MoBro

michele_d

I would just book a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland. You will save the parking cost and dealing with the early morning traffic. You could get connecting rooms to accommodate everyone. Disneyland is the way to go...lots of rides and characters.

eliyah4904

Yes we plan on universal for the next day and like you said will leave the belongings in the car all day and checkin at night after universal.
Plan to see Beverly hills on the very first day when we arrive at Anaheim because that day we wont have anything to do & next morning we will do disney. Kids are 8,8,13. I think Disneyland will be a great experience for them as they havent been there yet.
I had earlier planned to visit in july but now think August will be better when the school has already started. So atleast the residents rush would hopefully disappear. Anyone know about how croweded the park is during mid August?

MoBro

I see. The plan is to stop in Beverly Hills on your way from San Jose to Anaheim. I guess that makes sense.

mlgb

August can be just as crowded as July. Have a look at the crowd forecast

https://www.isitpacked.com/disneylan...ctor-calendar/

eliyah4904

thanks mlgb that helped!!

clarkgriswold

If you are driving down on a weekday, don't plan to arrive in Anaheim late afternoon. Southeast past Ventura/ Thousand Oaks the traffic picks up drastically at 3:30 p.m. you want to be south of Los Angeles by then or plan on an extra hour to 90 minutes in parking lot traffic.

janisj

Jean

I work in Beverly Hills. Stopping at BH on the way from San Jose to Anaheim doesn't make sense to me. BH is about 20 minutes from the 405. The detour alone adds about 45 minutes to an already long drive, not counting whatever time you spend there. Traffic in the Rodeo Drive area is very heavy and slow. Several one-way streets can confuse a visiting driver.

A more time efficient stop would be the Getty Center, but as others have mentioned you'd be better off heading to Anaheim as early in the day as possible.

mlgb

I agree that "Westside" traffic is ridiculous. (Generalizations about the entire LA Basin are not useful, there are certain directions and times of day that are fine).

Maybe you could hit it up on your final day, before heading back home. Around 9:30 to 11 am would be ideal.

I don't know about the rest of your route, but if your goal is to get to Anaheim directly from San Jose on Day1, look at taking the 5 to the 210 and then the 57, avoiding the 405 entirely. Google Maps works fine, especially with Traffic and Data turned on. If you haven't heard about the Nethercutt Museum, that's not far from where the 5 comes in to Sylmar. The Museum is free and doesn't need a reservation, unlike the Collection.

https://www.nethercuttcollection.org/Visitor.aspx

Jean

The 405 isn't so bad if you can use the HOV lane which the OP could do.

If the drive from San Jose is on a Friday, I don't think it matters which freeway they use. Traffic will be heavy on all of them. If the drive back to San Jose is on Sunday morning, street traffic in the Beverly Hills/Westside area will be much lighter.

5alive

OP, if you don't want to waste that afternoon you get in, get to Disney as early as possible-- drop your bags for early check-in and head out to a close-by Orange County beach for a few hours. I think everyone will have more fun than Beverly Hills.

Huntington Beach, for example.

Or Newport Beach. Double-check, but if Ruby's is still there, walk to the end of the pier and eat dinner. Inexpensive, amazing view.

mlgb

I always forget about carpool lanes. janisj probably does too.

They help a little, maybe 20 minutes faster over all if I had to guess from the Sepulveda Pass to Anaheim. But will still back up with the rest of the freeway in heavy traffic.

Jean

If the choice is between a continuous HOV lane that slows and many fewer miles of HOV lanes, I pick the 405. It's also more direct by 20 miles, so probably still faster.

http://media.metro.net/projects_stud...es/hov_map.pdf

janisj

>> janisj probably does too.

Jean

Sometimes it's better not to over-think and over-plan. Ending up with a little free time is not a bad thing.

mlgb

If they are coming in from the 5, and going directly to Anaheim, which is how I prefaced my recommendation, the route I mentioned is 10 miles longer, not 20. At the moment, it's also 10 minutes faster. Not including any time savings for using carpool lanes on either suggested route.

They haven't said what route they are driving or what time they're leaving. Best route will depend. I would do almost anything to avoid coming in via the Sepulveda Pass and the traffic jam that is often continuous from the Westside until past approx Tijera and sometimes all the way past LAX. It also lasts far longer than congestion on other routes. They can also use Google Maps to find out the best routing.

People who live/work/visit primarily in the Westside bubble seem to have little knowledge about how the rest of us are able manage while driving from one spot to another. Sometimes it's even a good idea (or necessary) to stop if you happen to hit during peak commute times. Go to dinner, shopping or visit something interesting along the way.

Jean

"People who live/work/visit primarily in the Westside bubble seem to have little knowledge about how the rest of us are able manage while driving from one spot to another."

I've been driving in L.A. for more than 50 years and have lived in the SG Valley, the SF Valley and the South Bay and have worked in Glendale, DTLA, Century City and BH. I've driven to a job, and I've taken public transportation to a job. I have family I visit regularly in Pasadena, Orange County, Santa Barbara and San Diego. I'm quite aware of traffic patterns throughout SoCal.

clarkgriswold

I'll stick with my original advice. Try to get to Anaheim by 3 p.m.

mlgb

But apparently not well-schooled on driving from Sylmar to Anaheim (20 miles?)