Driving plans -BC to Anaheim

[TeacherDad]

To those who have driven(with kids) from Vancouver BC to Anaheim:

How many days to you take to drive down?
In which cities do you spend the night on the way down?


TIA

 

[eduk8r26]

Years ago, I drove from Ventura (about 90 miles north of Anaheim) to BC. If I remember, it took about 3 days. I stopped in Redding, CA, somewhere in Oregon, and Washington. It all depends on how much you like to drive during the day. California is probably the longest stretch. Interstate 5 is pretty boring in most spots, but is the fastest route through the state. But I would allow at least 3 days for the drive.

 

[Chickysmom]

We always drive straight to Anaheim from Grants Pass, OR. takes a little over 12 hours depending on traffic down there and pit stops....it makes for a very long drive but saves us the extra hotel expense and I usually have help with driving...

 

[Churro]

Wow Chickysmom! It takes us 14-16 hours from here. I guess you are about 3 hours closer though. My kids love watching movies on the way down. We leave very early in the morning though...about 4am, and can ususally check in at dinner time. Traffic usually starts getting bad around Stockton depending on what time of year you are traveling. We also take a cooler of food so we aren't always stopping. You can probably make it all the way through WA and some of Oregon without stopping to sleep. Let us know where you plan to stop and maybe some of us northerners can give you some hints on where to stay.

 

[clyde]

I asked a very similar question quite awhile ago. The thread may be located at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=757950 but since I don't know if I can post hyperlinks, it may not show up.

I had two very informative replies, I hope this helps.

My manual countdown ticker says I have 17 days left until Disneyland. Wahooooooo.

 

[6ofus2]

We drive from southwest Washington every year. We take 11 hours from home to San Francisco (excellent side trip) in one day. Then we stay there for two days or so, then head down to LA. That takes about 6 hours. We stay down there for a week, then drive from LA to Medford, OR (about 11 hours), stay over one night, then Medford to home in about 5 hours!

Can't wait for this year's trip, it's getting closer...

By the way, we have four kids ranging from 3-8 years old! We invested in a dual screen DVD for the vehicle! They do awesome, and we keep stops to a minimum.

 

[c&m]

We've done the drive from Richmond, B.C. to Anaheim and San Diego twice before on the I-5.

We have 2 young DDs. My DH and I like to take the "get the drive over with" approach.
NIGHT BEFORE THE LONG DRIVE (The after-work escape):
We cross the U.S. border and drive as far as Seattle. We stay overnight at one of the hotels south of Seattle, usually in the SEATAC area. We use Priceline to get a 3 star hotel for ~$27-40USD.

DAY ONE:
We get as far as Redding, CA, but make some pit stops along the way (usually at a Wal-mart or Target for bathroom and leg stretching breaks). It's usually 6pm when we arrive into Medford, Oregon, for dinner, and 10pm when we arrive in Redding. We stay at the Holiday Inn Express there (overlooks the hwy), which includes the breakfast in the AM so we can get back on the road quicker.

DAY TWO:
We go from Redding to Anaheim. We do the same with the pit stops, and usually get to Harbor Drive by around 7pm.

Our DDs are always cooperative on the drive...'cos they know where they're going

To make the trip even more economical, we book our Anaheim and San Diego hotels on Priceline. The best we've done? Hyatt Orange County for $26USD/night and the Hyatt La Jolla for $58USD/night.

Of course, you can split the drive into 3 days, which may make it easier. But my DH and I didn't want to spend our precious vacation time by extending the drive anymore than it was. Hope this helps you in some way!!!!

 

[TeacherDad]

Thanks for the useful information. I looks like I need to look into Priceline.
I wonder if there any helpful sites?


Thanks

 

[lap3]

Thanks for the useful information. I looks like I need to look into Priceline.
I wonder if there any helpful sites?

Thanks

If you plan on using Priceline for your hotels, go to Bidding For Travel to see what others are getting their rooms for at the same location. Basically, you want to bid in the same ballpark as others and don't want to overbid.

 

[c&m]

I use www.biddingfortravel.com AND www.betterbidding.com.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

[Dobie]

According to Mapquest.com, it is approximately 1300 miles/21.5 hours from Vancouver (my third favorite city, by the way) to Anaheim. This is, of course, assuming that you drive through Everett, Seattle, Portland, and LA at speed limit. When I used to live in Bellingham (12 years ago) the border could be backed up, too--it probably takes longer now to get into the US than vice versa, but you probably know that better than I.

We now live in Eastern Washington, about 3 hours from Portland, while I think Vancouver is about 4.5-5 hours from Portland. We can drive from our home to San Francisco in one looong day, with traffic slow ups--its another 8 hours or so to LA. So, you should plan for two looong days, or three shorter ones. I, personally, like to plan for the longer drive, and have a back up idea for a cheap hotel if I get there early--but I'm a teacher and have all summer!

 

[TeacherDad]

That makes two of us