Our trip is 1 week away from tomorrow. The park website says it opens at 10. We are coming from San Diego and we arn't quite sure when we want to leave. I'd like to leave early so we don't get caught in traffic but at the same time, I don't want to leave super early, get there at 8 and have nothing to do for 2 hours! Is there anyone who is in or near San Diego that would like to tell me what time you normally leave to get there when the park opens? I don't know what the traffic is like there or anything. Here there's a good amount of traffic from people going to work in the morning, but I've never driven out of the county. :confused: Thanks so much in advance. I'm getting so excited about our upcoming trip. It's my daughter's second birthday and we can't wait to go.

Thats a tough one. We usually leave around 8am deal with then end of the San Diego traffic, if things work out we hit San Clemente around 9 and can normally make it to DL by 10. You could leave just before 7 (however it might get you there at the same time) and stop and have breakfast near or in Anaheim.

If you are just staying for the one day, I'd leave really early, before San Diego traffic, and plan to have breakfast in Anaheim. You could do a character breakfast at one of the hotels, Storytellers at GCH is our favorite outside the park, or eat at Rainforest Cafe or Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen in DTD.

The traffic on the 5 as you get through Santa Ana and Tustin can be pretty crappy between 7-9am, but if you can ride in the carpool lane you'll be golden, there is even a carpool lane exit for DL so you never have to get over. If you want to be there right when they open, allow yourself at least 1/2 hour once you arrive to park, take the tram, and get to the the gate, too.

In a related development, we will be leaving SD on a Sunday morning when DL opens at 8. We'll want to get there around 7 to get our car settled in the hotel car park and handle any paperwork (obviously the room won't be ready). My assumption is that traffic won't be too bad that early on a Sunday, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

BTW, is there any good radio source for traffic info? Here in the Bay area, you can call 511 and get voice activated traffic conditions, any service like that in SoCal?

Cheers.

1070 and 640 AM are good in the LA/OC area and works in part of SD as well. You should have no company on the freeway at 7am on a Sunday morning though! And if you jump in the carpool lane on the 5, you can ride it all the way to the park, there is an exit for DL from the carpool lane. You can also call the Caltrans hotline at 800.427.7623 for recorded info

I lived in San Diego for 3 years, but moved about a year ago, so there was still construction on the 5/805 freeway split. I lived across the street from Qualcomm Stadium and could make it to DL with very little traffic in about 1 hour 15 minutes. That was from door to parking garage. We would always get there between 10 and 11 am. I would leave around 8 even though you will hit some of the morning traffic in San Diego, you should get there in time for park opening.

I lived in San Diego for 3 years, but moved about a year ago, so there was still construction on the 5/805 freeway split. I lived across the street from Qualcomm Stadium and could make it to DL with very little traffic in about 1 hour 15 minutes. That was from door to parking garage. We would always get there between 10 and 11 am. I would leave around 8 even though you will hit some of the morning traffic in San Diego, you should get there in time for park opening.

But was that on a weekday? The traffic from the OC border alone could take that long... how on earth did you get there so fast?

But was that on a weekday? The traffic from the OC border alone could take that long... how on earth did you get there so fast?


We do it all the time, the key is to catch the middle of the San Diego traffic which is normally moderate and then the tail end of the OC traffic. I drive to Orange County for work serveral times a month and DL on weekdays throughout the year.

I can get from San Diego to Disneyland in 1 hour 20 minutes with no traffic. With morning rush hour traffic it would be 45 minutes longer at least. I last went on a Monday, we left at 10 am and there was no traffic at all.

But was that on a weekday? The traffic from the OC border alone could take that long... how on earth did you get there so fast?

This was true for Thursdays and Fridays. This was almost 2 years ago now, even though it seems like just yesterday.

1070 and 640 AM are good in the LA/OC area and works in part of SD as well. You should have no company on the freeway at 7am on a Sunday morning though![/COLOR][/FONT][/B]
Hopefully not, but it may prove useful driving through to SD the day before. Thanks.

Cheers.