Drive from DLR to San Diego

[CluelessDisFan]

We're planning our first Disney Land trip. I was wondering how the traffic is from Anaheim to San Diego, we'd like to go to Sea World. I map quested the trip says 90 mi and takes about 1.5 hours. I'm just worried about traffic, because I've heard horror stories. Is there a specific day or time you would make the trip?

We're also planning on spending a day at the beach, and would like to go whale watching. I was thinking somewhere closer to Anaheim though. Any suggestions? Or what time of year are whale watching excursions?

Thanks for your help and feedback.

 

[sonnyjane]

Regarding the drive, obviously you'll want to avoid typical rush hour times (7-9 AM and 4-6/7 PM). Fridays evenings are particularly bad. Weekends are lighter (unless it's a Sunday night).

When are you travelling? The gray whale season is late December through early April. I'm only familiar with the San Diego operations, so if you want to do one closer to Anaheim I can't help, sorry!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

We're thinking about September, but that's not set in stone.

 

[sonnyjane]

Yeah, September is definitely not in the whale migration. It looks like Captain Dave's out of Dana Point offers tours year round that are billed as "whale and dolphin" tours, but you're most likely to just see dolphins in September (says they have an 85% success rate of seeing dolphins). It says they have spotted random whales during the non-migration but if whales are a priority, September's not the time to come. It's a great month for a lot of other stuff though (weather, lower crowds at theme parks, etc.)

 

[CluelessDisFan]

Maybe early spring will be better then. Any issues with crowds besides spring break or President's day weekend I should be aware of? Also does DLR get the Brazilian Tour Groups that WDW gets?

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I got a great Groupon for Dana Point Whale Watching. The reviews are good and it looks like summer months are fine and they go in the evenings (5-7) when they whales eat.

 

[sonnyjane]

Maybe early spring will be better then. Any issues with crowds besides spring break or President's day weekend I should be aware of? Also does DLR get the Brazilian Tour Groups that WDW gets?

No to the tour groups. Just know that if you come during a non-peak season (both September and early spring would both be considered non-peak season), there is a very good chance that entertainment (Fantasmic! and fireworks for example) will be offered on weekends only and a few rides will likely be closed for refurbishment. It's one of the trade-offs. If you go during summer, spring break, or the holidays, more things will be open and entertainment will be more regular, but it is more crowded.

Here's a good thread "What you should know about off-season at DLR": http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

And this "Choosing when to visit DLR":http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602

 

[CluelessDisFan]

Thanks SonnyJane. We're aware of the downsides to non-peak, but love the upside of less crowds with our little ones. You've been very helpful! Thanks again.

 

[T0rrent]

The drive from Anaheim to San Diego really wasn't that bad. The wife and I for our honeymoon two years ago, after our disney portion was done, we got up early and got to San Diego within about 90 minutes of leaving, got checked into our hotel and was at the San Diego Zoo by about 11am to noon if I remember correctly. This was during October and we did leave Anaheim on a Monday if that helps. We only did spend two days there though, one day for the zoo, the other for Sea World and was a lot of fun. Didn't do any of the tour groups though.

 

[soaringirl]

We've been to San Diego in both trips. Never had a problem but we avoided rush hour. First time we left San Diego at 6:30am and we were checking in the Grand at 8amish. Now we left at 9am but we did the 101 highway tour so we had several stops along the way, didn't take the I-5 until Carlsbad.
Note: you can take the carpool if there's more than 1 person in the car, that saved us some traffic on our first visit; now it seemed the same wheter we took the carpool or not. It was a breeze.

 

[SomeDude78]

The drive from Anaheim to San Diego isn't too bad, I'd budget 1.5-2 hours. There's always the chance of some light-moderate traffic near Anaheim depending when you're leaving, but most of the nasty traffic will be closer to the coast on the 405, and by the time the two freeways merge, you'll be south of the worst of it.

San Diego traffic while coming in on the 5 south can be pretty ugly during rush hour when the 5 and the 8 split, but that's a pretty short section and only really plugs up during commute hours, and the worst of it is for the folks headed inland on the 8 anyway. Have a nice trip!