What major attractions(besides DL) does So Cal have to offer?

[PixieDust825]

My mom and I have relatives in Carlsbad, CA. We and our relatives have been planning for us to visit them for about a year. Since we went to WDW last year, I thought it would be fitting that we went to DL for a few days before staying with them. However, due to credit card issues(I'd rather not explain it), we will probably have to cut out DL, which is a big disappointment. I heard that San Diego has a lot of fun attractions, but to me, none of them seem to measure up to Disney. We thought that we might drive to DL with our relatives and go for a day, just to check it out(it would be mid-July in the middle of the week), but that would mean getting up really early and going through a big hassle just to see DL for a day. Please tell me what else we can do in So Cal(especially San Diego)!

[wwomant]

Keep in mind that in Carlsbad, you're really in between Disneyland and San Diego. Just over an hour away from Disneyland, an about 40 minutes from San Diego attractions. In Carlsbad there's Legoland, but that's more geared towards kids. In San Diego there's a million things to see, but the biggy attractions are the zoo, and Seaworld, both awesome. In Escondido there's the Wild Animal Park, also very good. The nice thing about going to DLR w/your relatives is that they will be able to purchase you a So Cal summer fun pass (since they're so cal residents), which is a 3 day hopper for $99, and you have 45 days to use it. And yes, residents frequently purchase them for out of town family and they are able to use them successfully. They will check for ID by the purchaser, and once purchased the on rare occassion check for ID again upon first entrance at the park, but never again after that. So basically, if you're relatives went w/you and bought the tickets with you, you could go back for the 2nd 2 days by yourselves and be fine. For more on the details of this search the topic in the forums on mouseplanet.com, there's been some discussion of people getting them for out of town relatives, and it was mentioned in Mouseplanet's DLR update on Monday.

[StageTek]

SeaWorld San Diego

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Wild Animal Park

LEGOLAND California

The San Diego County Fair

The Flower Fields of Carlsbad

Air & Space Museum

[PixieDust825]

Thanks, there seems to be a lot to do. I may consider getting that summer fun pass. Our main issue would be to find a hotel to stay at, since I wouldn't want to have to drive there every day from Carlsbad.

[wwomant]

If by chance the problem is that you don't have a credit card to make hotel reservations, there is a way around that.

[Mary Jo]

There is also the beach in La Jolla where seals like to hang out, Catallina Island, museums at Balboa Park in San Diego (museums), Old Town at San Diego, beaches, San Juan Capistrano Mission, museums in Los Angeles, Observatory at Los Angeles, Hollywood/La Brea Tarpits, Santa Monica Pier area, tidepools, the different seaport type village areas & piers at San Diego, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Marina del Rey, Seal Beach, Newport Beach, ferry to Balboa Island, bike riding on the strand (area by the beach), boogie boarding, boat rides, surf lessons, bonfires on the beach in the evenings, grunion runs at the beach if you can get to a beach where they will let you stay & watch, Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park, San Bernardino Mtns, San Gabriel Mtns, etc.

[PixieDust825]

Wow Mary Jo...........that's a LOT of things to do! We're going for about 10 days, so I'm not sure we'll be able to do all that. Thanks so much, though! I like going to museums, so I'll try to see some of them.

[scooter15]

You really should go to Balbao Park in San Diego. The SD Zoo is also located on the property. I provided the link here and as you can see, there's lots to do w/o spending so much money.

http://www.balboapark.org/

I also suggest you might also want to check out Coronado Island. I believe there is a ferry you can take and its a cute place to walk around and also see the Hotel Del. Also by the ferries on the San Diego side is the USS Midway.

[Huff]

San Diego Area
Scripps Aquarium near La Jolla
Temecula Wineries & Old Town (50 miles N. San Diego)
San Diego Bay and Harbor Cruises/Dinners

Up North in Los Angeles area:
Disneyland
Knotts Berry Farm (no farm anymore, great amusement park!)
Universal Studios
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Long Beach Aquarium
Whale Watching

Magic Mountain and Knotts both have water parks next door.

[Spacepest]

As a former California resident, I also second Balboa park!

They usually have a one week park pass deal going on--$39 per person which is good for a week and allows you to visit thirteen different museums in a week. Some of the museums are geared for adults, others for children. My husband and I can usually do two to three museums per day--we'd be able to do more if the attraction hours weren't so freaking short. That was the only downside to the pass--most of the museums open at 10am and then close at 4pm. We are very mobile people without children, and even we felt rushed for time trying to do three museums in day before they closed (possible if you skip lunch, ugh!).

San Diego Zoo charges a seperate admission. You can usually get some kind of combo pass with the Wild Animal Park as well, and tickets aren't cheap. Last time we went it was only $10 more per person to buy an annual pass/zoological society membership for the Zoo and Wild Animal Park versus buying seperate tickets for each park. Plus with the membership you get free tickets to bring guests back to the zoo and the Zoological Society sends you full color magazines throughout the year. Its not something they widely advertise. Last time we went it wasn't mentioned at the main ticket booths--they had a seperate booth for the membership sign ups.