LAX vs SNA

[DreamtheImpossible]

Hi everyone! If you saw my previous thread on flying vs driving we have decided to FLY! (Hallelujah.) Now my question is, LAX for cheaper prices or SNA for convienence?

There are 6 of us total-- 4 adults, a 5 yr old and a (will be) 18 month old.

Lax for all the tickets is roughly $800. SNA (which I have flown out every time beforehand) is $1200.

Cons for LAX that I'm aware of:

-It's HUGE! I've only flown there once and I was a kid. The rest of us never have, and I can picture it being daunting for the little kiddos.

-Transportation from there to our hotel (Clarion through getawaytoday) could be more expensive--$100/$200?

Is the savings worth the hassle? Thanks in advance!

 

[Athenaa]

Go to LAX and take an Uber. Yes, SNA is closer, but it's not $400 closer! Your Uber will cost more, but it won't be that much more. LAX is big, but it's designed well and the signs direct you to where you need to go, so you just hop off your plane and head on out. I typically fly Southwest and it's really fast to get down to the curb. Of course, I just do carry-on, which I HIGHLY recommend you do. If you pack right, it's so much more convenient. I used to think it was impossible, but my husband is a frequent traveler, and he refuses to check luggage. I went to New York on a 7 day trip with a carry-on and a laptop bag with no problem. I'm in Reno, which has a small airport, and I actually walk more from plane to curb in Reno than I do at LAX because of the way it's designed.

The only other variable that might affect your decision is time your flight gets in. If you're arriving in the middle of rush hour traffic, that could be a bit annoying. The trip from LAX to Disneyland is typically 35-45 minutes. In rush hour you should add 30 to 45 minutes to that. You can estimate it by typing in your arrival time in google maps.

I would probably be more concerned about connecting flights, size of plane, etc. The one time we chose SNA, we had a connecting flight and it was delayed. We lost 6-7 hours in Disneyland because of it. I always fly LAX now because it's quick and direct.

 

[bumbershoot]

Lax doesn't feel huge to the traveler. It's set up in what I call pods so you don't really experience the parts of the airport that you're not in. It's not like SeaTac or Ohare where you might have to traverse huge distances.

Travel options are about the same. I like Karmel shuttle for either. There's super shuttle too. Rental cars, private town at companies (Lansky is a recommended one here)... check out the prices from each airport and work out which is best for this trip. Remember that in anything but the Disneyland resort express coach bus (not mentioned by me yet because I don't love it and don't recommend it from lax) you'll need car seats.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Also look at LGB as an option...closer and easier than LAX.

 

[wench]

SNA is my absolute favorite airport. It's the closest to the parks & it's so quick to get in & out of. But, price wise from SeaTac, it isn't usually great.

By flying to LAX you could really save some money, so I would do that. You'll probably find a ton of flights on Alaska & Delta to LAX with similar prices as times. I would recommend Alaska if you can. We've had much better luck with them being on time for that route. With Delta we've had some bad delays to LAX both inbound & outbound.

Another good one to consider from SeaTac is flying on Jet Blue into LGB Long Beach. It's another small convenient airport & it's 2nd only to SNA in proximity to DLR. They don't have as much selection on flight times, but sometimes you can find some great prices.

 

[JeannieJay]

We fly to LAX because the airline we prefer to fly with only does direct flights to LAX. If we wanted to go to SNA (which I would much prefer), we'd have to do a stop along the way. I'd rather just do one 3 hour trip, than do 2 legs, totally a whole lot more time. So for us, it has to be LAX.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We take ak air to sna. I just can't deal with kids in a big airport with slow luggage and a hike to transport. Transport also wanted to loop a Million times because we had a long trip to Anaheim. It's only 15 more minutes away non rush hour but the airport hassles will add half an hour.

It's more of a personal opinion of the value of your time vs your budget for the trip.

 

[JanJan324]

I've done both, and honestly for that kind of money I'd fly into LAX. Yes, SNA is wonderfully convenient, but it's pretty hard to find good prices. We got lucky for our Oct trip and found a great price on United flying into SNA, but for our trip home we are flying out of LAX all the way to Yakima(for $75 pp!). Like a few already mentioned - LGB is also handy. I love that it is so small and its a beautiful airport if you get stuck waiting there for a while.

 

[GenGen22]

My only experience flying to LAX wasn't a good one due to traffic. It took us 2 hours to get from LAX to our hotel on Harbor. I prefer LGB then SNA due to LGB being a much smaller airport so, less busy. I think it depends on if you don't mind the wait as it could take 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic and what time of day you fly in so due keep this in mind. Also, plan accordingly for example if flying to LAX don't plan a WOC dinner package etc. as you may be delayed. I guess it all comes down to what's more important to your family time or money. I usually use Supershuttle. They give a AAA discount and I get miles through Southwest for using them as well.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We always fly into SNA, it is more expensive to fly in there versus flying into LAX, but we like how much closer it is to DLR. I do check both airports when planning out our trips, but it never fails, DH loves SNA too much that we end up flying in there, he doesn't want to deal with the traffic from LAX. He is the type of person where, once we land, the shorter trip to Disney is always the best route .

 

[danceanddisney2010]

For us it is always SNA. We love the airport not only because the size is nice but because it is very close to DL. Traffic is insane.. the closer the better. For us, we are just a short trip away as we are coming from norcal, so the price is not an issue. If price were an issue I would add up all of the travel expenses and see the total cost of each option. Sometimes it looks cheaper one way, but then all the add ons make it pretty equal in price range. But then again, sometimes even with add ons it is still cheaper... it really depends.

 

[GoldeneyezCA]

As someone who used to live in LA and now lives in OC, SNA is hands-down the easier option, but I agree with all the comments above regarding overall trip budget. I never used to mind LAX until I started traveling with children, LOL.

Please also keep in mind that LAX has been under construction for some time, which is slowing traffic around the airport. Worst case scenario, this could add 20-40 minutes just for you to arrive at the terminal once you enter the airport circle, depending on which terminal you need. I Uber'd to LAX recently, and my driver was sharing tales of people missing their flights regularly due to this, so plan accordingly!

 

[Shanti]

For us flight schedules can make the difference. We'll be flying into SNA, which I prefer given that it's smaller and closer to DL, but we'll be flying out of LAX, because it offers by far a better departure time and a nonstop flight, which you can never get between SNA & my city.

We're flying out on a Sunday, so I'm not too worried about traffic, and we'll be using a car service, so I won't have to worry about choosing the best route.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also look at LGB as an option...closer and easier than LAX.

But it has a completely different pricing structure for transportation options. Check it all out. Lost all savings going into ONT once because I assumed the shuttle pricing was the same structure as for lax and sna.

Transport also wanted to loop a Million times because we had a long trip to Anaheim.

Who did you use? And are you sure you truly looped lax more than once? It's a big place to get out of and if you got on at terminal 1 getting through all 7 can feel huge.

With super shuttle at ONT we did loop it twice.

It's why I use karmel because they don't loop.

 

[GenGen22]

Who did you use? And are you sure you truly looped lax more than once? It's a big place to get out of and if you got on at terminal 1 getting through all 7 can feel huge.

With super shuttle at ONT we did loop it twice.

It's why I use karmel because they don't loop.

I think this definitely depends on the airport. I use Supershuttle for all my transports and at LGB and SNA never had this issue. Each time we left the airport right away with no driving around to look for other passengers. When we went to LAX I read about this happening at this airport so, I listened to the suggestions on here and went with Karmel Shuttle and I won't do that again. We had a bad experience. I feel that Supershuttle is a better service personally.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think this definitely depends on the airport. I use Supershuttle for all my transports and at LGB and SNA never had this issue. Each time we left the airport right away with no driving around to look for other passengers. When we went to LAX I read about this happening at this airport so, I listened to the suggestions on here and went with Karmel Shuttle and I won't do that again. We had a bad experience. I feel that Supershuttle is a better service personally.

I'm not even saying that SS does it all the time. Especially now that they have dispatch people sitting at the terminals. But it's a possibility if they aren't full.

Bummer you had a bad experience with karmel. Closest I've had to negative wth them was a driver that felt too lackadaisical about getting us to lax on time. But we did get there on time.

And given that I once spent an hour on SS going up and down Harbor and Katella picking up everyone and their brother, only to end up at the same hotel I started at (they did NOT have that time available when I booked) before finally getting onto the freeway, I'll take lackadaisical anytime!

 

[GenGen22]

I'm not even saying that SS does it all the time. Especially now that they have dispatch people sitting at the terminals. But it's a possibility if they aren't full.

Bummer you had a bad experience with karmel. Closest I've had to negative wth them was a driver that felt too lackadaisical about getting us to lax on time. But we did get there on time.

And given that I once spent an hour on SS going up and down Harbor and Katella picking up everyone and their brother, only to end up at the same hotel I started at (they did NOT have that time available when I booked) before finally getting onto the freeway, I'll take lackadaisical anytime!

I can't blame my experience on the company entirely but it was definitely the driver. It was just me and DD she was a teen at the time and he shuttled us with no other passengers. He did a few things that scared us. He was driving down alley ways, unbuckling his seatbelt while driving, he was texting and driving and also looking at DD in a creepy way. This was the longest and worst 2 hour shuttle ride to Anaheim we have ever experienced! I prefer to be in a shuttle with others as its always just me & DD traveling to DL as my DH and the boys are not Disney fans. So for safety reasons we will stick with Supershuttle from now on. I don't blame you for not wanting to just get to your destination we feel that way as well.

 

[DreamtheImpossible]

I've done both, and honestly for that kind of money I'd fly into LAX. Yes, SNA is wonderfully convenient, but it's pretty hard to find good prices. We got lucky for our Oct trip and found a great price on United flying into SNA, but for our trip home we are flying out of LAX all the way to Yakima(for $75 pp!). Like a few already mentioned - LGB is also handy. I love that it is so small and its a beautiful airport if you get stuck waiting there for a while.

Small world, I'm from Moses Lake! I'll have to keep an eye out for amazing deals out of Yakima.. How did you manage that? O.O

 

[HuskyGal]

With small kids, We choose to fly Alaska air Sea to SNA and take DRE. Yes, it’s expensive but so worth it with small kids.
Btw, cheaper for us to use the shuttle than renting a car.
I never found cheap flights to LGB on JetBlue and also the shuttle situation seemed dicey with kids and car seats from LGB. SW doesn’t offer direct to SoCal so stuck with a stop or possibly the dreaded plane change. No recent experience with the other airlines. Our original flight was canceled due to snow and got on a flight to lax which wasn’t bad but it is huge and pushing a car seat plus the kids then with luggage I wouldn’t want to do again. Flying back through SNA was great. Disregard if you are going to rent a car but I think car rentals costs vary from airport to airport. If DRE is expensive for your party, you could uber some of the adults?

 

[smartlabelprint]

But it has a completely different pricing structure for transportation options. Check it all out. Lost all savings going into ONT once because I assumed the shuttle pricing was the same structure as for lax and sna.



Who did you use? And are you sure you truly looped lax more than once? It's a big place to get out of and if you got on at terminal 1 getting through all 7 can feel huge.

With super shuttle at ONT we did loop it twice.

It's why I use karmel because they don't loop.

Ours was super shuttle. There was a clip board and stool and the dispatcher wasn't there. So first we had to wait for them to come back. Then it was a fairly late flight. They looped in front of our terminal twice before finally leaving. Took 2 hours to get to our hotel. I'll never use the shuttle option now since we have kids anyway.