How long for 2 people to drive from Vancouver b.c

[bonita_babe232]

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas how long it would take to drive to disneyland from vancouver b.c... it would be 3 kids 4 months, 2.5 yrs, and 5 .... with 2 adults and 1 senior.... hoepfully it will be the 2 adults taking turns driving so we can get more road covered.... I really would like to go around christmas for 3-4 days but i don't want to pay airfare for all of us as we will be going again next oct. for 2 weeks... what do you guys think any ideas how long???

 

[Dobie]

21 hours?

 

[dalepool]

christmas time-- possible snow. I would say it is a good 7 hours canadian border to washington Oregon border. I have then seen ppl that drive and get to DL in 18 hours -24 hours. If you run inot snow near the oregon/Calif border you can by-pass the I-5 by using 101 but that will add an additional 6 + hours or more. It sounds like a wonderful time and you will have plenty of help. But, ( oh ya the fateful but) If you need to stay in hotel 2 nights each way X2 so 4 nights to get there then the price of gas I would retuink trip. Your youngest child is free to fly --will not have own seat -- is a lap passenger. The good thing is alaska airlines offered kids fly free. you could drive to seattle -- take a later fight so no getting up early-- It would certainly be cheaper then driving and the price of gas now.

Jet blue is also offering cheap fares to DL. Again you would leave out of seattle. Oh almost forgot-- there is an airport in bellingham that has had some very good web specials via Alaska Air lines. That would be closer and then no seattle driving .

Hope this helps

Happy Planning Patty

 

[ScottShaft]

I'm going to be doing this in November........although thankfully not with kids.....the GF will be bad enough.

I did it years ago and (depending on the number and length of your stops) it takes about 19 hours of straight driving. By the time you factor in pee breaks, gas station fill ups and meal breaks figure on probably 22-23 hours. If memory serves, I drove straight through from Anaheim (left at 8am) and was at the Sumas border crossing at 6am the next morning.

Gotta disagree with it being that much cheaper flying though. Checked last night and the cheapest airfares were in the 400 - 450 range (that included all of the taxes and surcharges). I've worked it out and driving will cost at the most 450 bucks both ways. ($50 per tank of gas/500-600km per tank) and you can get a Motel 6 or a Super 8 for no more than 75 bucks a night. So for 4 nights plus the gas you're lookin' at about 700 - 800 bucks. (And you don't have to deal with any airport BS)

I'm actually kinda lookin' forward to the drive down.....now, the drive back, that's a whole other story!

 

[c&m]

I wouldn't recommend driving down for these reasons:
- You plan to stay only for 3-4 days. That's A LOT of driving to go only for such a limited no. of days.
- Your kids are small children.
- We drove down in the summer, when the roads are clear and the weather is sunny and mild. You're driving south in winter conditions. Kind of hazardous, especially when you hit Oregon.

We've done the drive many times, and we usually stayed in SoCal for 2-3 weeks. That makes the drive more worth it, IMHO.

But since you asked the question, here's how we've done it. All times are approximate.

DAY 1
- 5:30am...Leave home and start the drive.
- 9am...Arrive in Tacoma. Have breakfast.
- 11:30am...Arrive in downtown Portland for lunch.
- 5:30pm...Arrive in Redding, CA. Stay overnight at the Hampton Inn in Redding.

DAY 2
- 7:30am...Have breakfast at the Hampton (included in the hotel rate).
- 8am...Back on the road.
- 6:30pm...Arrive in Anaheim.

Also agree with previous poster about flying from Seattle. Because of the price of gas, we flew down this summer with Virgin America from SEA-LAX for $89 pp and with JetBlue from SAN-SEA for $104 pp. Check out their fares. Both are great airlines!

 

[Queenbillabong]

If you travel before December 17 and book like now with Virgin America from Seattle it's $79/person each way, so very reasonable. I would not drive down personally as I think it would take too long - unless you make that part of the trip itself, not just "getting there".

 

[Dobie]

I'm going to be doing this in November........although thankfully not with kids.....the GF will be bad enough.

I did it years ago and (depending on the number and length of your stops) it takes about 19 hours of straight driving. By the time you factor in pee breaks, gas station fill ups and meal breaks figure on probably 22-23 hours. If memory serves, I drove straight through from Anaheim (left at 8am) and was at the Sumas border crossing at 6am the next morning.

Gotta disagree with it being that much cheaper flying though. Checked last night and the cheapest airfares were in the 400 - 450 range (that included all of the taxes and surcharges). I've worked it out and driving will cost at the most 450 bucks both ways. ($50 per tank of gas/500-600km per tank) and you can get a Motel 6 or a Super 8 for no more than 75 bucks a night. So for 4 nights plus the gas you're lookin' at about 700 - 800 bucks. (And you don't have to deal with any airport BS)

I'm actually kinda lookin' forward to the drive down.....now, the drive back, that's a whole other story!

Sumas border crossing?

I lived in Sue-Mass 20 years ago. Are there still more gas stations than residents?

 

[Whidbey5]

We just drove from north of Seattle to DL and it took around 18 hours, give or take.

And unless we can get a smokin' deal on airline tickets, it is still less expensive for us to drive down than to fly. At this point, it is more expensive for us to fly to Disneyland from Seattle than it was for us to fly from Seattle to Orlando last December.

I'm crossing fingers for a good flight sale for our trip in December. We don't have enough time to drive for that one...plus, I think our kids would stage an uprising if we said we were driving again so soon!

 

[ScottShaft]

Sumas border crossing?

I lived in Sue-Mass 20 years ago. Are there still more gas stations than residents?

Yup..........I think there's probaby 2 pumps for every person! But it's definately worth the trek across the border.....on average I save 10 - 15 bucks per tank of gas.