Disneyland as a center point?

[Jozymouse]

Hello,

I am in the process of planning our aur Aug30th 2008 2 week trip to California and would like to know if it makes sense to have the HoJo in Disneyland as our centre point for So Cal and then, from there
- Drive to Universal Studios for one day
- Drive to Beverly Hills/Hollywood for one day
- Drive to the Wild Animal Park (Escondido) for one day

Or should we take a different hotel in Hollywood and Escondido?

Also, which beach would you recommend if we would like to do 2-3 days at the beach? We are looking for a nice beach to suntan and swim.

Also, would any of you have hotel recommendation if you consider that we should change hotels? We're on a budget, so we would like to try to stay under $150 a night.

Thanks alot!!!!

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

We flew into San Diego (did the Zoo & Sea World) then moved up to Anaheim (Disneyland) and did Universal Studios & American Girl in LA, then Disneyland for 4 days. My personal suggestion would be for a 1day drive to Universal - its fine & maybe a 1day drive to San Diego (Animal Park) its fine. If you were talking 2 different parks on 2 consecutive days down in the San Diego area I would suggest another hotel for convenience, but just 1 day drive. I can't help on the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area, we didn't go.
But to stay in a centrally located place & drive, I think you have a good idea. But only my opinion & I have only been once. But the drive from San Diego up to Anaheim & from Anaheim up to LA wasn't bad for a day trip, just makes it a longer day is all.

 

[biolabetty]

Hojo is a very nice place, I've stayed there several times. It is very clean, just make sure to request a room AWAY from the Interstate 5 side, as that can be noisy. Is there a way to combine your Beverly Hills/Hollywood day with your Universal since they are in pretty much the same location? I'm not sure what you want to do in Beverly Hills or Hollywood, but being a local I can't imagine spending an entire day there, there just isn't that much to do IMO, but then I live nearby, so what do I need to see?

Sometimes traveling between Anaheim and San Diego can take longer than one would expect. It has taken us 3 hours each way at times. I would consider finding a hotel in San Diego just because I don't enjoy doing 2 long drives in one day. That is actually why I stay in Anaheim overnight at times. We live only 55 minutes away, but depending on traffic, that 55 minute trip has taken me 2-3 hours.

I think Anaheim is a pretty good central location to do your trips from, I would just rethink not staying in San Diego overnight.

 

[Jozymouse]

Thank you for your nice replies

biolabetty: In the Hollywood/Bev Hils area, we wanted to try a tour of the houses of the stars and obviously walk on Hollywwod blvd, see the stars, the chinese theater, bla bla, thats is the reason why I was planning one day to do that¸..... Is that too much in your opinion?

Also, would you happen to have a suggestion for a nice beach in So Cal? Is it still hot enough to swim in early September?

Thanks again!

 

[tink too]

We're using DL as our center point in May.

However, we won't be driving - we're from Scotland and we are not used to multiple lanes of traffic or gridlock! We're going to San Diego Zoo for one day and will either take the Pacific Surfliner or use scheduled bus transportation.

We are also going to take an organised tour of Hollywood as we too would like to see the Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the El Capitan Theater and of course, we must get a pic of the Hollywood sign!

 

[mousiemom]

i am also in the process of planning our trip in June and this is what we are doing: we are staying in one of the disneyland hotels and walking there. we are doing the 4 day unlimited pass on greyline tours that will take us to seaworld one day, san diego zoo one day, univeral studios/hollywood tour, and round trip to and from airport for $125 ea. i don't want to drive anywhere cause you have to worry about directions, parking, etc. just go on the greyline bus website and it will show you all of the different tours.
good luck and have fun!!
mousiemom

 

[KimAshton]

We're using DL as our center point in May.

However, we won't be driving - we're from Scotland and we are not used to multiple lanes of traffic or gridlock! We're going to San Diego Zoo for one day and will either take the Pacific Surfliner or use scheduled bus transportation.

We are also going to take an organised tour of Hollywood as we too would like to see the Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the El Capitan Theater and of course, we must get a pic of the Hollywood sign!

I went to the hollywood sign in June and wish I had gotten a closer pic.

Cute story about the traffic. I know an actor that works on a soap opera. He lives in CA and has been commuting from LA to NYC to tape another soap. Well, I talked with him in December and he was complaining about the NYC traffic. Everyone complains about LA traffic. When I tell people I can drive better in LA they look at me like I have 2 heads. LOL

 

[Soprano]

We are also going to take an organised tour of Hollywood as we too would like to see the Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the El Capitan Theater and of course, we must get a pic of the Hollywood sign!

Hmmm, I don't know how it will work out for you, but we took one of these tours (we're from UK too) years ago hoping to get a pic with the sign in the BG, but we were very far from it and you can barely see it in the pic.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Jozymouse.....who is traveling with you? Just you and DH or significant other? Any children? I'd like to give you input about beaches, but wanted to hear who you had with you.....

 

[Jozymouse]

Zoemakes5: Its only me and my sister, but since we took a last minute trip to Disney World last week, we decided to postponed our California trip to the month of December (2008) so I think we can pretty much forget about beaches in December, right?!!!!!

Thanks anyway and have a magical day!

 

[annieb727]

I did some of those tours in Sept 2006. They were a lot of fun! If you're not from the area, you can easily spend an entire day (or more) in Hollywood.

I actually stayed four nights in the Downtown LA area - I got the Westin Bonaventure Hotel for $45/night on priceline (4 star hotel)! It was an easy walk to the subway - where I could very quickly and easily get to the Hollywood area - even further down would get you to the Universal Studios area (with a little bit of a walk when you get off the subway). If you want to spend a couple of days doing this, I would highly recommend trying priceline for a few nights. It was an incredible hotel! And I would love to go back there sometime!

If you want some priceline pointers...a great website that will help with bidding strategy is www.biddingfortravel.com.

Anyway, that's my experience. When we go in September, we will be staying at Hojo (got the Entertainment rate!), so while we plan to do a day at Universal Studios and maybe a day in the Hollywood area, we will just stay at Hojo - of course, we will have a couple of kids with us, and packing them up and moving hotels is sometimes a pain.

 

[RanCan]

Zoemakes5: Its only me and my sister, but since we took a last minute trip to Disney World last week, we decided to postponed our California trip to the month of December (2008) so I think we can pretty much forget about beaches in December, right?!!!!!

Thanks anyway and have a magical day!

Yes, December will be too cold for swimming at the beaches.......but they are great places to visit anyway......The Santa Monica pier is not a bad place to go. You can also drive up Pacific Coast Highway and check out Malibu and other areas....most of the drive along PCH in that area is right along the beaches!

Also....December is a great time to visit DL...it's decorated so nice for Christmas!!!

Have a great time!!!