? about DL, LAX, Sea World, boats and islands

[brenda1966]

I'm trying to coordinate a 10 day CA trip for myself, 3.5 year old daughter, sister and parents. Needless to say it's turning into quite a job! I have several unrelated questions:

I'm having a hard time convincing them we need 4 days at DL/CA. Gosh, I know I could spend 5 days there. I keep reminding them about how much time we'll spend standing in line to meet characters and waiting for Fantasmic/parades, etc.

DL to LAX -- how long does it take. We have a 6pm flight, so I figure we'd need to be at the airport at 4pm (on a Thursday). What time would we need to leave DL if we choose to go our last day?

Sea World -- do we need 2 days there? The park is open 10-6. The only reason I consider 2 days is the buy-one-get-one-day-free option on the tickets.

Boats/islands -- my mom wants to go on a boat, preferrably to an island. Is there any other option than Catalina? She's been there and I'm honestly not all that interested in being stuck on an island all day, not to mention that gets to be a rather expensive day. Is there another island to visit? Is there a nice harbor tour we could go on?

I've learned so much from this site!

 

[LucyKate]

On a Wednesday about midday LAX to Disney took us about an hour - maybe allow 90 minutes for traffic? So I'd leave probably about 2:30.

Seaworld is not worth 2 days IMHO. Well worth a day but just not the rides and shows to justify day two. We arrived around 10 AM, left at 5PM and saw and rode everything without rushing. If you have a 2nd day in San Diego why not visit the Zoo, which is well worth a day in its own right.

Disneyland - an absolute minimum of three days - but 4 would certainly be better if you wanted to see all the parades and shows.

And agree with you about the islands - unless there is something spectacular about them (coral reefs, pure white sand beaches, tropical rainforest etc, such as in Australia's Great Barrier Reef) it seems a waste to spend a day of a tight holiday schedule just going to an "island".

Perhaps locals will have better options.

 

[jensmom]

Hi Brenda1966,

If you have never been to Sea World, I would recommend the 2 days as there are so many shows to see, lots of interesting animal exhibits and aquariums, plus some rides, and it gets pretty tiring after a whole day there.

Also, there is a nice harbor excursion around San Diego bay (either a 1 or 2 hour, I believe), as well as some brunch or dinner cruises around the bay http://www.sdhe.com/. Coronado (not technically an island, but a peninsula) is accessed across San Diego bay via the Coronado Bridge. It is a very nice place to visit and has the Hotel Del Coronado there (that is the hotel that the Grand Floridian is modeled after) http://www.hoteldel.com/ . They have lots of shops and restaurants there as well as some nice beaches.

 

[LuvTigger]

I think 4 days is the perfect amount of time to cover DL/DCA without feeling rushed and to be able to do everything. I would say a minimum of 3 days, but 4 will allow you to relax and also time to see DTD and the resorts.

I agree with LucyKate about the airport drive too. Usually it takes us about an hour in light traffic, so if you want to be safe, I would say 1.5 hours should allow enough time.

I think one day at Sea World is enough time. I remember my first trip to Sea World, we got there after Noon because we were driving from Vegas, and I was really worried that we weren't going to be able to fit everything in (the park closed at 9 p.m. that night), but we did, and we weren't running around like maniacs. The key is to plan around the shows, and you should be able to catch every show if you start from when they open.

 

[nobska]

I did the 10 day trip last September to Disneyland and San Diego. We spent five days in each. We spent 2 days at Sea World and it was perfect. My daughter was 3 1/2 at the time and we really did not want to push her. 2 days at Sea World allowed us to see and do everything, including a behind the scenes tour. She loved the extra time to really spend with the animals, including petting and feeding the dolphins without all the crowds around. We did 2 days at the Zoo, which was too much. We easily saw everything there in 1 day. My daughter is a huge animal fan and she really loved the interaction available at Sea World. She was not tall enough to ride most of the rides, but she absolutely loved the shows.

Due to leaving early for the airport, it was really 4 1/2 days at Disneyland. This allowed us to go back to the hotel and swim in the afternoon and for her to nap if she needed it. We never felt rushed and yet there were still rides and shows we didn't get to. I think it really depends on your child and how able they are to handle the constant go. The first few days she did great, but later on she really needed to slow down and I paced the trip based on where she was and what she needed.

 

[Redcon1]

I second jensmom's suggestion about Coronado. You can reach it by car via the bridge or by ferry. There's a great Mexican restaurant catty-corner from the Del Coronado hotel called Miguel's Cocina. It's set back in the courtyard of the El Cordova hotel and the outside seating, especially in the early evening lends itself to a very nice relaxing atmosphere. We never miss going there on our trips to SD.
Also the beaches at Coronado are highly ranked and there's plenty of shopping. Even touring the "Del" hotel is a great experience.

 

[Tink33]

What does your mom want to do on the island?

Coronado is beautiful. You can shop, eat, go to the beach, watch the Navy Seals train, ride a curry bike... The Sunday Brunch at the Hotel Del is one of the best in San Diego. The harbor cruises pass by the military ships and under the Coronado Bay Bridge.

There is also Balboa Island in Newport Beach. More shopping and eating. Don't miss a Balboa Bar. You do not reach it by boat (can take a ferry). They do have harbor cruises in which you travel by the multi-million dollar homes on the waterfront.

If you really want an adventure (hiking, kayaks, snorkeling, scuba, viewing sea life in the wild) you can visit the Channel Islands.

 

[laura&fam]

I just spent some time on the Sea World website and wow! I haven't been to Sea World since I was 10. I didn't know they have rides now. Other than the Sky tower and sky ride do the rides cost extra? I wasn't planning on this money or time wise.

I feel like it's a whole new Sea World and I have to say I liked the old one. I'm sure it's better, but my nephew will be with us and will only be interested in the rides and not the animals. Whereas my daughter will love the animals and not the rides.

Any tips from someone who has been in the last, say 20 years , would help.

 

[noryglory]

We took our at the time three-year-old son to Seaworld and Legoland and then did the same trip when he was four. We only needed one day at both places. Your 3.5 year old will get enough of SeaWorld in one day (and so will you). BUT, and this is a big BUT, you need to plan your day wisely around all the shows. That's sort of the main attraction there, so you want to be sure you see the Shamu show and any of the others. The "fools with tools" show and the dolphin show are both great. As long as you plan that right, you can see all the shows and cram in all the other attractions in one day. I don't think there are any rides there a 3.5 year old can/would want to go on so no worries there, they built those IMO to entertain the teenagers that end up there on a fieldtrip or with their families and would rather be having active fun than passive fun.

I forget what it's called but there's an underwater area to watch "Shamu" swim by and it is great. Our son "raced" Shamu with some other kids about 100 times, how far do you think we made it in the car before he fell asleep!

There are also special activities if you are interested--there are behind the scenes tours and a "lunch with Shamu" that are cool. We did the lunch with Shamu and it was so awesome to be right there with the whales and the trainers. Have fun!

 

[abby]

We did San Diego when my dd was almost 3 and almost 4, did sea world one and 1/2 or two days each trip. Keep in mind, we travel slow, see what we want and do not want to be rushed. We also try and rest in the middle of the day for a few hours. Did DL last year when she was almost five and spend five days. That gave us time to take a rest in the middle of the day and nap (me mostly) or swim. Quess it depends on the temperment of your kid and the others. 4 days is easy to fill at DL especially if they are on shorter hours or it is crowded. Love the zoo in SD but my kid prefered sea world, as we have a great Zoo at home. Have a great trip.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I was in San Diego this past July. We spent one day at Sea World but was there from 10:00 a.m. until 8 p.m. and that was with no kids. I think that you could do SeaWorld in a day but ya'll would be a bit rushed but if this isn't your first trip you would be okay. This was our first trip so we experienced everything there.

As for the cruises, San Diego Harbor Excursions does great day trips whale watching. It's a beautiful sight. Cornado Island is wonderful also as others have mentioned.

Someone asked about the rides that cost extra at SeaWorld and that is the sky tram and the sky view thingy, which we didn't do. I personally reccomend the "Beer School" and it's free.

Lots of wonderful places to eat in San Diego. Have a great time.