John Wayne vs LAX??

michellelovesthemous

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
978
We normally use LAX and this year I was thinking of flying into John Wayne I'm wondering if anybody can tell me which is the better airport and why thinking of this time we really want to go through SNA it appears to be closer and less expensive for the shuttle any answers would be much appreciated
 
SNA is soooo much smaller and so much closer. Typically it can be a bit more expensive than LAX but I'd pay the extra just to fly into that airport instead.
It took us 30 minutes from getting off our plane to getting inside our rental car. Less than 30 minutes later we were pulling up to our hotel.
Hope that helps!
 
SNA for sure! We always fly into there rather than LAX, coming from SEA the flight cost is typically the same and we have several flight time choices so it's an easy decision. We were just there in Aug and I kept good records on travel time so I could accurately answer questions like this! We were off our plane at 3pm, claimed our bags, and in our Lansky's car at 3:20, this was a Sat. We arrived at my parents' hotel at 3:40 and we were dropped off at our hotel at 3:50. Flying home was on a Friday, left hotel at 5:33, arrived at SNA at 5:50.
 
Generally, yes, SNA is just better to fly into. We rarely do unless there's a seat seat because based on our origin, there are soany more and cheaper flights with better times going into LAX. Anytime that it's possible though, I prefer to fly into SNA for all the reasons listed.
 

For us, also flying out of Seattle, we are in the same situation as Angela above. Flying Alaska Airlines, the prices were the same flying to SNA as they were for LAX and I liked the all the flight times available to us. Flying to SNA is so much nicer than LAX. We don't do shuttles but instead just a taxi straight to the hotel. It was $45 total for the 4 of us, one way to the hotel. Even if an airline ticket was $10-$15 more to fly to SNA, I would pay it. It's worth it.
 
We flew into Long Beach this year and it was great!! It's so small, only one terminal. It was so nice! I can't say enough good about the experience and JetBlue!
 
I've been to SNA, LGB & LAX & we hate LAX. If you want to get to the DL area it's best to use the other two airports. LAX is congested & you have to deal with traffic & if taking a shuttle you have to wait until they fill the shuttle before they take off. At the other two smaller airports, no traffic or congestion & shuttle takes off as soon as you get there. Its just a better experience imo.
 
Always SNA for us if we are only doing Disneyland.

Security is usually better along with the fact it is super close to the parks. You also usually tend with less traffic than when coming from LAX.
 
We have flown into LAX, Long Beach and John Wayne from Portland. My first preference is Long Beach, it is much smaller and no crowds. Next would be SNA (John Wayne) and I will avoid LAX at all costs!
 
We have flown into LAX, Long Beach and John Wayne from Portland. My first preference is Long Beach, it is much smaller and no crowds. Next would be SNA (John Wayne) and I will avoid LAX at all costs!

Isn't Long Beach a wonderful airport?
 
Part of my decision is if I can get a non-stop to LAX vs a connection to SNA. There are no non-stops to SNA from PIT. I can sometimes get a non-stop to LAX. There are also more flight times available to LAX. When I went to D23 in 2013, I wanted a redeye home that Sunday night. There were none from SNA for me to connect from. This year I stayed over at the LAX Hilton and took the non-stop home in the morning.
 
Our order of preference for airports is: LGB (Long Beach), SNA (John Wayne), and then LAX.

LGB is the smallest airport, just 14 gates. Getting through TSA takes mere moments (seriously, like less than 5 minutes any time we've been there). Unfortunately, there aren't many large airlines that fly out of there that I'm aware of. We always fly Jet Blue in/out of LGB. A taxi is $45 to the Disneyland resort area, and about $55 for the way back. Commonly, from PDX to LGB is about $100 each way. A taxi ride is about 25-35 minutes.

SNA is a small airport, but not as small as LGB. Many major airlines fly though SNA. We usually would fly Southwest through SNA. Our "great buy" price (again from PDX) to SNA is $150 or so. A taxi from SNA to Disneyland resort area is $40-45 each way. A taxi ride is about 30-40 minutes (I can't remember clearly, as it's been 18 months since I flew into SNA.)

LAX is the largest. Most major airlines fly through it. We found SW and Virgin to generally be the cheapest non-commuter flights here. Flights are usually the cheapest going here, but it's the furthest away from DL resort area. Our "buy price" for LAX is under $120 each way. A taxi is $100 each way, so we won't do a taxi from LAX! We usually do the Disneyland Resort Express (not ran by Disneyland). A ride usually takes 1+ hours (it's been as long as 2 hours when we flew in Wednesday afternoon and hit rush hour traffic.
 
We prefer SNA for Disneyland only trips. We tried Uber for the first time and it was amazingly quick. Don't think we will fly into any other airport other than SNA now.
 
Ok I pulled the trigger on a flight to SNA from Seattle RT for 2 non stop AA was $382 and less than LAX for once!! Also the shuttle was cheaper from SNA too so money saved there means more to spend at DL plus by the sound of it more time too!

So as we are landing at 8:45am on a Friday do ya'll think it will still be a quick trip to BWPPI?
 
Here's another Seattle-ite with a vote for Long Beach Airport and Jetblue. Got our round-trip tix for December for $174 each. Unlimited free snacks on the plane and TVs in every seat! This will be the second time flying Jetblue into LGB, and our third time using LGB in general (used Alaska Airlines the first time). I know you already pulled the trigger on your flight into SNA, but for future reference, I've always seen the lowest prices over the last few years on Jetblue into LGB, so don't forget to add it to your search parameter for next time.
 
Long Beach (LGB) and John Wayne (SNA) are closer to Disneyland. If fares are within $50-100 versus LAX, choose SNA.

LAX is further from Disneyland, so factor in transportation costs. And convenience.

LAX benefit is the number of airlines it supports. Lot more competitive pricing flying in/out of LAX. Also offers the lower cost airline options like Spirit Air.

https://www.spirit.com/
 
We're flying into LAX, the price line was cheaper than SNA by at least $100. Since we always fly Southwest (2 bags free) when we have a choice, LGB wasn't an option for us.

I haven't minded the drive before and we'll be getting in late - if SNA were cheaper I'd always fly in there but I'm not attached to LAX in any way. The drive back is always a bit nerve wracking though because of the traffic.
 
We flew into SNA back in March and it was awesome! It is a smaller airport than LAX which makes it much easier to get in and out of plus the drive was about 30 minutes from the airport to our hotel.

I would highly recommend flying into SNA over LAX.
 
I see you got your tickets already, but I'm throwing in another vote for SNA. We always do LGB or SNA. I avoid LAX at all costs.
 


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