Need advice on Disneyland to Seaworld Day Trip

[kcbedo]

Hi,

We will be at Disneyland the week of April 20, at the Candy Cane Inn. We're planning to take a day trip to SeaWorld, probably on Wednesday.

We've got twins (4 years old), and we have a rental car, so we thought it would be a good way to take a break from Disney.

SeaWorld is open 10am-6pm, and the map sites say it is about 90 miles and 1.5 hours. I assume that is probably with no traffic.

Should we just leave around 7:30-8am and plan on fighting traffic for a couple of hours, or is there a better idea? Also, should we try to come back a bit later in the evening to avoid traffic?

Thanks!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

You might want to leave earlier (6ish) and then stop somewhere for breakfast when you get closer to SeaWorld. Traffic is BAD around Carlsbad and again at Del Mar. When I drive north to DL, around 9am in Carlsbad I see traffic going south just stopped.

So IMO, the earlier you leave, the better.

You shouldn't hit too much traffic leaving SeaWorld at 6pm.

HTH! Have a great time!

 

[mindylovesmickey]

Yea, the commuters heading into San Diego is pretty rough. You really need to try to avoid Carlsbad and DelMar between 6-9 if you can. Most people are at work and school though by 9, so if you plan on hitting that area right around that time, it should give you plenty of time to get to SeaWorld by the time it opens. So, I guess the answer to your question is yes, I would leave between 7 and 8 (so you can get into and through the Orange County rush hour) and you should miss the horrible rush hour of San Diego (unless there's a really bad accident).

Coming back you should be fine if you are leaving after 6.

Good luck!

 

[kcbedo]

Thanks for the info!

 

[HydroGuy]

April 20 is a Sunday. While there is no guarantee of low traffic, the odds will be in your favor on weekends. If it was me I would allow 90 minutes for driving each way. If I wanted to be at SW at 10AM I would leave CCI at 8AM to leave a little extra time for any traffic and parking, etc., at SW. If you think you will already be awake earlier I would leave earlier if possible - maybe get breakfast in SD as another poster suggested. But I would not push everyone out the door earlier than 8AM.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

April 20 is a Sunday. While there is no guarantee of low traffic, the odds will be in your favor on weekends. If it was me I would allow 90 minutes for driving each way. If I wanted to be at SW at 10AM I would leave CCI at 8AM to leave a little extra time for any traffic and parking, etc., at SW. If you think you will already be awake earlier I would leave earlier if possible - maybe get breakfast in SD as another poster suggested. But I would not push everyone out the door earlier than 8AM.

OP said they were thinking of going to SW on Wednesday, the week of April 20th.

It will take you about an hour with little traffic from Anaheim to Carlsbad, and that's where you're going to hit the worst traffic. So I would plan accordingly.

Once you get past La Jolla, it should be smooth sailing down the 5.

 

[pumpkin5156]

I live in Carlsbad, so let me just emphasize staying off the 5 Freeway between 7-9am in this area. I would leave around 6 like the PP said and eat breakfast in SD somewhere. OR, you can leave at 8:30am, so by the time you get to Carlsbad, the traffic will be gone. However, you will hit some OC traffic if you leave that late. I foresee some sort of traffic for you either way...but don't fret.
Coming home should be a breeze, and remember your sunscreen at Sea World!!

 

[HydroGuy]

OP said they were thinking of going to SW on Wednesday, the week of April 20th.

It will take you about an hour with little traffic from Anaheim to Carlsbad, and that's where you're going to hit the worst traffic. So I would plan accordingly.

Once you get past La Jolla, it should be smooth sailing down the 5.

Ooops, that was me not reading carefully enough . Strike my comment. If the OP goes midweek then all of the warnings about traffic should be heeded. If it was me I wouldn't even try to drive down to SW in the morning unless I could be out of Anaheim by 5AM. And I would not even try to drive back to Anaheim until after 7PM in the evening.