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Mickey 101
02-05-2008, 08:01 PM
I am a WDW fan and we are thinking about making our first trip to DLR this June. I have several questions. What is the closest/easiest airport to fly into? Is it best to rent a car? How many days do we need to devote to DLR to do it right during the busy season? Since we will likely spend time in other areas of So Cal (Hollywood, San Diego, beach) while we're there, is it best to move to a different resort area when we're not at DLR due to traffic and travel time? We usually spend 10 days at WDW each trip, so we like to repeat attractions/parks. I guess that's enough questions for one post. Thanks for all your help!!

NotaGeek
02-05-2008, 10:09 PM
Best Airport -- John Wayne (SNA) it's the closest, but not always the least expensive.

Renting a car is easy, and driving from SNA or LAX isn't bad. LAX can take up to 1.5 hours due to traffic, but SNA is only 15-45 minutes depending on traffic. You don't have to rent a car if you aren't leaving the DLR area, and then when you travel further afield there is a car rental office right in Downtown Disney and several right outside the resort area on Katella that you can choose to save $ and the driving. If you don't want to drive you can use a shuttle service or the resort express. For more info on that see THIS (http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=1538661#post1538661)post.

You can spend 4-5 days EASY at the DLR and that's plenty of time at a leisurely pace, or you can do 3 days and see everything at least once ... less that that would be rushed. As always Monday-Thursday are less busy, and weekends all year long are usually packed. Check out the crowd estimator (http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=115765) for more info.

If you want to see more of LA, you can always do 3-4 days at the DLR and then find a hotel closer to Hollywood or in the LA area that will give you an opportunity to see the Hollywood/Beverly Hills side of the LA area. If you plan to see lots of stuff north of the resort (like go to Universal or Magic Mountain) I would move to a hotel closer to LA to save the headache of traffic both ways to your hotel.

There are tons of posts about area hotels, resort hotels, what do to, who to see, what to eat ... just check out some posts in Vacation Planning and read some trip reports... there are always GOOD hints and tips from others' experiences.

whacked
02-22-2008, 01:42 PM
There are a number of factors that will determine your best airport. As mentioned above, SNA (John Wayne) is the closest.

LAX is usually the cheapest, but can have significant delays at time because of the number of flights it handles.

I actually chose BUR (Burbank) for my flight in June because it has a large number of direct flight from my town Portland, OR (PDX) and is the same price as LAX flights. It is farther out, but some of that is made up for by the fact that the airport is smaller and easier to get out of and in to.

If we flew in to LAX we had a choice of a flight that arrived after 10pm or one that left before 7 am or the price would be higher.:ack:

It is worth taking the time to research schedule as the various airports to see what's the best option for the town you are coming from. Both the price and the schedules will vary quite a bit.

As to the car rental, we generally rent a car as we like to visit the San Diego Zoo, Universal, and other locations. By the time you pay for hotel transfer and buses to other sights, a rental car is the about the same cost and gives us the ability to control our schedule.

Note that some hotels charge for parking when considering costs.

As to moving hotels, I hate packing, so I don't move hotels. It takes quite a bit of time to pack, check out, load the car, drive somewhere else, check in, and unpack. I might move hotels if I were planning on spending more than a week in an area more than an hour away.

Quest4fun
03-14-2008, 06:39 PM
Don't choose your airport until factoring in everything.

My wife and I travel to Orange County frequently and we always go through John Wayne. Be sure to shop around for the best fares. Southwest isn't always the cheapest.

Here's what you want to factor in when figuring out your savings. Sometimes what you save using LAX, Burbank, Long Beach, or Ontario you end up still spending in transportation and lost time.

There is plenty of transportation options to the Disneyland Resort from John Wayne and all are less expensive because the trip is so short. You also don't necessarily need to give yourself 2 hours to check in at the airport like you do at LAX. There aren't enough flights out of John Wayne for it to be really crowded. This can be good or bad depending on when you want to arrive and depart.

Rental cars are easy to get at either airport for the most part but once again the size of John Wayne ensures shorter lines. Also being that you're not driving as far you can get away with less fill ups. At close to $4/gallon you'll appreciate that.

If you're still saving a considerable amount of money doing LAX then just make sure you arrive and depart early in the morning so you can avoid the crowds.

Long Beach and Ontario Airports are a little cheaper but transportation eliminates any real savings with these two airports plus you're going to spend some extra time in traffic.

Also a word to the wise for anybody renting a car that isn't familiar with the area. The freeways are always faster especially in Orange County. Side streets wind about and have frequent traffic lights. You could potentially arrive a minute or two earlier but you've spent a lot of gas and covered more miles. Don't follow too closely and you'll rarely have to stop while on the freeway. Remember this if taking a cab. If they're not charging you a flat rate don't let them take side streets. It's their way of adding a few extra miles to the meter.

Don't let my location fool you. I'm a Southern California veteran who used to drive 1200 miles Monday through Friday and my coverage area was John Wayne Airport to LAX oddly enough. 10 years as a road warrior has taught me a thing or two.