Seattle to Disneyland and back

I guess it depends on how much site seeing you want to do but it takes two 8-10 hour days to make the trip on I5. So any side trips and taking the coastal route may run you into a forth or even fifth day.
The last time we did that trip we left at 1:00 AM and drove straight through - 18 hours driving 75+.

BTW, my in-laws lived on Tiger Mountain - I sure miss that place.

Back in 2006 I actually made this trip with my six-year-old Granddaughter...best time I ever had in my life!

We came back by exactly the route you describe, and in the same time frame. Our most favorite thing was dropping in at The Oregon Vortex, where we saw a few things that made even this hardened old skeptic wonder...

You've got a fun route, but honestly you need bit more time if you want to do anything on the way back home. Traffic zones in Seattle, SF and LA can really add to your trip time. Hwy 101 is anything but fast, so if you can give yourself 4 days you can enjoy the drive on the way home.

We are planning on leaving Seattle on a Friday night after work/school and driving as close to Grant's Pass as we can. I'm guessing we can make it to at least Eugene.

2nd day haul butt down the I5, find a Wal-Mart or somewhere in Stockton or Medosto to stay at.

3rd day make it a leisurely ride into Anaheim and arrive in the afternoon for check-in.

go east from Anaheim and pick up 395 after you make the trip through Death Valley. 395 is a really nice drive up the back side of the mountains. You can always cross back west at Alturis if the weather in Oregon is Iffy. Or continue up to I84 and I82 to pick up I90 home

What are you driving for this trip? MH, TT or just a car?

I live smack in the middle of California so I've traveled north on I-5 and South on I-5 numerous times. One thing I've never done is driven the entire length of the Central valley from Redding to Bakersfield all in one continuous trip. I cannot possibly imagine a more boring drive than going the entire length of the central valley!! If I was making your trip, I don't care how much longer it was, I'd either take 101 or head East and take 395.

BigInIssaquah wrote:
We are planning on leaving Seattle on a Friday night after work/school and driving as close to Grant's Pass as we can. I'm guessing we can make it to at least Eugene.

2nd day haul butt down the I5, find a Wal-Mart or somewhere in Stockton or Medosto to stay at.

3rd day make it a leisurely ride into Anaheim and arrive in the afternoon for check-in.

You won't pass through Modesto on I-5, it's on 99. You will pass through Stockton but I don't recommend staying there, or even getting off the freeway. There is a newer Walmart in Stockton in in a shopping center off of 8 Mile Road, which is at the north boundry of the City and the area isn't too bad, but Stockton's police department is hugely understaffed right now and the crooks know it and the crooks are out looking for anything. I wouldn't stay there. If you stay on I-5 the next easily available Walmart will be in Patterson and it's probably an okay place to stay. It's about 3 miles off the freeway in town. As you go through Manteca you can take highway 120 and at the second exit is a Bass Pro Shops. I've never heard whether they allow boondocking in their lot or not, but I've often seen RV's there.

msmith1199 wrote:

BigInIssaquah wrote:
We are planning on leaving Seattle on a Friday night after work/school and driving as close to Grant's Pass as we can. I'm guessing we can make it to at least Eugene.

2nd day haul butt down the I5, find a Wal-Mart or somewhere in Stockton or Medosto to stay at.

3rd day make it a leisurely ride into Anaheim and arrive in the afternoon for check-in.

You won't pass through Modesto on I-5, it's on 99. You will pass through Stockton but I don't recommend staying there, or even getting off the freeway. There is a newer Walmart in Stockton in in a shopping center off of 8 Mile Road, which is at the north boundry of the City and the area isn't too bad, but Stockton's police department is hugely understaffed right now and the crooks know it and the crooks are out looking for anything. I wouldn't stay there. If you stay on I-5 the next easily available Walmart will be in Patterson and it's probably an okay place to stay. It's about 3 miles off the freeway in town. As you go through Manteca you can take highway 120 and at the second exit is a Bass Pro Shops. I've never heard whether they allow boondocking in their lot or not, but I've often seen RV's there.

Between Modesto and Stockton...north of Manteca is the Flags RV...good, safe place to stop. Do NOT stay (or stop) in Stockton!! If you can make it to Sacramento, stay at Expo.

I drove 101 from Salinas to Disneyland and back. It was pretty and relaxing...99 is a mess and 5 is boring. I left Disneyland around 9 am and once through the traffic around Hollywood, it wasn't bad. I was in the Monterey area within 6 hours. North of Salinas, 101 has lots of construction for about 10 miles...just keep to that 55 mph. From San Jose to the Golden Gate, expect lots of crazy traffic...hard to avoid unless you go on highway 1 from Santa Cruz up the coast. Have fun!!