LAX or ONT?

[churchlady]

We are contemplating our first trip to Disneyland from Georgia in October. We have enough frequent flyer miles to get to either airport, and I think both are the same distance. DH says ONT is less crowded, but it looks like the Disney ground transportation runs from LAX. We plan to stay on the property. I am wondering if we should ONT and rent a car or LAX and let Disney handle it . We would like to explore outside the grounds a bit, but I noticed some packages include transportation.

Tough decisions! Any input? Any other suggestions for a 1st timer?

We are a family of 5 with 3 full days to spend. Thanks!!

 

[jonnyboyca]

Well there's nothing like having the freedom of a rental car while around Disneyland. There is PLENTY to see and do outside Disneyland such as the dinner and show at Medieval Times (so fun!)... medievaltimes (dot) com There's also the beach and about a 30-40 minute drive to all the sites in Hollywood.

~jon

 

[pampat]

When travelling to Disneyland, our airport of choice is John Wayne at Santa Ana (SNA). Its the closest (I think) to DL, not a huge place and very user friendly.

Pam

 

[CA_Stitch]

John Wayne is the closest airport to DL. The airlines know that so usually there is a little premium on the ticket price...

you may be able to get a good deal though.

 

[KristiA]

We flew into and out of Ontario a month ago (boo hoo, wish we were still there). This airport was awesome! So easy and hardly anyone there. We rented a car- we just waited at the airport and DH and my dad went and got the car and were back very quickly. I think it was about a 40-45 min drive to our hotel.

Several people on the plane flying out who were from California said we made the right decision by NOT going to LAX. They said that place is a nightmare! We will definitely continue to use that airport.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

Long Beach is also an option.

 

[cats mom]

I'd probably go with ONT and a rental car - but I really like the flexibility of having my own transportation and I prefer ONT to LAX as well.

ONT is much smaller than LAX, but don't let the horror stories about LAX bother you too much if you're thinking about going that route.
It's big but it's pretty easy to navigate and we've always gotten through security and to our gate fairly quickly (they're used to moving a huge number of people through every day)
Now waiting for the plane might be another story... LAX is known for delays, probably a given considering the # of flights every day, and we've encountered our share of waits there.

 

[Disney Fans]

We are going this fall and every time I checked for flights the cheapest for us from DFW was going to SNA or Longbeach which are both much closer.

Check flights to those to from ATL. (I lived in ATL and so we have flown out of there several times when we lived their. ) So try those two and I think you should have no problem using your FF miles.
Good Luck!!
Hope this helps!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I think it depends on your airline and what city you are flying from. My brother and his wife flew into SNA on American for our joint family trip a year ago. They got $250 round trip from Chicago to SNA direct. I had to fly into LAX on American because American doens't fly direct from Denver into SNA and the airlines that did were wanting almost $400 that trip. So I chose LAX and saved a bundle. I did the same thing last week. Sometimes I get good airfare into SNA but since the 50th started up, its harder to come by. As for LAX vs. ONT, ONT is a nice, smaller airport that feels more user friendly (more seating at the gate, cleaner, not as crowded). However I have flown into LAX several times and never had a problem. If you don't mind the rental car and LAX and ONT are the two choices, I would probably pick ONT. Also, it seemed like when we flew into ONT and arrived right during rush hour (and left during rush hour) the traffic was mostly going the other way as we headed in and out of the Disneyland area. Maybe we were lucky, someone who knows L.A. traffic patterns could probably tell you what the traffic will be like at one vs. the other.

 

[tlovesdis]

Just flew in and out of Ontario this weekend (got back a few hours ago). It was great. We normally fly JetBlue into Long Beach, but couldn't get a deal so we went with SW into Ontario. We rented a car and it only took us about a half hour to get to our hotel. The airport is great! I would recommend it over LAX for sure!

 

[GoofieRuthie]

Whew! I'm feeling better now. I just booked tickets flying into ONT myself. This will be our first trip ever to CA and I know zip about anything in the area. We plan on renting a car also.

 

[jonnyboyca]

Whew! I'm feeling better now. I just booked tickets flying into ONT myself. This will be our first trip ever to CA and I know zip about anything in the area. We plan on renting a car also.

Well I've lived all over Northern California and am moving to Souther California July 15th (10 minutes from DL!!!) so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

~jon

 

[djm99]

Last summer we came into ONT from St. Louis. It was a small airport. I like small airports. It wasn't complicated at all. I found some great codes for exceptionally inexpensive rental cars. We were there for two weeks and we had a intermediate car that was under $150 - total for both weeks. I rented from enterprise which if memory serves me correctly, wasn't on location but airport transportation took us. It was quick, easy and to the point. It took us about 30 minutes to get to DL. We stayed across the street from the parks. It took us over a hour from LA when we returned to the airport.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Well, kinda tough question. Overall, due to traffic and chaos, of the airports I like Long Beach, ONT and then LAX. Just less hassle. But, you're not just asking about the airports themselves, you're asking about transportation, too. I'd still go for one of the other airports instead of LAX if the cost was equal or even if I had to pay slightly more. I like having a vehicle, but really what would sway me is the extra time I'd get to spend at Disney going into a non-LAX airport. You'd need less time between leaving Disney and the airports by going through Long Beach or ONT due to traffic and the lines at LAX.
I don't think any of the options are truly "bad", so I wouldn't worry if your choice ends up being LAX due to times of flights, or decide you'd rather not drive in SoCal. (I know my DH won't!)

 

[Dizneydaz]

We live in Corona and our preference is ONT over LAX. Not only is arriving easier, but departure is also easier. We flew to FL from LAX once, and the rest of the time from ONT. For LAX, We had to leave our house 3 hrs. before flight time to allow us enough driving time (1-1/2 hrs.), plus park car, plus check-in. When we leave out of ONT we leave our house about 1-1/2 hrs. before flight time. We don't fly from SNA only because the tix are always more for the flights we are planning.

Have a great trip!

 

[YoHo]

What's the Runway like at ONT? I won't fly into SNA, because it's the shortest runway the FAA allows and I don't feel like finding out if my Pilot is ex-Navy or Ex-Airforce. Plus, I prefer to fly in larger planes when possible, so I'm stuck with LAX or SAN.

This is the same reason I prefer OHare over Midway when I fly to Chicago to see my parents.