Riverside traffic on Thrusday and Friday...

[Jazziered]

We are going in the morning of course, we will use toll and diamond lanes, but what can we expect time wise to get to Disneyland?

We want to be at the park by 9:30 on Thrusday, and 7:30 on Friday.


Thanks...


We are staying with friends in Riverside.

Thanks for any help.. :)

[lovesdisney]

By "diamond lanes" I assume you mean carpool lanes, right?

The 91 is the most direct way to get to Disneyland (91W - 57S), but it is also NOTORIOUS for its horrendous traffic, as it is the only way to get across the "canyon" (a lot of people live in Riverside County and work in Orange County). In the mornings, going west has the most traffic (people going to work), which is usually between the hours of 6 AM - 9 AM (this might extend a half-hour in each direction, as well). The traffic is usually bad between the 15 and the 55 Freeways. Usually without traffic it takes about 35 minutes to get from Riverside (the more western part of it, I used to live in the Arlington area) to Disneyland, but with traffic that can easily extend to two hours. If you're trying to get to Disneyland at 7:30 AM, give yourself at least an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours to get there. Carpool lanes and the Express Lanes do help somewhat, but the Express Lanes are only 10 miles out of that 30-mile stretch, and usually the carpool lanes are congested too. Also, the 57 South might be a little trafficky too in the early morning, but you're only on that for about two miles anyway. It's one of the main reasons I decided to move away from Riverside when I started grad school -- I didn't want to deal with that traffic while going to school. I haven't actually driven in that traffic, so my times might be a little off, but I know for a fact you will encounter similar conditions to that. :)

If you're in the more eastern part of Riverside (by UCR/Downtown), you might consider taking the 60 Freeway to the 57 Freeway, but the 57 South also has traffic in the mornings. However, if you want to be there by 9:30 on Thursday, you might be able to pull that off in an hour. It's a longer distance (it's more roundabout) but in the case of the 91, it might be faster. You probably don't want to pull that off on Friday, though, because like I said, the 57 sucks in the morning, too (I take that down to Anaheim on Fridays).

You could probably also look into taking the train, but they have fixed schedules and the station is near Angel Stadium, so I don't know how feasible that is for you.

Hope this helps! Have fun at Disneyland!

[Jazziered]

Thank you for the information. We wound up not going on Thursday. But Friday we went, and we left riverside at around 5:30 and it did take us about 2 hours to get there. On the way home, half that time.. :) Althought there was a lot of traffice for a late Friday night..

[lovesdisney]

Of course. There is ALWAYS traffic on the 91. Well, okay, I shouldn't say always, but traffic is unpredictable; it can happen anytime. There have been a few times where I've been stuck in traffic at midnight on the 91. Once was on a Tuesday, too. Go figure.

You're welcome for the info! I hope you guys had fun at Disneyland :)