Drive from Sacto to DL?

[alphie1991]

About how long would you estimate it will take to drive from Sacramento (I am actually a little South) to DL? We are driving down on the Monday after Thanksgiving -- I was thinking about leaving around 6:00 a.m. in hopes of avoiding too much traffic. Also, does anyone know if there will still be construction on I-5 that day? Thank you for any information you might provide.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

I've never left that late, we usually leave town (Lodi) at 2am or 3am, but I believe it took us about 5 - 5 1/2 hours. No traffic at all.

Not sure how the holiday will affect traffic though.

 

[furb & dez]

Depending on how fast you drive... 5-7 hours.

 

[Malcon10t]

We are in Modesto, and with a stop south of Bakersfield for gas, and no traffic it takes us 5 hours and 20 mins. Check the Cal Trans website the week before you leave to see if 5 will have closures. (We average 70mph most of the way, and our stop in Lebec is usually 10-15 mins (gas, every to the bathroom and grab fresh sodas.))

 

[Sweet Melissa]

We make the drive from Elk Grove to Disneyland every time we visit my hometown. Accounting for LA traffic, I'd say it usually takes us 6 to 6½ hours on I-5.

 

[kelmac284]

I agree with the others. We live near Sac and it usually takes between 6 and 7 hours but that also is accounting for traffic. We try to go early in the morning or in the evening. We usually hit traffic in Stockton/Modesto area if we go at night but then once we pass that it is usually smooth sailing. If going early in the day you could run into rush hour traffic once you hit LA. So it is a crap shoot.

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

We have driven from Sac to Disneyland on the Monday following Thanksgiving many times. We usually try and leave around 7 in the morning, with a stop for lunch and a second stop just after the Grapevine for gas and bathroom. We always seem to arrive around 4:30 or so. But we always have horrible traffic from pretty much Magic Mountain all the way to our Anaheim hotel. This year we want to leave closer to 5am. My sister did that last year, and had no traffic. We'll see how motivated we actually are to get up in the morning

 

[Malcon10t]

We have driven from Sac to Disneyland on the Monday following Thanksgiving many times. We usually try and leave around 7 in the morning, with a stop for lunch and a second stop just after the Grapevine for gas and bathroom. We always seem to arrive around 4:30 or so. But we always have horrible traffic from pretty much Magic Mountain all the way to our Anaheim hotel. This year we want to leave closer to 5am. My sister did that last year, and had no traffic. We'll see how motivated we actually are to get up in the morning

Here is a trick we learned for drives with heavy traffic. Once you pass Magic Mountain watch for the 210. Take it east to the 605, take the 605 south (get in the HOV lane) to the 91 EAST, get in the HOV lane, and get back on the 5. If there is no traffic on the 5, my route will take you 20 mins longer, but if it is during rush hour, we have saved an hour (had my sister go down the 5 to compare.)

 

[Sweet Melissa]

We have driven from Sac to Disneyland on the Monday following Thanksgiving many times. We usually try and leave around 7 in the morning, with a stop for lunch and a second stop just after the Grapevine for gas and bathroom. We always seem to arrive around 4:30 or so. But we always have horrible traffic from pretty much Magic Mountain all the way to our Anaheim hotel. This year we want to leave closer to 5am. My sister did that last year, and had no traffic. We'll see how motivated we actually are to get up in the morning

It will make a world of difference. We leave at 6am and usually manage to get in before 1.

 

[Malcon10t]

It will make a world of difference. We leave at 6am and usually manage to get in before 1.

I think part of it will be determined by how long of a lunch break they take.

 

[Mama Who]

I would ballpark 6-7 hours with stops.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Here is a trick we learned for drives with heavy traffic. Once you pass Magic Mountain watch for the 210. Take it east to the 605, take the 605 south (get in the HOV lane) to the 91 EAST, get in the HOV lane, and get back on the 5. If there is no traffic on the 5, my route will take you 20 mins longer, but if it is during rush hour, we have saved an hour (had my sister go down the 5 to compare.)

Oooo....interesting. Thanks for the tip! Hopefully we manage to get out the door super early on driving day. But if not, we'll have an alternative!

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

It will make a world of difference. We leave at 6am and usually manage to get in before 1.

Thanks for confirming Melissa. Love all the Disboards help....

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I think part of it will be determined by how long of a lunch break they take.

Definitely. We usually do a quick McDonalds break, but last year we stopped at Old Spaghetti Factory in Fresno. My kids love that place, so it was kind of fun to go to a new location. Last year was also the first time we had to drop the dog off at the kennel on the morning of the drive down south....so we missed our usual departure time of 7ish by a few hours. The late start, plus the non-fast-food lunch break, made for an awfully long drive. NEVER AGAIN!

One thing we did do right was packing up the car the night before for the return trip up north. The car was fully loaded except for basic morning needs (and valuables). We were on the road super early, and were home nice and early. And we hit no traffic in downtown LA!

 

[alphie1991]

Thanks for the info and the tip. I will be leaving from Elk Grove also -- I don't think I could do 3 or 4 a.m. but maybe I will try for 5:00 a.m. I'm just not a morning person! But the excitement of going to DL might motivate me.

 

[Malcon10t]

If you leave Elk Grove at 6am, you should hit the 5/99 interchange just south of Bakersfield by 10am. A minimal stop (15 mins) at at the bottom of the Grapevine, you should hit LA before 1130am, and be in Anaheim by 1p at the latest. DO you have a smartphone that you can check traffic? If so, check the 5 and see if it is red from the 10 to the 91, if so, use the bypass I do.

 

[Brancaneve]

I agree with everyone that posted above, and it seems that the best bet(for us at least) is to leave around 5 a.m. so that the kids can sleep in the car until about 7:00 or 7:30. About an hour later we stop for breakfast and then find that there are only a few hours left.

Can I just hijack this thread and say how GREAT it is to bring all of us Elk Grove Disney fanatics together on one thread!!!

Hi neighbors!

 

[GrandBob]

Also, does anyone know if there will still be construction on I-5 that day?

The lane closures around Buttonwillow are scheduled to be finished on Oct 20.

-Bob

 

[cloudconnected1039]

The lane closures around Buttonwillow are scheduled to be finished on Oct 20.

-Bob

Finally!!!

It's about time. I've driven through those lane closures since June and they're not fun.

 

[jkpatrick]

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