Disneyland AND....?

[JustAKid]

On our trip to Disneyland, we want to spend one day doing not so disney things, what other area attractions have you done with your family and would you recommend them?

 

[specialks]

Last year we spent the beginning of our trip in San Diego and went to the zoo and to SeaWorld. The zoo was ok, but kind of your typical zoo if you have a nice one near your home then I would pass on it. SeaWorld was neat and with my young girls (they were 4 & 1.5) they really liked the Sesame Street characters. I would recommend SeaWorld but it is a little bit of a drive.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

We do the beach. If you go to Balboa or Huntington beaches it's all day parking (not metered) & you can eat near the ocean, rent bikes, shop....fun for us bc we NEED the beach after go, go, going at DL for a few days. The ocean definately regenerates the soul.

We have fresh seafood, maybe walk Balboa Island or take a boat ride in the bay - it's just a nice change of scenery & at a slower pace.

 

[JustAKid]

MagicalMomAZ, I am unfamiliar with the area, how far is the drive to the beach from DL? Shorter distance then the San Diego area?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Beach is definitely closer than San Diego.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

MagicalMomAZ, I am unfamiliar with the area, how far is the drive to the beach from DL? Shorter distance then the San Diego area?

Beach is 20 min drive on a low traffic day (ie no rush hour) .... look at a map & see which one works best for you - I know on Saturdays HB has a Farmers Market (art, trinkets too!) - I just don't know for how long into the year they do it. But then you walk down Main St & there's eateries, ice cream, clothing stores....snackbar on the beach...Ruby's Diner on the pier - fun stuff, low key - IMO FAR better than a drive to San Diego bc last time .......it took us 3 hrs to go 70 miles on a Saturday. Ugh!

 

[mhconley]

We're spending 2 nights in Laguna Beach prior to our upcoming stay at DLH. Any of the Orange county beaches are nice and very close to DLR.

San Diego is a minimum 90 minute drive and can be considerably longer in traffic.

Martin

 

[disneynerd420]

On my last trip my mother and I took a tour bus to Universal Studios. It was a lot of fun.

 

[queenie82]

It is down in Carlsbad (so over an hour's drive) but given you have young children Lego Land might be worth considering. It is a park targeted at Children.

Knotts Berry is close and has Snoopy and his pals.

 

[Mugglemama]

Knotts Berry is close and has Snoopy and his pals.

when she says close, she means close! knott's is only about 15 minutes from disneyland. tickets for seaworld are as much (maybe even more expensive) as knott's, and obviously, travel to knott's would be much less stress than trying to get down to SD. you could probably even get a shuttle.