Good way to break up the drive to DL?

[taaren]

There's a truck stop on Dennis McCarthy Dr. in Lebec, CA just before the grapevine that has a gas station and lots of fast food restaurants, which include In-n-Out Burger, Chipotle (that's where my boyfriend and I went last time), and Subway.

We're from Solano county originally and made this drive quite a bit, I agree with SilentFeline that this was our favorite food/coffee/strech stop simply because it had something for everyone and was a nice place to switch the driver before the Grapevine. (ie. One driver gets a long boring drive, the other gets the grueling LA traffic) We usually tried to drive overnight to avoid traffic though.

Only stop we made for an attraction was to stay overnight in ?Ventura and spend a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain on the way back home because the boys wanted to do some serious coaster riding. It was fun but don't think we'll do it again because of the lines that are usually there (we lucked out and hit it on a private event day and they only let us in on an exception pass) and the fact that it just seemed so unkempt after being at Disneyland for a week. It probably wasn't very dirty, just by comparison ... it cut about an hour to 90 minutes off of the drive home.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I am totally sharing this post with DH and our friend who went with us last time. They complained, a lot, about me insisting we be out the door by 6:30 am

We leave at 6:30 at the latest. Once we left at 3am and were in Anaheim by 8am. In the parks by 9am.

 

[tbone lg]

What I should have said in my initial post is that we want to stop and do something different on the way down. We aren't going to the park that day so there is no rush to get to DL. Trying to think of something cool to do for 5 and 8 yr old girls. Not interested in Magic Mountain as they are afraid of coasters. Just looking to do something where we can get out of the car for and hour or two and see something new. I was thinking the La Brea Tar Pits as I have never been.

 

[CheekyRose]

La Brea Tar Pits are a good idea. There are tons of things to do in the LA area. Olvera Street, Getty museum, Griffith Observatory/Park (used to have a great pony ride there, much larger than typical and the ponies trot. Not sure if it's still there as its been 10 yrs for us). Hollywood, many different museums, Santa Monica pier, Madame Tussaud's, etc.

I would check out some travel sites for a more complete list to find something that appeals to your family.

 

[BayAreaMom]

What I should have said in my initial post is that we want to stop and do something different on the way down. We aren't going to the park that day so there is no rush to get to DL. Trying to think of something cool to do for 5 and 8 yr old girls. Not interested in Magic Mountain as they are afraid of coasters. Just looking to do something where we can get out of the car for and hour or two and see something new. I was thinking the La Brea Tar Pits as I have never been.

I have taken my daughter to La Brea Tar Pits/Page Museum twice this year. There is also the LACMA and an Auto Museum right there too.
The only issue I see with this is TRAFFIC!
You would be getting off the 5 and taking the 170 to the 101 to get there. then to get back to the 5 you'd head through downtown on the 101 and then south to anaheim (with traffic) OR you could go to the 10 then the 5 . The traffic here would be AWFUL in the pm, guessing starting around 2pm until 7pm (that's a wild guess...). Personally, I don't think the pain of the added traffic would be worth the stop. The tar pits aren't that exciting, they basically look like ponds and there is a little bit of tar you can see. If you could find enough in LA to do until after rush hour (like 7pm), that might be a doable stop. I'd suggest The Grove/Farmers Market which is near the tar pits. The LA Zoo is also off the 5, but not super exciting, but its an easier stop driving-wise since its literally right off the 5.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

we are from the bay area as well and when we go we drive straight through. the sooner we get to disneyland the better!

 

[disfan07]

Agree with others that it's best you keep stops to a minimum. We make at most 1 stop from the Bay Area to Anaheim. Leaving the earlier the better.

When our kids were young (under 5) we had to make numerous stops along I-5 and even in downtown LA for bathroom and food breaks. We would leave the bay area at 9am and won't get to Anaheim until 6pm.

If you don't mind a longer road trip, one of the better stops would be Harris Ranch in Coalinga. They have the fine dining restaurant which is pricey or you can eat at the cheaper cafe which is still pretty good. Expect to spend 1.5 - 2 hours at Harris.

Closer to LA, we stop in Valencia if we must. Lost of fast food and family type restaurants here. And it's easy to get back onto the freeway.[/QUOTE]

I was going to say the same thing....but I may also be bias because I live here...lol

In valencia, right off the highway there's the usual In-n-out, McDs, Wendys, and burger king. If you go a little further into Valencia/Stevenson Ranch (only like a couple minutes or so off the highway) There's better places like:
Jersey Mikes
Rubios
Chipotle
Corner Bakery (right next to a Starbucks! haha)
Five Guys
Habit

If you actually want to sit down an eat, there's also:
Spumonis
BJs
Fridays
Chilis
Lazy Dog
Red Robin
Olive Garden
Wokcano
Wood Ranch

How old are your kids? If you think they are going to want to get out a burn off some energy, you can also park at the YMCA here and there is a huge park behind the Y with a playground and a lot of space to run around. It's also basically right off the highway so not really out of the way.

 

[NewbieMouse]

How long does it take to make the drive if you go straight through? Last year we took highway 1 for the scenic route, but this year we'll just go down I-5. I'm debating if we should leave SF the afternoon of my husband's last day at the conference (near Union Square) and get in at night, just so we can get to DL a day earlier, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be.

TIA!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

What I should have said in my initial post is that we want to stop and do something different on the way down. We aren't going to the park that day so there is no rush to get to DL. Trying to think of something cool to do for 5 and 8 yr old girls. Not interested in Magic Mountain as they are afraid of coasters. Just looking to do something where we can get out of the car for and hour or two and see something new. I was thinking the La Brea Tar Pits as I have never been.

Even if you aren't in a rush to get to the parks the first day, you could still just get there and check into your hotel and spend that first day/evening in downtown disney. We have done this many times on the first day rather than going into the parks. Sometimes if we are staying some place good (like a DLR hotel) we use this day to first go to the pool, walk around the hotel, and then will go into downtown disney for some shopping and eating later. It is really a nice way to start off your trip.

The problem that I see with your plan is traffic. If you leave later or stop some place for a few hours, you will encouter horrific traffic. It will be the difference between a 6 hour drive and a 9 hour drive. And I am not including your stop in that! There comes a point in L.A. traffic where it will take you an hour to drive what should take 10 minutes at the most. The traffic gets really bad at certain points of the day, and that is when you are just kicking yourself for not just getting there sooner.

The only time my daughter got seriously car sick (and I won't even tell the story, because it was like something out of the exorcist!) was when we took our time leaving and didn't leave the Bay Area till 10:00 a.m. We hit the worst traffic around 4:00 in the L.A. area (actually it started around Magic Mountain area, and just kept going all the way to Palos Verdes), and it was excruciating stop and go till 8:00 when we finally rolled in. I thought that ride would never end, and my kids were so over it at that point that they barely had the strength to fight with each other in car! You know it's bad when they can't muster up the will to argue in the back seat.

So give it some thought. We have been to the Tar Pits before and it is pretty good for a one time thing--we use to live right near there before we had kids and it is fun to see our old neighborhood. The Getty Museum is also a fun day activity. But even with those activities, I would say just get to Disneyland and do something around there. You can also add a day on to your park hoppers for like 10.00 or so, just in case you want to go into the parks afterall.

Have fun!
Lisa

 

[NewbieMouse]

I know there can be horrific traffic at any hour, but what's the "danger zone" time for traffic when coming down from SF?

 

[BayAreaMom]

How long does it take to make the drive if you go straight through? Last year we took highway 1 for the scenic route, but this year we'll just go down I-5. I'm debating if we should leave SF the afternoon of my husband's last day at the conference (near Union Square) and get in at night, just so we can get to DL a day earlier, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be.

TIA!

I think this depends on how early you can leave SF and if you'd rather drive at night or very early in the am. We live just s of SF and the drive is ~ 415 mi/ 6:15 hr. we leave at 6 am and usually stop for 15-30 min only.

 

[23bw]

How old are your kids? If you think they are going to want to get out a burn off some energy, you can also park at the YMCA here and there is a huge park behind the Y with a playground and a lot of space to run around. It's also basically right off the highway so not really out of the way.

Thanks for the detailed info about Valencia. Good to know there are many more options. Kids are now 6 & 9 so they can better handle the longer rides. Now we make just one stop along I-5 somewhere and they next stop is Anaheim.

 

[pixiewings71]

You want to not be in LA from 3-8 pm....seriously. We are 6.5 hours away, we've left at 3 am, we've left at 8 am, we've left at 10 am. We will never leave at 10 am again......lol We prefer to leave our house from 6-8 am, that gives us time to stop for breakfast if we feel the need.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

You want to not be in LA from 3-8 pm....seriously. We are 6.5 hours away, we've left at 3 am, we've left at 8 am, we've left at 10 am. We will never leave at 10 am again......lol We prefer to leave our house from 6-8 am, that gives us time to stop for breakfast if we feel the need.

I agree. When we go down we leave between 5-7am. And when we leave the parks we are on the road by 2pm at the latest so we can get through LA before 3:00. The one time we left later (it was a short 2 day trip so we didn't leave until 8pm) it took us an hour to get 10 miles.

 

[GrandBob]

You want to not be in LA from 3-8 pm....seriously.

On a related note, how bad would it be to go north from the Farmer's Market at the Grove on a Tuesday afternoon?

DW & I still want to see the Farmers Market on our upcoming anniversary trip, as we haven't had time to do that the last couple of trips. I told her that I don't want to do that on the way down to DLR, as that would put us in LA during rush hour (realistically, we're not gonna leave Monterey before 7:30AM). So I was planning to do it on the way home. We can skip going to the park on our last day, and instead go directly to the Farmers Market. But a) we'd like to take our time to look around, or b) if we finish early, I was thinking of hitting the Getty, which we also haven't seen yet. In either case, we could be trying to get out of there in mid- to late-afternoon.

Suggestions? Thanks.

-Bob

 

[Honeybee1983]

I was going to suggest San Francisco until I saw that's where you ARE coming from! LOL San Fran WAS our stop coming from the Seattle area. hehe

I like the suggestion to go to the grove!! Have you ever been? It's so awesome there! Definitely worth going!!

 

[pixiewings71]

I agree. When we go down we leave between 5-7am. And when we leave the parks we are on the road by 2pm at the latest so we can get through LA before 3:00. The one time we left later (it was a short 2 day trip so we didn't leave until 8pm) it took us an hour to get 10 miles.

Yup, we leave by 2 as well, or we simply wait until 6 pm but then we get home super late so we try not to do that.

 

[NewbieMouse]

You want to not be in LA from 3-8 pm....seriously. We are 6.5 hours away, we've left at 3 am, we've left at 8 am, we've left at 10 am. We will never leave at 10 am again......lol We prefer to leave our house from 6-8 am, that gives us time to stop for breakfast if we feel the need.

Ugggghhh..... usually we are the "leave at the crack of dawn" types, but I think the earliest the car rental place opens is 7:30 (and that's in downtown San Francisco), so we're kind of stuck in that respect. I'm starting to wonder if we should leave at 2:00 in the afternoon instead the night before to just miss that whole scene. Would you estimate we'd get there between 8:00 or 9:00 at night if we did that?