A little trip planning

[McQueenMaterMom]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a little advice on trip planning. The trip is for me, my two boys ages 3 and 4 (the 4 year old will turn 5 then), and my mom and dad (they will be 74 and 75 - they are pretty mobile and young for their age but do get tired out). My brother and sister in law will join us for some of the days.

We are flying to LA on June 4. I'm thinking we will take the Grayline bus to DLH. (Is that a good way to travel to the hotel?).

We get to LAX around noon. I figure we could go to the pool or walk around DTD that day.

On June 5 I want to do breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and then go to Knott's Berry Farm (best way to get there?). Eat early dinner at the chicken dinner place.

On Monday June 6 I want to go to DCA. That is my older son's actual birthday. He loves Cars more than anything. He literally has no interest in anything other than Cars (and Planes) so to have his birthday in Cars Land would be amazing! Is there any place that I could order a McQueen birthday cake from to have in our room that day? I was thinking we could eat at Flo's for breakfast and maybe do lunch at the cones. We would be there for extra magic hours. I think we would spend the day in DCA and maybe take a break in the afternoon. I'd like to see WOC, but I'm not sure if the kids can make it that late. We're going to try though. Dining package?

I was thinking DL on Tuesday for the extra hour. Maybe Cafe Orleans for lunch. I'd like to see the Paint the Night parade (any suggestions?).

Then either or both parks Wednesday and Thursday (I want to do park hoppers). With some definite downtime at the hotel and pool. Is four days with rests at the pool and hotel plenty of time to see everything? I want to make sure we go to Cars Land in the day and when it gets dark. Is the walk from the Disneyland Hotel to the parks about 10 minutes?

Any suggestions for restaurants, either quick service or sit down?

We will leave Friday morning and drive to Legoland, Saturday Sea World, Sunday San Diego Zoo and Monday Safari. Fly home Tuesday from San Diego. Any recommendations on a place to stay in San Diego? Do I need a hotel near Legoland or is it close enough to just drive to San Diego after the park?


My kids won't go on big rollercoasters or in any 4D movie - like It's a Bug's Life in WDW, Star Tours- or anything that seems really scary. They also may be limited by their height.

Are the non-Disney parks full day parks?

We would need a rental car when we leave Disney. Is it best to rent a car seat from the car rental place?We probably need a minivan and need to drop of at San Diego airport. Best car rental place for us?

Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Thanks in advance for helping!

 

[Chris9ty]

We took the Metro 460 to get to Knotts. On non peak times seniors were only 30cents! Our group of 8 was around $9 each trip and the bus came every half hour.http://socalfun.biz.ht/dlr2bp.html

But if you are planning to rent a vehicle anyhow later in your trip you may want to check out prices for the whole week.
The Knotts chicken dinner place is being remodeled and should be beautiful when it reopens - I believe in plenty of time for summer. I follow Knott's Network- a fan run Facebook page for updates and pictures of happenings in the park. There is a whole Camp Snoopy with lots for the kids to ride, the train, log ride- with animatronics, family rides throughout and GhostTown. Be sure to try the Boysenberry Punch- you can even get it in the souvenir cups. See my trip report for more about what we did at Knotts.

 

[figment_jii]

On Monday June 6 I want to go to DCA. That is my older son's actual birthday. He loves Cars more than anything. He literally has no interest in anything other than Cars (and Planes) so to have his birthday in Cars Land would be amazing! Is there any place that I could order a McQueen birthday cake from to have in our room that day?

I don't know if they have custom designs, but you might give Disneyland Dining or Vacation Planning a call to see if they can help you (although, this might only be for cakes to be delivered to a theme park restaurant).
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/au/special-occasions/birthdays/

I was thinking we could eat at Flo's for breakfast and maybe do lunch at the cones. We would be there for extra magic hours. I think we would spend the day in DCA and maybe take a break in the afternoon. I'd like to see WOC, but I'm not sure if the kids can make it that late. We're going to try though. Dining package?

There are a couple of different WoC dining packages: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/world-of-color-dining/

I was thinking DL on Tuesday for the extra hour. Maybe Cafe Orleans for lunch. I'd like to see the Paint the Night parade (any suggestions?).

If you're staying at the DLH, it means you have access to EMH every morning of your trip (as long as it's being offered). I would take advantage of it as much as possible. PtN has good viewing spots all along the parade route. There are also dining packages.

Then either or both parks Wednesday and Thursday (I want to do park hoppers). With some definite downtime at the hotel and pool. Is four days with rests at the pool and hotel plenty of time to see everything? I want to make sure we go to Cars Land in the day and when it gets dark. Is the walk from the Disneyland Hotel to the parks about 10 minutes?

I think four days is enough time to get most things done, but probably not everything (if by "everything" you're including all attractions, all shows, all character meet and greets, etc.). The walk from DLH to the parks is about half a mile. So, I think most folks can get there is about 10 minutes or less.

Any suggestions for restaurants, either quick service or sit down?

I recommend checking out the Disneyland Dining Reviews thread to see photos and reviews from fellow Dis'ers. My favorite palces are Cafe Orleans (TS, L/D), Carnation Cafe (TS, L/D), Storytellers (TS, L), PCH Grill (buffet, D), Carthay Circle Lounge (Lounge, D), French Market (CS, L/D), Plaza Inn (CS, L/D), and Jolly Holiday (CS, L/D).[/QUOTE]

 

[wanderlust7]

We will leave Friday morning and drive to Legoland, Saturday Sea World, Sunday San Diego Zoo and Monday Safari. Fly home Tuesday from San Diego. Any recommendations on a place to stay in San Diego? Do I need a hotel near Legoland or is it close enough to just drive to San Diego after the park?

We would need a rental car when we leave Disney. Is it best to rent a car seat from the car rental place?We probably need a minivan and need to drop of at San Diego airport. Best car rental place for us?

The Legoland Hotel is very cute, your boys would probably love it. But if you stay in San Diego, yes, it's close enough to Legoland to drive to after. It's about 40 minutes drive without traffic, depending on where in San Diego. On weekdays, you might want to leave after dinner in case there's commuter traffic. Many of the rides at Legoland are slow loading, so try to go on a weekday if possible.

Your kids are the perfect age for Legoland, are you sure you only want 1 day there? There's a cute water park there as well. My kids (3 and 6 at the time) spent 3 days at Legoland and as we were leaving on the last day, asked me when are we coming back?

I hate renting car seats since for the price I can just buy one and have change. A Bubble Bum would probably work for your older son. The minimum weight is 40 lbs. It's inflatable and folds into the included pouch to about the size of a rolled up bath towel. My 3 year old is too light for it, so I got her the Harmony booster seat (minimum weight 30 lbs, minimum height 34 inches). It's nowhere near as compact as the Bubble Bum, but super light, so I just put it in a big beach bag and carried it on the flight.

If you have a Costco membership, I've had good luck finding good car rental prices there.

 

[Chrisfilm]

Is four days with rests at the pool and hotel plenty of time to see everything?

Yes it is. Especially if you don't plan to try to do the rides that your kids won't do. We typically do 5 days with 3 hours every day back at the hotel, and that allows us to do almost anything we want two to three times. Just get to the parks at rope drop.

 

[Chris9ty]

The 5 day park hopper for Disney is only $15 more than a 4 day ph. We went into the park for just a few hours our first day and then didn't feel bad for not staying late since it was so cheap.

 

[McQueenMaterMom]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I found the Safe Rider travel vest that I'm going to get for the boys to cover the car seat issue.

I'm definitely thinking about doing 5 day tickets, even if we only use them a little on the first day.

I haven't given much thought to Legoland. My brother is the one who wanted to go. Now that I've looked at it, the reviews are pretty mixed. It looks like my kids are the right age for it. Is a second day at Legland better than going to Sea World? I'm going to look into spending one night at the Legoland Hotel, but do any of the rooms have two queen beds? It looked like one King and bunk beds which won't work for us very well.

 

[wanderlust7]

Thanks for all the great advice!
I haven't given much thought to Legoland. My brother is the one who wanted to go. Now that I've looked at it, the reviews are pretty mixed. It looks like my kids are the right age for it. Is a second day at Legland better than going to Sea World? I'm going to look into spending one night at the Legoland Hotel, but do any of the rooms have two queen beds? It looked like one King and bunk beds which won't work for us very well.

I think it's all King beds at the Legoland Hotel. Some of the suites have a sofa bed. The bunk bed has a pull out trundle, but it might be a little small for an adult.

I think if you did 2 days Legoland, it would be slightly more relaxing than doing a different park everyday for 4 days straight. I haven't been to Sea World in years, so I can't say which is better. Maybe think about cutting San Diego Zoo or the Safari Park since they're both zoos? The Safari Park has the safari tours, but other than that it is similar to a regular zoo. Also, it is inland and HOT (we went in June as well).