How to do DL, US and SW in one trip

[mom2monkiesx3]

Hello there. As a HUGE fan of DisneyWorld we have gone every year since 2005 and twice in 2008. We just returned from a WWOHP Universal Studios/Islands of adventure Orlando trip.

We want to start thinking about our 2011 DisneyLand, Universal Studios Hollywood, Sea World San Diego, BEACH trip.

Our kids are 12,9,6 and have basically lived a good percentage of thier lives in theme parks.

I have absolutely not a clue about ANYTHING california. I went to DL when I was 6 (so back when they had dinosaurs as transportation basically

I have no idea where to even get started planning this trip. For some reason I had in my head that all 3 parks were nice and convienent to each other like in Orlando A few seconds of research let me know otherwise!

What to do first? Where to stay? How many days at each park?

We usually stay Deluxe at DW onsite get the dining plan and park hopper passes. We spend 10 days JUST DW each year....We never use a car and depend on Disney transportation 100%. I have already learned that DL dining plan is a no-go compared to DW's And that transportation from airport (magical express) is also not available.

I am estimating that we'd like to spend 3 days at DL preferably onsite or within walking distance. We would like to spend 2 days at US and 2 days at SW in no particular order. My kids have also never visited the beach so we'd like to spend a few days there. We have a total of 9 days including travel days.

We don't mind and almost WANT to change resorts while there so we will be staying close to where we play.

Can you recommend a hotel (we love Hyatt or resorts, price is not an issue but like everyone else we like to get the best price)

We would need one for DisneyLand, Universal Area, Sea World area and also please recommend a beach close to one of the 3 theme parks to spend a few days, we'd love to stay beachfront whether it be by rented house or hotel.

I would love to arrive at the airport and take a taxi directly to DW property and stay those 3 days without transportation...then rent a car for our remaining trip (we HATE to drive and would rather take taxi's but this trip renting a car seems inevitable) so is there anyplace nearby to rent a car or anyplace that will "pick you up" (I know our enterpise here will deliver a car to you for no extra price...)

What eating places are recommended in all areas? (DW,US,SW?)

What other things are must sees/dos with kids ages 13,10,7? We are not much on zoos

I think those are all the questions I have for this moment.

 

[KCmike]

So much to tell you....

First you might look at the Socal City pass. 3 days of Disneyland, 1 day at Universal (most say thats enough as its not nearly as good as Orlando), 1 Day Seaworld, and 1 Day of San Diego Zoo or Animal Park. Just google it.

California is amazing! Socal beaches are wonderful.
My kids favorite trip (after many years of WDW) is the time we did a San Diego/DL trip about two years ago. We stayed at the hotel Del Coronado (think Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot which was filmed there). The location was just amazing. Right one the beach and it was like heaven.
We have also done Monterey, San Fran, Yosemite National Park (you must put this on your bucket list!) and driven HWY 1 up and down the coast which is breathtaking.

Disneyland can be done in three days but the more you give it the better. Fantasmic, fireworks, etc show every night in the summer time (usually beginning in early june) but only show on the weekends the rest of the year. We use to be WDW vets but since going to DL about 4 years ago we haven't been back. The kids don't want to go back. They love Cali.
We have stayed at two of the good neighbor hotels (HOJO and Fairfield Inn on harbor blvd) which are both within walking distance...think 5-10 minutes to the gate. Both are clean and well respected around these boards. I would make Disneyland your base for DL and Universal as you can drive to Universal one day. Think its about 45 minute drive without traffic. San Diego is about 90 minutes away. Easy drive though. Beautiful city. Beaches I would recommend would include Newport and Laguna. In San Diego the best family beach is on Coronado hands down.

Feel free to ask as many questions as possible. DL boards are amazingly friendly. You also need to think about time changes when you travel.

DL food is very different than WDW. Not alot of focus on it yet. There are some good restaurants but most feel like it doesn't hold a candle to WDW. I will say that DL/DCA have as many rides in its two parks as WDW has in its four parks!!! DL, DCA, and Downtown Disney are all within 1-2 minutes of each other. It is amazing! Gotta love true park hopping.

Alright enough for this post. Let's hear some more questions.

 

[skiingfast]

I would plan to do US or SW first and the other second then dump the rental car for the days at DLR.

The DLR resort hotels are all walk to both parks as the many hotels on Harbor Drive. Think of the Contemporary Resort to MK or closer. But the upper level hotels on Harbor are not as walk to(Hilton Marriot, and the others south of Katella near the convention center.

From what I heard SW is not as nice as the Orlando one so I'm not sure about two days there. But it is near a couple nice beaches. Mission and Pacific so you might make it a 1.5 day visit if not a one day and get some beach time there. Also in SD see the zoo or wild animal park they are number 1 or 2 in the country and you'll see where other zoos get their inspiration including AK. Warning don't drive between LA and SD during rush hour in either direction. Really try not to drive in SD or LA during rushour for that matter.

In SD there is a resort on an island right next to SW Paradise Point Resort and Spa. Besides the Del Coronado which is on an incredible strip of beach, there are some hotels in downtown Sand Diego Westin, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriot.

I believe real close to US is a Hilton. Again this is only one park unlike USO so it can be done in a day if it's not busy.

I would give DLR a full three days if it is a weekend or is affected by a unblocked annual passholder day you probably want 4 or even 5. I would try to plan around that.

KCMike had good ideas to see other things in Cali. I would spend a half day in Hollywood and maybe go to Venice Beach/Santa Monica too. Just to see the stars on Hollywood Blvrd and the surfers and pier where so many movies have been filmed.

 

[caimakale]

Your travel plans are very similar to ours. Having been to SoCal so many times, we are planning on spending less time in San Diego and Universal Studios. We have found that 1 day is more than enough time to visit these parks and still give us time for other stuff.

Here's our plans so far.

• Day 1 - Visit Sea World and play at the beach. We originally booked a room at Hotel Del (http://hoteldel.com/) but then I found Pacific Terrace Hotel (http://www.pacificterrace.com/) and decided to book there instead as it's location fits into our plans better. I reserved the Full Ocean View Jr. Suite as it was large enough for our family (also a family of 5...kids aged 12, 9, 7) and it gave us the view of the ocean that I wanted. After Sea World (we are usually finished at SW by about 4 in the afternoon), we will go down and play on pacific beach just outside the hotel for several hours. Both of these hotels are beach front and this is definitely where you'll want to get your beach time in.
• Day 2 - Wake up early and head to USH. We will visit USH and City Walk in one day and then head back to our hotel. I decided to stay in a hotel a couple miles away from USH for a few reasons. I wasn't overly impressed with the ones located near the park and we wanted to squeeze in the walk of stars this trip. The hotel we're staying at is The Hollywood Renaissance Hotel (http://renaissancehollywood.com/). I had to reserve two rooms here because we wanted a room with a view of the Hollywood Sign. They may have rooms that accommodate a family of 5 but I didn't ask, is all I know is the rooms that overlook the Hollywood Sign can't. I also looked into another hotel close to the Renaissance Hollywood called The W Hollywood Hotel (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/). I chose the Renaissance because of it's proximity to the Kodak Theater, El Capitan Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Stars (both hotels are actually located on the walk of stars), and The Disney Soda Fountain Store. The Renaissance is located right next to all of this whereas the W Hollywood is about a mile away.
• Day 3 - Visit the Walk of Stars, Disney Soda Fountain Store, and other basic tourist stuff like getting pictures of the theaters, possibly visit the wax museum, etc. My family and I are HUGE Big Brother (CBS reality TV show) fans so I might drive the family by the studios so they can see where it's being filmed before we head for DL. We arrive at Disneyland late in the day on day 3 of our trip and will check into Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. We've stayed at several hotels near DL and have found this one to be our favorite. It's located closer to the parks than any other hotel and actually has it's own private entrance into DCA.
• Day 4 - 10 - We will be spending 7 days in DL...we like to take it slow, play in the pools, etc.

We always visit DL last on our vacations otherwise we find ourselves wishing we were there instead of Sea World, USH, Knotts, or whatever other park we may be visiting.

We will rent a car when we land in San Diego and return it when we arrive in DL. We will be flying out of Orange County Airport (aka John Wayne Airport) and will likely take a limo from the hotel to the airport. Even though I can get a taxi cheaper (~$40 + tip), I decided a limo would be a nice way to finish the trip and it's only ~$80 + tip.

I am still looking into places to eat during our trip. While at Disneyland, we'll probably do most of our eating in the parks and in Downtown Disney. In USH, we'll probably eat dinner while at Universal City Walk and lunch in the park. I still haven't decided on where to eat when we're in San Diego. We may eat at the Old Town Mexican Cafe (http://www.oldtownmexcafe.com/) because it seems like a pretty popular place to eat and we LOVE Mexican food! For lunch while in San Diego, we'll eat at Sea World.

The problem with planning places to eat (at least for us), is once you are on vacation, things that sound appetizing now, may not sound very good once in the moment. We will plan some meals in advance (mostly character meals) and play the rest by ear.

Let me know if you have any other questions.