From LA to Disney Land.. how long?

[Coach81]

So how long can we expect our flight(s) to take flying from New Orleans, to the closest DisneyLand Airport?

What airport would we use for DisneyLand?

 

[Reddog1134]

About 6-7 hours from New Orleans to SNA (John Wayne Airport).

 

[FourM's]

I can't recommend SNA(John Wayne) enough. I have flown into LAX, Orange County, Long Beach and John Wayne. My favorite for easiest, most direct and shortest travel (barring rush hour) is definately SNA.

 

[TagsMissy]

SNA all the way for DL!

 

[nuts]

About 6-7 hours from New Orleans to SNA (John Wayne Airport).

I assume that is with a connection. I wouldn't think a non-stop (assuming you can get one) is closer to 3 to 4 hours.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

If my choice were between a connecting flight to John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA) or a nonstop flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and the price were about the same, I would pick LAX.

SNA is closer to Disneyland. It's a pleasant, medium-sized airport. You can rent a car without having to take a bus. The problem is that nonstop service to SNA is limited.

LAX is a mega-airport, with all the crowds and inconvenience that you might imagine. LAX has nonstops from far more airports than LAX.

As soon as you have to change planes, your travel time increases, usually by a couple of hours each way, and you introduce the very real risk of missing your connection and having to wait at the connecting airport for a later flight.

Sometimes (but not always) connections are substantially cheaper than nonstops. In that case, I would prefer a connection to SNA over a connection to LAX.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

A great place to compare your options, including departure times and arrival times, and total travel time is Kayak: http://www.kayak.com

 

[DebbieB]

I checked Orbitz, there are no non-stops MSY-SNA. LAX has non-stops on Southwest, Delta & United. Unless it's far more expensive, I would go with the non-stop to LAX. It's probably about 45 minutes to an hour to DL from there. SNA is about 20 minutes.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

If my choice were between a connecting flight to John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA) or a nonstop flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and the price were about the same, I would pick LAX.

SNA is closer to Disneyland. It's a pleasant, medium-sized airport. You can rent a car without having to take a bus. The problem is that nonstop service to SNA is limited.

LAX is a mega-airport, with all the crowds and inconvenience that you might imagine. LAX has nonstops from far more airports than LAX.

As soon as you have to change planes, your travel time increases, usually by a couple of hours each way, and you introduce the very real risk of missing your connection and having to wait at the connecting airport for a later flight.

Sometimes (but not always) connections are substantially cheaper than nonstops. In that case, I would prefer a connection to SNA over a connection to LAX.

However, that savings in time....

On the return you will need to allow ALL of that to get to LAX.

I live in Atlanta and work in Orange County, CA I do fly out of LAX when it's a LOT cheaper. My commute time to SNA... half an hour (about the same as it would be from the Disney resorts) My commute time to LAX... well, I leave two hours to get there and 90 minutes at the airport (assuming you are returning a car.. If you don't return a car then you cand drop 30 minutes off of that , but the TSA set up is a nightmare at some of the terminals.

Yes, it's an hour drive... but it's LA. Traffic is a nightmare and the time you leave an hour, you will be caught in some mess. (My record is 3 hours... that was the time they closed the interstate to land the life flight helicopter. Luckily it was the night before my flight )

 

[Coach81]

Thanks for all the replies.. just looked at the Southwest sight.. no flights to John Wayne that I saw.. but several to LAX..

Got some time to do more homework.. We're not going there until summer of '12.. but by the time it gets here, I want to have a solid game plan.

So.. by some chance.. anyone here have experience with this trip first hand? Anyone here from Louisiana that has visited DisneyLand, and would like to share?

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Hi. We just got back yesterday from DL and we live in Texas. First off, the weather was WONDERFUL. We flew into SNA and it took us 20 minutes to get to the hotel and a 15 min return to the airport. Traffic to LAX area is beyond horrible. We went to LA for the day and the traffic was crazy, give me rush hour in Chicago or Dallas any day.

 

[cjb-nc]

March'09 we took our first trip to DL at the tail end of a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise. Flew into to LAX before the cruise and used the line's transfers to and from the port. After the cruise they sent us back into LAX late morning. We hopped another shuttle out to Thrifty and had a fairly uneventful drive out to Anaheim. Our return flight was early 8am I think. We left the hotel around 5-530a and didn't hit any traffic back to LAX either. Not a bad way to go. We did make sure to avoid rush hour in both directions. Having our GPS with us helped.

 

[Coach81]

I'm starting to fear three letters.. LAX!

 

[DebbieB]

I'm starting to fear three letters.. LAX!

It's not that bad. Unless you are planning to venture out beyond DL, I would just take the Disneyland Express and let them handle the driving. I did it last year and it was no problem. I arrived mid-day, there was not much traffic. I think my return was late morning, again not much traffic. If you are just staying around DL, there's no need for a car. Everything is within walking distance.

I've been to LAX many times for business travel and have never seen long security lines. I usually fly USAir, which is terminal 1 (SW is also terminal 1).

 

[La2kw]

I vote for Long Beach airport. No crowds, parking and rental cars across the street, and 20 minutes to Disneyland.

 

[twinboysmom]

I'm a New Orleans girl. The Mississippi thing is only a temporary home for the next few years or so. Before the boys, we went to DL in Oct 2008. Loved it. If it wasn't for the flight, we would definitely take the boys there for their first trip instead of WDW. It was so easy to get around and in all truthfulness, I would choose it over WDW any day. We flew out of MSY to LAX nonstop on United. We rented a car and it took us about 45 minutes. I know they have some shuttle services as well. We stayed at the GC before they built the villas and spent one night at the DH. I so want to go back. We're thinking in about 4 years or so for DL. Hope you have a nice trip!

 

[Grumpygrandpa]

SNA is the best, but I like Burbank too. It's a nice small airport that I can get bargains into from norcal for some reason.