Orange County or LAX for Disneyland?

Yeah, definitely OC if you can. LAX is a mess at any time of day. OC is much smaller and easier to navigate.

Never been to Ontario, but Orange County is like night and day different from LAX. With the age of kiddos you have I would choose the Orange County route all the way.

M

Personally?

I would fly into Ontario and drive out on the 10 west to the 57 south and go out that way...

LAX traffic is a bear...
Orange County traffic is just as bad.

Fly non-stop and get it over with - even a stop with no plane change is a pain in the rear with kids...the plane has landed...let's get off!! and GO!!! Nope, sorry - you need to stay seated!! URGH!!

No, fly non-stop and fly into Ontario.

Have fun!

Since you aren't renting a car, I would say LAX all the way. Layovers give you more chances to have problems with delays, baggage, unexpected plane changes (yeah, they tell you now it'll be the same, but that's true like 30% of the time), and grumpy kids.

A direct to OC would be ideal of course, it is easier, but it's not worth twice the cost.

I'm a very frequent traveler, so maybe I'm just used to it, but LAX is not that bad. Yes, it's big, but it's laid out well. Since each airline has its own terminal its so easy to find where you're going.

I might just be a lucky person, but in the 50+ times I've flown the LAX-PHL route, I've never been late or had to wait more than half an hour for my baggage :) Now I feel like I need to knock on wood...

Avoid LAX in all situations!! Even Ontario would be better.

Definitely not LAX at all costs. First choice would be OC, with a tie for 2nd for Long Beach/Ontario, with Ontario being slightly in the lead as you have to enter/exit the planes at Long Beach on the tarmac and it can be a bear with young kids, strollers, car seats, carry-ons, etc.

Orange County or even Long Beach. Flights into Long Beach may be much cheaper (they generally are from Seattle). The airport is teeny, which has its good and bad elements (mostly good).

You'll probably have an additional 20 minutes of driving on the other end. Flight times should be the same.

Disney sends shuttles to LAX

I used to live in Huntington, and always flew in & out if LAX. Sure, its a zoo, but its cheap / easy / direct.

But then, when I had tons of money, I flew private. Without tons of money, there was no way I could constitute spending $###-###-#### to avoid an hour of annoyance.

OC is a smaller airport. I always liked flying out of there. Gosh what memories I have of that place and of LAX, and Huntington.

LAX is fine too, but sure, more volume of crowds
But both have traffic.
Hopefully you are not there at the high traffic times.
But you have 3 kids.
Just go the most direct route.
Which is, LAX.

That's a tough one. We like to fly to SNA but we haven't had to do any layovers as I avoid them like the plague. (We fly out of PDX too but maybe another airline?). Anyway, if you do go to LAX, look into renting a towncar (with a driver). We did it from San Diego to Legoland and surprisingly it was cheaper than both a shuttle (for a family of four) or renting a car, plus we didn't have to deal with driving in crazy traffic or returning a rental car.

I think Jetblue has nonstop flights from PDX to Long Beach (LGB). This might be a good alternative. The rental car places are right there at the airport, and this airport is super easy to navigate. Traffic in and out is easy too.

I used to always fly nonstop from SNA to PDX. Are the flights too expensive?

Otherwise, I would actually do LAX. You don't want anything that is not nonstop -- even if you don't have to leave the plane. Your kids would go crazy if you were stuck on the tarmac or at the airport stop for an inordinate amount of time. Have your hubby get the offsite rental car while you get the luggage. (Or vice versa. Maybe take one kid with you.) By the time your luggage is in, hubby will be pulling up curbside with the rental car. The drive from LAX to Disney isn't too long. Good luck!

If the cost is that big of a difference, fly to LAX without the stop. But, if they cost the same, I'd much rather fly to OC. Everything is so much easier in OC than LAX - smaller airport, closer, and a lot less traffic between the airport and Disneyland.

I would not pay double though for OC.

Do they offer a shuttle from LAX? I live in O.C. and always pay extra to fly out of John Wayne because LAX sucks eggs. Extra flight time? Negligible. Try extra shuttle time and wondering were the hell to go to find your shuttle from LAX and driving in L.A. traffic. Heck, there's probably a shuttle to take to get to your shuttle from LAX. John Wayne easy to navigate.

Orange County or Ontario are smaller, nicer airports to navigate. Rental Car facilities are close, on site. LAX is about an hour away from Disneyland, and rental car facilities are a few miles away from the airport complex. Baggage claim is notoriously slow. And traffic to LAX can be unpredictable.
Orange County is about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, and a great, easy to navigate smaller airport. Rental Car agencies are onsite, baggage claim doesn't take an hour, etc. This would be my first choice. It's a well planned, recently renovated airport.
Long Beach is about 30 minutes away from Disneyland, also smaller airport. I've experienced delays getting out of Long Beach, and security can take a long time, as everyone goes through just one small checkpoint.
Ontario is also about an hour away, but traffic is pretty reasonable, and the airport setup is easier to navigate. Often you can get really good deals flying to Ontario on Alaska or United.

I would only fly into LAX if the price is significantly less than Orange County.

LAX is very close to Disneyland... I'd do that.

the biggest factor for me would be what time your flight arrives in LA. unless it is between say 10 am and 2pm at the VERY latest or after 7 pm traffic will make you want to go back to the airport and head home. We live 15 minutes from ontario international but they do not go direct to anywhere we want to go so we usually go to LAX and fly away from peak traffic patterns. Plus a 1 stop flight from ONT is usually $75 pp more! a little more $$$ for OC (SNA) is worth not dealing with the traffic, shuttle or not.
and YES disney does shuttle from LAX and it is not that expensive. We have even used it to go to LAX.

Check on the cost of the shuttle. When I lived in Orange county, 18 yrs ago, it was $50/person. Now, it's probably much higher and much less expensive to rent a car.

But I would fly into Orange County, John Wayne Airport.

I'd do as someone suggested and look into Long Beach. What time is the flight getting into LAX? Because if it is around rush hour, it may be the same time with the layover! LA traffic - especially the 405 - is horrendous! Also, does the shuttle you are taking have car seats? If not, you should consider the amount of time you will be in traffic and the distance. God forbid there should be an accident but last time we visited family, I made sure to find a shuttle service with car seats for my 6 month old and 3 year

Rule of thumb: avoid LAX if you can!
Good luck!

SNA. Absolutely.

I'd rather sit in the plane for a stopover than sit in traffic in a shuttle from LAX to Disneyland.

SNA is a lovely airport to fly into, and hang out in while you wait for your flight home.

LAX is ugly, crowded and has long security lines and surly TSA employees. OK, that's a gross generalization but it has been my experience. The traffic around the airport is often slow. Which means you will have to leave your hotel earlier to allow for traffic, and more time to get through security.

I used to fly into LAX once or twice a year because fares were cheaper. Now I pay a little more to fly into Burbank.