how helpful the Disboards are and everyone was so great when I planned our last trip.

 

[minnie mum]

I agree that if it is feasible, SNA would be SO much better than LAX. I've only flown into SNA once, but have had the ordeal of LAX too many times.

As for hotels, we've stayed at HoJos several times and liked it. There's a thread about it now on the Disneyland forum. Have a look via their website and see what you think. Rates are reasonable (check for discounts) and the place is clean and comfortable.

I prefer to do my own booking. Each thing separately via their websites. I prefer to be in control of my vacation when it comes to Disney trips. But I will also check out hotels on TripAdvisor while I'm researching.

 

[Aladora]

We will only fly into SNA, I find the convenience of how close it is to the parks far outweighs the extra cost. We also take a taxi from the airport to the hotel to any extra cost for the flights is made up in the savings on transportation, at least that's what I tell myself! We also catch a ferry to Seattle and stay overnight so we can catch the first flight of the day. It gets us into SNA around 10:30am so we are in the parks by noon!

As for hotels, we stayed at the DLH for the first trip we took with DS but after that we have stayed at various motels along Harbour Blvd. You really cannot beat how close they are, especially since we like to take a mid day break.

We have stayed at 3 different motels along Harbour, each had their pros and cons.

Park Vue Inn: we stayed there March 2012. They have a hot breakfast and at the time we stayed they also had free bottles of water, fruit and cookies in the lobby as well as an evening "dinner" hour with one hot dish served between 6-7 pm. They have since stopped everything except the hot breakfast.

Desert Inn & Suites: we have stayed there twice, April 2013 and March 2014. Great price if you book far enough in advance. They also have fantastic suite configurations for up to 10 people. They have a small breakfast with pastries, toast, hard boiled eggs, coffee, tea, juice and cereal.

Castle Inn: we stayed there September 2013 when we decided to go at the last minute. Out of the three places, this one was the furthest but still within 10 minutes walk even with our 8 year old's slow walking pace! No breakfast.

We are heading back in less than a month and we had a reservation at DI&S but since my SIL is joining us, I changed the reservation to one at PVI. The per day cost is $20 more but I figured that over the course of the 5 days we will save at least that much by being able to have breakfast there.

I've booked everything myself after the first trip and I find that I can get a much better deal by booking separately.

 

[KateDrake]

Thanks and welcome to Canada! From what I could see flights seem to only be $100 more to fly into SNA and I loved that airport. I've done LAX in the past for a transfer and hated it. We stayed offsite last time and I didn't mind the place (Castle Inn) but the noise was horrendous. I was woken up by the people upstairs turning their shower on there was no sound proofing at all between floors. We went with friends last time and seeing as how it is just me and DS this time can be more pickier about where we stay as we only need one bed. Do you book through hotel sites or is there specific sites you use? I love how helpful the Disboards are and everyone was so great when I planned our last trip.

We have two favorites, where we usually stay. If we are spending a little more, we stay at the Fairfield Inn. It's about as far from DLR as the Castle Inn, but in the opposite direction. They offer some Disney "themed" rooms, which are kind of fun.

Our favorite for a cheap stay is the Del Sol. It is LITERALLY right across the street! You are about 100 meters from the crosswalk, super easy. They are a budget hotel but we've always had a great experience. They have a free breakfast, which isn't amazing, but it's fine for grabbing a piece of toast on the way to the parks.

I have a couple of sites I've had good luck with, but they are all American! So I don't know if they would work for you! We often use Get Away Today, because they usually have a good offer for a 4th night free at the hotel, or reduced tickets, etc. But I'm not sure if it would be worth it to use them if you had to convert to American currency?

 

[BijouBabe]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I did a quick check of flights during our time to LAX and SNA and the price was only $10-20 difference so I think we will keep with going to SNA. It was just such a better place to navigate than LAX so I think we will keep flying into there. Booking things separately will probably save me some money in the long run so will probably do that as I know you can get discounts at different hotels. I signed up for HoJo's emails and Tropicanna has an extended stay discount (you save $20/night if staying for more than 5 nights, we're planning on 10). My next question is would it be a good idea to get the SoCal City Pass from Costco and then upgrade to a 5 day hopper?