Car sickness...how is traffic from SNA to Universal?

deedubb

Always Grumpy, except when at Disney!
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
My daughter gets car sick. When we went to DLR in 2016, we flew into LAX and went to Hollywood the first night. Traffic was brutal and it did not go well for her. This past summer, we flew into SNA and only went to DLR.

We are thinking of another trip to DLR next summer, possibly starting with Universal. I would still prefer to fly into and out of SNA even though it is farther to Universal. Google maps says 80 mins, pretty much straight up I-5 N. How is traffic on this route? Brutal like all LA traffic?

Any recommendations to make it tolerable for my daughter?

Edit: I should add that it would likely be a weekday in August, probably around 11am or so.
 
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Is it possible to fly into Burbank (BUR), do USH, then maybe take the train to DLR, and fly out of SNA? That sounds more complicated, but it could make things a bit easier if her car sickness is severe. BUR is not that far from USH. And there is a Metro Rail line from BUR to Anaheim. The ARTIC station is across from the Honda Center, and there is an ART shuttle from there to DLR (and, of course, there is always Uber/Lyft, too).
 
Is it possible to fly into Burbank (BUR), do USH, then maybe take the train to DLR, and fly out of SNA? That sounds more complicated, but it could make things a bit easier if her car sickness is severe. BUR is not that far from USH. And there is a Metro Rail line from BUR to Anaheim. The ARTIC station is across from the Honda Center, and there is an ART shuttle from there to DLR (and, of course, there is always Uber/Lyft, too).

Thanks for the suggestion. We would plan on renting a car so we can do some shopping and get groceries, etc. One option is fly into LAX and fly out of SNA, but my preference would be to just do SNA both ways.
 
At that time, it won't be bad. I don't know what, specifically, causes your child's car sickness issues, but traffic shouldn't cause too much of a delay as long as there aren't any major accidents. However, once you get up towards Hollywood, it does become a hilly ride.
 


At that time, it won't be bad. I don't know what, specifically, causes your child's car sickness issues, but traffic shouldn't cause too much of a delay as long as there aren't any major accidents. However, once you get up towards Hollywood, it does become a hilly ride.

It's stop and go traffic that does her in. As long as it is flowing reasonably smoothly, she should be okay, even if it takes a couple of hours.
 
Download the Waze app and use that to chart traffic on your route. You can choose the most direct route or the quickest (since those two are not always the same in Southern California!). You can be checking the app before your trip to get a feel for how traffic might be on the day/time of your trip. And try to chart an alternate route in case of an emergency. If there is a traffic jam and you hit heavy stop and go traffic, maybe you can get off the freeway and take a major surface street to give your daughter a break for a bit.
 
It will be brutal. That's just how it goes when you have to drive through Los Angeles. I've never had a straight drive with some part of bad traffic going from Orange County to Universal. The 101 always has a backed up area.

Things that can help with carsickness: Have her ride in front, drink a coke (works for me, but has to be coke, not a different kind), suck on mints the whole time. She will still feel sickish, but not nearly as bad.
 


Getting car sick is awful! Both of my kids have used sea sickness wristbands, and they really do work! I usually just take a Bonine which is 100x better than Dramamine II, even though they have some of the same ingredients. We also have to make sure that DS can see out the front windshield.
 
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BUR is not that far from USH. And there is a Metro Rail line from BUR to Anaheim. The ARTIC station is across from the Honda Center, and there is an ART shuttle from there to DLR (and, of course, there is always Uber/Lyft, too).

I've never took any trains around LA. Is this Metro Rail like a real train that people bring luggage with them or more like a subway that people use to go to work on?
 
How much time will it take to Uber from GCH to Universal? Is Saturday traffic significantly less than weekday (we are going either Thursday, Friday or Saturday 1/3, 1/14, or 1/5)?
 
How much time will it take to Uber from GCH to Universal? Is Saturday traffic significantly less than weekday (we are going either Thursday, Friday or Saturday 1/3, 1/14, or 1/5)?

We used Lyft but got stuck in Thanksgiving day traffic, so it took longer. According to the app, current travel time is 50 minutes for just under $50.
 
Is it possible to fly into Burbank (BUR), do USH, then maybe take the train to DLR, and fly out of SNA? That sounds more complicated, but it could make things a bit easier if her car sickness is severe. BUR is not that far from USH. And there is a Metro Rail line from BUR to Anaheim. The ARTIC station is across from the Honda Center, and there is an ART shuttle from there to DLR (and, of course, there is always Uber/Lyft, too).

When doing USH we fly into BUR, even faster to navigate than SNA! Usually grab DL shuttle back to SNA or LAX, depending on where the pricing lands. They’ve never gotten us there late, even with the shared transportation but you may have a few stops before actually getting on freeway. At times, they’ve gone to surface roads, explaining it was faster

I ‘splurged’ and booked uberX to DL area from USH our last trip. It was in area of $130 for uber black, well worth it! Other options started at $50.
 

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