Going to California for 10 day need advice

[goofymomof2]

We are going to California for 10 days this summer. Need to know how many days to spend at Disneyland and what are other must see's while there. Also how far is the coast from Disneyland. We were thinking of renting a place on the beach and just driving to other cities and attractions. Please give me any and all advice. This is a special surprise for our daughter who is graduating from high school.

Thanks
Shannon

 

[pixleyyy]

We have purchased a 5-day pass to Disneyland for our trip. This gives us the freedom to visit the park several times and not to be rushed to see anything. Beyond that we are headed to Universal Studios Hollywood and taking a day trip to Sea World in San Diego.

Good luck planning your trip!!!

 

[Freyja]

We are going for 2 weeks in april. We plan on spending 4 nights in Anaheim, then we´ll drive to Vegas and spend 4 nights there, from there we drive to San Diego and spend 4 nights there and then back to Anaheim for the last 2 nights of our trip.

Have fun!!!

 

[jakoky]

hi there, we are going to be there for 10 nights in may...we are getting 5 day passes, 1 day at universal studios, 1 day at knotts soak city(if it is open) and 1 day of shopping(requested by my almost 15 yr old daughter) and a couple of days of relaxing at the pool.....all 3 of my kids and husband agreed on this plan......
have fun, when are u going?

 

[kjh]

I think your daughter would like at least one day of shopping (like jakoky mentions her daughter requested). I remember back when I graduated HS my family went on a trip to CA & LV. I enjoyed shopping, but then I was always a shopper. If you daughter likes thrill rides over well themed parks, you might want to try Magic Mountain and/or Knott's Berry Farm. I preferred thrill rides over well theme parks (but have since converted) and enjoyed those parks only because of the rides. This Nov. I'll be taking DD who will be 2, we're headed to the Feline Conservation Center (about a 2 hour drive rom Anaheim according to my mapquest directions. It's a non-profit org that takes care of wild cats. If your daughter likes animals/cats then that might be a good place to go (I have never been but am REALLY looking forward to it). I dragging my DM and DD along with me to IKEA since we don't have one in HI, that's another highlight of our upcoming trip. Sea World had 2 rides that looked fun. We rode the roller coaster one (Journey to Atlantis I think it was called) and it was fun. Last Sept. it was too cold for us to ride the rapids ride (although those are my fav). So maybe Sea World might be a fun idea (like pixleyyy is doing). Can't help about the coast/beach idea. Never thought of going since we live in HI but maybe someone else might have a good beach/coast recommendation.

 

[RIFamily]

Hello,

We planned a 10 day trip to So. Cal. for July 7-17. Our daughter is graduating high school and leaving for college. This is our last big trip before she leaves ... heading out west from little ol' Rhode Island. Our kids will be 18, 16 & 12 at the time. Here is what I have put together so far although it seems to be ever-changing. I also would take any advice! We are only going to spend one day at each of the Disney parks. The kids are getting older and we have been to WDW 8 times so this is kind of a "been there, done that" quick tour of the headliners at Disneyland. Anyway, here it is:

2 days at Disney
2 days at Beach (maybe Huntington & Newport ... or possibly Laguna)
1 day at Universal Studios
1 day at Six Flags Magic Mountain
1 day in Hollywood/Beverly Hills (City Pass)
1 day at San Diego Zoo?
1 day at Sea World?

We are staying at Embassy Suites near Disney for the entire length of stay. I am questioning traveling down to San Diego twice for those two attractions and may condense that to one day. It sounds like a bit of a ride.

So, as you can see it's a lot jammed in to 10 days ... I feel like I need to add 4 more days and just make it two weeks! lol

Good luck ...

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We did 12 days in Southern CA in Oct '05. Here was our itinerary:
Day 1: Arived at hotel at noon, settled in and had dinner at Old Town
Day 2: San Diego Zoo
Day 3: SeaWorld
Day 4: Wild Animal Park
Day 5: Legoland
Day 6: Seaworld (we really enjoyed Seaworld)
Day 7 - 12: Disneyland
We filled up our schedule completely, but it really wasn't as tiring as the schedule looks. Saving disneyland for the end of our trip was the wisest decision for us since it gave us a chance to enjoy our hotel (GCH) and slow down our pace since we were there for 6 days. We have 2 kids (4and 7) and they had a great trip. This was the first trip with whole side of my family. The kids can't wait to go on another trip with my whole family again.

 

[bclydia]

I'd say give Disneyland and California Adventure Parks a full 5 days. Universal Studios is good for one day for anyone over 10 yrs old. Younger than that and I think that it's a waste. We really loved the San Diego Zoo and Seaworld but could skip the Wild Animal Park if we were to do another trip. I didn't find much to do in Hollywood that interested me, but a teenager may find it more exciting.

 

[kjh]

I'd say give Disneyland and California Adventure Parks a full 5 days. Universal Studios is good for one day for anyone over 10 yrs old. Younger than that and I think that it's a waste. We really loved the San Diego Zoo and Seaworld but could skip the Wild Animal Park if we were to do another trip. I didn't find much to do in Hollywood that interested me, but a teenager may find it more exciting.

Sorry just a quick hijack
bclydia ~ I noticed that you have 2 1/2 yr old. how old was she when you went to Sea World? I took DD at 15 months and she had no interest (except to watch the dolphins by the Journey to Atlantis (?) roller coaster). She'll be almost 2 1/2 in Nov when we take her again and haven't planned to do Sea World because of her lack of interest but I love Sea World so...I'd love to do it even though it is supposed to be her trip but only will if she would enjoy it too.

 

[kristenhh]

With 4 days, you should be able to see all the rides, plus the shows!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Hello,

We planned a 10 day trip to So. Cal. for July 7-17. Our daughter is graduating high school and leaving for college. This is our last big trip before she leaves ... heading out west from little ol' Rhode Island. Our kids will be 18, 16 & 12 at the time. Here is what I have put together so far although it seems to be ever-changing. I also would take any advice! We are only going to spend one day at each of the Disney parks. The kids are getting older and we have been to WDW 8 times so this is kind of a "been there, done that" quick tour of the headliners at Disneyland. Anyway, here it is:

2 days at Disney
2 days at Beach (maybe Huntington & Newport ... or possibly Laguna)
1 day at Universal Studios
1 day at Six Flags Magic Mountain
1 day in Hollywood/Beverly Hills (City Pass)
1 day at San Diego Zoo?
1 day at Sea World?

We are staying at Embassy Suites near Disney for the entire length of stay. I am questioning traveling down to San Diego twice for those two attractions and may condense that to one day. It sounds like a bit of a ride.

So, as you can see it's a lot jammed in to 10 days ... I feel like I need to add 4 more days and just make it two weeks! lol

Good luck ...

I think with all of your teens, they might enjoy an organized bus trour where they tour you around famous sites, and also have planned stops for shopping etc.
Also, instead of having stand alone days at the "beach" couldn't you just stay in a nice beachfront resort in San Diego and then only have 3 segments ? SD/DL/LA

 

[Pir8girl]

Disneyland is only 15 miles or so from the beach. If I were you I'd stay in San Diego at the start or end of your trip. It's at least 90 minutes and more like 2 hours to San Diego from Anaheim - one way. It would be better to find a nice hotel in SD - do SeaWorld and the zoo and then head north.

: Six Flags is in Valencia which is north of Los Angeles. It's doable in a day but it will be a drive. And it's very hot!! Unless you have real roller coaster fans, I'd stay an extra day at DL, but YMMV.
: I'd combine Universal Studios with a quick drive through Beverly Hills (your daughter will probably like to see Rodeo Drive) and if you must Hollywood.
I'd do a quick looksee at some stars, drive by the chinese theatre and get out of dodge. Unfortunately Hollywood is not the best part of town and mostly what you'll see are hookers and drug addicts.
: A day or two at either Newport or Huntington is good. They're both nice beaches (as is Laguna) and it will be nice to just feel the sand between your toes!

Have fun

 

[Churro]

We are taking the kids in June of this year and spending 8 days. I originally was getting 5 day hoppers...but realized it was only 60.00 more total for 8 day hoppers!! So we will be going after a day at the beach and in SD now.

 

[goofymomof2]

Thanks for all the advice......We always take a trip to Disney World every summer but I wanted to give her a special trip for graduation. I am going to print all of this stuff and start getting the ball rolling.

Thanks again,
Shannon

 

[Snow Brite]

If you are going to Hollywood I wanted to reccomend the El Capitan theatre. Its right across the street from Mann's Chinese Theatre and the Kodak. It is a Disney theater and shows their movies. They have very lovingly restored the theatre to its glamorous past and there is a wonderful live organist before the show and always some kind of additional show. I just got a flyer in the mail promoting The Shaggy Dog and saying the dog from the movie will be performing before the show doing tricks. We saw The Chronicles of Narnia...The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe there and afterwards there was a showing of the movies props downstairs which was cool. The VIP seats are about $22 purchased on line, but give you an assigned seat and include a takehome bucket of popcorn and a soda, so not too bad a price.

Next door is the Disney Soda Fountain which we loved. For a group your size get the huge sundae that comes in the Sorcerer's Hat (name is slipping my mind at the moment) and uses an entire can of whipped cream. That would be a cute picture!

 

[dis-happy]

SHOPPING: Make sure you take your 15 yr. old to South Coast Plaza!

 

[RIFamily]

Thanks for all the advice. The South Coast Plaza looks really nice - I am sure the girls will love it. Are there any other places to shop where you can get some good bargains? Not like flea market stuff but good quality, variety, wholesale prices ... etc. THANKS!!!

 

[goofymomof2]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips......Now about the weather......Our dates are forever changeing. We are now looing at The first 2 weeks of June also. Can you all tell me about the weather the first 2 weeks of June and the last week of June and first week of July.

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[Churro]

We are going the last week of June first few days of July. I was told there is June gloom in the mornings burning off before noon, and just right during the day(80's). Then at night it is jacket weather. Hope this helps. When in doubt layer and then take off layers accordingly.

 

[Snow Brite]

Thanks for all the advice. The South Coast Plaza looks really nice - I am sure the girls will love it. Are there any other places to shop where you can get some good bargains? Not like flea market stuff but good quality, variety, wholesale prices ... etc. THANKS!!!

There is an outlet mall at Ontario Mills...about 30-45 minutes away depending on traffic. http://www.ontariomills.com It is just off the 10 at the 15. There is a Nordstrom Rack, Charlotte Russe Outlet, Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet, Off Fifth (or whatever the Sax Fifth Avenue outlet is called), JcPenney Outlet, etc. They also have some regular stores. They even have a Rainforest Cafe. And about 25 million movie theaters. Seriously....there are a TON of movie theatres there. Krispy Kreme too if you need a fix.

Not too far away is the Victoria Gardens Mall...I think its really pretty, its an outdoor mall and all the shops face out onto a "street". It looks like this almost Disney perfect little shopping street. http://www.victoriagardensie.com/ It is very new and clean and has good stores as well as a Cheesecake Factory. Not South Coast Plaza swanky, but very nice.