Disneyland - Driving from BC

[blabbermouth]

Just saw some really good info on driving from Edmonton a few pages back.

Anyone drive to Disneyland from BC? Any tips? Good recommendations on where to stay/places to stop?

We've just starting planning and we're considering driving.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I can give you some first hand info regarding this, as I just got back from the mouse on Sat night. It's a 1300 mile drive from where I live (Richmond, BC). It's rougly a 3 day drive from here. If you belong to BCAA, look them up and get state maps, lodging books, and a TripTix. We used a combination of GPS and state maps to navigate our way along the USA roads. If you stay at hotels that have BCAA discounts, you can save some extra money that way as well. How we did it was to do a 3 hr drive to Tacoma the first night (would have left earlier in the day, but hubby had a meeting that he couldn't miss). We then made it to Medford, Oregon day 2. On Day 3 we made it to Santa Nella CA. Then on Day 4 made it to Anaheim and our hotel by 1pm that afternoon. Tips on how to save money. Stay at hotels that have free continental breakfasts. Saved us 20 to 30 USD per day. As you are a member of the DISboard, you can get a 15% discount savings on the Howard Johnson hotel in Anaheim. Trust me you can't go wrong booking this hotel. It definitely lived up to it's reviews. It's a 10 min walk to the parks, and we saved money by hitting their gift shop every morning and pickup individ cereal cont for the kids, and something light for our selves before heading to the parks for the day. Mimi's restaurant across the street from HOJO's has excellent food reasonably prices. Millies next door can be dodgy for service and quality of food, but worth giving it a shot. We did go the coastal route coming home, and if you are interested, be advised that the roads have alot of hairpin turns, and a GPS is strongly advised so that you don't get lost, especially going through the redwood forests. If you want any further info regarding this please PM me and I can give you further info. Have a great day! The I-5 is the quickest way to get to Anaheim. Take the Peace Arch border crossing to crossing to the USA, and it takes you right onto the I-5 and keep going. If you are seriously considering driving, I highly reccommending a GPS. Ours was invaluable in finding gas stations, restaurants, hotels, etc. Well worth the investment.

Trish

 

[blabbermouth]

We're in Victoria, so we just have to add a ferry trip on to your timeline. It's just two adults going, so we were thinking about trying to do it in two FULL days. Hopefully making it to Medford for the first night. Do you have a hotel to recommend there? Cheap I let my bcaa expire, but I might consider it if it will get me enough discounts. We also planning on visiting San Francisco and San Diego as well.

 

[TheZue]

We live in Nanaimo and usually make it in two full days of driving. It works well if one of you is a morning person and the other is a night person. We usually make it to either Grants Pass or Medford the first night. The next day I wake everyone up around 6 and we start moving again and just boot down the 1-5. We usally split it so I drove until around 2 and then Dh takes over until around 9. Without kids I don't see any reason why you couldn't do the marathon drive one of the ways.

But if you are planning to visit San Francisco it's going to add a day to one of the drives because it is quite a ways off the 1-5 so you can either take the detour or go along the 101 one of the ways. Personally I'd go with the 101 and take the time either going down or coming back. It's really pretty.

Your biggest variable in time is going to be the border. Since you are on the Island the sooner you get there the better. I personally am a fan of the 5am sailings but if you can get over the night before and cross at night it's really fast and you can make it through a lot of Washington without traffic which is also nice. What we did that worked out really well one year was the first night we drove to Chehalis, then the next morning we moved over to the 101 and took the coastal route. We spent another night in Southern Oregon, then another in San Fran, then the next day made it to Disneyland. So it was 3.5 days along the coastal route with a half day spent in the piers at San Francisco.

Also some tips we've learned over the years. Don't speed in Oregon, after coming out of Cali where everyone is going 85 m/hr Oregon seems really slow but don't speeed there, we got a $500 speeding ticket within five minutes of crossing the border a few years ago...it got reduces to $200 but still it was a bit shocking.

Motel 6s are super cheap but the beds are tiny, they are kinda cruddy, and have no clocks. I personally would rather budget around $100 and get a nice hotel even when you are just stopping and taking a break from the drive. Nothing is worse than driving tired because of a bad sleep on a tiny little bed! I personally like stopping at the Holiday Inn Expresses because they've got clean nice rooms and a good breakfast bar where they let you take food with you.

And one of my favorite parts of every trip is the start of the second morning. The border between Oregon and California is beautiful, especially at sunrise! There are some nice lakes and mountains.

ETA: Also get your brakes checked before you go. One of the things that drives me nuts about southern california is that the freeways will just stop without a lot of warning. You need perfect brakes for that.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I can highly recommend the Comfort Inn in Medford. A new hotel that has decent rooms, a small, but very nice pool and jacuzzi, and a continental breakfast. The price for us with the BCAA discount was around $90 USD. If you are interested in visiting San Francisco, you can take the Bay bridge instead of the Golden Gate Bridge. This will get you on to Hwy 80, and will shoot you back onto the I-5 at Sacramento. If you are determined to drive up the coast, it's a beautiful drive, but the roads are very curvy, with lots of hairpin turns. So you've been warned. We found that after we stayed in San Rafael instead of Sausalito, that if you want to get back onto the I-5, that there are very few options other than to drive to Crescent City, and take Hwy 199 which takes you over Grants Pass and shoots you back onto th I-5 between Meford and Eugene Or. Which is what we ended up doing. It's worth doing the Coastal route of California at least once in your life, as the views are spectacular. Have a great day! Be advised that travelling when travelling in the winter that winter tires are recommended, and chains are mandatory that you carry them in your vehicle.

Trish

 

[blabbermouth]

You guys are awesome! Actually, you lost me in all the details of highways etc, I'll have to study my maps. We'll either go about May or Sept so we don't have to worry about snowtires. I think the plan is to boot it to anaheim, then go down to san diego, then stop back at san francisco on the way home. Thanks for the recommendations for hotels.

 

[TheZue]

When you cross at peace arch the highway you are on is the Interstate 5, or I-5...it goes all the way to mexico. It's the inland and fastest route. Disneyland's exit is off of the 1-5. The 101 is the coastal route. Sanfrancisco is along this highway, along with the California Redwood forest where they filmed a lot of the ewok scenes for Return of the Jedi, and the oregon coast which is breathtaking (lots of goonies filming spots along here). Yes I'm a movie geek haha. In LA the 1-5 and the 101 merge so even if you take the 101 all the way down it merges with the 1-5 and you will still be on track to find the Disneyland exit without having to navigate the LA freeways too much.

 

[Douglas Bray]

From the Lower Mainland to the gates at Disneyland has never taken me more than 24 hours to drive. I have done the trip in a car six times and always have gone straight through without stopping other than for gas and bathroom stops. If you speed and don't get stuck in Seattle, Portland or LA traffic you can do it in around 18 1/2 hours.
I don't understand taking days to do this drive as it means less time to spend at Disneyland and the other Southern California attractions.
If you leave your house around noon you can arrive around noon the next day, have a nice meal and sleep for twelve hours or more and then be at the park when it opens the following day.
Have a good trip

 

[blabbermouth]

I know, it's a problem 'wasting' vacation days with driving. But I am just NOT a night person and I wouldn't be able to function for about 3 days if I didn't sleep for one night! But 18 1/2 hrs does make it sound attractive (Oh, and I don't trust my bf to not fall asleep while driving thru the night, heehee). Thanks for all the highway info too Zue.