Anyone Driven From....

[nun69]

Northern WA (I am in Oak Harbor/Whidbey Island) or somewhere close maybe Seattle to Disneyland. Just wondering (realistically) how long it actually took. We will be leaving around 0800 on 28 Mar and arriving sometime on 29 Mar and will be traveling with 3 kids (13,6, & 14 months)...I would like to get down there as early as possible to get my choice of room (since reservations said they are 1st come 1st serve basis) on the 29th...I know chek in is not until like 3 pm or so, but if we can just check in early (leave our luggage int he car or with services downstairs) then we could hit the park and I think the kids would just be stoked especially after a long road trip...if I mapquest it...it is 1255.37 miles and 19 hours and 37 minutes....

p.s. we could also drive to Portland Oregon on the 27th (stay with my in-laws) and get up early on the 28th and head out from there...

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We're east of Seattle, Kirkland and we've done the drive twice now. Once in March/April 2006 and again in Aug 2006. We drove straight through the first time and it took us almost 23 hours stopping only for gas, food, bathroom breaks. left at 10 am and arrived the following morning at 8am. We spent the night in Redding on the way back. In Aug,we first went to Ut, then Las Vegas, then Anaheim, Portland, OR and then finally home. Our drive from Anaheim to Portland, OR on the way back took us only 15 hours. Then another 3hours from Portland to Kirkland.
The drive in March/April was not fun. We worried about snow in the OR and northern CA passes. There were also strong gusts of wind in CA and lots of rain. My kids (then 4 and 8) were great in our minivan though. We brought along lots of dvds, gameboys, leapsters, coloring books, etc to keep them occupied. By the time we arrived in Anaheim at 8 am, we were lucky enough to check in right away. Otherwise, most /motelshotels around DL will hold your lugage so you can play at the parks and come back and check in later.
The drive is definitely doable with young kids, but expect your drive time to be longer than the 19 1/2 hours quoted by mapquest if you might encounter any major cities' rush hour.

 

[DangerMouse]

Northern WA (I am in Oak Harbor/Whidbey Island) or somewhere close maybe Seattle to Disneyland. Just wondering (realistically) how long it actually took. We will be leaving around 0800 on 28 Mar and arriving sometime on 29 Mar and will be traveling with 3 kids (13,6, & 14 months)...I would like to get down there as early as possible to get my choice of room (since reservations said they are 1st come 1st serve basis) on the 29th...I know chek in is not until like 3 pm or so, but if we can just check in early (leave our luggage int he car or with services downstairs) then we could hit the park and I think the kids would just be stoked especially after a long road trip...if I mapquest it...it is 1255.37 miles and 19 hours and 37 minutes....

p.s. we could also drive to Portland Oregon on the 27th (stay with my in-laws) and get up early on the 28th and head out from there...

NO WAY! My dad lives in Coupeville and owns a business in Oak Harbor. Small cyberworld!

 

[MrsMork]

We do at least one annual trek from Portland, OR. We drive one 10 hour day and one 6-7 hour day. Add 3 hours on to that to Seattle.

 

[nun69]

you really didn't think it was bad to drive through the night? I thought about it but wasn't sure how the kids would fair...thanks for the input

 

[victorandbellasmom]

you really didn't think it was bad to drive through the night? I thought about it but wasn't sure how the kids would fair...thanks for the input

Besides the rain and the wind, the drive wasn't too bad at night. Dh and i switched every 3-5 hours driving. DS (8) refused to go to sleep and wanted to stay up with dh (when he drove). Around midnight we finally took his ipod away from him and he eventually fell asleep. He never wants to go to sleep and always tries to stay up as late as he possibly can. Dd(4) went to sleep with no issues. She often falls asleep leaving grandpa's hosue which is only 45 mnutes away. We did drive to UT when dd was a little over 1 and we drove through the night as well. She did great and was asleep most of the time. So long as each child hs his/her space in your vehicle they should be okay.

 

[nun69]

dangermouse, what business does you dad own here in Oak Harbor? May have to go by and say "HI"...I'm still undecided (even though I don't mind driving through the night (and DH is a night owl anyway!!!) so I guess I will have to check with hima nd see what he thinks (since he does most of the driving)...just thought it would be a GREAT surprise to wake up in Disneyland!!!

 

[tirby]

victorandbellasmom,

We are going the end of April the 20th. What is the road like then. We just live down the road from you. Lewiston,ID just past the WA border. Is there a lot of hills to climb at the CA, OR boarder. We are going through Redmond. Is I-5 better?

 

[victorandbellasmom]

victorandbellasmom,

We are going the end of April the 20th. What is the road like then. We just live down the road from you. Lewiston,ID just past the WA border. Is there a lot of hills to climb at the CA, OR boarder. We are going through Redmond. Is I-5 better?

Not too sure which way you'd be going. Kirkland's about 8-12 mi east of Seattle, so we pretty much drive I-5 all the way down. There's Grants Pass right in southern OR right at the border. We missed snow by when we went down in late March-early April by 2 days on the way down and by a few hours returning home. We looked at www.intellicast.com to figure out the weather forecasts when going through the passes.

 

[got2travel]

Can't help with the driving tips, but let me just say I LOVE Whidbey Island. I have a friend who used to run a B&B in Langley. I loved to just drive around the island. It's beautiful up there.