Disneyland as a HUB?

[rszdtrvl]

We have skipped Disneyland for the past couple of years, as we have been paying off an expensive upcoming trip for DS and myself.

We are now thinking of going to Disneyland next year - either summer or Spring Break (done Spring Break in the past).

Which attractions can you see using Disneyland as a HUB?

In the past we have done :
Universal Studios
Lego Land
Knotts Berry Farm

I also know about :
Hollywood Tour
Tijuana
Sea World

Can anyone let me know which other attractions are available (using the shuttle bus that picks you up from the bus stop)?

We are trying to get things figured out (I am a very early planner - it's the former travel agent and current travel bug in me).

Thanks!!

 

[ValpoCory]

If I was using a Disneyland resort area hotel as a hub, I definitely would be staying offsite, at a good neighbor hotel. That being said, the San Diego Zoo is great, as is the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I would stay away from Tijuana

The beaches
Museums
Day in the mountains (Big Bear or Angeles Crest)
La Brea Tarpits
Catalina
Long Beach Aquarium
San Juan Capistrano Mission and dinner at nearby Farrells for fun

Using the shuttle bus
Medieval Times or Pirate Show
Knotts
Universal Studios
LA tour

taking the train
San Diego Zoo
Sea World
San Juan Capistrano Mission

 

[rszdtrvl]

We don't plan on staying onsite at all - in the past we have stayed at : Hojo, BWPPI, Camelot. We prefer to use the money that could be spent by staying onsite to fund other adventures, like day trips.

 

[ValpoCory]

We don't plan on staying onsite at all - in the past we have stayed at : Hojo, BWPPI, Camelot. We prefer to use the money that could be spent by staying onsite to fund other adventures, like day trips.

Yep. That's the way we look at it too. Either we don't rent a car and stay onsite and just do DLR, or we rent a car, stay at a good neighbor hotel, and do other things too.

 

[Gianna559]

I would stay away from Tijuana

The beaches
Museums
Day in the mountains (Big Bear or Angeles Crest)
La Brea Tarpits
Catalina
Long Beach Aquarium
San Juan Capistrano Mission and dinner at nearby Farrells for fun

Using the shuttle bus
Medieval Times or Pirate Show
Knotts
Universal Studios
LA tour

taking the train
San Diego Zoo
Sea World
San Juan Capistrano Mission

I second this^! We're considering going to Universal on our 2nd day.

 

[cmwade77]

If you buy a sea world ticket through the grey line, you get free transportation from Anaheim to Sea World and back. There are similar deals for Knott's and Universal as well.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

I would stay away from Tijuana

The beaches
Museums
Day in the mountains (Big Bear or Angeles Crest)
La Brea Tarpits
Catalina
Long Beach Aquarium
San Juan Capistrano Mission and dinner at nearby Farrells for fun

Using the shuttle bus
Medieval Times or Pirate Show
Knotts
Universal Studios
LA tour

taking the train
San Diego Zoo
Sea World
San Juan Capistrano Mission

OP is from Washington state. We have our own mountains so a day at Big Bear is really not that impressive. Yosemite yes, Big Bear not so much.

I would also not recommend Tijuana. The walk from the trolley stop/border to Avenue de la Revolucion is depressing and a little scary (depending on your comfort with sketchy neighborhoods). There is a bus from the border crossing to Revolucion which would be a little more comfortable but Tijuana is a big city...if you want an urban Mexican experience, much much much better to take the time and money and spend a week in Mexico City (with everything it has to offer culturally and socially) than to take a day trip to Tijuana. Just my opinion.

We tend to do what ValpoCory does...if we're just doing Disney, then don't rent the car, but if we're doing any amount of sightseeing outside of Disney, then the car rental is so worth it. Saves time and there are usually ways of getting affordable cars (especially when flying into LAX). Plus I'm a road-trip kind of guy anyway, so zipping along at 80 (and only just keeping up with traffic) is a nice change.

If you're thinking about Hollywood, you might also consider Santa Monica/Venice Beach. Surprisingly, SM has a good bus system (Big Blue Bus) so easy to get around once you're there. Another activity I recommend (if you have time) is to attend a studio taping. My partner is a huge Fran Drescher fan and we have a signed script from the taping we attended.

 

[scoker]

This past trip we did Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. DD5 loved the La Brea tarpits. We decided not to use Disney as a hub as originally planned. I realized we were going to spend a lot of time in the car going back and forth to the other things we planned to see. We spent two nights in Beverly Hills and then went to DLR for four nights. I was glad we did this. The LA traffic lived up to its reputation even at off times. I live in Houston so I'm not unaccustomed to sitting in a traffic jam at 2pm on a Saturday but it was not how I wanted to spend my vacation time.

If you have young kids Legoland in fun. The San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are both great. My brother lives in SD so we have done the drive between DLR and SD several times. If you have a lot of stamina it is doable for a day trip. The Wild Animal Park is north of San Diego so maybe a shorter drive.

Enjoy your adventures!

 

[tinkermomma]

I would stay away from Tijuana

The beaches
Museums
Day in the mountains (Big Bear or Angeles Crest)
La Brea Tarpits
Catalina
Long Beach Aquarium
San Juan Capistrano Mission and dinner at nearby Farrells for fun

Using the shuttle bus
Medieval Times or Pirate Show
Knotts
Universal Studios
LA tour

taking the train
San Diego Zoo
Sea World
San Juan Capistrano Mission

Everything she said, but especially the bit about Tijuana

If you want to experience west coast Mexico go the distance to Cabo

 

[miss.potatohead]

We used DL as our base hub.
Look into Southern California Grayline.We used them for tickets/transport for Universal Studios/Hollywood and also for San Diego Zoo. They pick you up from your hotel, drive you to a central office where you get off and pay, then you go on your bus with the rest of the tour group to the place - and they will return you to your hotel at the end of the day/night.

 

[zavandor]

If you buy a sea world ticket through the grey line, you get free transportation from Anaheim to Sea World and back. There are similar deals for Knott's and Universal as well.

I'm interested to a tour to Universal from Disneyland and I've checked the Gray Line website. At least for Unviersal, transportation it's not free, they charge about 20 dollars more than the cost of a ticket bought on the Universal website.
However it looks a reasonable price.