Best time to leave Vegas in morning for Disneyland

[jnoller]

Hi All

I am taking my daughter to Las Vegas this coming Thursday 7/18. We are renting a car and want to visit Disneyland on Monday 7/22 but am not sure what time to leave so as to avoid heavy traffic. I was thinking either 5am (arrive in Anaheim around 9-9:30am) or leave Vegas at 6am and arrive in Anaheim around 10-10:30am. I honestly have no clue what time to leave, but have been told traffic can be a nightmare if we leave at the "wrong time" which I assume would be arriving in Anaheim between 7 and 8:30am...

Any ideas? We are staying at the Anaheim Camelot Inn for one day and leaving the next day early (probably around 6:30am) back to Vegas but maybe visiting Joshua Tree National Park on way home.

Thanks for any tips!!!

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Hi All

I am taking my daughter to Las Vegas this coming Thursday 7/18. We are renting a car and want to visit Disneyland on Monday 7/22 but am not sure what time to leave so as to avoid heavy traffic. I was thinking either 5am (arrive in Anaheim around 9-9:30am) or leave Vegas at 6am and arrive in Anaheim around 10-10:30am. I honestly have no clue what time to leave, but have been told traffic can be a nightmare if we leave at the "wrong time" which I assume would be arriving in Anaheim between 7 and 8:30am...

Any ideas? We are staying at the Anaheim Camelot Inn for one day and leaving the next day early (probably around 6:30am) back to Vegas but maybe visiting Joshua Tree National Park on way home.

Thanks for any tips!!!

We live in Vegas and drive to Disney every few months. We leave Vegas by 5am and get to Anaheim around 9-10am depending on California traffic and how long we stop in Barstow for. We have made it to Anaheim in 3 1/2 hours before but I would plan on 4 1/2 to be safe. We have also left at 6am before and find that we hit more traffic once we get the Riverside area, as opposed to leaving at 5.
As for coming home, we leave Anaheim at at all hours depending on what we are doing on departure day (sometimes we shop or go to eat or hit the beach). The only time we have experienced traffic coming back was on a Friday afternoon when it seemed like everyone was heading Vegas for the weekend.
Safe travels and have a great time!!

 

[jnoller]

Thanks Dot!! You're awesome!!

 

[Girimama33]

Personally, I would try and leave earlier in order to make it to the park around rope drop. I would leave by 4...especially since you only are planning 1 day.


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[Dot2Vegas]

Thanks Dot!! You're awesome!!

Happy to help!! You may want to consider a portable DVD player or some form of entertainment for your daughter. That's a long boring stretch of road! I don't think my kids would make it without their Kindles and their movies!

 

[123Dis4Me]

We live in Vegas and drive to Disney every few months. We leave Vegas by 5am and get to Anaheim around 9-10am depending on California traffic and how long we stop in Barstow for. We have made it to Anaheim in 3 1/2 hours before but I would plan on 4 1/2 to be safe. We have also left at 6am before and find that we hit more traffic once we get the Riverside area, as opposed to leaving at 5.
As for coming home, we leave Anaheim at at all hours depending on what we are doing on departure day (sometimes we shop or go to eat or hit the beach). The only time we have experienced traffic coming back was on a Friday afternoon when it seemed like everyone was heading Vegas for the weekend.
Safe travels and have a great time!!

Can I ask you a question Dot2Vegas? We will be driving from Vegas to Disneyland in February, are there any weather hazards/considerations to keep in mind that time of year? Thanks

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Can I ask you a question Dot2Vegas? We will be driving from Vegas to Disneyland in February, are there any weather hazards/considerations to keep in mind that time of year? Thanks

That's a great time to make that drive! The temps are cool and there is rarely any rain. We always go in Feb/March and have never had any trouble. Occasionally you might get some strong winds and dusts storms but they are manageable. One time, in October, we encountered a very big dust storm and had to pull over while it passed. The sand and rocks damaged our windshield. That's about the worst weather we have seen.

OP- This made me think of a tip for you- bring LOTS of water. We always keep a case or two in the car. You are driving through Death Valley! It is not nearly as scary as it sounds but if you were to have car trouble and get stuck for a bit you need to make sure you have plenty of water. Temps can get outrageously hot in the summer. Driving in the early morning or late evening is absolutely the smartest way to go!

 

[123Dis4Me]

Thanks...that's just what I wanted to know!

 

[DisneyBiskit]

We live in Vegas and drive to Disney every few months. We leave Vegas by 5am and get to Anaheim around 9-10am depending on California traffic and how long we stop in Barstow for. We have made it to Anaheim in 3 1/2 hours before but I would plan on 4 1/2 to be safe. We have also left at 6am before and find that we hit more traffic once we get the Riverside area, as opposed to leaving at 5.
As for coming home, we leave Anaheim at at all hours depending on what we are doing on departure day (sometimes we shop or go to eat or hit the beach). The only time we have experienced traffic coming back was on a Friday afternoon when it seemed like everyone was heading Vegas for the weekend.
Safe travels and have a great time!!

I'm from Vegas as well and I pretty much was going to type the same exact answer but Dot2Vegas beat me to it!

 

[Amunet]

Just wanted to say thanks to this thread!

We're in SLC and we'll be driving down on the 20th to visit Disneyland/CA on the 21st and 22nd We'll be doing the same route and this is very good info!
Of course, we're tacking on some extra hours lol We'll be leaving at 4am!

 

[Dot2Vegas]

I'm from Vegas as well and I pretty much was going to type the same exact answer but Dot2Vegas beat me to it!

Great minds think alike!

 

[WTFetus]

Personally, I would try and leave earlier in order to make it to the park around rope drop. I would leave by 4...especially since you only are planning 1 day.

I was thinking that he should leave the night before and pay for a hotel near Disneyland (instead of paying for another night at Vegas). Then he'll be able to get to the park at rope drop and stay until closing without being too tired (would have to wake up at like 4:00 AM if he left from Vegas).

 

[Dot2Vegas]

I was thinking that he should leave the night before and pay for a hotel near Disneyland (instead of paying for another night at Vegas). Then he'll be able to get to the park at rope drop and stay until closing without being too tired (would have to wake up at like 4:00 AM if he left from Vegas).

We've done this before too and it is nice to wake up and be there! But for us, sometimes it is best on the budget to drive out the day of. With that being said, there must be something in the air at Disney that keeps us awake ;-). We can get up at 4am, drive all morning, do Disney all day and close the parks! And do it again for 2 or 3 more days!!