train stations

[tkgdisney]

My DH has a meeting in Carlsbad in June. We are flying into the John Wayne airport and staying at the Disneyland Hotel for 5 days. We leave there for Carlsbad. We were thinking of taking the train as my DS has never been on one. Our return flight leaves from John Wayne as well.

What station would we leave from - Santa Ana, Anaheim, or Anaheim Canyon? Which station do we return to - that would be closest to the airport? The Amtrack site only mentions the Santa Ana station and says it is 20 miles to the airport - is this the best choice of stations? How long will this 20 mile trip take to get to the airport? Will it be hard to get on a train on a Tuesday morning around 11 or Thursday around 8 am?

Any and all help or suggestions will be welcomed. Please let me know if itis not a good idea to use the train - my DS is 12 and we are just looking into this as an option. Otherwise, we will rent a car.

This discussion board has really be great to read to help prepare for the trip.
Thanks.

 

[ucralum]

The Anaheim station is the closest to Disneyland--it's basically on the outer edge of the Edison Field parking lot, maybe a five to ten minute drive. The Santa Ana station would be the closest to the airport, though I'm not sure of the exact distance--definitely not twenty miles. We took the train from Anaheim to San Diego a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

[Diva of Dragons]

There is also a station in Irvine. Probably about the same distance as Santa Ana to the airport but in a much nicer neighborhood.

 

[tkgdisney]

thanks for the information, we will look into the Irvine station.