speaking of traffic...

[dhlovesbelle]

We will be driving all night Halloween night to arrive in Anaheim by 8am at the latest on the 1st of Nov., I hope. My question is, how bad is traffic on a Saturday morning? Is there still a rush hour? Last time we drove we hit the evening rush hour on a Monday and it took us nearly 2 hours to go 35 miles. It sucked! So to all of you citizens of So. Cal please tell me how it is on Sat. mornings. And if there is a better alternate route than staying on I5 could you pass that on as well? Thanks!!!

 

[scooter15]

Traffic early Saturday morning is not bad at all. Traffic later in the day (starting around 11am) is a different story as its slower than traffic M-F. I think you will be fine getting into Anaheim by 8 am on I5. Now if you are running late and you get into LA after 11am, then you will definitely hit traffic.

 

[bzkds]

I don't live in Socal so I can't tell you about traffic, other than it always seems to be horrid! lol

However, if you are driving South from Oregon (I think that's what I noticed on your post) then you don't really have to stay on the 5. What we usually do is drive South on the 5 until we cross the Grapevine. Then take the 210 (towards Pasadena). Then you can cut across on either the 605 or the 57, back down to the 5. It just avoids the whole tangle where the 5 and every other freeway seem to come together. And the 210 is definitely faster.

Beth

 

[NWPrincess]

Sorry to highjack your thread OP, but is it reasonable to leave Alta Loma (northeast of Anaheim) at around 7am and make it to Disneyland at 9am to pick up our tickets?

Google maps said it is 39.4 miles and takes 47 mins (up to 1 hr 10 min in traffic). How accurate is this?

 

[bzkds]

Sorry to highjack your thread OP, but is it reasonable to leave Alta Loma (northeast of Anaheim) at around 7am and make it to Disneyland at 9am to pick up our tickets?

Google maps said it is 39.4 miles and takes 47 mins (up to 1 hr 10 min in traffic). How accurate is this?

My friend lives in Alta Loma and it takes her about 45 mins to get to Disneyland. And that's not usually at 7am. 2 hrs should be more than enough time! Maybe someone else who lives in the area can tell you more..

 

[NWPrincess]

My friend lives in Alta Loma and it takes her about 45 mins to get to Disneyland. And that's not usually at 7am. 2 hrs should be more than enough time! Maybe someone else who lives in the area can tell you more..

I'm starting to think that I'm getting WAY too paranoid about SoCal traffic!

 

[CalvaryMike]

dhlovesbelle,
I love getting up early on Saturdays and running errands. Traffic on Saturday mornings are great! I completely agree with the pp that around 11:00 on Saturdays the roads can get worst than weekdays.

NWPrincess,
What day are you driving in? If it's a Saturday, 45 minutes as the pp said. Weekday is different. I take it that you'll be taking the carpool lane in. I'd take the 57 in and use the carpool lane. I think Google map is pretty close on the time with traffic (maybe just a little longer, but not much more)

 

[avalon451]

We will be driving all night Halloween night to arrive in Anaheim by 8am at the latest on the 1st of Nov., I hope.

Just as a caution-- please drive carefully! I'm thinking Halloween night on a Friday could be very dangerous to be on the freeways all night. Lots of people coming home from parties who've indulged in too much of that witch's brew, yanno? You'll want to be really well rested and alert. Take care!

 

[bumbershoot]

Just as a caution-- please drive carefully! I'm thinking Halloween night on a Friday could be very dangerous to be on the freeways all night. Lots of people coming home from parties who've indulged in too much of that witch's brew, yanno? You'll want to be really well rested and alert. Take care!

Totally 100% agree!!!!!!

 

[Stacerita]

Im not sure what time you will be coming though the north orange county area, but if its after 2am on Oct31/Nov1 you might get stuck in traffic from Halloween Haunt at Knott's. The freeways in that area area nightmare because of that. Otherwise, traffic isn't bad at all. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I don't live in Socal so I can't tell you about traffic, other than it always seems to be horrid! lol

However, if you are driving South from Oregon (I think that's what I noticed on your post) then you don't really have to stay on the 5. What we usually do is drive South on the 5 until we cross the Grapevine. Then take the 210 (towards Pasadena). Then you can cut across on either the 605 or the 57, back down to the 5. It just avoids the whole tangle where the 5 and every other freeway seem to come together. And the 210 is definitely faster.

Beth

actually I would do the 210 E to 57S and depending on what hotel your staying in will determine which exit to take...you dont need to do the 60 or go over to the 5 at all

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I live in Burbank so we routinely have the choice of taking either the 5 or the 210/134 (they cross in Burbank and we go down to the park every couple weeks). Here's my take:

Halloween is a Friday night. That means the folks who stay up late to party will be heading home to sleep in on Saturday morning. Traffic will be a breeze!

If you are coming through that late and estimate hitting LA in the early morning, don't take the 210 to the 57. More chance of you getting on the wrong freeway at the 57 /60 split. It's confusing for folks not from the area that may not be paying close enough attention - especially with all the construction that's been going on in that area for the last couple years. The other issue with the 57 is that it puts you out onto the 5 south of DL. Then, you backtrack up the 5. You can get off at either Harbor or Katella and then do about 3-4 miles of city streets to get to the park. The big benefit of the 210/57 route is that you have carpool lanes all the way. The 5 doesn't have them until the 91, but it's not that important at that time of day.

The benefit of the 5 is that it's a straight shot. It will be a 35-40 minute drive from Burbank at 6-8am on a Saturday. It also has a Disneyland exit and dumps you out right into the parking garage or resort drive.

 

[jason417]

Count me as another vote for taking the 5. At that time traffic should not be an issue.

 

[CalvaryMike]

I agree with the 2 pp. At that time, I would just take the 5.

 

[dhlovesbelle]

Just as a caution-- please drive carefully! I'm thinking Halloween night on a Friday could be very dangerous to be on the freeways all night. Lots of people coming home from parties who've indulged in too much of that witch's brew, yanno? You'll want to be really well rested and alert. Take care!

Thank you for your thoughts! I am hoping since we are leaving around 3:30 Friday afternoon that we will be in no mans land when all the crazy people are out and about *crosses fingers*. Though that will put us in the Sacramento area around 11 or 12 that night. Are there lots of crazy people in Sacramento? (I only chuckle because there are crazy people everywhere, I mean no disrespect) We will be extra careful and say lot's of extra prayers

Thank you all for the great advice!! I am glad to hear Sat a.m. traffic isn't so bad. That's a relief! And I probably will stay on the 5 just because at that time I will be driving and I don't want to get lost

8 weeks from today we will be in the parks!!!

 

[brenda1966]

just wondering what route is suggested for next week, a Saturday, leaving Santa Barbara around 9 or 9:30 am. I will be coming into LA midday, at the worst time!

I've mapped driving the 101 to the I5. I know it's very simple, but I also remember sitting in a lot of traffic last year.

Thanks!

 

[pixiewings71]

Brenda, I would highly suggest getting a Garmin....seriously, our Garmin routes us around traffic all the time....especially in LA at rush hour.

That said, OP I would not worry about your drive, I think you'll be just fine staying on the 5, and yes, that is the optimal route to take. In Sac you shouldn't have to worry either, there aren't as many freeways as there are in LA so you should be ok. There are slow downs but I can't imagine a slow down that late, even on Halloween nite! And Sac traffic is nothing compared to LA traffic...LOL

 

[brenda1966]

Is that a GPS? I'm not a big fan of them. Find them kind of annoying. LOL. Since I don't live in CA, I really don't need one, and will only be driving this route once a year. And don't want to have to worry about one more thing to pack and take on a plane.

Does anyone drive this route regularly?

 

[darph nader]

I'm starting to think that I'm getting WAY too paranoid about SoCal traffic!

No worries. You and 50,000 close friends saying "hello" to each other.

(at a snails pace)

 

[pixiewings71]

Is that a GPS? I'm not a big fan of them. Find them kind of annoying. LOL. Since I don't live in CA, I really don't need one, and will only be driving this route once a year. And don't want to have to worry about one more thing to pack and take on a plane.

Does anyone drive this route regularly?

yes it is. And I have to laugh about not needing one "since you don't live in CA", more than just Californians use GPS units. LOL That was just funny....if you're renting a car then just rent a GPS with your car, you can do that and just use it for the trip. Trust me, it's nice to have on the LA freeways......I don't "need" it around home but we use it when we go south.