LAX Flight Time Advice from Disneyland

[GrnMtnMan]

We’re doing DL next summer and will be flying back to Washington DC and I’m looking for advice from Disneyland folks about what flight I should choose. We’ll be staying at the Grand Californian, flying home on Friday August 16th.

There are a good number of LAX non-stops with decent prices. I could use advice about which flight times would be the better choice from the perspective of getting to LAX from Anaheim in LA weekday traffic

There are non-stop LAX departures around 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM, 9:45 AM, noon, and 1 PM.

My preferred flights would be 9:45 AM or 12:55 PM. Which would you choose and why? Would it be better to grab something earlier than 8 AM? Or is it better to give us plenty of time to get from Anaheim to LAX and take the 12:55 PM?

Transportation wise, we might have a rental car or we might take a shuttle.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Background: I’m with my kids, so red-eyes are off the table. And connecting anywhere in the country mid-afternoon in August seems like a bad idea, so probably only want to do a non-stop. Which means I have to go to LAX because all of the SNA/LGB flights to my area involve a connection.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Since you'll have your kids with you, here's one more option to throw into the mix: would it be possible to stay at a hotel by LAX (you can get good rates since there are so many chain/big name hotels right by the airport) the night before, thereby making getting to the airport for any of those flights pretty easy? If you did a later check in the night before, you could skip the rush hour traffic. Maybe do one last hurrah dinner at DLR, then hit the road?

 

[2tinkerbell]

I was thinking that if you did the 12:55pm flight that you could have the earliest seating at either Storytellers or Goofy's Kitchen and then hit the road. Unless that is too much stress - getting to the airport with kiddos, returning rental car, etc.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Since you'll have your kids with you, here's one more option to throw into the mix: would it be possible to stay at a hotel by LAX (you can get good rates since there are so many chain/big name hotels right by the airport) the night before, thereby making getting to the airport for any of those flights pretty easy? If you did a later check in the night before, you could skip the rush hour traffic. Maybe do one last hurrah dinner at DLR, then hit the road?

Thanks! I've thought about this, and it might be the way we go....we're thinking about going for a 1 BR DVC unit at the GC, and then we'd only have enough points for 4 nights there. We'd drop the last night from our planned 5 night stay and stay near the airport. But I can't try for this until January (7 months if you're DVC).

Put another way, are you saying don't bother with the earlier flights if I'm not near the airport?

Thanks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks! I've thought about this, and it might be the way we go....we're thinking about going for a 1 BR DVC unit at the GC, and then we'd only have enough points for 4 nights there. We'd drop the last night from our planned 5 night stay and stay near the airport. But I can't try for this until January (7 months if you're DVC).

Put another way, are you saying don't bother with the earlier flights if I'm not near the airport?

Thanks!

You can do the earlier flights but my rule of thumb is leave Disneyland 3 hours prior to LAX departure if it’s not rush hour. No way in heck would I want to be getting kids up that early after they’ve spent the last few days in DL. I’d much rather transit to a hotel airport (preferably one with a shuttle) & drop the car off the day before (I understand car rentals are a pain in the rear at LAX) and get a little more sleep in the morning.

TBH my preference would be the 1pm departure & nice breakfast. I’d leave GCH by 10am so I’d make a breakfast reservation at 8am. If you need to drop off a rental car add more time to that estimate. (Idk how much having never rented at LAX but my understanding is all rentals require shuttle buses.)

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... Put another way, are you saying don't bother with the earlier flights if I'm not near the airport?..

Not really. More like: why not make things as easy as possible on you and your family by getting everyone to the airport in a way that makes your return trip as stress free as possible? This way traffic is a non-issue since it can't make you miss your flight -- even if there is an accident on the freeway, you're still good. This way, no matter how tired and cranky the kids are (or you are!), you can take your time and get one good night's sleep before getting on the plane. Flying with kids can be stressful enough. Flying with kids tired out from a Disney vacation can be a bit more stressful. Removing the freeway traffic, car rental return, getting there on time, etc. factors just helps make your morning that much easier. You could still choose whichever flight you want and have one nice breakfast at the hotel before leaving.
If you go with a car service instead of a rental (Lansky's gets good reviews here -- they'll provide a booster if you'll need one), you could spend your last night at the GCH, do a nice farewell breakfast on site, then head for LAX for the latest flight out. The car service would tell you what time you need to hit the road to make your flight.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I appreciate all the advice. Thank You!