West Coast Road Trip- BC to Disneyland

[DnA2010]

Has anyone done the west coast trip from BC to Disneyland lately? we were pondering an end of August visit to DL which got me thinking- maybe we should just drive there- anyone done it lately and have any recommendations for other things to do on the drive there and back?

 

[Sue M]

Watching! I’d like to hear people’s experiences too, and where they did overnight stop. I don’t want to drive straight thru.

 

[VicMom]

I did it years ago. We drove the I-5 into Oregon and then drove down along the coastal route. Takes longer but is a much nicer drive. Made a stop in San Fran as well on the way down. Coming home we did the straight shot up the I-5. Because we live on Vancouver Island and have to deal with the ferries, it took us an extra day to get home as we couldn't make the last ferry.
On the way down, we spent a night in Oregon. Then south of San Fran to get a cheaper hotel. Then into Anaheim. We would stop to stretch legs or if we saw something cool (the dunes in Oregon, Redwood forests in Northern California). Coming home was just stopping to eat and pee. And I think one outlet mall (combined the two that way).

 

[Chickinvic]

I did it years ago. We drove the I-5 into Oregon and then drove down along the coastal route. Takes longer but is a much nicer drive. Made a stop in San Fran as well on the way down. Coming home we did the straight shot up the I-5. Because we live on Vancouver Island and have to deal with the ferries, it took us an extra day to get home as we couldn't make the last ferry.
On the way down, we spent a night in Oregon. Then south of San Fran to get a cheaper hotel. Then into Anaheim. We would stop to stretch legs or if we saw something cool (the dunes in Oregon, Redwood forests in Northern California). Coming home was just stopping to eat and pee. And I think one outlet mall (combined the two that way).

Hello Neighbour. Fellow Victorian here

 

[Aladora]

Hello Neighbour. Fellow Victorian here

*waving* from E-town.

 

[Sue M]

I did it years ago. We drove the I-5 into Oregon and then drove down along the coastal route. Takes longer but is a much nicer drive. Made a stop in San Fran as well on the way down. Coming home we did the straight shot up the I-5. Because we live on Vancouver Island and have to deal with the ferries, it took us an extra day to get home as we couldn't make the last ferry.
On the way down, we spent a night in Oregon. Then south of San Fran to get a cheaper hotel. Then into Anaheim. We would stop to stretch legs or if we saw something cool (the dunes in Oregon, Redwood forests in Northern California). Coming home was just stopping to eat and pee. And I think one outlet mall (combined the two that way).

Did you make an overnight stop on the way home?

 

[Carolynleanne]

This is how my family ALWAYS did it - we're in Vancouver. It was generally a two night trip though. One stop around Eugene Oregon, and another around Sacramento. I much prefer flying, but if you have the time off to enjoy the drive down and back, why not extend the vacay?

 

[nuttynatty]

We've done it twice. The first time was with 5 kids aged 8-13. We drove to Redding Ca and it was a long 14ish hour drive. I like to prebook my hotels especially with the a larger family (I have 3 kids but a lot of hotels don't fit a family of 5). The second day we drove for prob another 12 hours getting to Anaheim about 8pm. My nephew had to pee like every 2 hours so that was frustrating but the I5 is easy and has sooo many rest stops. The second time we did it with just our family and we took a little more time. We went to Seattle zoo and drove to Oregon for the night. Then we drove to just outside of LA to Bakersfield for the night. Then the next morning we did Hollywood before going to Anaheim. On the way home we did the long drive, hotel, long drive. In 2008/2009 the cost was only about $500 for gas and $200 in hotels whereas flights were $300ish per person so it did save us the money. The drive itself was easy. We did it Nov 2019 and we had snow in Cali mountains so it was funny to say our first snowfall of the season was in California. I def preferred the 2 nights there and 1 night back though. We felt less exhausted when we got to Anaheim!

 

[Mmk1997]

Wife and I did the trip last summer (2022). It was our 4th time driving down. We live in Surrey and leave around 4:30am. The three other times we made it to Red Bluff, Stockton, and Corning, but this time we hit the coast and arrived in Crescent City around dinner time. Next day we drove through the Avenue of the Giants (The Redwoods) and saw the sunset along the coast before arriving in San Francisco. We stayed there for 2 nights before heading back to the coast to visit Carmel, Big Sur and stopping in Morrow Bay for the night. Visited Pirates Cove beach the next day before driving to Anaheim. The coast takes more time, but it really should be done at least once. After our Disney stay, we headed up the I5 as that is fastest. Within 2 nights we were back home. We always stop at the outlets in Woodburn Oregon.

This was the first time that the wife and I did the trip on our own. The previous 3 times we had our kids and that was why we took the I5 (fastest). The kids flew down this time and met us in Anaheim.

 

[Sue M]

Wife and I did the trip last summer (2022). It was our 4th time driving down. We live in Surrey and leave around 4:30am. The three other times we made it to Red Bluff, Stockton, and Corning, but this time we hit the coast and arrived in Crescent City around dinner time. Next day we drove through the Avenue of the Giants (The Redwoods) and saw the sunset along the coast before arriving in San Francisco. We stayed there for 2 nights before heading back to the coast to visit Carmel, Big Sur and stopping in Morrow Bay for the night. Visited Pirates Cove beach the next day before driving to Anaheim. The coast takes more time, but it really should be done at least once. After our Disney stay, we headed up the I5 as that is fastest. Within 2 nights we were back home. We always stop at the outlets in Woodburn Oregon.

This was the first time that the wife and I did the trip on our own. The previous 3 times we had our kids and that was why we took the I5 (fastest). The kids flew down this time and met us in Anaheim.

Sounds fabulous. Love going thru the Redwoods. And Oregon coast is beautiful. But if I drive will probably go solo as my husband isnt interested in theme parks so will do I5. It’s nice combining driving down with sightseeing. Going home isn’t nearly as much fun!