La Mirada - Driving Time from DL

[mickeygrl]

My husband's aunt lives in La Mirada, CA. She is insisting that we stay with them and says she is only 15 minutes from DL. I know traffic can be heavy.

Does anyone know how much time I should allow to get to DL? We are planning to do rope drop. The parks open at 8 AM, I was wanting to be at the turnstiles by 8:15 AM.

Thanks --

G

 

[HydroGuy]

My husband's aunt lives in La Mirada, CA. She is insisting that we stay with them and says she is only 15 minutes from DL. I know traffic can be heavy.

Does anyone know how much time I should allow to get to DL? We are planning to do rope drop. The parks open at 8 AM, I was wanting to be at the turnstiles by 8:15 AM.

Thanks --

G

See "Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580


I would give yourself 45 minutes from the time you reach DLR to getting to the gate. So you need to arrive by 7:30AM to be at the gates by 8:15. On average.

But if you want to do rope drop for an 8AM day you will not make it if you arrive at 8:15AM.

How long from La Mirada to DLR?

Is it a Saturday or Sunday? Then maybe 15 minutes. Is it a weekday morning? Could be 30-45 minutes with traffic, traffic lights, etc.

 

[mickeygrl]

DOH! I meant 7:15 AM.

Thanks Hydroguy. I would blame it on the early hour but you've got 2 hours at least on me

As luck would have it, we are there Mon, Tues and Wed.

Really excited about dealing with SoCA traffic

G

 

[calitook]

It may be 15 minutes during the 5 minute window of time when there are no other cards on the road...

In all seriousness, SoCal traffic was a huge motivating factor for me to get the fudge out of there! Between traffic/parking/waiting for a tram/taking tram to the entrance I would give yourself a good hour. So if you want to be there for park opening at 8, I'd leave at 7.

 

[cyclenut]

DOH! I meant 7:15 AM.

Thanks Hydroguy. I would blame it on the early hour but you've got 2 hours at least on me

As luck would have it, we are there Mon, Tues and Wed.

Really excited about dealing with SoCA traffic

G

There isn't much traffic to worry about at 7:15 in the morning coming from La Mirada to DL, but you'll want to allow at least 20 minutes just for the drive. The other thread that talks about the hidden time required to drive to DL is also important to make note of. I'm assuming you really mean you want to be at the turnstiles at 7:15. In that case, I'd leave yourself 20 minutes for the drive and at least 30 minutes to get from where you enter the parking lot to the turnstiles and 45 minutes is better if it is really important to be there on time.

In other words, give yourself an hour and leave at 6:15. At that time, you won't have any traffic worries. I-5 southbound will be smooth sailing and you'll have a DL exit right to the parking structure. Chances are that leaving at 6:15 means you'll be there early, but this allows for extra time in case there is some sort of a glitch in your plans.

 

[toocherie]

note that La Mirada to Disneyland is AGAINST morning traffic, so it won't be as bad as if you were coming North on the 5!

 

[cyclenut]

See "Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580


I would give yourself 45 minutes from the time you reach DLR to getting to the gate. So you need to arrive by 7:30AM to be at the gates by 8:15. On average.

But if you want to do rope drop for an 8AM day you will not make it if you arrive at 8:15AM.

How long from La Mirada to DLR?

Is it a Saturday or Sunday? Then maybe 15 minutes. Is it a weekday morning? Could be 30-45 minutes with traffic, traffic lights, etc.

I read those threads with interest. For what it is worth, I drive every time I go and I can't remember it taking me longer than 30 minutes from the time I enter the structure to the time I reach the turnstiles, but I'm almost never . During the busiest times they run more trams and they have more parking fee booths open.

That said, I can definately see where allowing 45 minutes is a good idea if the arrival time is important.

 

[HydroGuy]

I read those threads with interest. For what it is worth, I drive every time I go and I can't remember it taking me longer than 30 minutes from the time I enter the structure to the time I reach the turnstiles, but I'm almost never . During the busiest times they run more trams and they have more parking fee booths open.

That said, I can definately see where allowing 45 minutes is a good idea if the arrival time is important.

Are you counting the time waiting to get into the parking structure? If everything goes exactly right - for me - no line at the parking structure to buy a parking pass, park outside near the tram, the tram is about ready to leave when you arrive, you get on the first tram, and the security line is zero, the best I have done is about 20 minutes from the time I approach the parking structure until I am standing in line at the turnstiles. Usually everything does not go perfectly though for me...

 

[Armadillo4]

There isn't much traffic to worry about at 7:15 in the morning coming from La Mirada to DL, but you'll want to allow at least 20 minutes just for the drive. I'm assuming you really mean you want to be at the turnstiles at 7:15. In that case, I'd leave yourself 20 minutes for the drive and at least 30 minutes to get from where you enter the parking lot to the turnstiles and 45 minutes is better if it is really important to be there on time.

In other words, give yourself an hour and leave at 6:15. At that time, you won't have any traffic worries. I-5 southbound will be smooth sailing and you'll have a DL exit right to the parking structure. Chances are that leaving at 6:15 means you'll be there early, but this allows for extra time in case there is some sort of a glitch in your plans.

note that La Mirada to Disneyland is AGAINST morning traffic, so it won't be as bad as if you were coming North on the 5!

I agree with both of the above. Since you'll be visiting for 3 days, give yourself plenty of time on your first day and then you can adjust your timing for the remaining two days. For example, if you leave La Mirada on Monday morning at 6:15am, you'll probably get to M&F *before* it opens. I believe the parking structure opens 1 hour before the park opens. Bring some music or your breakfast to pass the time while you wait for the parking booths to open.

You'll probably be fine leaving La Mirada around 6:40am to get to the structure right as it opens, but give yourself extra time on your first day to feel it out. Not only should there be little traffic going south on the I-5 from La Mirada, there shouldn't be many cars trying to enter the structure that early either.

Good luck with the rest of your trip planning and have fun!!

 

[Montana42]

I lived in La Mirada for 3 years while attending Biola University. If you leave early enough the freeway only takes about 10 minutes. (It usually takes longer to get into the parking garage than to drive there).

The carpool lane starts right after you get on the freeway, which helps a lot. You can even exit to Disney direct from the carpool lane.

If all else fails, you can take city streets there. Beach Blvd to Ball or Katella is pretty quick. any more questions please let me know!

 

[mickeygrl]

Thanks everyone. I think I've convinced my husband to stay at a hotel. We will be staying with his aunt one night, so we will be driving on the first day. I really appreciate all the help.

Looking forward to my first DL visit!

G

 

[lilpooh108]

It's not the drive from local cities to DLR, it's really the horrible parking structure, tram, etc. Parking, going downstairs, getting on the tram...adds another 25-30 minutes.

 

[cmwade77]

Ok, it depends on if you are planning on using the parking structure or the Toy Story lot. I recommend the Toy Story lot.

Maximum drive times (always allow this amount of time to drive and you should be fine):
La Mirada to Parking Structure: 30 minutes
La Mirada to Toy Story Lot: 25 minutes

Travel time from your car once parked to front gate:
Parking Structure: 45 Minutes (longer if the escalators break down)
Toy Story Lot: 25 Minutes

This includes time to go through baggage check, travel time, walking time, etc.

Please note that lately the Toy Story lot has been opening at the same time as the parking structure, offers air conditioned busses (running within about 30 seconds of each other, trams run about 5-10 minutes apart), shorter walks to your car (don't underestimate the value of this) and shorter walks to/from the gate.

Also, the CMs generally seem to have a better attitude at the Toy Story lot (probably because they have fewer people to deal with and the people that they do deal with are generally far less upset, since the lot is a lot nicer).