San Diego - DL - LA, help!

Hi! We were originally planning on doing only DL and LA on our next trip, but we are going to expand it to include San Diego. We have 8 nights altogether and I'm just wondering how to split them up?

We will be flying from the east coast, so I need to factor jet lag into our first few days of touring. We also only want to spend one or two days at DL. We are planning on flying into San Diego and flying out of LA to accommodate a possible TV show taping that a friend of ours is trying to set up for us at the end of our trip.

So! I'm thinking 4 nights San Diego (recover from jet lag go to zoo, tour other sights), 1 night DL and 3 nights LA (Griffith Park, Autry Museum, Hollywood tourist stuff, TV taping). What do you think?

We will be renting a car, so any strategies on best times to drive from San Diego to Anaheim and Anaheim to LA are greatly appreciated!!

Sounds like a fun trip! We live in San Diego and go to DL about 1-2 times a month. If you are leaving on a weekday to head up to Anaheim, we tend to leave around 7:30-8:00. You'll get a little bit of traffic, but still get to DL in plenty of time for it to open up. If your not concerned with getting there right at opening you could leave later, like 9ish. To be honest traffic out of San Diego in the morning isn't too bad. While you're in SD, there is plenty to do, depending on when you are coming they are opening a bunch of new restaurants in the Gaslamp. If you need any advice of things to do in SD, let me know

I would also like to know about how to plan for jet lag. We'll be coming from the east as well and I hadnt really thought about it as a factor yet.

Where in LA are you planning for you homebase? From what you've listed, Burbank/Universal sound best. The reason I ask is that most people go immediately to Hollywood or Beverly Hills but they aren't really ideal for out of Towners. Traffic is horrendous and not that much to see. However, it is just less than 8 miles over the hill from Universal/South Burbank area (where the studios are at.) But those 8 miles can easily be 15 mins to an hour. also consider Bubank/Bob Hope Airport for your return flight. If you don't mind public transportation taking the Metro is easy. It's one to two stops from Universal. (I know you didn't mention Universal Studios. I'm just using it as a reference point since there are hotels nearby). From Anaheim to LA, avoid the morning. After 10 it gets a little better in the LA area.

I use the Waze app and sigalert to see traffic reports. I don't always trust Waze routes. (Use the regular Google maps for prep landing.) But many times, Waze offers last minute routes/warnings when there's traffic/accident/construction ahead.

I am from San Diego as well. Who is coming on the trip? If you have young kids, you may also want to visit Legoland. The San Diego Zoo/Safari Park are also great ideas!