Flying into John Wayne worth the extra money over LAX? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Flying into John Wayne worth the extra money over LAX?
I can get a Southwest Flight into John Wayne for $259. (well, the fares haven't come out for when we are traveling yet, but I'm thinking the price difference to LAX will be about the same) If I fly into LAX I can get $154!!! I've heard LAX is a nightmare though, and I know that John Wayne is closer to DL. I don't know anything about the commute from airport to park with Disneyland, as I've only ever done WDW.
Air Tran only goes to LAX and it's also $154.
So whatcha think - into LAX? And I assume pay more to get to DL? Or going into John Wayne and be closer to DL? (do they have any kind of shuttle like WDW does?)
We haven't flown into LAX since we went to WDW (in 2003) and I wasn't impressed...they had us switching gates numerous times before we finally left, for one thing, and I think we had to take a shuttle from one terminal to another...that's not to say everyone's experience would be like that, but ours wasn't pleasant. Maybe it depends on which airline you take? Not sure...
As far as SNA (John Wayne) airport, we LOVE it, that is the airport of choice for us, and we normally grab a Super Shuttle to the hotel. This year (next month) we fly into John Wayne as usual, but we are heading to the Amtrak station and taking the train to San Diego! We are excited about this, haven't been for a couple of years...
Long Beach (LGB) is another option, and I've heard they are renovating the airport, I know that they were advertising cheap fares with Alaska Air and Jet Blue, and I think it's a lot closer than LAX is to Anaheim.
As far as transportation from LAX, I've heard that the Disneyland Express bus (operated by Grayline) will bring you to the Anaheim area, and I'm betting that Super Shuttle as well as other van/limo/taxi would as well. I'm sure someone else will chime in that has direct experience with it, I've only flown into LAX and then back out...
Good to know. Thanks! I just looked into Jet Blue to Long Beach, and the cost is right in between at $203! (well - for a september trip. I'm hoping to set up a trip for last week of april first week of May 2012)
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If you haven't decided yet, just wanted to say that we flew into LAX on AirTran and everything there was super easy. We opted for the Super Shuttle for transport to/from our hotel and that was a breeze as well. The savings into LAX (plus it was a nonstop flight) far outweighed the proximity factor for us. We had no traffic for our shuttle times: 8:30am from LAX to Anaheim, 9:30am from Anaheim to LAX. I would be happy to fly into LAX again, especially if the price is awesome too!
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I would fly into SNA for the convenience (much closer and less travel time door to door!). HOWEVER, if I were to get a significantly lower price to fly into LAX, I would fly in there!
When considering the difference in price in airline tickets, you also might want to factor in the price of transportation to and from, as there is really no free way to get there:
To/From LAX:
SuperShuttle to your DL area hotel will run starting at $32 per person extra, round trip (that's just the shared van service) . . . SoCal Grayline's Disneyland Express bus is $30 per adult and $23 per child/round trip. A taxi would run you $115 or more one way!
To/From SNA:
SuperShuttle starts at $20 per person round-trip . . . DL Express is $25 per adult and $16 per child round-trip. You could also take a taxi from SNA, which would run you about $50 or so (with tip) one way.
ETA: To and from Long Beach would be:
Around $55 one way for a taxi . . . SuperShuttle is $35 round trip for the first guest and $9 round trip for each guest thereafter. DL Express does not run from LGB. :
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John Wayne Airport is airport code SNA right? I tend to know airports from their airport codes. LOL
My husband much prefers flying into SNA than LAX. He likes the smaller airport and says it's much less hassle so he would rather pay the extra costs to fly into SNA.
The only time I was in CA we flew into LAX and all I remember is feeling extremely overwhelmed and I fly out of ATL, another big airport. Not a pleasant feeling at all.
I've never flown to LAX. I always fly into SNA. I don't even check prices to LAX because I'd rather go to SNA anyway.
Ditto! I used to always fly into LAX, but after my first flight into SNA, I was hooked. Smaller airport so therefore less confusing, easier to navigate, baggage claim is a breeze (as is rental car), and getting to Disneyland is easy peasy!