Drive from Las Vegas to DL

[azdisneylover]

Can anyone comment on the ride from Phoenix to OC? We are leaving on a Friday. What is the best time to depart?

We usually get on the road as soon as we drop off the dog (6:30am) because we want to get to DL. Speed limit in AZ is 75, once you cross into CA it lowers to 70. Hubby usually puts the cruise control on and we stop at Flying Js to use the restroom, get gas (because AZ gas costs less) and grab some food from Wendy's, then, head to DL.
Have a safe drive to and from and wishing a very fun trip!

 

[DLgal]

I'm guessing you started early enough in the day that it wasn't a factor. The after half-day and after work crowd can make it quite miserable.

Well, I feel like we also got a jump on the Sunday travelers by leaving before 10am...

 

[javeyloveschelsi]

DH and I discussed it and decided to skip a second night in Vegas, booked an extra night at our hotel, and will drive to Anaheim on Sunday instead of pushing it on Monday. It will honestly save us a lot of time, money, and headache. We will leave Vegas by 6:30 or 7 in the morning, won’t have any plans for the day at all. If we get there by lunch time, we will go eat some seafood and then plan to spend the afternoon/evening at the hotel and Downtown Disney, just relaxing before we start our week at the parks. We even discussed calling in food for delivery to the hotel that night so we can just rest—which DH reminded me that we are still on vacation and don’t have to be on the go 24/7. I appreciate everyone’s advice so much! Now, if anyone has a suggestion for the best restaurant delivery to hotels ....

 

[DLfan4]

We just drove from LV to Santa Ana California on Dec 26th i think we left LV at 4:30 pm and arrived at Santa Ana around 9:00 pm. The drive was bumper to bumper, in both directions for about 4 hours. At some times the traffic stopped for no reason, and would start up again.

It is also slow as you enter California as they have a boarder checkpoint when you get into California. I believe they are checking to make sure you are not bringing any fruit into California.

 

[LizzyS]

Well, I feel like we also got a jump on the Sunday travelers by leaving before 10am...

Yes, absolutely, leaving earlier in the day does help.

 

[LizzyS]

We just drove from LV to Santa Ana California on Dec 26th i think we left LV at 4:30 pm and arrived at Santa Ana around 9:00 pm. The drive was bumper to bumper, in both directions for about 4 hours. At some times the traffic stopped for no reason, and would start up again.

It is also slow as you enter California as they have a boarder checkpoint when you get into California. I believe they are checking to make sure you are not bringing any fruit into California.

Yeah, that's an agriculture checkpoint.

 

[PHXscuba]

Can anyone comment on the ride from Phoenix to OC? We are leaving on a Friday. What is the best time to depart?

The length of the drive (6-7 hours) means you will either hit morning rush hour getting out of Phoenix or afternoon rush hour coming in to Southern California. We live on the east side of Phoenix but usually gamble that braving the morning rush hour to get out of Phoenix is a better bet. That way we can be in OC by mid-afternoon. The time change works in your favor during the half of the year that CA is one hour behind AZ -- you gain an extra hour going over to CA. So you could leave at 9:00 and be there between 2:00 and 3:00 during the winter.

PHXscuba

 

[JJ2017]

oh boy - we are considering this Las Vegas to Anaheim drive in early November - on a Monday. Didn't think it would take closer to 6/7 hours! gonna start looking at flights!

 

[flyingjay]

We usually get on the road as soon as we drop off the dog (6:30am) because we want to get to DL. Speed limit in AZ is 75, once you cross into CA it lowers to 70. Hubby usually puts the cruise control on and we stop at Flying Js to use the restroom, get gas (because AZ gas costs less) and grab some food from Wendy's, then, head to DL.
Have a safe drive to and from and wishing a very fun trip!

Thanks so much for the reply. What town is the flying J and Wendy's in that you stop at?

 

[PHXscuba]

Thanks so much for the reply. What town is the flying J and Wendy's in that you stop at?

AZDisneylover is referring to a tiny spot called Ehrenberg, just east of the CA/AZ borderline on I-10 (essentially across the border from Blythe). If we need gas we stop there, but if not there are many more food options in Blythe to choose from. Since it's just one truck stop/Wendy's it can get really busy on weekends/peak times.

PHXscuba

 

[Steve Dixon]

The length of the drive (6-7 hours) means you will either hit morning rush hour getting out of Phoenix or afternoon rush hour coming in to Southern California. We live on the east side of Phoenix but usually gamble that braving the morning rush hour to get out of Phoenix is a better bet. That way we can be in OC by mid-afternoon. The time change works in your favor during the half of the year that CA is one hour behind AZ -- you gain an extra hour going over to CA. So you could leave at 9:00 and be there between 2:00 and 3:00 during the winter.

PHXscuba

Hi .... heading to DLR by car from Phoenix in a couple of weeks. Probably on a Thurs. Planning to leave before 5am. What is the current "best" route out of Riverside? Last time I drove it was better to avoid the 91 due to construction. Is that still the case?

 

[bethwc101]

Hi .... heading to DLR by car from Phoenix in a couple of weeks. Probably on a Thurs. Planning to leave before 5am. What is the current "best" route out of Riverside? Last time I drove it was better to avoid the 91 due to construction. Is that still the case?

For us, it can change each trip. I would say a majority of our trips we have taken the 91, but we leave super early in the morning around 1 or 2 and would hit riverside before the big commute rush. Our last trip, we left in the afternoon and stayed an extra night in anaheim and ended up taking the 60 to the 57. It might not have "saved" a lot of time, but it was nicer because traffic on the 60, 57 was flowing while the 91 was stop and go.
Like I said, it probably didn't save much time, but not doing the stop and go thing made it worth it.

 

[LizzyS]

oh boy - we are considering this Las Vegas to Anaheim drive in early November - on a Monday. Didn't think it would take closer to 6/7 hours! gonna start looking at flights!

You should be fine. Just don't drive to SoCal on Sunday. We made the trip back to Las Vegas in under 4 and a half hours yesterday.

 

[agamble]

FWIW we had APs when we lived in Vegas and often made the drive in 4 hours of driving time. The biggest thing is to get out of the city before 7 or 8 in the morning. The hardest part is getting across the state border. The traffic gets awful as it drops from 3 lanes to two and then heads up a lengthy hill. We often visit our family in Vegas now and drive to and from Central CA. Our experience is that Sundays and holidays are the worst. Also with the economy doing well the traffic has increased. I don't see why it should take 6 or 7 hours. 4 to 5 hours is more normal. We always took the 15 to the 60 to the 57 and our only problems were accidents and state border crowding.

oh boy - we are considering this Las Vegas to Anaheim drive in early November - on a Monday. Didn't think it would take closer to 6/7 hours! gonna start looking at flights!

See above.

 

[LizzyS]

FWIW we had APs when we lived in Vegas and often made the drive in 4 hours of driving time. The biggest thing is to get out of the city before 7 or 8 in the morning. The hardest part is getting across the state border. The traffic gets awful as it drops from 3 lanes to two and then heads up a lengthy hill. We often visit our family in Vegas now and drive to and from Central CA. Our experience is that Sundays and holidays are the worst. Also with the economy doing well the traffic has increased. I don't see why it should take 6 or 7 hours. 4 to 5 hours is more normal. We always took the 15 to the 60 to the 57 and our only problems were accidents and state border crowding.


See above.

Yes, exactly. That's the exact route we always take to Disneyland and it's pretty easy- unless you leave at the wrong time, of course.