How to Spend 10 Days in So. California???

[RIFamily]

Ha ha ... I know that is a loaded question. I am just beginning research on a trip I just booked for my family. We are WDW vets and this will be our first trip out west and to Disneyland. We are going from July 7 (Fri) to July 17th (Mon), 2006. Our children will be 17, 16 & 12. I booked a Marriott in Anaheim. Things that I have heard to do are: San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, Disneyland, California Adventure, Knotts Berry Farm, Lego Land?, Universal Studios, Six Flags, etc. Also, we would like a water activity or two and to visit Hollywood/LA/Beverly Hills just to tour it. Is this all doable in that time frame? Does anyone have any suggestions? As I said, I don't expect one person to plan my whole trip for me. I am just looking for suggestions on what to see or not see, order of things to go to, and/or if I am MISSING something - lol. I really would appreciate any input from the locals. Thanks so much!

 

[atakaratemom]

Some other fun things that aren't on your list are the Queen Mary, Long Beach Aquarium and a boat trip to Catalina Island. It sounds like you are going to have a really fun trip!

 

[lap3]

Sounds like a fun trip but I would probably leave out Legoland only because your kids are older and may find the attractions a bit geared towards the toddler age. The other parks you have listed there should be ok for all of you. Other places in LA that we like are House of Blues, The Grove(shopping and sightseeing), 3rd Street Promenade(same as The Grove), Universal City Walk(while your visiting USH). This should get you started. Let me know if you would like other info...

 

[disney-super-mom]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!

However, I would cut out Legoland from your trip. I've never been there yet (we're going to Legoland the first week in Dec.), but I heard that if your kids are older then 9 or 10, it's going to be too boring, since the majority of rides and attractions are geared towards younger kids. Our kids are 6 1/2 and 2 1/2, so it should be a perfect place for them to have some fun. You may want to go to www.tripadvisor.com, do a search on Legoland and read some of the reviews about the park.

On the flip side, I hear the Wild Animal Park is fantastic, wonderful, awesome, and fabulicious! Read the reviews on tripadvisor.com about this park as well. Apparently they have a safari tour that can't be missed, and although it is a bit pricey, I've heard it's worth every penny and more!

Anyway, happy planning!

Added: (Oops, looks like Lap3 beat me to it regarding Legoland advice.)

 

[Tink33]

How about surf lessons and a bonfire on the beach?

 

[RIFamily]

WOW! I'm already overwhelmed - lol. You are offering some GREAT ideas. My 17 & 16 year olds are girls so surf lessons sound awesome as well as a bonfire on the beach - is there a certain place for that? I think we will scrap Lego Land. I had heard something about Catalina island so that sounds like a must. This will take SOME planning - whew! Keep the ideas flowing if anyone else wants to help. By the way, you think a 3 day pass to Disneyland/CA would be OK? I was looking at the City Pass this is offered and looks like a good deal!

 

[disney-super-mom]

With all the other things you want to do on your vacation other than DL, the City Pass may be a good choice for you and your family.

 

[lap3]

You can do bonfiires at Bolsa Chica Beach. I heard Huntington Beach has firepits as well but I can't remember. The distance isn't too far from DL.

 

[Tink33]

There are fire pits in Huntington Beach and also a surf school there. Most of the surfing beaches have surf schools so you have a choice.

Now that I know that you have girls/young women, how about the Mecca of Southern California Malls - South Coast Plaza .

Or you may want to find a movie premiere during your stay and stake out a spot to watch your favorite stars arrive.

If you are adventurous and like snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, hiking or nature, I think Catalina Island offers a lot. There are many tours available.

Just give us a list of your interests and we will help make your vacation to California memorable.

 

[kristasmom]

If you're a TV fan you might want to watch one being taped - it's free and fun. You can check out the filming schedule at tvtix.com. Be sure to check the age limits, some do not allow children.

 

[denyd]

You might think of splitting up with girls heading to South Coast Plaza while the boys head for either an Angel game. A day game would go from around 1-4pm so the ladies could get about 4-5 hours of un-male hindered browsing and then the family could reunite for dinner. There's a Rainforest Cafe at both South Coast Plaza & DTD that is a lot of fun.

Edit: One more thing that might save you a couple of bucks is an Entertainment Book (or 2). They are full of buy 1 get 1 free offers. They run from Nov 1, 2005 to Oct 31, 2006. Lots of dining and activity discounts. If you've got them in your area, you can order the Orange County one at a discounted price.

 

[RIFamily]

You all have given me such GREAT information. Thank you so much. Do you think 3 days is good for visiting Disneyland and Calif. Adventure? I would love to do it in two days, with one day at each park, if we could. We are amibtious amusement parks guests and know how to utilize fast pass well to get the most out of it. Any thoughts? We really want to experience more of So. Cal. than to spend all of our days at parks. Thanks!

 

[Rella Bella]

We LOVE to go to Pacific Beach in San Diego! It is a wonderful place! We stay at 'The Blue Sea Lodge' which is right on the beach! This is a very eclectic part of SD... people walking, running, skating, surfing. Great place for people watching. Teens would love it. There are several shops where you can rent boogie boards and all kinds of water related fun. (Don't know about bon-fire pits?)
We go to two favorite restaurants: 'World Famous' and 'The Green Line'... both of them right on the beach. They aren't especially fancy but the food is good and the atmosphere is awesome!!
A ways down the beach is 'Mission Beach'... there is a small waterfront amusement park with a great old fashioned wooden roller coaster.
This area is not far from Coronado Island... which is a fun place to visit. You can visit the 'Hotel del Coronado' which is a destination in itself. It has it's own shopping mall... kind of like being on a cruise ship. They have a great restaurant with a huge patio that opens on the beach. There is also the 'Coronado Boathouse' restaurant... wonderful seafood... fabulous view of the bay.
The weather in SD is always perfect! And the traffic is nothing compared to LA... as I said before we LOVE it!

 

[xmelissax]

If you can't make it to South Coast Plaza, you could also go to The Block which is in Orange and much closer. It's not a complete mall, but it does have lots of mall stores plus restaurants,a Virgin Megastore,a movie theatre etc. It's all outdoors and fun for teenagers.

http://www.theblockatorange.com/static/node848.jsp;jsessionid=aVG84-FqWIxa
I forgot theres also a bowling alley, it's a lot hipper than just the normal old ones so it's also fun for kids and teenagers.

 

[AFMom]

I would recommend the 3 days at DL and CA ADV if you can swing it - there really is a lot packed into the 2 parks, and July is a very busy time to go! Being WDW vets, though - you might want to check out what attractions you want to skip - knowing what they are from doing them at WDW - and you may be able to fit it all in in 2 days.....but you'll have more fun if you can relax a bit more about seeing everything!
We love going to the La Brea Tar Pits, by the way - really cool science stuff there! In-Line skating on the boardwalk is fun (we did it in Long Beach - but I'm sure you can rent them all over), Highly recommend Catalina Island, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, there's too much to do!

 

[addicted2disney]

I am so excited to find this new thread. Its almost as if I wrote it! We have just decided to take a 10 trip to Southern Cal as well in July. Ours will be from the 23rd -Aug 2nd. Its 3 families with 8 kids. Ages 4,5,8,10,11,12,13,14. Things we wanted to do was Disneyland & CA for 4 days. Im thinking with summer crowds, 2 days at each park ( with time to go back to the hotel for pooltime) would be good. I want to do Universal, Sea World, Either the zoo or animal park in San Diego. Possibly Knottsberry Farm. I definately want to see hollywood, and catch a day or 2 on the beach. Legoland was an option.. but it sounds like most of the crowd wont be into it. Im making my 11th WDW trip next month. We will do WDW again in January, and make the trek to DL in July.

Some questions.. Crowds in July... I know WDW is a madhouse, a very HOT mad house in July. What should we expect at DL? the same? really long lines?? Im thinking the heat wont be as bad as Florida heat. Is that right?

How is the Disneyland Hotel? THats where we want to stay.

Where is the best beach area in the San Diego area? I have to have a day or 2 on the beach!! Ive never seen the pacific. Any recommendations for a hotel there? If I cant be on the beach, then we need a great pool complex.

I was also looking into the City Pass. WHat is better, The Zoo or Animal Park. The city pass includes one of the 2.

Any other info would be AWESOME! Thanks

 

[xmelissax]

It does get pretty damn hot here in the summer, but it's not humid like it is in Florida so if that's what you're used to I'm sure it will seem nice. It does get really busy during the summer at DL but since it's not as large as WDW it wouldn't seem as bad as there wouldn't be as many people, and you wouldn't have to wait in lines for buses,boats etc. you could just walk to your hotel.

 

[bjakmom]

Can someone give me more info on LaBrea Tar Pits? Is it near USH? On a Sunday in late August, how much time would we need there - would it be worth stopping for just a couple of hours mid-day?

DNeph (8) and I started planning for 10 days in S CA, but there's so much we want to see and do, we're up to two weeks! Our plan so far is to fly in/out of LAX (only non-stop airport for us) - travel day (fri) drive to USH - spend first full day at USH - on Sun drive down to SD and check in somewhere near the beach. Mon go to the zoo - tues go to Seaworld - Weds check out and drive north to Carlsbad - thurs Legoland (DNeph loves legos almost as much as he loves animals!) - fri WildAP - sat AM up to DL - stay there until we fly home on thurs to safely get out of the way before the Labor Day hoards invade our neighborhood. I figure taking a down day every 3 days and driving will give us a 'view' of S CA - we want lots of time at DL so we can see and do everything we want at least once - hopefully multiple times for our favs.!
DNeph spends his summer days with me, so we're hoping to end next summer with our own version of "Camp Aunt B" gone wild in CA!

 

[atakaratemom]

I wish I had an aunt like you!

 

[bjakmom]

Thanks, but I'm the lucky one, of course!

My youngest has one (and 1/2!) foot out the door - it's so much fun to still have a young 'adventurer' to travel with !