My best tip if you are considering flying to DLR

[shmedly123]

I wanted to pass this along to others that are thinking of flying into CA for their DLR trip. You should seriously consider Ontario International Airport instead of LAX. I am not sure how or even if Magical Express is utilized there but if you plan on renting a car it was a great alternative to LAX.

1)We flew into Ontario on Oct 16 at noon and the airport was small, clean and not overly crowded.
2)There is a shuttle to the car rental desk that had several buses running continuously and our wait for the shuttle was less than a minute.
3)We had secured an 8 night rental through priceline for a full size car for under $200, and we ended up with Hertz as our rental company.
4)traffic around the airport was very manageable and wasn't bad at all. This was one of my major concerns before we left but turned out being a non factor.
5) We returned 2 1/2 hours early to make sure we had enough time to drop the car off, get through security with 2 young children and get to the gate without having to rush. We ended up at the gate 2 hours early. That's right it only took a 1/2 hour from the time we pulled into return our car till the time we were at the gate.

For a WDW regular I can tell you right now that has never happened to me in Orlando. In Orlando you are lucky if the line for security alone (on a weekend afternoon) is ever less than 45 minutes.

We like flying Southwest to Orlando so there was definitely a comfort factor in choosing Southwest which is why we even looked at Ontario in the first place but I am so glad we did. Plus the drive to DLR is only about 30-45 mins. So if you are planning a trip you might want to check out Ontario International Airport.

 

[c&m]

Yes, we too like to avoid LAX where possible.

You may also want to consider flying into SNA (Orange County) or LGB (Long Beach). LGB is also a small airport, about 25-30 min away from DLR. SNA is about 20-25 min away from DLR.

LGB is like a throwback to the past, where you get off the plane on the tarmac, and about a 2-minute walk will get you to the baggage carousel, where you can see the rental parking lots - no need for shuttles to take you to the next point. For us, we love LGB but it's a toss-up; depends on which flight is cheaper from Seattle.

 

[bumbershoot]

We used SuperShuttle, and I didn't fly out of the airport, but wowie did I dislike coming into Ontario!

Gimme LAX! (seriously, I like LAX) Though i don't enjoy finding a gas station to fill up the rental car on the way back. And I would have preferred to have been 100% packed before we got on the shuttle back to the airport, but that's not the airline's fault.

 

[briangl]

Yes Ontario was fast and easy. The best though is the drive from Orange County. Once you get onto the HOV lanes on the 55 you have a direct route right to the Katella/Disneyland Dr. HOV exit on I-5. Traffic gets a bad rap in Orange County. Most of the freeways at 10+ lanes and are very efficient. The only thing I don't like about driving in Orange County is that the typical speed is about 75+mph. Too fast for my blood.