Ideas with younger kids

[CdnCarrie]

If we have 7 full days in California on our winter vacation - January 2011.


Traveling with a 4 year old and a 3 year old.

Thinking we will do 4 full days between the 2 DL parks.

One day for sure we will rent a car and do a day trip to Legoland.

I want to avoid having to pack up and check out to stay in San Diego for a night so I think we will just do Legoland as a day trip and skip SeaWorld and the Zoo. We have been to both when my oldest was little.

For another day we are thinking of Knott's Berry Farm as we did not do that on our last visit in 2005. Not real keen on it as so many rides have large height restrictions and it's basically carnival rides. But so far it's on the agenda.

We're big Disney fans but thinking we should do something with the kids to see more of California rather than just theme parks.

But with younger kids (4 and 7) and being winter it's somewhat limiting.

Would a visit to Long Beach or Newport Beach and a ride to Catalina Island for a underseas cruise be a kid friendly day? Maybe combine it with a trip to the Aquarium? I would like to get them to the beach.

I thought about Hollywood. We went there in 2005 but I think my 3 year old would just get bored.

 

[Astro Orbiter]

Legoland has a bunch of height restrictions as well - be sure to check out their website. Somewhere on there is a list of rides by height.

LL also has SeaLife open - I'm not sure if you can get a 'park hopper' pass or 2-day pass. SeaLife is a 1/2 day, in my mind, but we've just wandered through and not planned around any of the feedings, talks, etc.

Deb

 

[Monkey Monkey]

The Discovery Science Center isn't far from DL, and is a lot of fun!

http://www.discoverycube.org/

 

[LavenderPeach]

There's also the kidspace museum in Pasadena. Obviously farther away than the Discovery Science Center but it looks like a lot fun. http://www.kidspacemuseum.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index&cvridirect=true

Also, someone just recently posted about a little theme park in Anaheim that is more for little kids. I think it was called Adventure City.

And there's the Santa Ana Zoo which is near Anaheim. Lots of monkeys there, plus a train and carousel and a playground.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Great ideas! Thanks!

 

[PHXscuba]

The Aquarium would be a great choice. It's not too big for little legs, and they have the touch tanks. A "beach day", bundled up of course, might be fun to play in the sand and walk on a pier.

What about a whale-watching cruise -- perfect time of year.

When we go in the summer, my kids just enjoy playing outside at a local park -- something we can't do in the Phoenix heat. Maybe coming from Canada in Jan would be the same effect?

PHXscuba

 

[CdnCarrie]

Absolutely about the nice weather in winter! It's just a treat to get away from the cold and snow and take the kids to the playground! When we were in DL in 2005 we went to couple playgrounds in San Diego (in February) and I swear by 18 month was just as happy there as at DL.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Okay I'm loving the Newport Beach idea along with a whale watching or sea otter cruise! Also thing the Science Museum would be great and it's so close to DL.

Like I say I LOVE Disney but with the kids being a little older (4 and 7) this trip I think it's time to start seeing somethings outside the theme parks.

When they were smaller doing a WDW/DL only trip was perfect but I want them to see the real world to!

So 4 full days at DL/CA, 1 day at Legoland, 1 day at Newport Beach and the other either the Science Museum or Knott's.

Thanks!

 

[nemofans]

We also have little ones (5 & 2) & are going to DL in Nov. We are trying to find other stuff to do in the area to make our trip a little longer. We don't want to do anything we'll need a rental car for, like going to San Diego.
The aquarium sounds great b/c my boys love animals, but how far is it from DL & how would we get there?
I will check out the Santa Ana Zoo as well. DH & I have always wanted to see whales, so a whale watching cruise would be cool. I don't know if it's a good idea w/a 2 yr old though. Where would you go for that?

 

[perlster]

once again linking to Adventure City

 

[nemofans]

In my research today, thanks to your suggestions , I now have a few places to visit while at DL! The aquarium is about 30 min away which isn't bad, but I'm not sure the best way to get there w/o renting a car? Maybe by taxi???
Also, Discovery Science Center looks great too & that's just minutes away.
I looked at Adventure City & it looks like Legoland. I don't think we'll do that b/c we have plenty of great rides at DL. We would prefer to do something different than another amusement park type place.

 

[stevejanelle]

We also have little ones (5 & 2) & are going to DL in Nov. We are trying to find other stuff to do in the area to make our trip a little longer. We don't want to do anything we'll need a rental car for, like going to San Diego.
The aquarium sounds great b/c my boys love animals, but how far is it from DL & how would we get there?
I will check out the Santa Ana Zoo as well. DH & I have always wanted to see whales, so a whale watching cruise would be cool. I don't know if it's a good idea w/a 2 yr old though. Where would you go for that?

Getting a one day rental car from Alamo (branch at Downtown Disney) is easy and cheap (no Airport taxes). We've done this a couple of times and it worked very well.