Las Vegas to Disneyland on a Sunday

[amylucinda]

We arrive late Saturday night (as in 2 days from now!) in Vegas, and will be spending the night there. That means we'll be driving to Disneyland on Sunday.... and there's the problem.

I understand that Sunday traffic from Vegas to Disneyland can be atrocious. What I'd love to get is a better understanding of the timing of the heavy return traffic. We were hoping to do Hoover Dam that morning, or some other small activity, before heading to Disney, but I'm questioning the wisdom of leaving Vegas later in the day.

If we leave at noon on a Sunday, will we be ahead of most of the traffic? What about 2pm?




In terms of arriving in Anaheim on a Sunday, is it better to take 210 to 57? Garmin GPS and iPhone maps both use 60 to 57, but I've seen a couple discussions that 210 is a better choice.



This is our first DLR trip, and our first non-familiar-place trip in a very long time. I am totally stressed out, since I know absolutely nothing (other than all my research!) about where we're going. Any help would be most appreciated!

 

[HydroGuy]

We arrive late Saturday night (as in 2 days from now!) in Vegas, and will be spending the night there. That means we'll be driving to Disneyland on Sunday.... and there's the problem.

I understand that Sunday traffic from Vegas to Disneyland can be atrocious. What I'd love to get is a better understanding of the timing of the heavy return traffic. We were hoping to do Hoover Dam that morning, or some other small activity, before heading to Disney, but I'm questioning the wisdom of leaving Vegas later in the day.

If we leave at noon on a Sunday, will we be ahead of most of the traffic? What about 2pm?




In terms of arriving in Anaheim on a Sunday, is it better to take 210 to 57? Garmin GPS and iPhone maps both use 60 to 57, but I've seen a couple discussions that 210 is a better choice.



This is our first DLR trip, and our first non-familiar-place trip in a very long time. I am totally stressed out, since I know absolutely nothing (other than all my research!) about where we're going. Any help would be most appreciated!

The earlier the better. Nothing like sitting in stop and go traffic in the middle of the desert with nothing else around.

I would leave as early as possible. By noon if you can.

As for SoCal highways, it is a Sunday and will not matter that much. Myself I would tend to take 15 to 91 because that is the way I am most familiar. 210 to 57 will also work. As will 60.

 

[emmysmommy]

Unless you have a fast track I'd avoid the 91 altogether! Even on a Sunday traffic is no bueno.... I'd say the 210 is the better option. The 210, 60, 10, and 91 will all take you west towards D-land.

If you can leave before 10am you shouldn't have as much traffic but you never know. If you leave at noon, you will be in the middle of the leaving Vegas crowd.

If you are going to do a tour (the dam) in the morning you may want to enjoy that, grab some lunch, relax and wait until a little later in the afternoon. I'm assuming you are not worried about a day in the parks that day??

At least you are doing research so you should have fewer surprises! Good luck.

 

[Mr Snappy]

uh.....
Wow...where to start

1. Yes, that is the worst possible time to leave Vegas and head to So Cal. The freeways will be packed.

2. You plan to go to Hoover in the morning then go to Disneyland??? Hoover is great, and I highly recommend it, but it is easily a half-day type of attraction and then you have to drive 4-5 hours to Anaheim??? Not sure how much D-Land you will get, but you are looking at 4 hours or so at best.

3. Leaving later in the day from Vegas only makes the problem worse. Most people hit the road back home to Cali between noon and 2pm (from my experience)

My suggestion is to choose Disneyland or Hoover. If it is Disney, leave VERY early on Sunday to beat the traffic and get to Anaheim with enough time to make it worth it. Otherwise, do Hoover and save Disneyland for Monday or another time.

 

[HydroGuy]

uh.....

1. Yes, that is the worst possible time to leave Vegas and head to So Cal. The freeways will be packed.

I think this is misleading but true in a sense. The freeway (not freeways) will be packed - with that freeway being Interstate 15. Once you are into the SoCal freeway system (210, then 10) you are home free.

uh.....
My suggestion is to choose Disneyland or Hoover. If it is Disney, leave VERY early on Sunday to beat the traffic and get to Anaheim with enough time to make it worth it. Otherwise, do Hoover and save Disneyland for Monday or another time.

If the OP wants to visit DLR that day then yes. I think she just wanted to arrive there. In which case the only issue with leaving later is a long time getting to DLR. I think it is worth trying to avoid the traffic if possible. But if they want to see Hoover Dam then they can bite the bullet and just wait out the traffic.

 

[amylucinda]

Oh...no.....Sunday is just a 'get-to-Anaheim' day. Disney isn't until Monday.

If we wait until much later in the evening, is the traffic better?


We'd love to do the longer dam tour, but that's the one you can't reserve ahead. Saturday, the 28th, we return to Vegas to fly out at midnight. We could do Hoover Dam on a more leisurely basis that day, but I'm concerned that we won't get the longer tour tickets if we're getting there after noon.

So, here's my dilemma -- risk horrendous traffic but be sure to get the longer dam tour, or have better traffic and risk not getting the longer tour.

Amy

 

[HydroGuy]

Oh...no.....Sunday is just a 'get-to-Anaheim' day. Disney isn't until Monday.

If we wait until much later in the evening, is the traffic better?


We'd love to do the longer dam tour, but that's the one you can't reserve ahead. Saturday, the 28th, we return to Vegas to fly out at midnight. We could do Hoover Dam on a more leisurely basis that day, but I'm concerned that we won't get the longer tour tickets if we're getting there after noon.

So, here's my dilemma -- risk horrendous traffic but be sure to get the longer dam tour, or have better traffic and risk not getting the longer tour.

Amy

Waiting until later will not help unless you mean much later like 9 or 10PM.

Not sure how to help you. If it was me I would do the long dam tour, make sure your gas tank is filled up and your air conditioning works, have some munchy food on hand, and just wait out the traffic. Expect it to take 6-8 hours to get to DLR rather than 4.

 

[DisneytheKid]

On the upside Vegas + DLR = a great vacation!

 

[Mr Snappy]

Waiting until later will not help unless you mean much later like 9 or 10PM.

Not sure how to help you. If it was me I would do the long dam tour, make sure your gas tank is filled up and your air conditioning works, have some munchy food on hand, and just wait out the traffic. Expect it to take 6-8 hours to get to DLR rather than 4.

It's not that bad! Mapquest has the route at just over 4 hours. I would expect around 5-5.5 hours after lunch on Sunday.

Do the Hoover tour, its worth it.

 

[cyclenut]

DW and DD just did this trip from Vegas last weekend. They chose to wait and leave at 9:00 pm and it worked out nicely. There was a pretty large group of them and some left at around 4:00 pm. Bad move. They reported terrible traffic on I15 and it took them well over 6 hours for what should have been a 4 hour trip. DW was in town by about 12:30 am.

If you leave Vegas anytime after about 12 pm, you are going to face traffic. Just plan on it and pack your patience if you are going to leave at that time. I suggest you plan on leaving as late as 8 pm and plan to check in at DL around midnight. It will take most people under 4 hrs.

 

[obias]

We left Vegas 10 am and we were ok. The traffic was steady but no dead stops. If we left any later I think we would have been in trouble.

 

[sheetz]

I don't think Hydroguy was exaggerating with the 6-8 hr figure. Traffic flows smoothly for the most park in the middle of the route, but it's normally gridlocked while leaving LA on Friday and returning from LV on Sunday.

 

[HydroGuy]

It's not that bad! Mapquest has the route at just over 4 hours. I would expect around 5-5.5 hours after lunch on Sunday.

Do the Hoover tour, its worth it.

It has taken me much longer than that the one time I tried. I will never do it again. Stop and go.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

My kids left last Sunday for Disneyland at 1:00 after church. Boy what a mistake. It was stop and creep all the way in.
It was very hot and cars were pulled over on the side of the road.
Thay have learned thier lesson and will never do that again.
Just remember how hot it is in the desert.
Today we will be 115.

 

[Shananana]

It has taken me much longer than that the one time I tried. I will never do it again. Stop and go.

I can verify this. We left vegas on 4th of July, and it took about 4 hours of driving time. However, we've left on a Sunday around 1:30 pm and it took about 7 hours. In the desert, there was only 2 lanes.

Once you hit the 210 it moves more smoothly.

I would leave around 4 pm.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

I will echo what everyone else is saying for us we don't leave Vegas between 9am and 9pm on a Sunday. It just isn't worth it.

 

[Aust]

I'm assuming (hoping) the reverse is OK, i.e. leave DL for Las Vegas on a Sunday? We have booked a night in Las Vegas on a Sunday night, planning to leave DL Sunday morning and drive back Monday afternoon.

 

[mom2tinkandmickey]

DL to Vegas on Sunday is no problem. We almost always come home on Sunday. We just leave DL either before 2 or after 7 to avoid CA rush hour.

 

[Leash]

Ok, I have made the Vegas to DL many times but I am always going the right way for traffic. Californians are coming here on Friday or Saturday and going home on Sunday and that is what is going to cause you problems.

Since you have the opportunity to do the Dam tour on another day I reccomend doing that and leaving Vegas as early as possible on Sunday, like early morning. Two reasons for this are that you will miss the majority of the traffice if you leave early and it is really hot in the desert between here and DL so the earlier you leave the cooler it will be. Having said that you are in luck that this weekend is supposed to be a little cooler but in the open desert that you will be driving through it will still be hot.
If you try to leave in the afternoon it will be crowded and hot and you will just be sitting in your car for extra time in the heat.
When we go to California in the summer we generally try to be on the road by 6 or 7 and we have never had any problems when we leave then even if we are going the same way as the Californians.

 

[Isatricia]

Another option:

Go to the Dam on Sunday AM as you thought. When you leave there, go back through Boulder City and take US 95 South to I40. Take I40 west to Victorville. It might be a little longer drive, but you will avoid the major traffic slowdowns on I15.