Big help needed for our DL/SD/LL trip please?

[readytogotodisney]

I'm working out a rough budget for our trip next year and need a little help with where to stay/what order to do stuff.
We're coming from Indiana and haven't spent much time in California so I need help from those that know.

Our plan (a big work in progress)
Thurs night - fly into SNA bc flight prices tend to be a lot cheaper compared to San Diego. It'll probably be a late arriving flight
Friday - Tues- Legoland (want to stay 1-2 night at their hotel)/SD zoo (maybe), time at the beach (more for play in the sand, I don't expect the ocean to be warm enough for my kids to play in)
Wed - Sat - DL
Sun - fly home out of SNA

Anything else that you suggest for us to do on our first few days? We want to avoid LA area, kids will be 3.5 and 7, and we like outdoorsy stuff. I was thinking of getting a car from the SNA airport, do all our running around and then returning it when we start our DL part of our trip.

Sorry this is all over the place, just trying to figure things out. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[PHXscuba]

If you fly into SNA late on a Thursday, it will be more than an hour from there to the Legoland area. Take that into consideration when booking a flight or picking a hotel for that night.

San Diego has tons for kids to do. Many of the activities are free or very cheap. I used the Trip Advisor boards for San Diego to do a lot of planning.

Every time we take our kids to the beach in CA they still end up in the water, so wear the swimsuits.

Your plan overall looks good. I think you're smart to not try to fit in more that 2 general areas with younger kids. I've seen some overly ambitious itineraries!!

PHXscuba

 

[hodad]

If you're looking for a great beach for kids, check out the Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor. Combine it with a visit to the San Juan Capistrano mission and the Los Rios neighborhood/park/petting zoo. Dana Point is in southern Orange County, in between Legoland and Disneyland. You could hit it up on your drive north before checking in to your DL hotel. We go all the time. The link I shared has many more small-child-friendly outdoor resources for OC, and you can find similar sources for San Diego County.

 

[Ndusmama]

Sounds like a decent plan. I didn't see time of year you were thinking of going? San Diego waters are warm year round. Outside temp can get chilly but still good for beach and warmer then Indiana. Now legoland is in Carlsbad a 45 minute drive to downtown sd and the actual sd zoo located in balboa park. Legoland is near a great beach. If you go to the zoo, take a day to maybe visit balboa park. The children's science museum is a lot of fun. I wouldn't stay near balboa. Also sd has a place called old town that's neat to walk around and sea port village isn't far away. If you want more out door zoo look into sd animal safari park in Escondido. It's about the same drive time from legoland as the downtown zoo would be, but it's more spread out walking paths and nature. It's also the zoo they usually talk about in movies. Just south of Carlsbad is a town called Encinitas and they have free parking and really nice sand for playing at the beach, no water needed if it's cold outside. La jolla has a children's beach with seals that the kids can see but you can't actually go on the beach. La jolla also has caves down to beach.

 

[Lessa1]

Kids don't usually mind the temp of the ocean in SD so they might want to play in the water and it's a lot warmer than up here in No. Cal. It sounds like a decent plan. Just be aware that traffic going back from SD to DL can suck if you do it at the wrong time. Maybe plan to drive up after dinner on Tuesday night and stay near DL. BTW - My fave hotel is Park Vue Inn - directly across from the bus drop-off entrance. I don't know if you want to do all of these, but if so, this pass can save you money: http://www.citypass.com/southern-california