LAX vs SNA

[MischaOz]

Greetings! WDW vet here, very excited to be planning a DL trip! I’ve only been to DL park for one day and never to CA.

Anyway, the title pretty much says it all. I’ve flown into both, but it’s been over 10 years since I’ve flown into LAX. I prefer to fly into SNA, but would have to have a layover. With LAX I can fly direct. Which would you choose and why?! TIA!

 

[damiel]

We like SNA because it's closer to the park, less travel time so it's less expensive to get to the park/hotel. The airport is smaller and easier to navigate. That being said we will fly into LAX if the price is right. We take into consideration the extra expense of transportation to Anaheim when deciding. We have recently fell in love with the Long Beach airport. Super sweet little airport with no lines or hassles. We fly into Long Beach with Jet Blue and get awesome airfare deals with them.

 

[tarheelalum]

SNA with a lay over. It's much closer to Disneyland and it's a small easy airport to deal with. Even if SNA is more expensive I would pay more. LAX has horrible traffic and a long drive to Disneyland. Traffic in LA is either bad or awful and it's very stressful to deal with. Also LAX seems to constantly be under construction and any time I fly there I always have delays. It's a huge mess that I prefer to avoid whenever possible.

 

[Shanti]

Greetings! WDW vet here, very excited to be planning a DL trip! I’ve only been to DL park for one day and never to CA.

Anyway, the title pretty much says it all. I’ve flown into both, but it’s been over 10 years since I’ve flown into LAX. I prefer to fly into SNA, but would have to have a layover. With LAX I can fly direct. Which would you choose and why?! TIA!

I would always choose a direct flight over a connecting flight. No contest. We much prefer SNA to LAX, but if LAX was direct & SNA was connecting, then we're flying via LAX.

 

[areno79]

We flew into SNA and out of LAX, and we'd pick SNA as the better airport. LA traffic is no joke, and SNA really is much closer and easier to get to Anaheim.

 

[MischaOz]

Thanks for the feedback guys! So hard to decide! I wish we had direct flights to SNA from MKE!

 

[areno79]

Thanks for the feedback guys! So hard to decide! I wish we had direct flights to SNA from MKE!

Do you have another airport near you that you could fly out of and get a direct flight? I live literally 1 mile away from our state's only airport, but sometimes drive an hour to Boston in order to take direct flights and do one of those stay and park deals.

 

[MillauFr]

The order I would chose if prices were fairly equal....

#1 Take the Southwest direct flight from MKE that has stop over in Phoenix with no plane change
#2 Drive to O'Hare and take a non-stop flight to SNA
#3 Take a non stop flight from MKE to LAX
#4 Take a flight with a connection and plane change

#4 is always going to be the riskiest option and your vacation can get all screwed up if you miss your connecting flight. If I connected I would make sure I flew through an airport that wasn't too far out of the way and had a high on-time % like MSP.

 

[Shelly S]

If price is similar I go by arrival time. We are flying into LAX on a nonstop flight that arrives at 10am in September. If we took southwest to SNA with one stop we wouldnt arrive till 2:35. Even with the longer drive from LAX we will still be at Disneyland sooner and with less air travel time

 

[bumbershoot]

I don’t mind lax. I look at all the costs including rental car, and include the total travel time, and make my decision from the combo.

 

[MischaOz]

Do you have another airport near you that you could fly out of and get a direct flight?

I wish! ORD is just as bad as LAX! Southwest used to have a direct flight from MDW to SNA, but it looks like they discontinued it.

MillauFr, tried to quote but it wasn’t working - thanks for her suggestion on the Phoenix stopover, I will look at that!

And good point Shelly!

 

[GenGen22]

I would definitely select SNA or LGB. Coming from LAX there is a lot of traffic. I once booked a flight to LAX and it took me over 2 1/2 hours to get through the traffic. It doesn't usually take that long usually more like 1 hour but it can be a hassle especially if you have plans that evening. Also this airport is huge compared to SNA or LGB. LGB is my favorite airport because its small and no hassle to leave and get on your way. SNA if also not a hassle to get out of there and on your way. LAX you may have to wait to get out of there is you book a shuttle which is what I usually do.