Disneyland Newbie Help!

[klwdisney]

I haven't the slightest idea what's near Anaheim. I think we're just thinking touristy must-sees. Something pretty close though. Not sure if we'd have a car, or would just be hiring an Uber and walking around.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Nothing in walking distance once you leave the DLR property. I don’t know that I would Uber there without a car, but touristy things within Orange County might include Laguna Beach for a half day to explore art galleries and have lunch, Fashion Island or South Coast Plaza for shopping, Balboa Island, fun zone and the ferry in Newport Beach, maybe Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Again, I wouldn’t Uber those personally, it’s a good drive especially with traffic, but if you have a car.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

I would either focus on LA OR San Diego but not both. Personally, I like the idea of San Diego better for a 2-3 day trip, especially at that time of year. In San Diego, I'd spend time at the museums, maybe USS Midway, renting bikes, etc. We've found AirBnB and VRBO reservations really easy to come by in cool neighborhoods in San Diego too- lots of great walking around.

You could literally see SO much in California in a week or 10 days, but 5 days with 2-3 of them dedicated to DL would be tough to get much of a feel for the state. Seriously, it's beautiful in so many ways. I'm not sure if your mom is wanting to see California (with a side of Disneyland) or see Disneyland (with a side of California).

If you were to extend the trip a little longer, I'd fly into San Diego, rent a car. See San Diego for a few days, then Disney/L.A. for 3 days, then up the coast with a stop in Santa Barbara, then Carmel, and stay overnight for the last few days in San Francisco. That would make it a 9ish day trip but you'd get to see a lot of what California is famous for.