LAX or SNA

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Which airport is better to fly into when visiting Disneyland/DCA?

Thanks!!!

 

[minnieandmickey]

SNA is definately closer than LAX , but most times more expensive. Of course the expense may not be that bad if you think of the LA traffic you have to drive through if you fly into LAX. If I had a choice I would probably go to SNA.

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

I prefer SNA as well but the cost difference makes it worthwhile (for us) to fly into LAX. Right now its $89.50 RT to LAX but the cheapest I can find to SNA is $118 and the times don't work out. We have had good luck flying in late to LAX and we can miss (most) of the traffic that way.

 

[teri]

I prefer SNA if I can get a good rate, becasue it is smaller and less stress to get through. SNA may be closer, but do be careful that you get the right kind of transportation to the resort. We took a generic van last time that made multiple stops in Santa Ana, and it took about 90 minutes to get to Disneyland. Just make sure the shuttle is going straight to the resort area.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Also look into ONT (Ontario). It is not far away at all and very easy to get around.
That's where we flew into.

 

[glewis1123]

Hey luv2roam - how far is Ontario from DL - We usually fly into SNA but right now airfare for us is $118 +taxes rt but lax and ont are $78RT +taxes.

I know taxi's one way from sna to dl hotel is $25 plus tip. How did you get from ont to DL and how much did it cost and how long did it take?

We're going sept 2 - 5 and were going to drive - about 6 hours for us - but if I can get good airfare I could probably talk hubby into flying again.

Thanks for the info

 

[Luv2Roam]

Seems like it only took like a half hour for us to drive from Anaheim to ONT. I think there is only 37 miles between the two, and it was highway all the way. We didn't hit that heavy, heavy traffic like you normally get in So CA. It wasn't a bad drive at all.
I have flown into LAX before too. Pretty flight leaving, but...
ONT is a nice size airport. I would compare it to Omaha's airport, but that most likely won't tell you anything! Imagine a smaller, cleaner, newer Midway (Chicago).

 

[Luv2Roam]

Oh, and we got there and back via rental vehicle. We reserved one through hotwire.com and for a very good price. (SUV) It ended up being through Budget. I was wondering myself if there was another way besides rental car. It is a great way to fly in and out with little or no trouble. We even flew in the Saturday before Memorial Day and it was not bad. We flew back the following Sat (June 2) and it was dead.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Quite a coincidence. My sister flew out of ONT early yesterday morning. (She lives in Yucca Valley.) She said the early morning traffic was brutal. (Rush hour) Plus she said there was a filming crew along the way at a shopping center and everyone was rubbernecking.
So as a warning, the surrounding traffic can be bad; that just wasn't our experience. We arrived and departed on Saturdays. The arrival was 10 am their time. Departure was 2 pm, their time.
I would suggest to anyone not to have a stop over into Dallas/FW. That was terrible!!! Coming and going, we spent around 2 hours just taxi-ing on the runway!

 

[Michelle]

I definitely would not recommend flying in/out of Ontario on a weekday; the route to get there is HEAVILY traveled by commuters and as Luv2Roam's sister said, the traffic is brutal.

LAX and SNA are much closer and depending upon the airline you can usually find similar pricing to fly in to either.

 

[DQfan]

what is SNA? Isn't there an airport in Anaheim?

 

[Michelle]

SNA is the airport code for John Wayne airport in Orange County -- it is NOT in Anaheim, it's about 20 miles away in Santa Ana.

 

[lminster]

If you plan to rent a car, definately fly into Orange County airport. All the rental car companies at LAX are now located offsite and you have to travel buy bus to get to them. It's a major drag and pain in the neck - especially with kids, bags, strollers, carseats, etc.

 

[doombuggy]

I have done both, and they each have their pros & cons. When we flew into LAX, we had a direct flight from Newark (NJ) and the r/t was two hundred something ( this was in 1998). We took a bus to the DL Pacfic, as it was called then. We wne again next year and flew into John Wayne. This was not a direct flight and we had a layover in Houston. We rented a car, and experienced no problems, but it was not rush hour. We drove to the studios on a Monday morning, again after rush hour. I preferred the direct flight, but the travel time from Orange County was much shorter. If you can get a direct flight, I would go there intead of LAX. I live on the east coast, and the jet lag was very bad when we came home, as we flew to Houston first, had a layover and then got home. It made for a very long day.

Just my two cents...

 

[glewis1123]

Thanks for the input luv2roam and michelle - definitely want to avoid traffic.

SNA has me spoiled (because of closeness to DL) and I always try to avoid lax when possible.

There are only 2 airlines that fly direct to SNA from San Jose - Southwest and American. Right now both airlines are charging $118 RT - so everyone keep your fingers crossed that they lower their fares so I don't have to drive 6 hours.

 

[shoes99]

We are flying from Newark to Orange County non stop next
month using Continental. I am happy to get a 6 hour non stop but
we have a smaller plane a 737-700...
My legs cramp up on long flights so I will probably be wandering
around during the movie...
I have taken the airport shuttle from John Wayne once to DL and the
trip was short. We might rent a car from National this time.
I still am not looking forward to the long flight but at least we don't
have to stop in Houston.

 

[goofyfordisney]

Hello,

I WOULDN'T fly into LAX! The traffic is brutal! SNA is very easy--the car rental situation is MUCH better also! Sometimes, it's worth the extra money!

 

[sueg]

Next week, we are flying into Frisco direct from Newark on Continental. We are driving down to DL and fly out of SNA, direct to Newark, on Continental. I planned this whole flight loop around $$$(of course) and avoiding LAX. We will have a rental car driving onto Anaheim & I'm keeping it just for the trip to the airport. I thought a taxi would be more than $25., but since we have a weekly rental, it doesn't matter if I return the rental as we land in DL. If I can manage to self-park for free at GC, I'll save $25+ tip. Is there anything IMPORTANT to know about SNA?

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Thanks for the replies! I can get a non-stop to both airports, for the same price. I won't be able to book for a while (Spring 2003) but wanted to get a head start on my planning!

The last time I was in the Los Angeles area, we flew into LAX. We had no problems what-so-ever (but we did not have non-stop flights - we ended up taking Delta through Cincinnati out and Atlanta back - but we have decided that we WILL be going non-stop!)

Thanks again!