Disney at start AND end of SoCal trip?

[Boardwalk_bride]

I’m toying with the idea of starting and ending our trip at Disneyland. We will be flying into LAX from Toronto, our daughter will be six.

I’m thinking to buy a 5 day pass (looked they they are good for 13 days?), and doing 2-3 days at Disney, renting a car nearby and going to San Diego, returning car rental in Anaheim and checking back in for a few more days.

Does anyone see any issue with this? I’m worried our daughter will need a break from the parks, and figured SD will be a slower pace (we wouldn’t do the zoo or other parks). We would also be planning a day trip into Hollywood using a tour company, from Anaheim.

We love WDW, have never been to DL, and want to see as much as possible, while not exhausting our daughter. She did great in WDW (we went when she turned 3), but could only last about 8-1, and was burnt out by day 6. We do Canadas Wonderland with her now, and she could prob stay all day if we let her, but she’d be tired the next day.

We plan to visit in 2023, likely May (at the latest).

TIA.

 

[wabbott]

DL is more compact that WDW's MK. And DCA is a little smaller than DL, so it won't be quite as much walking. Another factor is climate. Anaheim is much cooler and lower humidity than is Central Florida in the summer. It makes a huge difference.

We managed last August to do everything twice on a four-day stay, and I'm 72 and wife is 66. We're in decent shape, but wouldn't try to run a footrace.

While you're in Hollywood, visit the Griffith Park Observatory at dusk, to see the lights of the LA basin at dark. Spectacular.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Do you know for a fact that your daughter will prefer doing Disneyland for that many days compared to SeaWorld, Legoland, Sesame Place, the zoo and the safari park? She might have grown out of Sesame Street but a lot of kids that age will still love the animal experiences at SeaWorld and the Safari Park. Those parks are also less tiring than Disneyland.

If you're planning to skip those parks, why are you going to San Diego at all? I don't think kids will appreciate the museums and history stuff in San Diego as much as a zoo or theme park and there's beaches closer to Anaheim. I'd probably recommend doing just 2-3 days at Disney and experiencing more in San Diego.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Do you know for a fact that your daughter will prefer doing Disneyland for that many days compared to SeaWorld, Legoland, Sesame Place, the zoo and the safari park? She might have grown out of Sesame Street but a lot of kids that age will still love the animal experiences at SeaWorld and the Safari Park. Those parks are also less tiring than Disneyland.

If you're planning to skip those parks, why are you going to San Diego at all? I don't think kids will appreciate the museums and history stuff in San Diego as much as a zoo or theme park and there's beaches closer to Anaheim. I'd probably recommend doing just 2-3 days at Disney and experiencing more in San Diego.

Tbh - I assumed seaworld would be more tiring.
We are not interested in Lego land, and she doesn’t really know Sesame Street.

We are interested in SD for beaches, Torrey Pines, Balboa, etc.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Tbh - I assumed seaworld would be more tiring.
We are not interested in Lego land, and she doesn’t really know Sesame Street.

We are interested in SD for beaches, Torrey Pines, Balboa, etc.

The operating hours at SeaWorld are shorter and you can always slow down by taking your time inside the sea turtle exhibit or something. I guess a difference is that you sit out in the sun when waiting for shows at SeaWorld while daytime shows are not that great at Disneyland right now. I don't think SeaWorld is a better theme park than Disneyland but after multiple days at Disneyland, it may be more interesting to visit a completely different park.

I feel like most people go to San Diego primarily because of the zoo or parks then do Balboa Park and the beach as add-ons which is why I found your trip plan a bit different. If you're skipping the parks, instead of driving all the way to San Diego, you can see if Santa Monica and Long Beach are good enough for beaches and Exposition Park and/or Griffith Park will give you what you were looking for in Balboa Park. You won't get the Spanish architecture and Mexican foods of San Diego but Exposition Park has the Science Center and Natural History Museum.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I would definitely start and end with DLR - seems like a great plan to me!

 

[pennym]

I love San Diego, and this plan looks great! You'll be really ready for a bit more Disney at the end!

 

[Kit Jackson]

If you are going to San Diego, you really should consider the Zoo. It is beyond amazing. Maybe do a rest day between Disneyland the zoo, but the zoo is absolutely worth going to.

 

[ktlm]

Many times we have flown into SNA, spent 4 nights at DLR (5 park days including our arrival and departure 1/2 or more days), then gone down the coast to the San Diego area for the other half of the week for beach time to see friends and go to a place like the zoo or Safari park, and then we drive back to fly out of SNA.

Depending on where you stay it is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive. There is no reason you couldn't break up a DLR trip and put the San Diego area in the middle. I would highly recommend the zoo or Safari park. They are both great-- we prefer the Safari park. We do always feel like we go, go, go, at DLR and it is nice to go south after to relax and spend a day at the beach and then spend a day at a slower pace than DLR at the zoo or Safari park. If you go in May, you might or might not get good beach weather. It might be chilly- sometimes the high that time of year is only around 60 degrees.

As for car rental, there used to be one at the Paradise Pier resort at DLR. I would assume it is still there, but I don't know that for a fact. If that counter isn't still there, it is only about 15 minutes to SNA from DLR. You could uber over to SNA and pick up a car. As we fly out of SNA we do that when we are done at DLR.

As for Hollywood, if the adults really want to go for themselves, I would say do it, but if it is for the 6 year old, I would wait until she is older. When she is older it would be fun to hit Universal, Warner Brothers Studios, Griffith Observatory and Hollywood. For now, unless there is a real desire to see Hollywood, I would focus on DLR and the San Diego area.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We love San Diego and if you want to see it I think your plan will work provided you use the remaining days on your DL ticket within 13 days of the first use.

SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park are all way less intense than DL. I have actually never gone on any rides at SeaWorld and we are annual passholders. We go strictly for the animals. You don’t feel the pressure to Stay All Day and Night like at DL, especially not the zoo. They are pleasant and worth seeing if you like animals.

I recommend a stroller for your daughter at DL even if she doesn’t usually use one. My 7 year old doesn’t use a stroller anymore but at DL, i bring it if we plan on more than an 8-hour day… with the stroller saving his legs as we walk to and from the parks and from land to land he can go much longer (12-14 hours!). He usually doesn’t use it for the first 7 hours or so and I just park it somewhere. It’s also nice to hold our stuff.

Also wanted to add that DL with a 6 year old is a whole different ballgame than DW with a 3 year old, if that’s what you’re comparing it to. I bet she does better than you expect.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

If you are going to San Diego, you really should consider the Zoo. It is beyond amazing. Maybe do a rest day between Disneyland the zoo, but the zoo is absolutely worth going to.

Okay, I’ll look into the zoo! I went back in a thread from when unplanned time go last year, and it looks like people say the same. We have the Toronto zoo an hour from us, and have done AK (and stayed at AKL) so many times, I wasn’t sure if we needed it. Sounds like we should do one of the parks, though.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Many times we have flown into SNA, spent 4 nights at DLR (5 park days including our arrival and departure 1/2 or more days), then gone down the coast to the San Diego area for the other half of the week for beach time to see friends and go to a place like the zoo or Safari park, and then we drive back to fly out of SNA.

Depending on where you stay it is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive. There is no reason you couldn't break up a DLR trip and put the San Diego area in the middle. I would highly recommend the zoo or Safari park. They are both great-- we prefer the Safari park. We do always feel like we go, go, go, at DLR and it is nice to go south after to relax and spend a day at the beach and then spend a day at a slower pace than DLR at the zoo or Safari park. If you go in May, you might or might not get good beach weather. It might be chilly- sometimes the high that time of year is only around 60 degrees.

As for car rental, there used to be one at the Paradise Pier resort at DLR. I would assume it is still there, but I don't know that for a fact. If that counter isn't still there, it is only about 15 minutes to SNA from DLR. You could uber over to SNA and pick up a car. As we fly out of SNA we do that when we are done at DLR.

As for Hollywood, if the adults really want to go for themselves, I would say do it, but if it is for the 6 year old, I would wait until she is older. When she is older it would be fun to hit Universal, Warner Brothers Studios, Griffith Observatory and Hollywood. For now, unless there is a real desire to see Hollywood, I would focus on DLR and the San Diego area.

We live in Ontario, so a 2 hour drive, with horrible traffic (when passing Toronto), is nothing to us.

Good point on Hollywood. Originally we were thinking this would be a one time trip, but I think we will want to go back to California a lot. There are a few interesting tours through Anaheim Tour Company, one is just a half day of LA, so we may look into that.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

We love San Diego and if you want to see it I think your plan will work provided you use the remaining days on your DL ticket within 13 days of the first use.

SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park are all way less intense than DL. I have actually never gone on any rides at SeaWorld and we are annual passholders. We go strictly for the animals. You don’t feel the pressure to Stay All Day and Night like at DL, especially not the zoo. They are pleasant and worth seeing if you like animals.

I recommend a stroller for your daughter at DL even if she doesn’t usually use one. My 7 year old doesn’t use a stroller anymore but at DL, i bring it if we plan on more than an 8-hour day… with the stroller saving his legs as we walk to and from the parks and from land to land he can go much longer (12-14 hours!). He usually doesn’t use it for the first 7 hours or so and I just park it somewhere. It’s also nice to hold our stuff.

Also wanted to add that DL with a 6 year old is a whole different ballgame than DW with a 3 year old, if that’s what you’re comparing it to. I bet she does better than you expect.

Thanks for this. Honestly, our daughter at 3 hardly used the stroller at WDW. I don’t even think we have one anymore, I think we sold them both. She walks Canadas Wonderland and it’s a really big park. I’ll be prepared to rent a stroller if needed (I assume they have it).

 

[Helene_C]

I did something similar when my kids were 2.5 and 7 and it was great. I flew out to LA with them (while my husband went off to a work conference) and we spent three days in the parks, then DH flew out to meet us, we rented a car and spent a few days in Big Bear and Joshua Tree, then came back to LA for two more park days and a day of non-Disney touring. It was nice to have that variety in the schedule and to know we would get more Disney time at the end. I don't know what your hotel plans are, but we were off site on Harbor at the beginning and then at the DLH when we came back - definitely recommend ending with the fancier hotel if you aren't going back to the same place.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I did something similar when my kids were 2.5 and 7 and it was great. I flew out to LA with them (while my husband went off to a work conference) and we spent three days in the parks, then DH flew out to meet us, we rented a car and spent a few days in Big Bear and Joshua Tree, then came back to LA for two more park days and a day of non-Disney touring. It was nice to have that variety in the schedule and to know we would get more Disney time at the end. I don't know what your hotel plans are, but we were off site on Harbor at the beginning and then at the DLH when we came back - definitely recommend ending with the fancier hotel if you aren't going back to the same place.

That is great to know! Yes, the plan, if we do it this way, I plan to do a cheaper hotel (still nice!) upfront, and a more $$ one at the end, with separate rooms. I'd love to book GC, but can only really afford it with DVC rentals, which basically means I have to book now. I'm not sure I want to book something non-refundable, especially considering it is international for us, yet. I'm looking at the Courtyard by Marriott as our splurge one (I'd book the suite with separate rooms).

Joshua Tree would be amazing. Now I want to look into that vs. San Diego. There are too many options!

 

[ktlm]

We live in Ontario, so a 2 hour drive, with horrible traffic (when passing Toronto), is nothing to us.

Then you will be happy to know that unless you hit rush hour, there is usually not horrible traffic on the drive between DLR and San Diego! It is about a 90-100 mile drive depending on where in San Diego you are going. We have hit a couple of congested spots, especially driving back north on a Sunday to catch our flight, but it really isn't a bad drive at all. I don't think it has ever taken us longer than 2 hours, and usually it is around 1 1/2 hours.

On the other side-- the drive north to LA can take the same amount of time and it is only between 30-40 miles depending on where you are going. It took us an hour and a half to get to Universal from the Disneyland Hotel, and a few days later (on a weekend) it took us 2 hours to get to SNA to fly home.