Driving from Downtown LA to DLR

[disney4life2008]

I am planning on going to disneyland one week from Thursday yay and spending the entire day there. I am staying in downtown los angeles, how early would i need to leave the hotel to make it to the gate 30 minutes before opening? I have no idea how los angeles traffic is.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I would leave at 6 AM, personally.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

I would leave at 6 AM, personally.

I would too. If I got to DL too early I would enjoy a nice breakfast at Downtown Disney.

 

[Californian Elitist]

If the park opens at 8, I'd leave at 6, too, 6:30 being the latest.

 

[disney4life2008]

[Breakfast ="Rufus T Firefly, post: 6366112, member: 40808"]I would too. If I got to DL too early I would enjoy a nice breakfast at Downtown Disney.[/QUOTE]

Breakfast does sound good. Thanks everyone.

 

[TP2000]

There are several freeway routes you can take. But all of them eventually put you on I-5 southbound in Orange County, to exit at the Disneyland Drive off-ramp.

Your last 5 miles or so will be in Orange County and the freeways will be wide and modern, landscaped and attractively safer, and relatively free flowing. But your first 25 miles will be in Los Angeles County where the freeways have been purposely ignored for the last 30 years and not expanded or modernized, and traffic will be choking and slow.

SigAlert is a great website for real time traffic info. Especially in Orange County where there are traffic cams placed every few miles on every freeway, where in LA County traffic cams barely exist and the freeway speed tracking is spotty at best. http://www.sigalert.com/Map.asp?region=Orange County#lat=33.81313&lon=-117.95095&z=1

KNX 1070 AM is a good local news station that has traffic updates every 7 minutes.

If the park opens at 10:00AM on Thursday, you should leave LA at 8:00AM. If the park opens at 8:00AM you should leave LA at 6:00AM. You can spend time in Downtown Disney, grab some breakfast at Starbucks, if you get there early.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Your last 5 miles or so will be in Orange County and the freeways will be wide and modern, landscaped and attractively safer, and relatively free flowing. But your first 25 miles will be in Los Angeles County where the freeways have been purposely ignored for the last 30 years and not expanded or modernized, and traffic will be choking and slow.

I'm not a native, so what's the deal with that? Why are LA county freeways so awful compared to OC? WHYYYYYY

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

I'm not a native, so what's the deal with that? Why are LA county freeways so awful compared to OC? WHYYYYYY

For the most part, many of the LA county freeways are quite a bit older than the OC freeways.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

[Breakfast ="Rufus T Firefly, post: 6366112, member: 40808"]I would too. If I got to DL too early I would enjoy a nice breakfast at Downtown Disney.

Breakfast does sound good. Thanks everyone.[/QUOTE]
La Brea Bakery offers a nice breakfast. And it's a stone throw from the security checkpoint.

 

[TP2000]

I'm not a native, so what's the deal with that? Why are LA county freeways so awful compared to OC? WHYYYYYY

About 25 years ago, as all of SoCal's freeways were beginning to decay and gridlock, Orange County passed a half cent sales tax called Measure M. It dedicated most of the tax money to improving freeways and major surface streets in OC, with smaller amounts to subsidize Metrolink trains and bus lines. The result is that since 1990 Orange County has spent billions and billions on widening, modernizing, beautifying, upgrading, and expanding the county freeway system.

The results of Measure M speak for themselves, as anyone who has driven from LA County into Orange County can see. Since 1990, Orange County has added over 200 miles of new freeway lanes to its county system, mostly through widening and upgrades of original 1950's/60's freeways.

The half cent sales tax and its results were so popular that Measure M was overwhelmingly approved by OC voters in 2006 to be extended to 2040 for $15 billion in more freeway improvements and upkeep for decades to come.

During that time, Los Angeles took a very different approach to transit planning and spent almost all of their tax money on the red line subway and the three light rail lines. The existing LA freeways were left alone for the last 30 years.

When you buy something at Disneyland, 0.5% will be added to the sales tax for future OC freeway improvements. And now you know.

 

[TP2000]

For the most part, many of the LA county freeways are quite a bit older than the OC freeways.

Well, most of OC's freeways date from the 1950's and early 1960's, the same as LA's. LA actually has the newest interstate freeway in California, the I-105 Century Freeway that was supposed to be built in the 1960's but didn't get finished until 1993.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Well, most of OC's freeways date from the 1950's and early 1960's, the same as LA's. LA actually has the newest interstate freeway in California, the I-105 Century Freeway that was supposed to be built in the 1960's but didn't get finished until 1993.

True, the Century Freeway is the newest. But the oldest freeways in So. Cal are in the LA downtown area. In fact, the Pasadena Fwy. was the first freeway built. The 57, 91 and 22, all near Disneyland, are all babes in the woods compared to the majority of LA freeways.

 

[TP2000]

True, the Century Freeway is the newest. But the oldest freeways in So. Cal are in the LA downtown area. In fact, the Pasadena Fwy. was the first freeway built. The 57, 91 and 22, all near Disneyland, are all babes in the woods compared to the majority of LA freeways.

Those OC state routes were built in the 1950's (22 opened in 1957, 57 opened in 1958) or the early 1960's (91 opened in 1963).

But more importantly, Measure M funds have allowed all three of those freeways to be dramatically widened and modernized since the 1990's in major construction projects. Those three OC freeways bear little resemblance to their humble six lane beginnings in the late 50's, or their 1980's decaying and gridlocked selves. Trust me, I drove them a lot in the 1980's. Measure M in 1990 couldn't come fast enough.

But all freeways owe a debt of gratitude to the Pasadena Freeway (or more accurately, the Arroyo Seco Parkway as it's once again called). The first freeway in the Western states, and at a humble 8 miles long and six lanes wide, it was a wonder of modern engineering when it opened in 1940!

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

The Pasadena Fwy. is so old it still has stop signs at the end of some of it's on ramps.