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Getting to LAX during the holidays? Expect a nightmare. Public transit is your best bet if you can swing it, otherwise, prepare for a lot of traffic.
honestly if you're downtown and it's a 9am flight right before christmas, I'd leave by 5:30am at the latest. traffic starts stacking up around 6 on the 105 and the 405 connectors and it just gets worse from there. ubers and lyfts are fine but surge pricing will prob hit you hard that early, like $60-80 easy from dtla.
the flyaway bus from union station is actually pretty solid for early flights. it's like $9.75, runs every 30 min starting around 5am, and drops you right at the terminals. takes about 40-50 min with no traffic which you'd have at that hour. way cheaper than a rideshare and you don't have to deal with a driver canceling on you
if you do go uber, make sure they drop you at the right terminal number. a lot of drivers get confused with the new loop setup and you'll end up walking forever. tbh I'd just take the flyaway and save the headache
flyaway is the move but if you're set on a rideshare, set ur pickup to the LAX-it lot instead of the terminal. drivers have to go through the same mess as everyone else at the horseshoe and it's a coin flip if they find u. the lot has a dedicated lane and you'll actually get picked up faster than waiting at arrivals. that said, from dtla at 5am you're looking at maybe $50-60 with surge, and the flyaway is $9.75 and you can sleep on the bus. your call
The Flyaway is the smart play here, but just know the first bus from Union Station on Christmas Eve might be a 5 AM departure, not 4:30. I'd get to Union Station by 4:45 to be safe, that puts you at LAX around 5:30 or 5:45 and gives you plenty of time for a 9 AM flight. Rideshares are fine safety wise but the surge pricing that close to Christmas is brutal, and you'll also get stuck in the same terminal loop traffic as everyone else once you're at the airport. The Flyaway drops you right at the curb and the bus lane cuts out most of that nonsense.
How can I find mobile hot dog vendors for a private event?
honestly the SGV has a ton of licensed cart operators who mostly do private stuff now. look up "hot dog cart catering San Gabriel Valley" on Yelp and you'll get a handful that are fully permitted, which matters if your venue needs a health permit on file. expect around $400 to $700 for a few hours plus a per person minimum, usually 50 or so. the ones based in Alhambra and Rosemead tend to be cheaper than Pasadena because they're not paying that rent.
fwiw the county health dept keeps a public list of permitted mobile food operators, its searchable by city on the LA County Public Health site. filter for "pushcart" or "MFF" and you'll get vendors cleared for SGV zip codes, which saves you the headache of a venue asking for paperwork later. also worth checking with the Old Town Monrovia or Alhambra farmers market folks, the carts there are usually booked solid but they know who's free and they'll pass along names. just dont wait till the last week, good ones book out 2 to 3 weeks in teh summer.
You could try hitting up the folks who set up outside Home Depot or the DMV in El Monte on weekends, a lot of those carts are owner operated and they'll do private gigs if you ask. Just walk up and grab a card, they usually have one taped to the cart.