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[luvmygrlz]

While my family and I have taken numerous trips to WDW, I have only been to DL a handful of times and my dear mom always did the driving.

I have grown up in a rural area and can handle driving in Minneapolis, but driving from our cabin in Montana to Disneyland is giving me way too much anxiety!

Please, for those who have driven, how difficult/easy is it drive near and around DL?
How is the drive from DL to Sea World or other San Diego attractions?

It would be so much more cost effective to drive our own vehicle, rather than fly, get a rental, or pay for numerous shuttle services.

I'm a planner, so I will have our routes mapped out. I'm getting nervous just thinking about the "big city" driving right now!

[crystalloubear]

The only place I found the driving to be daunting was in LA itself. Those highways can be tricky but if you take your time and breathe, it'll be fine.

[HeatherD]

You'll be fine. Most of your driving would be on freeways, only getting onto surface streets when you get near your destination.

If you're really that anxious about it, I would recommend that you invest in a portable GPS. We love ours and use it every time we travel. By having a portable one, we can take it on any trip where we'd be driving, whether it's our own car or a rental in Hawaii! That way, it's telling you which way to go and you're not relying on street signs that may not be as clear as we'd like. The GPS is an investment that we've never regretted (you can get one for $200-400, with or without live hookups).

[jimmymac]

Going to Seaworld is almost all freeway drivin. Driving around DL itself is city driving at its best / worst, depending on your perspective

[chezp]

We found the drive fine around Disneyland and down to San Diego - and that's from Brits, who are used to driving on the other side of the road!

[luvmygrlz]

Thanks for the reassurance and advice about the GPS. We have it in our truck and a portable that the hubby uses for fishing and hunting (I had never thought to use it for driving!)

I think this will be doable. I don't plan on driving in LA at all. We will be coming in from the east, so will miss most of the big city. I can easily handle the freeway driving.

[WeatherTed]

Originally Posted by luvmygrlz

I have grown up in a rural area and can handle driving in Minneapolis, but driving from our cabin in Montana to Disneyland is giving me way too much anxiety!

Well, we plan on going down there for the first time in (see counter below ). However we are flying to John Wayne Airport (just 15-20 minutes away). I know it will be quite a bit different than driving here in Montana, but we plan on doing the drive on a Saturday.

[DyanKJ130]

The GPS was one of the best things we brought along too. We programmed all of our locations prior to our vacation and it made life sooo much easier as we travelled up & down the coast. One less thing to stress over.

[HeatherD]

Also, if you want to explore - you never have to worry about getting lost. As long as you have certain things (like your destination or hotel) programmed, it'll get you there.

My MIL once called me from the San Diego area, where she was enjoying a weekend with "the girls". They'd decided they wanted to go winery hopping in Temecula and got lost in the middle of nowhere. They called me, asking me to Yahoo Map to figure out where they were and how to get back to civilization, which I couldn't do (they didn't have cross streets, or they weren't in Temecula proper or something). Now, with a GPS, she/they/anyone can go where they want without worry (and without bugging their DIL!)

[disney777]

It's good that you will have a GPS with you. While you will mostly be doing freeway driving, be warned that it can get very trying sometimes. The 5 Freeway, which you will use to get to San Diego can get very congested. I assume you won't be driving down Friday afternoon. (Because the drive can be 4-5 hours of a lot of stop and go traffic.) Be mindful of the times you will be on the road, and avoid the rush hours

[Huntermom]

I was by myself last year and did a day at Disneyland after doing quite a bit of driving on the outskirts of LA. Like you, I drive mostly in rural areas and small cities.

I found the driving around Anaheim quite easy and didn't hit any traffic at all (I was there Mother's Day and the following Monday. My hotel was a couple of miles from the park, but my mapquest directions were pretty accurate and once you get in the vicinity, just follow the signs.

[scottjs]

I would use a GPS or somebody with a map!!! If you do not know LA then you may need help. But a good map reader will get you there with little problem. LA is a big city for driving--but if I can do it then you can!!!

[Stitcherella]

the area around DL is set up on a grid pattern so that part is not bad. And there are good local shuttles too! Going south of the LA area is better for driving than the north side. We went south to visit LegoLand and were pleasantly surprised by both the traffic and scenery. Good Luck and have fun!

[scottjs]

I agree with Stitcherella. If you have time drive up or down the coast north or south of LA! The coast is might beautiful.

[w-steele]

Originally Posted by HeatherD

If you're really that anxious about it, I would recommend that you invest in a portable GPS. We love ours and use it every time we travel. By having a portable one, we can take it on any trip where we'd be driving, whether it's our own car or a rental in Hawaii! That way, it's telling you which way to go and you're not relying on street signs that may not be as clear as we'd like. The GPS is an investment that we've never regretted (you can get one for $200-400, with or without live hookups).

Oh boy, do I ever agree with HeatherD about purchasing a portable GPS. We have one in our Jeep Grand Cherokee and wouldn't go around the block without it. Even locally, if you are going someplace new, it is a time saver. You can even purchase ones that give you live traffic updates. Ours don't have that but it does have a feature that if it detects you are moving very slowly or even stopped due to traffic, it will give you another route you can go to maybe get past the bottleneck,