Driving: Grapevine to Disneyland

[RedRosie]

We're making the big drive from Northern CA next month, and DH and I are debating what time to go. I originally planned to leave after school, so we would hit the Grapevine about 8 pm. DH doesn't want to get to the hotel that late, so he wants to take the kids out of school at lunch (we can't leave in the morning because of other appointments), but that would get us to the Grapevine at 5 pm. I know traffic in LA-area would be horrible at that time, but I had assumed it would be much better later. How long would it take to get from Grapevine to DL at 5 pm vs 8 pm?

Thank you!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I travel to LA on a regular basis and if I have the flexibility, I try and hit LA right at 8p or later and seem to have pretty good luck with traffic. 5p, you will be right in the thick of it and I would add at least 45min to an hour to get through LA...and in my opinion, 5 is still the best route. Every time I try and "duck" traffic, it seems to take longer. You wont hit much traffic till you get through LA heading out of LA into Commerce. Grapevine to LA rush hour will be going the other way headed north.

...now that is for business...when heading to DL, I say leave as early as you can, deal with a bit of traffic through LA and arrive earlier then later, get settled in and enjoy the evening at DTD and start your vacation ASAP!

 

[tlovesdis]

LA traffic can be horrible! We've hit it a few times right around 4ish and it has taken us anywhere from an extra hour up to 2 1/2 hours (last time we went in October). I say the later you hit that area the better, unless you don't mind sitting in traffic.

 

[BayAreaMom]

I also hate getting into hotels late at night.

We also drive from the Bay Area but always leave early in the morning (meaning, 6-7 am). I have friends who take that to a new level, leaving around 3-4 am - they have kids who fall back asleep in the car- mine dont.

Anyways, when we leave at 6-7 am we get to our hotel and park for free/preregister, then go to the park right away. We come back to check in/unpack and then go back to the park. This approach also saves us a night of paying for a hotel that we're not really using to the maximum (meaning, we're getting in late). Obviously, we miss out on a full day at DL, but this is better for us overall.

 

[Potterswife]

We always seem to hit traffic unless we leave at 3am. This week we are leaving at 6pm, we hoping to be down there before midnight.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

We left Fresno last Friday at around 4pm, stopped for dinner in Gorman at 6pm and were at the DL area by around 8:30pm.

Not bad at all.

 

[Goofy's_Gal]

I like to leave around 2 am from the stockton area...I'm there there in time to get into the first showing of Disney Playhouse for my dd who's 3. Haven't been in a year and am itching to go, but doing a Disney Cruise/Disney World vacation after Christmas so don't think I can swing it LOL

 

[LaLaDisney]

My parents live near San Francisco and I live at the base of the Grapevine so I do the I5 trek all the time. Just got back from SF today. We left at 8:30 a.m. and we're at the base of the Grapevine (on the LA side) by 2 p.m. We have made it to DL in 45-50 minutes without traffic from where I live. But if you get stuck in rush hour or Friday night traffic, that 45 minutes can stretch to 2 1/2 hours! So as other posters have said, either leave early or plan on getting here late. There are not any other alternates that work as well (I've tried them). Good Luck!

So in response to your actual question: Getting to the Grapevine at 5 p.m. could be a LONG drive. You'll have a much better (quicker) drive at 8 p.m. from Grapevine to DL.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

You will save little, if any time at 5pm because the amount of time you spend in traffic will offset the advantage you would have had before 8pm. Or to put it differently, you can wait another hour or two in traffic on the freeway (5pm), or spend that hour or two in the comfort of your own home and drive straight through when there won't be any traffic (8pm). Arriving at a hotel late does suck, but I find it much worse to be sitting in traffic.

 

[jlp879]

We like to get in a bit of park time on our travel day, so would prefer to leave at noon or earlier. Traffic after Santa Clarita can be a bit of a nightmare, so we often travel east on the 210 as it has a diamond line, avoiding the worst part of the I-5.