Driving Portland to Anaheim - where to stay in the middle?

Wow, great to see so many Oregonians on the Disboards. We live in Canby and also plan to visit Disneyland at the end of July.
We have family in Modesto Ca. so we plan to drive there and then go the rest of the way the following day. Lathrop is just outside of Stockton and I agree with pp that you should drive just a little further on to another town. If you are planning on taking interstate 5 all the way to Anahiem Santa Nella is a nice small town and much safer than Lathrop. If you plan on cutting over to highway 99 around Stockton or Manteca, then Ripon and Turlock have some new Hotels right off highway 99 and then you would only have about a 6 hour drive to Disneyland.
 
Wow! Thanks everyone for the tips. I think we are going to aim for Elk Grove or Santa Nella. I so appreciate everyone taking the time to respond :)
 
Hi guys,
I live in the Lathrop area and work at a hotel off of I-5 and Louise Ave. I absolutely LOVE Disney!!!!! And I am one of those moms that stay online and scour the internet for the "best" and most convenient experiences for me and my family. My girls and hubby know me as our "planner." Poor me, but, I am fairly organized so it works out okay. So, here's the scoop. My hotel is PERFECT for you to stop on the way from Oregon or Washington down to Disney. We are a Hampton Inn & Suites off of I-5 and Louise Ave in Lathrop, CA. We offer free hot breakfast (saves tons of $$$$) and free high speed internet. We have an indoor heated pool and whirlpool with pool toys for the kids (yes!) and even an Entertainment Pavillion outside with foosball, basketball, and ping pong. We even have a snack shop and a fitness room. And if you really have a bad drive, and guest laundry room if you want to run a load of laundry. Many restaurants are located nearby, and even a Target and grocery store. Call us at 209-982-5070, and tell them you saw us on this site so my boss gives me some kudos. lol!!:cheer2:

Hooray.....I'm glad my investigating was right on this & the Hampton Inn there!!! We're staying for a night on the way down on July 24 & getting 3 rooms.....so happy to hear we'll be thrilled with our choice!!!
 
Hooray.....I'm glad my investigating was right on this & the Hampton Inn there!!! We're staying for a night on the way down on July 24 & getting 3 rooms.....so happy to hear we'll be thrilled with our choice!!!

I am glad to help. I hate aimlessly searching online, and love seeing others opinions, esp those who have kids. So, glad to help. I am so jealous you are going this summer, wish I was too. :( Have fun, and hopefully I will meet you when you come in July.
 


I know this thread is older, but thank you all so much for the tips! This is exactly what I needed! Thanks again!
 
We are from Eugene. We leave early morning (4 am) switch drivers in Ashland, breakfast in Redding, switch drivers, switch again before Sacramento. Switch again at rest stop around Tracy. Switch drivers every hour and a half. Lunch in Coalinga area just off I-5. Stay the night at the bottom of the grapevine in a small area called Grapevine. Not much there but there is a Ramada limited that isn't bad. Get up in the morning and you are at Disneyland in about 2 hours or so. Yesnit is a detailed plan, but we have been doing it for 20 years. Decided to fly this year.
 
Ok- we drove from Corvallis, and stayed Here :
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Western_Apricot_Inn-Firebaugh_California.html

it is right off of I5 and was very comfortable. the pool was nice- and we had a nice little dinner at the diner across the street. There is a restaurant next door as well, called the Apricot Tree... and there were apricot trees dropping fresh fruit all over while we were there. It seems like we got there around 5 pm, so I think we drove for about 10 to 12 hours and then we left at 6am and were in anaheim before noon...
Apricot Tree is out of business, but there are several other fast food restaurants nearby.
We usually stop at the McDonalds for a bathroom break and quick breakfast. DW says the bathrooms are "nasty", so we might start driving until Harris Ranch (which is very nice).
 


We like in Klamath Falls and tend to stay in Sacramento, but its with my parents. :-) This year we have the pleasure of being able to fly from SMF down which is a nice change.

We have stayed at several places in and around Natomas, right off the freeway, that I can recommend, but it looks like you have found somewhere!
 
This IS an old thread!

The last two trips we have staying in Elk Grove, just a few miles south of Sacramento.

http://www.elkgrovecity.org/

This was recommended to us by a DISer back in 2005 and they were right on! It's a real nice clean, and safe little town.

I live in Elk Grove! It really is a nice town.

The 99 drive back from DLR was much more interesting than the I-5 drive down.

I agree! We choose to drive down 99, too. There are so many more places to stop to use the restroom or get food.
 
We're in Seattle. We left at 1:00AM and and drove straight through getting to the resort area around 7:00 PM. So driving straight through is possible if you don't have to stop too often.
I was wiped the next day.
 
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We did the Salem to Anaheim road trip 2 summers ago. We stayed at Super 8 in Willetts one way, and a Super 8 in Willow (I think!). Both were easy, cheap-ish, and pretty comfortable!
 
We did the Salem to Anaheim road trip 2 summers ago. We stayed at Super 8 in Willetts one way, and a Super 8 in Willow (I think!). Both were easy, cheap-ish, and pretty comfortable!
Did you go down I-5? Or what way did you go?
 
Did you go down I-5? Or what way did you go?
We did I-5 to Grants Pass, cut over to Bandon (?) on 101, then followed that down to Willetts. It cuts through the Red Woods, which was a must for us. The next dat we went over to San Francisco, and then over to I-5 the rest of the way.
 
I-5 is the quickest way, but if you can spare a little extra time driving, cut over to the East bay on the 580 just south of Stockton and take the 101 down. It is SOOOO much nicer! There are nice places to stay in Tracy or on the other side of the Altamont Pass in Livermore or Pleasanton. Form there head south on the 101 and you can stop just about anywhere. Note that Kng City, Templeton, Paso Robles and Atascadero get pretty hot (though on par with everything you will find on the 5 and 99), but once you get over the Cachuma Pass into San Luis Obispo it is much cooler the rest of the way down.

I would estimate the drive is an additional 4 hours without stops and you are DEFINITELY going to want to stop.

If you really can't spare the time though...
I'd chose the 99 over the 5 and stop in Fresno. There are several nice hotels that are a little off the 99 on the route to Yosemite. That's why they are there; people from So Cal will leave in the evening and stop there before making a morning drive into Yosemite.

But seriously, you are on vacation; take an extra day and see the Central Coast. You won't be disappointed.
 
I see that you go in September a lot....how is it then? Crowd wise? That is when I think we are going to go.
I actually haven't been in September for a three years, but we have plans for this year and next for birthday celebrations. When we did go three years ago it was good, busy but good. The weather is still warm, the school crowds had dissipated a bit, but the Halloween crowds had kind of come so I think it still felt rather full. Totally manageable with a plan though. I think the Halloween time crowds have increased in the past few years though and with SWGE who knows what it will be like. Fingers crossed!
 
We are from a town 20 miles south of Vancouver Canada. We have done the drive 3 times (2009, 2013, 2018). The first time we stopped in Stockton (Motel 6 right by the I5 south area) on the road for about 920 miles that day. Very long day, but only 360 miles to Disneyland the next day. As for how rough it was, we got in late, slept, got up and drove again the next day, so we did not notice it. The second and third times we stopped in Corning and Red Bluff. As the goal is Disney, we travel then stop, sleep, and the go again. We don't use the town or the hotels to their full potential just as sleeping points.
 
The first time we stopped in Stockton (Motel 6 right by the I5 south area) on the road for about 920 miles that day.
Wait a sec..
You actually stayed at the Motel 6 in Stockton? You Cannucks are cray-cray! Would not recommend - ever! I lived in Stockton for about 6 months - I will never go back.
 

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