Palm Springs or LAX

[Susie63]

I have done the LAX to Disneyland drive a few times. I was pulled over by the CHP one time for crossing the double line into an HOV lane. (We don't have them in Alberta lol.) I told him we were going to Disneyland and he just smiled, shook his head and told me not to do it again. Anyway..... is the drive from Palm Springs to Disneyland less chaotic. Looking for options for airports.

 

[ImDMous]

I guess I never thought about flying into Palm Springs for Disneyland, it's at least a 2 hour drive from there with no traffic. Potential to be lots of traffic depending on when you come in. If you want to actually see Palm Springs and the desert then it's definitely possible. It will not be a pleasant drive between Palm Springs and Anaheim once you hit Riverside. You will go through a cool mountain pass between Mt San Jacinto and San Gorgonio before that though.

 

[ludari]

Personally I would definitely not fly into Palm Strings to drive to Disneyland unless I was saving a lot of money on my airfare with enough money to also cover my rental car. If you are looking for a less chaotic drive I would suggest that you consider Long Beach Airport which is the closest you can get to Disneyland but that is a small airport and you would probably have to connect somewhere else unless you depart from one of those few lucky cities. If you fly into LAX and using the HOV lane your drive should be relatively fast. If you prefer to drive west to avoid the traffic another airport you can consider is Riverside Airport. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Is there a reason you don't fly into Orange County Airport? It's definitely the closest large airport.

 

[maltdizzy]

I have done the LAX to Disneyland drive a few times. I was pulled over by the CHP one time for crossing the double line into an HOV lane. (We don't have them in Alberta lol.) I told him we were going to Disneyland and he just smiled, shook his head and told me not to do it again. Anyway..... is the drive from Palm Springs to Disneyland less chaotic. Looking for options for airports.

Your lucky. The fine for crossing the double line is $490, it's higher than being caught using the carpool lanes (they don't say HOV in Ca.) without enough people.

No, I don't think Palm Springs is more ideal. Palm Springs airport is 3 times as far way (100 miles) and is a nearly two hour drive before you figure traffic. And there will be traffic, almost 2/3 of the trip will be through the Inland Empire. I would aonly consider Plam Springs if you plan to spend time out in the Coachella Valley/Joshua Tree area.

If you want less hassle than LAX, you might consider John Wayne or Long Beach.

 

[SMD]

You don't have double yellow lines or solid lines indicating that you can't cross them in Canada? Depending on the time of year you may pass through areas that are so windy it will require effort to keep the car in the lane. Not crossing a solid lines seems "less chaotic" by comparison.

 

[maltdizzy]

You don't have double yellow lines or solid lines indicating that you can't cross them in Canada? Depending on the time of year you may pass through areas that are so windy it will require effort to keep the car in the lane. Not crossing a solid lines seems "less chaotic" by comparison.

Carpool/HOV lanes, rules, and practices vary greatly from region to region. They are required in many U.S. metro areas because of smog regulations, but there is not standard for how they are implemented.

In some metro areas, the carpool/HOV lanes are seperate from the main road and can only be entered and exited with dedicated ramps. In some others, they just mark otherwise regular lanes with a diamond and you can merge in and out of them at will (often this is the case where the carpool/HOV rules are limited to certain hours).

I've lived up and down both coasts (including L.A.), and while the double line with limited entrance isn't unique to California, it isn't one of the more common schemes either. That said, it is well marked.

 

[starry_solo]

No to Palm Springs. Have you looked at SNA?

 

[DisBabe94]

(they don't say HOV in Ca.)

Yes we do

Edit: Or at least my friends and I do hahaha! Maybe it is regional, I see you've lived in LA

 

[SMD]

I've lived up and down both coasts (including L.A.), and while the double line with limited entrance isn't unique to California, it isn't one of the more common schemes either. That said, it is well marked.

I've driven in several states and countries, just not Canada. Not crossing a solid line is hardly unique to CA HOV lanes.

 

[maltdizzy]

I've driven in several states and countries, just not Canada. Not crossing a solid line is hardly unique to CA HOV lanes.

Can't argue with that.

 

[maltdizzy]

Yes we do

Edit: Or at least my friends and I do hahaha! Maybe it is regional, I see you've lived in LA

I would say HOV to many a L.A. native, including taxi and car service drivers (though most of those were not native), and get nothing but a blank stare back until I said, "carpool."

 

[ParkHopper1]

I would do SNA, LGB, LAX, BUR, ONT, SAN...LOOOOOONG before I even would consider PSP!

Or just Uber it and don't even worry about driving a car.

 

[Susie63]

Most major highways are divided and don't have HOV lanes(maybe Toronto or Montreal) I can only think of one highway with a double solid line and that has oncoming traffic on the same road surface.
Flight into the smaller airports are few and far between with more transfers and they are always more expensive. Driving time is not an issue. None of us have been in a desert before. That might be interesting.

 

[Susie63]

Is the car rental on site at PSP or is it like LAX?

 

[22Tink]

We're from BC and we prefer to fly into SNA. It's much closer to the parks and I always find better flight times flying into SNA.

 

[althepostman]

Flying from Portland, Or I always find JetBlue into LGB is always far and away the cheapest option... If you time it right less than 100 round trip.

 

[Susie63]

No such luck flying out of Alberta, unless we detour through Vancouver.

 

[James G]

Don't do Palm Springs. It's in the middle of no where and is a much longer drive. My wife use to live there and I made the drive many times to visit her and her family and it sucks.

 

[SMD]

We used to vacation in Palm Springs or Palm Desert once or twice per year when I was younger and yes, it's a boring drive without a lot of payoff unless you have something to do there (play golf, shopping at Cabazon, visit family are probably the most common). I wouldn't do that drive and not at least stay the night. If someone wanted to see the desert, a better plan would probably be to fly into ONT and do it as a day trip, then at least you wouldn't have to drive back there at the end. If you're actually going to stay in the area for a night or 2, then it makes more sense. But, I'd price a 1 way rental, leave the car in Anaheim and take some kind of shuttle back to LAX. It doesn't make a lot of sense to go roundtrip from somewhere so far away.