Going to do San Diego from Disneyland. I have questions

[Lomky]

We have our time in Disneyland booked (aug 15-25) we are thinking we would like to take in seaworld and the San Diego zoo. It looks like the travel time would be 1.5 hours with optimal conditions. I don't mind driving (we will have a rental car). Last night the wife suggested we get a hotel for one night in San Diego. This would add a bit more money to our trip, but that's ok.

Question is what would be the best course of action? Drive two seperate trips from Anaheim to the zoo and seaworld? Or get a hotel in San Diego? We would not get a refund for the one night in Anaheim. Keep in mind I don't mind driving.

If you suggest the hotel option, I need advise as to a decent cheap hotel to just sleep in.

Thanks!!

 

[sonnyjane]

Knowing that you can't get a refund for the Anaheim hotel does influence my decision, since I would normally say hands-down get a hotel in San Diego. As you said, it's a 90 minute BEST case scenario, but the truth is depending on the time of day you leave, it could be nightmarishly closer to three hours each way if you catch commuter traffic. Also, if you plan to do nighttime hours at the zoo and Sea World, those are LONG days and you'll be physically exhausted from all the walking, so it's even a tad dangerous.

What's the reason that you can't get a refund? Has it been prepaid? If you won't do the hotel room in San Diego, I would at least suggest breaking it up. It looks like you have a lengthy stay planned, so I would just insert one zoo day and one Sea World day into the mix when you want a little Disneyland break, but I wouldn't do them back-to-back.

 

[Lomky]

Yeah, we got a great deal on flight and hotel from Edmonton Canada through Expedia. I'm not 100% sure that it's not refundable, but I don't think it is. If we do drive I plan on leaving very early and leaving late, hopefully avoiding traffic. I agree that we should split up our day trips.

All of that being said, does anyone have any cheap, clean, hotel recommendations that I should look at?

 

[lillybug]

Since you can't get a refund on your Anaheim hotel, I recommend the tours through grayline... http://tours.coachamerica.com/graylineanaheim/toursAna.cfm

We did the seaworld tour, and the ride down and back is free for the price of admission.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Unless you are coming back very late you will run into traffic coming into LA. I would get a room, it will be well worth it. We have made the trip a few times, makes for long days but we always have fun.

Jack

 

[ScooterL]

On a weekday if you leave Anaheim after 8:30 a.m., and San Diego after 6:30 p.m. (7:00 is even better) you shouldn't have much traffic. (On weekends you want to leave Anaheim before 8:00.) Since both the Zoo and Sea World are open late during the summer, you might want to get a later start and stay later in the evening anyway. Though I would recommend planning to see most of the Zoo during daylight hours rather than at night. A lot of the animals are off exhibit or hard to see at night - the lighting isn't very good.

 

[Huff]

Worst ever return trip from Sea World took 4 hours. This was at 1am on a Sunday night non-holiday. I-5 was bumper to bumper the entire way. No accidents that we passed, just packed. Since then we've always gotten a hotel. It allows us to go to the zoo or sea world early and stay late for the night shows at sea world (greyline bus did not allow this last I checked).

 

[jilld11]

I would contact Expedia and even if it`s non refundable, may be changeable, if you are adding something, they should let you as you won`t need a refund, they will just need to move the money around. I`m not a fan of Expedia as they are not very flexible, but it doesn`t hurt to call and ask (if you can get someone who actually knows what they are doing, since most of them are just call answer centers and not travel agents.). Good luck

 

[Lomky]

Calling Expedia and asking to change hotels for a night is a pretty good idea, I think I might give that a shot.

Need to start looking for hotels.

Thanks all

 

[starshine514]

We like the Travelodge in La Mesa. It's not super close but it is a nice hotel. I wouldn't recommend anything west of I-5, south of Sea World, as it is a sleazy area. I've been advised that the Hotel Circle area is safe, so we are staying in that area on our next trip.

 

[Lomky]

I was looking at the comfort inn & suites hotel circle seaworld area. Pretty reasonable price, not bad reviews.

 

[halfmonkey]

I was looking at the comfort inn & suites hotel circle seaworld area. Pretty reasonable price, not bad reviews.

I live in San Diego so allow me to give me $.02.

A lot of things to consider so let's break it down. I probably wouldn't recommend driving back and forth because that is a complete waste of time and gas and energy. It's better to save that time, gas, and energy and spend it in SD even if that means you lose your pre-paid room. It would be a minimum of 1.5 hours and depending on the time of day your drive, that can increase due to traffic or accidents. Bascially, if you figure driving 1.5 hours two times a day for two days (one for seaworld and one for the zoo), you'll have wasted 6 hours of your life just driving back and forth when that could have been better spent doing something else like going to the beach or checking out the gaslamp quarter.

As far as where to stay, I would say that the Hotel Circle probably would be the best option as it's in the middle of seaworld and the zoo. It's easy driving to those locations and you won't necessarily need to worry about traffic, depending on the time and day that you're planning on going.

Sorry to the poster above, but I wouldn't recommend staying in La Mesa. Tourists don't stay in that area. It's only locals and it's not a high quality neighborhood and there isn't anything you're going to want to see in that area as a tourist.

That same poster also said to stay away from the area south of seaworld, whcih again I don't agree with because that is immediately an area called Old Town which is also a nice area to visit, especially if you like margaritas and mexican food. It also butts up against Bankers Hill which is a pricey area and has some nice restaurants. That generally area butts up against North Park which has a bunch of dive bars and great restauarnts. As a word of caution, it is also close to the "alternative lifestyle" neighborhood but it is a very nice area and again, the restaurants are great.

I think if you've already found a hotel in the Hotel Circle area, I'd say stick with that as that is a great central location. I used to live in that area but closer to Qualcoom Stadium.

You'll also be close to Fashion Valley which is our largest mall so if that strikes you or your spouse, you can go there and catch a movie or eat at a restaurant or do some shopping.

Good luck and if you have any other quesitons, feel free to ask or PM me.

 

[starshine514]

Sorry to the poster above, but I wouldn't recommend staying in La Mesa. Tourists don't stay in that area. It's only locals and it's not a high quality neighborhood and there isn't anything you're going to want to see in that area as a tourist.

I never said La Mesa was a great tourist area. What I said is that the Travelodge in La Mesa is pretty nice. We've stayed there a handful of times and found it to be a really good value. The neighborhood isn't ritzy or touristy, but it also isn't sleazy.

That same poster also said to stay away from the area south of seaworld, whcih again I don't agree with because that is immediately an area called Old Town which is also a nice area to visit, especially if you like margaritas and mexican food. It also butts up against Bankers Hill which is a pricey area and has some nice restaurants. That generally area butts up against North Park which has a bunch of dive bars and great restauarnts. As a word of caution, it is also close to the "alternative lifestyle" neighborhood but it is a very nice area and again, the restaurants are great.

We stayed in the Point Loma area once (which is WEST of I-5 and south of Sea World) - a hotel on Rosecrans to be more specific. I consider a bunch of strip clubs as a sleazy area, others may disagree. On the map I'm looking at Banker's hill and Old Town are both EAST of I-5. I stand by my original statement, I wouldn't recommend staying WEST of I-5 in the area south of Sea World.

 

[jilld11]

I have to agree with halfmonkey. If you found a place you liked in hotel circle, probably stick with that, but I loved south of Sea World. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Bayside (not Holiday Inn on the Bay) just off of Rosencranz with a 9, 6 and 5 month old and loved it. Right across the street from the marina (very neat to watch), great restaurant across (famous american something) very good and a little hole in the wall seafood place that was to die for. Also, it had a free made to order breakfast, parking and we had a one bedroom suite w/two baths for a great price. We loved it. It also had great room service. I would really consider that. Also, cute pool with nice gardens and 9 year old loved their golf pitch and put. I would not say that area was sleazy at all

 

[starshine514]

Well. I know it's not the definitive source, but wikipedia agrees with me regarding at least part of the area I was describing (which is obviously the part that I encountered).

The Midway area, also called the North Bay area, is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is located at the northern (mainland) end of the Point Loma peninsula, northwest of Downtown San Diego and just west of Old Town. It is often considered to be part of Point Loma, although the city treats it as a separate Planning Area.
...
Rosecrans Street, a main thoroughfare through Midway, follows the route of the historic La Playa Trail, the oldest European trail in the Western United States. It connected the settlements in Old Town and Mission San Diego with La Playa, the beach in Point Loma where ships loaded and unloaded cargo.[
...
Midway is also known for a concentration of adult establishments such as strip clubs, partly because city laws regulating such establishments make the area favorable for them, and partly because of the proximity of large military bases (MCRD and formerly the Naval Training Center San Diego) full of young recruits.

Homeless people are very visible in the area, partly because of illegal but tolerated encampments along the San Diego River, and partly because of the presence of numerous establishments such as Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and the San Diego Veterans Village.

Top-notch neighborhood, I tell you, bring the kids.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway,_San_Diego

 

[jilld11]

I don't know about wikipedia, but I stayed there this Septmember and saw not one homeless person, hooker or other types. We even walked with the kids at night to the restaurants we went to and I would highly recommend the hotel we stayed at. Maybe you were on a worse stretch of street, but I felt totally safe (mind you we were 2 blocks off Rosencranz, but walked to the corner store during the day). But I guess if wikipedia says it, I must have missed all this around me as well as all the other tourists who enjoyed the resort and the restaurants we frequented.

 

[starshine514]

I don't know about wikipedia, but I stayed there this Septmember and saw not one homeless person, hooker or other types. We even walked with the kids at night to the restaurants we went to and I would highly recommend the hotel we stayed at. Maybe you were on a worse stretch of street, but I felt totally safe (mind you we were 2 blocks off Rosencranz, but walked to the corner store during the day). But I guess if wikipedia says it, I must have missed all this around me as well as all the other tourists who enjoyed the resort and the restaurants we frequented.

Well, I saw them all. What a difference a few blocks can make! It's nice that we can all acknowledge that we might have experienced vastly different areas near each other, and that perhaps nobody is actually lying and trying to make anybody else have a bad vacation, right? I must say that I didn't drive any further down Rosecrans (maybe we're even talking about different streets, as we seem to be spelling it differently) than to our hotel and happily escaped the next morning (heading straight to Sea World, never to head back to that area again). Did Rosecrans get better the further west you go? I would hope so, it certainly couldn't have gotten much worse than where we were. However, I do truly appreciate the people on here that say that I imagined the strip clubs and undesirables. It's nice to know that my opinions and experiences are valued.

The sandiego.gov site acknowledges the adult entertainment in that area as well: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/midwaypacifichwycorridor/

OP, stay wherever you want, but if you end up in a bad part of town in this area, don't complain that you haven't been warned. I'm out.

 

[sonnyjane]

We stayed in the Point Loma area once (which is WEST of I-5 and south of Sea World) - a hotel on Rosecrans to be more specific. I consider a bunch of strip clubs as a sleazy area, others may disagree. On the map I'm looking at Banker's hill and Old Town are both EAST of I-5. I stand by my original statement, I wouldn't recommend staying WEST of I-5 in the area south of Sea World.

I don't know about wikipedia, but I stayed there this Septmember and saw not one homeless person, hooker or other types. We even walked with the kids at night to the restaurants we went to and I would highly recommend the hotel we stayed at. Maybe you were on a worse stretch of street, but I felt totally safe (mind you we were 2 blocks off Rosencranz, but walked to the corner store during the day). But I guess if wikipedia says it, I must have missed all this around me as well as all the other tourists who enjoyed the resort and the restaurants we frequented.

Sorry starshine, I also have to disagree with you. Rosecrans (and certainly Pt. Loma) aren't bad at all. Point Loma is considered a very ritzy and expensive neighborhood once you get past the area immediately near the train station and overpass, which only extends for a block or two. There are only two strip clubs I can think of and they are very close to each other, so your hotel must have been coincidentally right near them. Other than that, Rosecrans has quite the reputation for having a lot of nice businesses and restaurants, including some more high-end places. I actually do my grocery shopping on Rosecrans (they have an awesome Von's and Trader Joe's right next to each other). I will go out on a limb and say that in my many visits Disneyland, I've probably seen an equal number of homeless people on Harbor as I have on Rosecrans - i.e. nothing to be concerned about.

Hotel Circle is a great central location with a lot of options, so if the OP found a spot there, that's great!

ETA: Starshine I just read your latest post. I certainly acknowledge that there are those couple strip clubs and homeless people, but that is literally for a block or two. You said yourself you didn't go any further, so to suggest to readers that they not stay ANYWHERE west of the 5 south of Sea World is an unnecessary generalization.

 

[halfmonkey]

Well, I saw them all. What a difference a few blocks can make! It's nice that we can all acknowledge that we might have experienced vastly different areas near each other, and that perhaps nobody is actually lying and trying to make anybody else have a bad vacation, right? I must say that I didn't drive any further down Rosecrans (maybe we're even talking about different streets, as we seem to be spelling it differently) than to our hotel and happily escaped the next morning (heading straight to Sea World, never to head back to that area again). Did Rosecrans get better the further west you go? I would hope so, it certainly couldn't have gotten much worse than where we were. However, I do truly appreciate the people on here that say that I imagined the strip clubs and undesirables. It's nice to know that my opinions and experiences are valued.

The sandiego.gov site acknowledges the adult entertainment in that area as well: http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/midwaypacifichwycorridor/

OP, stay wherever you want, but if you end up in a bad part of town in this area, don't complain that you haven't been warned. I'm out.

Yes, the further west you go, the more expensive and nice the area as you're getting into an area that's basically Coronado part II as there are a lot of retired Navy people that live in those parts.

It seems that unfortunately, you only ventured around the 2 blocks that aren't appropriate for children but the rest of the area is perfectly fine for sight seeing and my guess is you saw the strip clubs and assumed the rest of the area was full of strip clubs.

I've lived in SD pretty much all my life so I'd like to think that my opinion should be worth something and of course I can give the OP a complete breakdown but my post would run many pages if the OP were to ask me about each area that they planned on visiting.

I can appreciate that you found La Mesa to be acceptable for you and of course everybody's definition of acceptable is different but I would def not recommend La Mesa as a place for a tourist to stay. The Travelodge might have fit your needs and of course, I don't know what parameters the OP has to define an acceptable hotel but if it were me, I would not stay in La Mesa.

Again, I would say to stay in Hotel Circle as you have plenty of options to choose from from high end to economy and the location makes getting to Sea World and the Zoo easy. You'll also be close to other tourist places such as Old Town, Fashion Valley, Downtown/GasLamp Quarter, Seaport Village, Mission Beach, La Jolla Shores (a little bit of a drive), and many others.

To OP, I'm not sure what part of the US you're coming from, but if it's not from CA, I'd also recommend eating at In N Out as you're not going to find this burger joint in other parts of the states. I believe they're mainly on the west coast and there's one close to the Hotel Circle area. Since you have a car, it'll be easy to get to. It's like 10 minutes from Hotel Circle. Also, if you've never had a Mexican Carne Asada burrito, do yourself a favor and go to JV's. It's my favorite spot and you're not going to go wrong. It's also about 10 minutes from Hotel Circle. Keep in mind that San Diego carne asada burritos are not the same as anywhere else in the US. You'd think in Manhattan with all of the different ethnic groups that they'd be able to make the same carne asada burrito but their carne asada burritos are not the same. Buying them in Los Angeles aren't even the same.

My additional recommendations above are simply just a few suggestions of better ways to spend some of the 6 hours that you've saved by staying in SD instead of driving back and forth.

 

[Renae De Liz]

You could take a train via Amtrak. They have a station close to Disneyland and Sea World, and tickets are pretty cheap. It's a nice, relaxing ride, and no traffic worries