gelatoni fan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2018
When was the last time you flew out of LGB?
I flew out of there a few times last year. None this year since for various reasons, all of my trips involved LAX. I know they're supposed to be finishing up a new terminal or something but unless you don't have to go into that outside courtyard or walk to planes anymore, there's still some outdoors parts involved.
You people who hate LAX crack me up. All I can assume is that you have no experience with actual airports anywhere else.
If you can get a convenient non-stop flight from where you live to either SNA or LGB, then yes both of those airports are smaller with all the commensurate benefits (and drawbacks). ONT and BUR are less convenient for getting to and from Disneyland, so even if you can get non-stops to/from them, they are not going to be a good choice.
LAX is a world-class airport that serves tons of airlines, has a wealth of flight times to choose from, offers every possible rental car option, and is convenient to several of the nation's most-trafficked interstate highways. Getting to and from the airport is no harder (and in fact easier) than pretty much any other major airport in the country. But if you'd rather pay more for less convenient flight options to those other local airports, have at it!
Getting an Uber/Lyft from LAX is really annoying since you have to take the bus to this lot which takes a lot of time. Many airports allow much more direct pickup. Even airports like SFO allow you to just go upstairs and get an Uber/Lyft.
LAX also does not have a central rental car area so you sometimes have to wait a long time for your specific rental car company's shuttle.
CLEAR in LAX is often closed which means longer lines at security.
The layout of LAX is very inefficient from a foot-traffic perspective. Airside, they have walkways on either end of terminals meaning you often have to walk nearly the entire length of multiple terminals to get to the Centurion lounge which can take 20+ minutes from far terminals. SEA for example, has the Centurion lounge in the center making it easily accessible from all gates and has a consolidated rental car facility.
I will give LAX credit for the fact that their Global Entry lines from international arrivals are generally accurate and efficient. Global entry at SFO can sometimes be extremely inefficient and have misidentified me before, leading to delays with TSA. And I guess I should also give them credit for the fact that they have decent lounges for Star Alliance and OneWorld elites even though it can be sometimes annoying to go all the way to the international terminal to use them.
I do agree though that I wouldn't prefer to fly into ONT over LAX for Disneyland. I have flown BUR but only because I was planning to stop somewhere else on the way and it made sense.