Best Days to go to San Diego?

[Angel Ariel]

We're going to be there from Nov 13 - 20th. Our current plan looks like this:

Friday - arrive, get settled in hotel, dinner in DTD or Napa Rose
Saturday - spend in DL
Sunday - DH runs the Avengers 1/2 in the morning. Thinking I'll get a FP for RSR before he crosses the finish line (we can use RS) and we'll spend the day in DCA

This is where it gets hazy..
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday - last full day, spending it in DL (possibly hopping, but mostly DL)

Friday - leave early morning for LAX (no park time possible)

We are going to spend 2 days in San Diego - 1 day for SW, 1 day for the SD Zoo. We may be staying overnight in SD (but we will keep our room at the Tropicana for the full week).

So do we head to SD on Mon/Tues or Tues/Wed (assuming that we stay overnight)? Is there any benefit or drawback to one over the other?

Monday is the start of Seasons of the Force at DLR, which we *do* want to see. I'm not sure if it's better to be there that day, and try to get a lot of that done in the morning when maybe people are at work and then hop to DCA in the evening? Or if it's better to go back Wed

We want to make sure we're getting enough time in for DCA too, since on our last trip Carsland wasn't open..we saw WOC, but the land was closed.

So basically..2 days for DL, 2 days for DCA, 2 days for San Diego....how would you spread them out with everything going on then?

(and to think, we thought this would be a quieter time to go!)

ETA: The meals we want to try and get scheduled here are Minnie and Friends, F! Dining @ BB, WOC dining at CC, and Napa Rose...the only reason I'm trying to figure park dates now is to book the dining. With F! now closing in Jan, and those dates just opening, I'm concerned about them booking faster than they might usually.

 

[riostoker]

I don't think the particular days matter, but I would definitely plan on spending the night in San Diego if you are doing two days there. That drive is a good 2 hours, longer if there is traffic (and there WILL be traffic in San Diego!). I don't think you'd want to do that commute from a hotel in Anaheim twice.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don't think the particular days matter, but I would definitely plan on spending the night in San Diego if you are doing two days there. That drive is a good 2 hours, longer if there is traffic (and there WILL be traffic in San Diego!). I don't think you'd want to do that commute from a hotel in Anaheim twice.

We'd definitely prefer not to...there are some extended family members in our party, so we're just waiting to confirm with them that they're good with staying overnight in SD

 

[Angel Ariel]

We haven't been to SW and the Zoo in years, so we have no idea what those days will be like. I assume each park needs 1 day, though?

Which park is likely to need a little less time? If we can the second day a bit "early" and make it back to Anaheim before DL closes, I'd like to go in just to see one of the new nighttime offerings.

 

[grnflash]

Mondays are busy at DL and Wednesdays are the slowest (imo.) Based on that, I'd do SD Mon/Tues. And spend the night in SD for sure. That's a lotta commuting if you don't and once you factor in gas to go back and forth, that brings down your out-of-pocket for a hotel quite a bit. And then you can go have dinner at a beachside restaurant - always lovely!

Yes, you will need a day each for the zoo and SW. They don't need to be open-close, but ya really can't do both in a day, especially with shorter fall hours. As for which park which day in SD (I'm in SD and have ap's to both), neither will be busy either day. If you like water rides though, Sea World for sure on Monday so you can go back to your hotel and change before dinner or driving if needed. You may get soaked on Atlantis, you will get soaked on Shipwreck. And if you are in the seat that goes directly under the waterfall on Shipwreck, we're talking just took a shower in your clothes drenched. Drenched! Oh, and if anyone is manning the cannons on either ride, forget about it. Ponchos are good idea Doing the zoo on Tuesday would make it easier to get there at opening - which is such a lovely time. It's cool, the animals are out, no line yet for the pandas, they feed the polar bears early (ask what time the feeding is when you enter so you can be there, otherwise the polar bears will probably be sleeping.) I'm a big fan of zoo mornings

As for the traffic, don't worry too much. SD traffic is nothing like LA or even OC traffic. That being said, I would plan to avoid prime time morning rush hour on Monday. If you can avoid hitting SD (Carlsbad) till after 8:30 you'll be good.

Have fun!

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks, @grnflash! I have been leaning towards Monday/Tuesday anyway, just to be ending the trip in DL, so knowing that Mondays are busy at DL anyway (and I'm sure seasons of the force isn't going to help that at all!), and wednesdays tend to be slower..it makes sense to do monday/tues in SD.

We'd probably be looking at being on the road by 7:30am in anaheim, which looks like it would probably put us in Carlsbad around 8:40 or so? I doubt we'd leave any earlier than 7:30 (and if I'm being totally honest, saying we'll leave at 7:30 means we'll probably be in the car moving at 7:45). That seems like it would fit your timeline suggestion well for getting down to SD.

And thank you for reminding me about the point of seeing animals at the zoo earlier in the day. That totally makes sense for day 2 in SD.

 

[Bud Ice]

Agree wiith the Mon/Tues in San Diego. It would be busy Monday especially with the Seasons of Force open. Also DL may need an extra day or two to open all the new Star Wars stuff.

Monday/Tuesday you can hit rush hour on the I405 and I5 South between 6am and 9am. Also coming back between 4pm - 7pm.

Sigalert provides great traffic monitoring for OC/SD

http://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?region=Orange+County#lat=33.69964&lon=-117.80006&z=1
http://www.sigalert.com/Map.asp?region=San+Diego#lat=32.78507&lon=-117.0738&z=1

 

[taniahappy]

Oh yes, do visit the Zoo its a must! (I recommend Albert´s as a meal, so cool if you get a seat outside)