L.A. Traffic/Directions HELP

[You're With Me Leather]

Taking the family to Disneyland this week midweek.
Our flight home leaves LAX at 8 p.m.
What time do we need to leave Disneyland to fight through traffic, drop off a rental car and make our flight?
What is best route to take?

Thanks in advance

 

[Cape_Fear]

Good luck.

Just dealt with going to Mission Viejo from San Diego and back on a Sunday and never saw traffic like that before in my life and I've done Philly in rush hour.

 

[User 1019]

I'd rather stand still and let you beat my ass than I had go through LAX again.

Other than that, I got nothing.

 

[Birdscribe]

Taking the family to Disneyland this week midweek.
Our flight home leaves LAX at 8 p.m.
What time do we need to leave Disneyland to fight through traffic, drop off a rental car and make our flight?
What is best route to take?

Thanks in advance

Get a later flight. Seriously. You're screwed.

The good news is you're going against traffic for the most part. But to get to the terminal by 7:15, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to leave at 4.

Yes, I just gave you a 3-hour window to go about 35 miles. But that takes into account navigating the freeways (and I suggest the 91 west to the 605 south to the 105 west as your route), dropping off the rental and getting to the terminal in time with family in tow -- without coming completely unhinged at any unforeseen traffic.

If Poindexter, Piotr Rasputin or any other SoCal's who live in that area want to chime in with a better suggestion, take them up on it. But seriously, you're better off getting a later flight if you can so the family doesn't feel dumped upon and you all don't feel rushed.

 

[poindexter]

Leave Disneyland at 3:30. Take the 5 north approx three miles to 91 east (car pool lane). Go west on 91 approx 10 miles, to the 710 north. Go 3 miles to 105 west (again, car pool lane). Go approx 9 miles to LAX. Exit Sepulveda North from the 105. You are at LAX.

Find car rental place. Take bus to your terminal. It should be 5:30 or a quarter to six at that point.

You have several things going in your favor. That small stretch of 5 north of Disneyland is the best stretch of fwy in LA. You get the car pool lane on the 91 west. It backs up at Long Beach, thats why you take the LB Fwy (710) north. It's only a couple miles. It will be a little slow connecting to the 105 west, but you have car pool the rest of the way.

Even accounting for some ****ed event that day, you should have zero problem making it in time. You could even leave at 4 and have two hours to check in for your flight.

Keep the radio on KNX 1070 for traffic at 5, 15, 25, 35, etc on every hour. Also news 980.

 

[poindexter]

Yes, I just gave you a 3-hour window to go about 35 miles. But that takes into account navigating the freeways (and I suggest the 91 west to the 605 south to the 105 west as your route)

That should read 91W, 605North, 105W. That could work, but the 605 N at that location can get hairy. But pretty much same as mine.

 

[SoCalDude]

P-Dex nailed it. That's how I'd go. Just make sure you're on the 91 West, not east.
The advice of taking a later flight also is solid. The later you can leave, the better the traffic situation will be.
Better yet, change the flight if you can to go from Orange County. It's 15 minutes from Disneyland and it has never taken me more than 15 minutes to get through security there. Or, keep that in mind for the next trip.

 

[You're With Me Leather]

Thanks for all the help. Unfortunately, flights were outrageous in and out of Orange County.
I am glad I took the time to ask on this board. I was prepared to leave D-land by 5 p.m. Probably would have ended up missing the flight, which is the last of the day out of LAX.

 

[MileHigh]

Listen to these guys, who all know the SoCal area. And I'll echo it as a former SoCal resident. 3:30 to 4 is about right.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

poindexter's directions are excellent.

If I may add: if you want to be in the car by 3:30 p.m., start walking out of Disney at least 30 minutes before then.

Good luck.

 

[TigerVols]

poindexter's directions are excellent.

If I may add: if you want to be in the car by 3:30 p.m., start walking out of Disney at least 30 minutes before then.

Good luck.

Poindexter's directions are fine but the timeline is terribly pessimistic. Using the diamond lanes, it's 1 and a half hours, 1:45, max, from Disneyland parking lot to LAX even in rush hour. I follow a similar route several times a month. Sure, it never hurts to be early to the airport but then again a kid's first trip to Disneyland is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

 

[Gold]

Getting to 105 west is probably the best thing you can do. That freeway goes right into the airport area. It is one of the newer freeways (about 10 years old) and is designed to go into the airport.

LAX is the worst of the southern California airports, but usually there are more flights there and it is not as expensive. Using it is often a necessary evil

 

[buckweaver]

There's an echo in here now, but Poin's directions are solid.

I've had some pretty ****ty experiences at LAX, so leaving Disney about 3:30 is probably the best idea. a) You'll miss the heaviest rush hour traffic if you leave that early; and 2) you can never show up too early to that damned airport.

The good news is, if you get to Disney as soon as it opens, you should be able to get close to a full day in even if you have to leave at 3ish. We just got back from Universal today -- a Monday in December, and 77 wonderful degrees outside -- and the crowd was completely nonexistent. The best day to go to a theme park, IMO. Didn't have to wait in line for anything, no hassles whatsoever. It was outstanding.

And one more thing, although TigerVols probably knows this: ... you can't be too pessimistic about L.A. traffic on a late-afternoon weekday. But I would bet that your worst hassles are going to be at the airport that day, not on the freeways (as long as you stay on the right ones, of course.)

 

[Write-brained]

wow. so glad i live somewhere else.

 

[Write-brained]

wow. so glad i live somewhere else.

Shiiiiiit. I'm not.

Give me SoCal over "somewhere else" any old day.

my beach is less crowded

and atlantic ocean kicks pacific ocean ass

 

[buckweaver]

wow. so glad i live somewhere else.

Shiiiiiit. I'm not.

Give me SoCal over "somewhere else" any old day.

my beach is less crowded

and atlantic ocean kicks pacific ocean ass

Disagree ... on both counts.

I got a spot in Newport that's almost always vacant. Got to climb some rocks, then go down some steps to get to it. It's perfect. ... And besides, my beach stays a helluva lot warmer during the winter.

 

[Sandoval]

poindexter's directions are excellent.

If I may add: if you want to be in the car by 3:30 p.m., start walking out of Disney at least 30 minutes before then.

Good luck.

Poindexter's directions are fine but the timeline is terribly pessimistic. Using the diamond lanes, it's 1 and a half hours, 1:45, max, from Disneyland parking lot to LAX even in rush hour. I follow a similar route several times a month. Sure, it never hurts to be early to the airport but then again a kid's first trip to Disneyland is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

You know what else is a once-in-a-lifetime moment? Spending the night sleeping on a bench at LAX because you wanted "just one more ride, pleeeease daddy...".

 

[Football_Bat]

Stay. Off. The. Four. Oh. Five.

 

[Songbird]

that's great, football. and true. i had a vision of you pretending to be keanu saying that with such enunciation.good stuff.

 

[dreunc1542]

a Monday in December, and 77 wonderful degrees outside

As I look at the foot of snow outside my apartment I only have one thing to say. I hate you. I would kill for 40 degrees and less than 15 mph winds at this point.