LAX vs John Wayne

[SLThomas318]

So how bad is the drive from LAX? We can fly direct on points vs having to do a connection to fly into John Wayne. We'd be landing around 9am if that makes a difference. I am all about convenience when flying with kids (will be 7 and 9) so I am willing to spend extra, but I also find connections to be rough too. Looking at end of June too...

 

[starry_solo]

At that time it should be ok. Give about an hour to get luggage, use rest room, gather stuff, etc. Get ride around 10 am, yeah, that should be ok.

 

[Geemo]

The drive to and from is one thing but dealing with the congestion-confusion inside LAX is another.

If the direct flight is way faster in the overall time to get to DLR then maybe it would be worth it. Otherwise John Wayne (SNA) it the only way to go. Long Beach (LGB) is a nice small airport too. I would fly JetBlue when they had flights our of Portland, Oregon.

 

[ParkHopper1]

LAX no question IMO for direct and points...by time you leave traffic will be lighter and that direction is revers commute at that time.

With no traffic LAX is about 50 min where SNA is 20 or so for comparison.

 

[Pluto468]

I'd generally say SNA, but I'd totally forgo that to avoid a connecting flight with kids. The drive won't be the most fun, but if you go in knowing there will be traffic you'll be fine. I used to live 15 minutes from LAX and it took us 45 minutes to get to Disneyland. It does depend on the day and the time.

 

[crystal1313]

We always pick a direct flight no matter what. We don’t like the stress of a connecting flight. Where we fly from, they do not have a direct flight into SNA. So we either fly into LAX, Burbank or Long Beach. This last trip we flew into Burbank and then flew back home from LAX. Have a fun trip!

 

[gmi3804]

Stop saying "direct!" It's "non-stop."

 

[ParkHopper1]

Stop saying "direct!" It's "non-stop."

A direct flight in the aviation industry is any flight between two points by an airline with no change in flight numbers

 

[heatherleigh]

Stop saying "direct!" It's "non-stop."

Ty! That is pet peeve of mine for some reason

 

[gmi3804]

A direct flight in the aviation industry is any flight between two points by an airline with no change in flight numbers

Right! So there can be a stop. Or even two. What people mean when they say "direct" is "non-stop."

Ty! That is pet peeve of mine for some reason

Mine too!

 

[DizMe]

Semantics aside, I don't think most people are going to remember (or care?) that the terms "non-stop" and "direct" shouldn't be used interchangeably. I use both to mean "a flight that goes directly from point A to point B." I learned something today, but I can't promise it'll stick, ha ha.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Right! So there can be a stop. Or even two. What people mean when they say "direct" is "non-stop."

Correct...while ABC>CDE>FGH on flight 1234 is a "direct flight" the non-stop leg of CDE>FGH is also a techncially direct flight...both terms are appropriate for that leg. Non-stop is a just a subset of direct flight.

It is kinda like the soda vs pop argument...while there are preferences, both are correct in communicating what you mean.

 

[gmi3804]

Correct...while ABC>CDE>FGH on flight 1234 is a "direct flight" the non-stop leg of CDE>FGH is also a direct flight...both terms are appropriate for that leg. Non-stop is a just a subset of direct flight.

It is kinda like the soda vs pop argument...while there are preferences, both are correct in communicating what you mean,

True, but it's awkward. Because when people here say "direct" flight, what they mean is "non-stop," and it has nothing to do with synonyms like pop vs. soda. I don't think they'd want to be on a flight where their final destination was, say, two stops away.

 

[LKing]

So how bad is the drive from LAX? We can fly direct on points vs having to do a connection to fly into John Wayne. We'd be landing around 9am if that makes a difference. I am all about convenience when flying with kids (will be 7 and 9) so I am willing to spend extra, but I also find connections to be rough too. Looking at end of June too...

What airline are you considering? LAX has had a lot of upgrades in the past couple of years. Terminal 3 (Delta) is much nicer than it had been. There is a decent amount of walking because you check in at Terminal 3, but the planes depart from Terminal 2. The walkway is inside, past security. We recently flew in/out of Terminals 4 & 5 (American) and they were old and rundown.

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

As bad as LAX can be compared to SNA the additional connection is not going to make it worthwhile in your case.

 

[DonnerB]

As bad as LAX can be compared to SNA the additional connection is not going to make it worthwhile in your case.

Agreed.

I can see where LAX could be confusing if you were changing airlines/terminals on a layover there (as I did once before moving to LA). In this case, it would be no more confusing than landing at any other large airport. The congestion - sure. The design is bad and the traffic inside can be pretty terrible. I'm willing to deal with the hassle of taking a shuttle to my parking garage or the LAXit lot (or walking over) to get a *non-stop*. Especially if I could book that flight on points.

For what it's worth, I find that the worst time to land at LAX is later in the evening. When I land in the morning and afternoon, it's generally much quicker getting on my way.

 

[lalasmama]

We fly with one 7yo at a time (7 years old is their first "big" trip with Gramma and Grandpa on their own without siblings, so we have flown with 3 separate 7yos). We've had 2 flights with 1 stop, and I can't remember this last one. Haha, why am I already forgetting things at 44?! The one this year will have a plane change most likely, with a squirrely 7yo. SW just doesn't have other options from our prefered airport, ugh. We flew several times when it was just our younger daughter. But haven't had to deal with 2 kids.

Years ago (like 10 years ago), we flew in/out of LAX a few times. This was back when they had the Disneyland Express bus, or whatever it was called. We always found the bus ride annoying. Who knew if they would be there in 10 minutes or in 2 hours? Not even their dispatchers knew! We haven't been there since LAXit (I think that's what it's called) because it seemed like an additional hassle and flight prices never evened out the cost of the ride share.

I think a lot of the direct vs lay-over issue depends on the kid/kids involved. Are they dwaddlers? Do they react fairly well with hustling? Our youngest daughter did completely fine with it, and liked seeing new airports. Our grandson with autism would have freaked. Our grandson with ADHD would have been fine; he's a fast walker and takes it serious when Grammy says somethingis really important. The last grandson is a sssslllloooowwww walker, and if there was a time crunch, we would have likely missed the second leg of the flight. This upcoming one, Heaven help us-- ADHD and over-stimulation just heightens the energy. I should probably start training now, haha.

 

[LKing]

We always found the bus ride annoying. Who knew if they would be there in 10 minutes or in 2 hours? Not even their dispatchers knew!

I understand your point.

For those not familiar with southern California distances, LAX is 35 miles from Disneyland. With no traffic, it will take at least 40 minutes once you are in your car.

 

[FeliciaB23]

On 11/13, we flew into LAX instead of John Wayne simply for more flight options. We landed at 9am and were out waiting for a car to pick us up by 9:20am (no checked bags). We got to Disneyland in 40 minutes.

 

[SLThomas318]

What airline are you considering? LAX has had a lot of upgrades in the past couple of years. Terminal 3 (Delta) is much nicer than it had been. There is a decent amount of walking because you check in at Terminal 3, but the planes depart from Terminal 2. The walkway is inside, past security. We recently flew in/out of Terminals 4 & 5 (American) and they were old and rundown.

this is good to know, we are looking at American...