Packing for BlizzCon: Tips for booking air travel
by Mathew McCurley 
Aug 18th 2011 at 7:00PM
BlizzCon 2011 is happening soon -- Oct. 21-22, to be exact. You have nine weeks to wait until the biggest Blizzard event of the year. We're all preparing for the big trip, and now's a good time to talk about air travel arrangements. If you've already gotten your plane tickets, good for you, you early bird. For many people, now's the time to purchase plane tickets.
Did you know that the Guardian thinks that the best time to purchase airline tickets is about eight weeks before traveling? That's soon! Here's some information to help you when purchasing tickets and flying in to BlizzCon.
Airports
There are three major airports near Anaheim that you have the option of flying in to:
- Los Angeles (LAX) LAX is the largest airport near Anaheim, but it is an hour away in good traffic (a rarity in Los Angeles). Regardless, it may be your cheapest option, and most airlines fly there.
- John Wayne (SNA) SNA is the closest airport to Anaheim. Many airlines fly into it, including Virgin. It is smallish and only a half an hour away with traffic. If you can get a good deal, this is a better choice than LAX.
- Long Beach (LGB) It is only a couple miles farther away from Anaheim than SNA, and you can travel between the convention center and airport via surface streets easily. Only a handful of airlines fly in and out of there, but one of them is JetBlue.
Purchasing tickets
Purchasing tickets these days is easier than ever. As someone who likes to fly Virgin America, I purchase directly from the airline because prices stay pretty much the same whether you go through a third-party site. However, many third-party purchasing websites can get you a great deal. Try any of these sites and compare prices:
- Kayak My preferred site, as it will look through all of the travel sites for you, and more!
- Priceline
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Travelocity
Los Angeles traffic is legendary. If you're flying in later in the day, be prepared for a lot of traffic on the freeways. Morning rush hour is 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 4 p.m. until around 7 or 8 p.m. are the big later traffic times. You're going to want to give yourself a lot of time for travel and getting things settled.
We all can't wait to see you at the con this year!
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back! Filed under: BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
steve Aug 18th 2011 7:36PM
If you're planning to rent a car, the Ontario, CA airport is only about an hour away.
incoming00 Aug 18th 2011 7:37PM
to give the non so cal residents a taste of what the traffic is like, picture any theme park parking for as far as you can see all in 4 single file lines. it can be that bad, especially coming from LA. LA traffic is a nightmare. those times mentioned above for rush hour are the worst, with moderate traffic any other time of the day. there is no off period (except maybe 3-6 am) for LA traffic.
i would highly recommend to fly into John Wayne since it is the closest, which means less traffic to deal with. from John Wayne its about 15 miles to the Anaheim Convention Center (and surround hotels) compared to 34 miles from LAX and 26 miles from Long Beach Airport.
also, there is a much smaller airport 7 miles from the Anaheim Convention Center, which is Fullerton Airport. that airport does not do commercial flights, but if you happen to be a pilot, that would probably be your best bet if you happen to be flying yourself in.
i deal with Orange County traffic daily, which is much easier to handle than LA traffic, so if you are coming from Long Beach or John Wayne, expect a bumpy but smooth ride. oh, and if you are coming from Long Beach, stay away from the 405... at all costs...
good luck travelers and enjoy blizzcon this year, unfortunately i wont be attending, which wouldve been awesome since i'm 5 minutes away from where its held lol :D
Luotian Aug 18th 2011 7:59PM
Jealous of all of you who are going, and I second the recommendation of John Wayne. I've flown into there, and it wasn't all that much more expensive than LAX. It is a nice little airport, easy to navigate and not terrible security wise. If you can, I would fly in to there for sure.
hicks Aug 18th 2011 8:00PM
Long Beach is worth flying into for the novelty factor, the terminal is so tiny the baggage claim is outdoors. The first time I went there I had to go around the parking lot twice to make sure the building I was looking at was actually "the airport".
hicks Aug 18th 2011 8:02PM
Almost forgot the LGB protip: The good bar is upstairs.
Drakkenfyre Aug 18th 2011 11:05PM
Holy crap. I thought our airport was small. It has 4 gates, all in one room. You walk onto the tarmac to get to your plane. It has 4 desks for stuff like rental cars, which is comical. And the TSA bag search is done right next to the ticket counters.
amkosh Aug 18th 2011 9:10PM
When I was last in Anaheim the ART worked real well for getting around. We were at disneyland, not blizzcon, but it shouldn't make a difference...
Drew Aug 19th 2011 12:35AM
Don't forget you can use Amtrak and greyhound buses if you don't prefer to fly.
xordon Aug 19th 2011 9:24PM
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