Best Route to ORC from

Last year I drove through this horrible town with a traffic light that had traffic backed up for MILES.  That one light added at least an hour to my trip. 

What's the best route from Seattle/Tacoma area to our fun filled weekend locale?

That sounds like Dundee, between Newberg and McMinnville.  Terrible traffic issues from that signal light and the heavy Portland to Lincoln City weekend visitors.  You could go to Salem and head west from there or even down to Albany and over thru Corvallis to Newport.  Salem - Lincoln City would probably be the best route, unless there is an accident near the casino then the wait is forever!

Yeah, the route Google maps will give you takes you through a bunch of those small towns(Sherwood and Newberg) and it can be a real pain working through the stoplights.  If you want to encounter the least amount of stoplights, I would recommend taking the five south to Salem and take the Salem Parkway exit(I believe it is 260A).  Follow the parkway until you get to Hwy 22, you'll take a right on it and follow it to Lincoln City.  South from there.