Flights into So Cal

[wabby1]

We're planning on a trip to D/L in early June. Anyone have any recommendations for some flight deals from Salt Lake to either LAX, Long Beach or Orange County? We've been watching the airlines....and Southwest for example is not booking that far out yet. Most of the deals we run across are up until 5/10/07. We also just ran across a deal from travelocity on United from SLC to LAX for a roundtrip cost of $123....but offer is only good through May 10th. I was just curious if anyone knows of any deals I'm not aware of.

Thanks!

[crystaltink]

Don't wait til the last minute. Everyone has this misconception that the way to go is "last minute deals". If anything the availability gets worse and the prices go up due to high demand, especially during Summer. It doesn't hurt to shop around, my preference is to book everything myself since I'm a travel agent and can get special rates even though I don't sell Disney. I usually recommend for anyone to book with a travel agent, main reason being, they can find what suits your budget, taste and sometimes get a few extras. Plus if something goes wrong you know you have someone you can talk to that can smooth things out for you, you don't have to rely on someone that you don't know that may or may not be able to fix the situation.

(here's a little pointer, don't shop online and then ask a travel agent to price match something you found online, they HATE that, if you shop online and want a quote from an agent, don't tell them you've been looking online, sometimes agents will feel they're wasting their time and might not be as inclined to do more for you)

[SilentMickey]

Don't forget about Ontario International Airport in Ontario, CA it's a heck of a lot easier to fly into than LAX, And it's a quick easy trip onto the 10 freeway and then a quick merge to the 57 and boom you in orange County. With light traffic it shouldn't take more than a half an hour to get to Disneyland... In fact I'm willing to bet it dosen't even take that long.

[crystaltink]

Originally Posted by SilentMickey

Don't forget about Ontario International Airport in Ontario, CA it's a heck of a lot easier to fly into than LAX, And it's a quick easy trip onto the 10 freeway and then a quick merge to the 57 and boom you in orange County. With light traffic it shouldn't take more than a half an hour to get to Disneyland... In fact I'm willing to bet it dosen't even take that long.

That's a good suggestion. However you will be paying more to fly into ONT or SNA. So it really depends on how budget consious you're trying to be. If LAX will probably be the cheapest, it's certainly not as convenient as the other two. But those are good options to look at.

[Where'sYourLaughinPlace?]

Originally Posted by SilentMickey

Don't forget about Ontario International Airport in Ontario, CA it's a heck of a lot easier to fly into than LAX, And it's a quick easy trip onto the 10 freeway and then a quick merge to the 57 and boom you in orange County. With light traffic it shouldn't take more than a half an hour to get to Disneyland... In fact I'm willing to bet it dosen't even take that long.

I personally only fly into SNA. The rates are the same as the flights into LAX, plus it is less crowded and VERY VERY close to Disneyland(PLUS, the car rentals are right there at the terminal and you do not have to get onto a bus just to get your rental car like you have to do at Ontario). I have only flown into Ontario once, and I will never fly into there again. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Disneyland, and then took us an hour and 15 to get from Disneyland to Ontario.

[SilentMickey]

Originally Posted by Where'sYourLaughinPlace?

I personally only fly into SNA. The rates are the same as the flights into LAX, plus it is less crowded and VERY VERY close to Disneyland(PLUS, the car rentals are right there at the terminal and you do not have to get onto a bus just to get your rental car like you have to do at Ontario). I have only flown into Ontario once, and I will never fly into there again. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Disneyland, and then took us an hour and 15 to get from Disneyland to Ontario.

Ahh but thats why I said with "lite traffic". trying to get any where in Sothern california during Rush hour or any peak traffic time is impossible. Mapquest for example says its a 45 minute drive from where I live to DL. Depending on which freeway I take and traffic It can range from 30mins-2 hours. So even if you fly into LAX you still have to deal with traffic. SNA probably not so much traffic. but yeah, just make sure your time of arrival gives you enough free time to deal with the traffic so your not in a hurry to get to the park or your hotel or wherever your going to from the airport.

[Bloomin' Cockroachers]

Originally Posted by wabby1

We're planning on a trip to D/L in early June. Anyone have any recommendations for some flight deals from Salt Lake to either LAX, Long Beach or Orange County? We've been watching the airlines....and Southwest for example is not booking that far out yet. Most of the deals we run across are up until 5/10/07. We also just ran across a deal from travelocity on United from SLC to LAX for a roundtrip cost of $123....but offer is only good through May 10th. I was just curious if anyone knows of any deals I'm not aware of.

Thanks!

That's about the time I am going. We usually fly Southwest into LAX or John Wayne (I think) but sometimes it's cheapier just to drive from SLC. If you find anything good, let me know.

[caggie428]

We transfer in SLC on our trips and only fly into John Wayne (SNA). As was mentioned by others, the rental cars are right in the terminal, and it is so close to Disneyland!! It might be a little more money, but the shorter distance to drive and arriving at Disneyland quicker are worth it.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Don't forget Long Beach also works. Just a quick trip to DLR East on some freeway that goes east, there are several and not all are backed up at the same time in the same places. In fact, I believe there's a way you could that wouldn't use any freeway at all.

-- PMM

[baldbandit]

We fly from SLC too. Take Delta to Long Beach. That's the cheapest we've ever found. And Long Beach is a great airport to fly in and out of. No lines at security. Friendly staff. And it has all the major car rental places right out the front door. Easy and cheap!

[dan1964]

Another Salt Laker here! :)
The past several years I have flown from SLC to SNA on Delta. Always an easy and smooth trip. However, this year I think I am going to try JetBlue to Long Beach. They are a bit cheaper, and I hear have way better planes.

[adrianne]

..I am SO glad I live within driving distance!

[NaviMap]

As far as freeway traffic from the each airport to the Disneyland Resort.

For the time being, Long Beach Airport probably has the best traffic (just slow on the brief distance you're on the I-405). The reconstructed SR-22 freeway has recently opened and expect no traffic on this route for the time being. South I-405 from Lakewood Ave, East SR-22, Harbor is congested so stay in right lanes for the North I-5/SR-57 collector lanes, then take North I-5/SR-57 connector (stay on left lane of connector), Immediately move over to the left lanes to I-5 connector, Exit Katella or Harbor

John Wayne Airport is the closest airport to the resort and the most convenient airport as far as rental cars. Cheaper tickets than LAX do happen for this airport. However, in the afternoon rush hour from 2 - 7 pm, the northbound SR-55 and I-5 will be crowded during your entire route to the resort (that includes the carpool lane and the carpool connector). Driving this route in other time periods make this a huge advantage. North SR-55 directly from airport exit, North I-5, exit Katella Ave or Harbor Blvd.

LAX, possibly the worst and most crowded of all these airports. Rental Car facilities are on a remote lot. Traffic in the terminals and in security lines is horrible and typically when arriving in this airport for a flight, 2 Hrs beforehand is highly recommended. Cheaper tickets ain't worth the hassles this airport has to offer. Freeway traffic to the resort is heavy during morning & aftenoon rush hour periods. Best driving route is east I-105, South I-605, East SR-91, South I-5, Exit Ball Rd, Harbor Blvd, or Katella Ave.

Ontario is also not a very busy airport, but expect an hour drive to the resort even though you're going opposite of traffic (in the afternoon rush hour, don't arrive during morning rush hour). From the Airport Exit or Rental Car exit, right turn onto Airport Drive, right turn onto Haven, Take ramp (on right lane) to West SR-60, In the city of Diamond Bar, move to the right lanes on merged freeway and take SR-57 South to Santa Ana, Exit Ball Rd or Katella Ave, make a right turn.

[abr]

I flew in and out of LAX for my trip to DL last week, and I only have a couple things to complain about it. The security lines were shorter than those at my home airport (washington-dulles), and because we arrived and departed on a weekend, traffic was not a problem.
But here are my complaints
Baggage claim took forever to begin, we missed the hourly shuttle to DL because of that (this might have been the airlines fault) had to wait another hour.
My BIGGEST complaint was when we were waiting for our flight back home, and there were all these announcements "Flight #### will now be departing at gate 36" "Flight #### has moved to gate 38" "Flight ## has changed to gate 37b", it was insane. I'd say about half the flights departing around that time had their gates switched, which is a pain when you try to snag a seat near the gate you were supposed to leave out of.
Speaking of seating, that was another complaint I had. In the terminal we were in, the seating was centralized, and there wasn't that much of it, so it was a tad crowded, but there were enough seats for everyone.

Face it, all airports are pains, get used to it. For the record, I'd fly back into LAX if I was to return to Disneyland. I feel, as an east coaster, going to LAX is something to brag about, no ones heard of ontario

[Disneygal05]

I think its charper to fly to LAX then to orange co. from Minnesota for some reason can anyone give any Ideas ??????????