Locals... what driving distance do you consider local and how do you enjoy the parks?

[mrkyyyle]

We live about 5 min away from the parks (wife actually works in DTD) and I have one of the SoCal passes and go maybe 5-10 times a year for a couple hours at a time (usually off season weekdays or when family comes in town).

 

[Epek]

We are new AP holders (since August) and live close to Universal. It takes us about 45 min with no traffic and an hour-2hours in traffic. Generally, we plan for an hour-hour and a half. We've taken 3 day trips and 3 2-3 day trips. We try to go during the week and spend all day there. Last Tuesday was probably my last trip until right before ours expire. I'm due with baby #2 in 5 weeks! I hope dh and ds are able to go after the baby arrives at least once or twice more before the summer blackout.

 

[asunutgirl]

I'm about 25 miles away and for me it is consistently an hour from my door to the main gate. (Including time to park and either walk in or ride the tram and get through security.) We have had passes on an off depending on our stage of life.

We have passes right now with a 16 and 12 year old. We average about 1-2 visits per month but sometimes we'll go three weeks in a row and then we won't go for 5-6 weeks. It all depends on our schedule.

Sunday mornings are usually are favorite time but we will go whenever we have a chance. Sometimes it is a full day, sometimes 1/2 day, sometimes just a few hours, once in awhile just for fireworks.

 

[gaucho2000]

We are 3.5 hours away and go several times a year for 2-3 days. It is too far to drive for a day trip IMO. My dad lives 10 minutes away and we go to the park when we visit him also.

 

[ThumperWabbt]

We're in NorCal, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento...definitely not local. We're heading for our 2nd trip this year pretty soon, and we're hoping to get there twice more before the end of the year.

Really wishing we'd thought to upgrade to season passes when we were there in January...

 

[kitayama]

I love Disneyland! I go weekly, usually Friday after work. I live a little under an hour away.

 

[ashley0139]

We are new AP holders (since August) and live close to Universal. It takes us about 45 min with no traffic and an hour-2hours in traffic. Generally, we plan for an hour-hour and a half. We've taken 3 day trips and 3 2-3 day trips. We try to go during the week and spend all day there. Last Tuesday was probably my last trip until right before ours expire. I'm due with baby #2 in 5 weeks! I hope dh and ds are able to go after the baby arrives at least once or twice more before the summer blackout.

I'm close to Universal as well. Man, I wish I liked Universal as much as I like Disney. 10 minutes versus an hour.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

From home to the turnstiles, it averages about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic (both on the road and at the parks). We go once a week, but sometimes more often if there are special events or if we are meeting friends. Usually we go in the late afternoons/evenings. On a humorous note, we've gotten to know many CMs and APs from our frequent visits. It's fun to greet familiar faces in lines or at other places in the parks.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I'm 4 hours away so I don't consider myself a local but I'm "local" enough I try to get to DL for a 3-4 day trip every month.

I just wish there was a way to make the 60 mile stretch from Barstow to Baker disappear, it's one hour of pure boredom. The drive from Anaheim to Barstow always seems to pass quickly and the drive from Baker to Las Vegas always seems to pass quickly but that middle section is tedious.

 

[Epek]

I'm close to Universal as well. Man, I wish I liked Universal as much as I like Disney. 10 minutes versus an hour.

No kidding!! Hahaha!

 

[tarheelalum]

Its an 1:20 minutes when driving between 10AM-2PM for us. For me, anything over an hour (during off peak driving hours) is out of town. We don't like to go for the day and drive home that night. We use to go for the day and come home that night but that drive down the 5 stinks after a full day of disney. Now we try get a hotel and stay for 2 or three days at a time. We hate being rushed at the happiest place on earth.

 

[PirateFish989]

I'm about 3.5-4 hours north (in between Fresno and Bakersfield) and do not consider myself a local. However, I do quality for a Southern California AP. Day trips are rough but doable - we usually leave about 4am to get there by rope drop and then leave no later than 4pm. That being said, we rarely do day trips and typically make it into a 2 day (occasionally up to 4 day) trip.

 

[cyclenut]

We are about 15 min away. DD works at DTD. We don't happen to have passes right now but will again soon. We will go for a few hours at a time on just about any day of the week. 8 hours is about our max these days. We could go longer but we just don't want to. We don't care much about the crowds because we only ride a few rides each visit. We know we can always come back.

We tend to be attracted by new experiences but don't mind the same ole stuff either. We will set out to discover new things or visit in different ways. For example, we had not tried Car that Circle meals so we set out for lunch and WOC. We took in a stroll through DTD in between like we were just meandering through any old city. No hurry and no stress. No lines either. That was a Saturday.

Those of us under 30 minutes away with passes approach visiting the parks very differently most of the time.

 

[hjgaus]

We live around 20 minutes away (leaving at times when NO TRAFFIC if possible PLUS take the toll road) & go various times such as for 4 hrs, 6 hrs, or sometimes just under 2 hours if for a few rides or dinner/lunch @ Carthay Circle or somewhere DTD. We definitely DON'T like to do 8 or more hours UNLESS we stay ON PROPERTY! We are DVC members and own @ VGC so we have been enjoying overnite OR weekend staycations ALMOST once every month while AP Holders. This really has us SO spoiled and sometimes makes the 4 - 6 hour visits feel like we're missing out on something!! Our kids are 21 & 17 so they don't always go with us for the few hours BUT choose their OWN times to drive down with friends who are also AP holders! They obviously like that much better than hanging with us ! We actually just did an overnight stay THIS weekend PLUS invited a few of our kids friends so they could enjoy Early Entry!

 

[aixia]

I don't live there anymore, but when I did, it was about a 90 minute drive or so, depending on traffic. We'd go 2-3 times a year, whenever we could get the best SoCal resident deal. We'd leave super early in the morning to make it there close to opening, and stay till closing. This was back in the early days of DCA, back when they were pushing park hoppers like mad to residents. We'd spend the morning at DL, hit the biggies, head over to DCA to do a couple things there (there wasn't much there yet) and then back to DL for the rest of the day and Fantasmic. I remember once they did a really awesome two day hopper price, so we did two days straight of opening to closing with a 90 minute drive each way. Whew!

 

[jetskigrl]

We are 27.4 miles from DLR (just looked it up, LOL). We always joke that it is 30 minutes, driveway to parking garage, and that almost always holds true. The only time I can remember a lot of traffic on the weekends was when there was an accident. I can't speak for the other directions, but for us traffic is rarely an issue (on the weekends anyway).

Now if we go on Fridays after work, the drive time can be anywhere from the same 30 minutes up to an hour, depending on traffic and what time we leave.

Usually we go either Saturday or Sunday at rope drop and then stay until we get tired or until the crowds get too bad. Sometimes we will go in the afternoon and stay for the evening entertainment, but we just plan on not doing a lot of rides on those visits.

 

[Minuet888]

I live in Palmdale about 90 miles away (though with traffic it takes about 2 hours) but the drive home has no traffic so we love going.

 

[JasonShannon76]

I live in the suburbs east of San Diego. My house is 90 miles from Disneyland.