Can this be done???

[AnninIowa]

I'd love a trip to southern California, not only to go to Disney but to the ocean, SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo. I see there are lots of tour companies that do transportation from the Disney resort area to the attractions in San Diego. I'm thinking we could stay at a Disney resort, and two of the days take the trips (one to SeaWorld, one to the Zoo). Take another day to tour a beach community, and spend the rest of the time at Disney. Do you think this is too much...or does this sound like a reasonable plan? It would be me (32) and my Dad (74 but in very good health). Renting a car is NOT an option - we once ended up in Illinois when trying to get to Wisconsin (we're from Iowa)!

 

[azgal81]

I don't have any advice when we went to san diego from DL we drove. My mom actually did the same thing coming from Iowa but I'm pretty sure she was trying for Illinois and ended up in Wisconsin! Luckily the road to San diego is easy to navigate!

 

[Uuaww]

i think the biggest misconception about southern california is that people think that san diego and LA/Anaheim are close cities, when they are not. if you want to travel from Disney to San Diego then you need a car, or get some tour group i guess.

 

[CamColt]

Disney offers packages which offer a stay in Disneyland, park hopper tickets, and extras including Sea World and San Diego Zoo, plus transportation. You may want to check out Dreams Unlimited's package request page http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/dl_reservations_index.htm where you can see all the "add ons" that can go along with a package.

The also offer packages which combine a stay in DL with a visit to SD, however they canot provide transportation between destinations.

 

[hawkrn]

Ann, where in Iowa are you from? I live in Bettendorf. We are going to DL in June. Haven't got plane tickets yet, the price is horrible. So much more than going to WDW. I have info about tours to San Diego, etc. in the back of the AAA DL guidebook that I got at AAA. They are offered thru DL, not sure if there is a AAA discount.

 

[Uuaww]

remember if your flying into socal, fly into long beach or orange county, so much better.

 

[lntsmom]

It sounds to me like you're wondering whether it's something you can do without running yourselves ragged. Yes, it is. You might save some transportation time (and maybe money on the hotel) if you fly into San Diego, do your two days there, then get a shuttle to the Disney area.

Coach USA does one and two way transportation between San Diego and Anaheim...714-978-8855. www.CoachUSA.us or www.AnaheimSightseeing.com FYI...I have no connection with this company, but I heard of them thru HoJos while we were there last year. I wish I'd heard of them before booking our trip as we'd probably have stretched our stay a day in order to go to Sea World.

As to the beach...that's an issue. You can pay an arm and a leg for a cab. You can ride the bus, but you'll spend most of your day on public transit. I was told it takes over 2 hours to go about 14 miles. Not my idea of fun. I chartered a limo. Tony the Limo King...you can google him for info. He charged me $100 round trip...we went to Laguna Beach. A cab would have cost at least as much, if not more, and wouldn't have run on my schedule. You might call your hotel and ask if they have information about other transportation companies. We used a van service called Jag, too, but I don't know if they'd take you to the beach.

I think your plan is do-able. The beach should give you a day to rest and relax in the middle of all the hustle. Have fun!

 

[AnninIowa]

Thanks to everyone who replied! I should have specified that we definitely would be flying to CA. Hawkrn - we are in Waterloo. We actually went to WDW this past October. I'm not a big Disney person, I just wanted to see it once - but I really liked the ease of how everything was laid out and how easy it was to get around...so I thought DL would be a good central location if we went to California. I had no idea getting to the beach was such an ordeal! However, I'm thinking a trip in the winter might be a better idea as we don't do well in the heat, so I guess I could skip the beach. I did some research online and there seem to be a few companies that offer day trips to San Diego and they seem to focus on picking up in the resort area....which is why I thought it better to stay at a DL resort rather than somewhere else (like on the beach!). Well, it will be awhile before we can go anyway - we did Hawaii in 2004 and then WDW this past October...need to save up again!!