Traffic Bad!

[SilentMickey]

California land of traffic, traffic bad! Sometimes it takes forever to get to disneyland, sometimes it takes no time at all. Once I waited 3 hours to get to DL. Anybody have any traffic horror stories? Share them here, or maybe you have a few tips you'd be nice enough to share to cut down on road rage and make everybodys trip to Dl a little smoother. just thought I'd throw this one out there.

[JayandSara]

Had a funny thing happen a few months back. I'm on the 91 freeway going west when this SUV cuts me off. I'm not talking about just cutting me off, I mean the rear of her vehicle was adjacent to the middle of my passenger door. I drive a 2-door Civic. I laid on the horn and she shot the DIRTIEST look I've ever seen, as if the whole thing was my fault. So my girlfriend and I are flipping her off, pointing and laughing at her, and even getting my trusty Kermit the Frog doll to fling her one. So I pass her (but not without cutting her off as well, hoping she'll eat my trunk), and drive along, losing her in the light traffic. We get to the entrance to the Disneyland parking structure, and GUESS WHO? It's her, and she's in the lane to the left of us! We lay on the horn, waving to her and yelling hello out our window, but she won't look over at us and her husband is getting really mad! Nothing like ruining a family trip to Disneyland before they even get there! Good times on the California highways!

[Piglet]

JayandSara, this sounds like a scenario I could have had with my husband =) We both just hate rude drivers and get really impatient with people that drive like idiots--ESPECIALLY on the way to the Happiest Place on Earth! Why can't people just relax, drive sanely and politely and then we can all get where we're going--without all the stress? As you noticed, by driving the way they did, they gained no time at all, did they? Sorry you had to go through that.

[Loneknight]

My advice for going to DL: Set enough time ahead for yourself and your fellow park-goers by leaving a little earlier than normal. So-Cal traffic flares up like a bad storm: it's unexpected, and it can strike anywhere. Be prepared for a-hole people that have no courtesy for others, and just drive defensively. Disneyland will always be there, you (and your fellow passengers) will not.

I am a native Californian, so I know that it's always good to have ample time in getting to the resort. People on the roads these days have no courtesy anymore (especially the people who drive those $80,000 luxury or sports cars), and it's really bothersome that a surge of it exists in San Diego. Not kidding, drive the I-15 and you'll see what I mean.

[Retlaw]

Greetings,
We've learned how to bypass quite a bit of the traffic problem, we stay at the Disneyland Hotel. About the only problem that I have is generally being hit from behind with a baby stroller! ( again, & again, &....). I do have to admit one thing, the LA drivers seem to be better at dealing with merging traffic, etc., than the drivers up here in the SF Bay area. Your traffic is very nasty, it's just that we think that there are more intelligent idiots ( excuse me, I mean "drivers") in Southern California. Up here they are just stupid !
cheers,
Steve

[DaddyB]

I always say, it only takes one idiot on the freeway to ruin everyone's commuting day.

I know my way around the DLR well enough that if one freeway backs up, I can take another freeway or city streets and still make it within about 5 minutes of what I was planning on.

[Loneknight]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

I do have to admit one thing, the LA drivers seem to be better at dealing with merging traffic, etc., than the drivers up here in the SF Bay area.

I'd like to say that I know the experiences, but I lived in Nor. Cal during the period in my life when I couldn't drive (unless you saw a 12-year old driving a silver '91 Mercury Tracer). Either way, I think it's the fact that a lot of So. Cal drivers, especially LA people, just accept the obvious and deal with it.

Not a great philosophy, but where's a cop when you need one?

Originally Posted by Retlaw

Your traffic is very nasty, it's just that we think that there are more intelligent idiots ( excuse me, I mean "drivers") in Southern California. Up here they are just stupid !

Funny, that's how I think about being down here. In So. Cal, there's a lot of stupid, or arrogant people that don't give a care about other people on the road. They drive like they own the road, and it's disgusting. I'll see several people a DAY, cutting others off, refusing to let people merge when their blinker has been on for five minutes, or speed demons who weave in and out of traffic.

Want a culture shock? Head back to some Eastern states, like Missouri. When my wife and I went back there, they had two-lane freeways with the most easy-going people. No speed demons, no one cutting people off....this is one of the many reasons why we will probably leave California.
I know, it's a price to pay since i'll be so far away from Disneyland.
Oh well. Southwest flys cheap.
Sorry for the long post, but I can go on and on about this all day, and then some.

[Retlaw]

We're baaaack.......
The "12 year old driving a Tracer" made me think of our, almost daily thrill ride. Picking up our daughter at her High School. When I was in high school. mid 70's, the newest car seen was a '69 Camaro. Now, a kid gets their license & the keys to the 2005 Range Rover on the same day! Between cell phones, putting on make-up, yelling at each other from opposite lanes, fiddling with the CD player, sightseeing........I better quit, this sounds too much like regular commute traffic.
cheers,
Steve

[CA Screamin Dude]

I give myself 2 hours if I have a shift before 1pm, 2.5 hours otherwise (except if after 3pm on Fridays, then it's 3 hours).

It's worked for me. Coming back, no matter what time of day, has never been a problem, most it's taken is 1.5 hours, which is really good. Least it's taken is 29 minutes. Least time driving to work has been 45 minutes.

[Mickey Man]

One time on my way to anaheim we were driving along the I 10 in the san bernardino valley I think and it was pretty busy. everyone was going the speed limit or faster but this black car all of a sudden goes by us so fast, had to be goin twice the speed limit. we never made a too big of a deal cause that wasnt the first time we've seen that but literally 10 seconds later after it left our sight around a corner we see this big dust cloud and when we drive by it was the black car fully flipped over and the two guys crawling out were absolutely covered in dust.

[RankoAnime]

I usually don't run into really horrible traffic on my way to Disneyland (which could be due to the day/time that I leave), but there was one time where I was about to scream! We were on the 57 freeway and I saw a sign that said "Prepare To Stop." It wasn't kidding. We were at a dead stop for almost an hour.

Apparently a big rig truck had flipped over and caught on fire on the 57/60 interchange. A trip that normally takes me 45 minutes took almost 3 hours! I've never been in traffic that was THAT bad; where I could WALK faster than the traffic. It really wore down on my patience, but at least it made the lines at Disneyland seem like nothing!

[JayandSara]

Originally Posted by Piglet

JayandSara, this sounds like a scenario I could have had with my husband =) We both just hate rude drivers and get really impatient with people that drive like idiots--ESPECIALLY on the way to the Happiest Place on Earth! Why can't people just relax, drive sanely and politely and then we can all get where we're going--without all the stress? As you noticed, by driving the way they did, they gained no time at all, did they? Sorry you had to go through that.

It's no big deal! We had a lot of fun with it knowing this rude woman caused her family trip to Disneyland to be ruined before it started! We found out that you can upset stupid drivers a lot more by pointing and laughing at them (and having a stuffed Kermit flip them off) instead of getting upset and yelling and flinging them one. It's good times!

[wheresmytiara?]

We bring Disney music and sing to other cars. That seems to calm them down...

[SilentMickey]

Some how I knew this thread would get a lot of replies! I went to DL today the traffic wasn't too bad of course I avoided the 91 so that helped. The funny thing is some stupid lady in an SUV almost ran into me as I was driving out of parking garage, honestly if I had been going 15mph and not 14mph
she woulda ran smack dab into my drivers door and seeing as how I drive a 91 Honda Accord and she was going at least 30mph I would have been the new resident at the haunted Mansion. Man driving In So-Cal is almost like playing Russian Roulet.

[JayandSara]

I agree. The funniest part about the whole parking situation is that people HAVE to be in front of as many other people as possible! We all end up just a few cars away from each other anyway! Had another situation yesterday at the parking structure. As we were turning left from Ball Road we were in the right part of the two left turn lanes. Two high school girls, in the left part of the lane, were too busy to pay attention. The passenger was on her phone talking loud enough to hear her with their windows up, while the driver was going along with her. They turned into my lane and came close enough to hit me to the point that I could smell the paint on her car. I lay on the horn, and they flip me off like it's my fault! So I make it a point to follow them, and I park just a few cars to their left. I get out of my car and start walking towards them, but they BOOK IT! I mean literally ran! They made it to the escalator and was told by a CM to stop running. Made me laugh.