Disneyland & San Diego vaca

[Aimee810]

We are coming to Disneyland for our 1st visit in Nov 2012. We are also wanting to visit San Diego Zoo, Seaworld and other SD places while we are in the area -we are from Illinois. Anyway, I am having trouble deciding whether to take Greyline tours for the San Diego places or split the vaca in to part at Anaheim and part in SD -using Amtrak to get from one to the other. We will be flying so also not sure if we should fly to SD or John Wayne airport -which is MUCH more expensive -or fly IN to one and OUT of the other?

Help!!

My husband is military so I am also waiting to see if they will extend the 3-day park hopper passes for $99 until past 9/2012. I want to come in Nov to see the holiday decor.

Thanks for any tips, suggestions, calling me crazy!!

 

[Camonkeygirl]

I would split the trip into 2. Fly in to one airport, and out of the other. The drive between San Diego and Disneyland is about 1.5 hours when traffic is moving, and longer if there is a problem on the freeways. Greyhound can be expensive. Amtrak is really easy to catch in Anaheim, and about an hour later, you are in Downtown SD with little trouble.

There is a three park ticket that you can purchase, that allows you unlimited access to the Zoo, Safari Park (may be hard to get to without a car - bus and train is 3 hours), and Sea World for a five day period, which is a good deal even if you only use it a couple of times. I know the military bases out here sells them, so you may check there.

Your Husband will get into the Zoo and the Safari Park free with his ID and gets unlimited rides on the Buses and Skyride (Zoo) and the Africa Tram at the Safari Park. Not sure what Sea World is doing during that time frame for active duty.

As far as hotels, there is an area called Hotel Circle that has budget rates to resort rates depending on how much you have to spend. Some of the midpriced hotels are cheaper than the lodges at the bases out here.

If you want more details, PM me and I will try to answer them. I work at the Zoo, and my husband is retired military.

 

[perlster]

This is for 2011, will also happen in 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm.

Military Tribute Days
November 1 - November 24

Knott's annual tribute to our Military, past and present, starts November 1st. FREE admission for Veterans or current serving military personnel and one guest with proper I.D. presented at turnstile. (DD214, Veterans Administration Hospital ID or Active Military Service ID.) Plus purchase up to six additional tickets for just $17 each! Ends Thanksgiving Day.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

We are doing the same thing this Dec. We are flying Southwest into San Diego and out of LAX. Going out of SNA (Orange County Airport) would have been better, but they didn't have our times.

Buying two one ways anymore these days can be a great deal! We will rent a car for the entire time (yes, picking up in San Diego and returning in LA), but we are staying at the Anaheim HoJo -( look that up on the regular Disneyland thread - it is a great hotel and within walking distance) and will walk to the park.

My advice for Nov. - awesome time to go, but just avoid the week leading up to and including Thanksgiving.

Hop over to the regular Disneyland board for some great tips!

 

[Aimee810]

Thank you all for your replies! I am so excited for this trip. We just got back from our 1st DWD trip Labor Day weekend. My DD turned 3 the day after we got home. Gma turned 63 while we were there. It was THE BEST vaca ever!

Camonkeygirl:
I cannot PM since I dont have enought posts. Could you please PM me any information, links, etc that you can for SD. I know we will spend 3 days in Anaheim @ Carousel Hotel and then 3-4 days in SD. The Anaheim trip is pretty planned but SD is still in the works. No idea of where to stay, places to eat, how to get around. I would like to do the Trolley Tour. Did it in Boston and it was a fantastic way to see the city on little time.

Thanks.
Aimee

 

[amym2]

We did a DLR and San Diego trip in the summer of 2010 and had a great time. We flew into and out of San Diego and rented a car. Is there a reason you don't want to rent a car? It was a necessity in San Diego for us. In terms of where to stay, the Hotel Circle advice is good. We stayed in a Marriott Residence Inn on Hotel Circle and the hotel and location were great. Lots of restaurants, easy access to the zoo and Sea World. If you are going to rely on the trolley, then obviously you need to stay downtown near a trolley stop.

We did the San Diego part of our trip first, then drove to DLR on a weekday, after rush hour (stopped in La Jolla on the way, loved the tide pools). Our return flight was on a Sunday, so getting back to San Diego was a breeze- maybe 1 1/2 hours if even that.

 

[Camonkeygirl]

Aimee - just sent you a very long PM. Sorry about all of the links. Hope they help.

 

[littlelulu33]

We are going for 2 weeks in June 2012. We are flying into LAX and out of LAX becuase of times and no layovers. Sun-Fri is in Disneyland,Fri morning we are going to Knotts and then down to SD we are staying at Paradise Point Resort and Spa. My DH is DoD and we got a great rate so check with hotels for military discounts. They have even already upgraded us to a beach front suite for the same price. We got the The go San Diego card and we got a deal on that too, check with your base. We got a better sale on the Smart Destinstions website (20% off). After San Diego we are going up to Carlsbad staying at the Hyatt with military discount for two nights to do Legoland and Legoland waterpark before heading back to LAX. We rented a car for the entire two weeks with priceline--name your price and we have the entire two weeks for about $300.