If you had a full day near Disneyland......

[TeaToo!]

What would you do with it?

(one day that will not be spent in the parks. And you could do anythng (ish) between LAX and DL (ish)

 

[HydroGuy]

If it was summer time I would go to the beach.

 

[rentayenta]

Beach no matter what time of year.

 

[Mom2micayla]

Obvious choice is beach, but I think it really depends who is in your group and what your interests are. (And if you've been to SoCal before makes a difference IMO.. lots to do there!)

 

[HydroGuy]

I agree with the PP it depends on the group. I would add to my post that if it was baseball season I would try to catch a game with Dodgers first choice and Angels second. Another thing I would do would be USH. Also I would check for television show tapings and tickets.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We are doing the same thing...a day in LA after we finish Disneyland. We are not spending it at the beach. We are going to go down in LA and check out the chinese theater, the walk of fame, the American Girl store at The Grove. I want to see LA since I have never been there!

 

[50sjayne]

I would go back to Forest Lawn Cemetary. Didn't get to spend enough time there last time. And I forgot to leave the bunny on Jimmy Stewarts grave.

 

[TeaToo!]

Glad to see all three of my choices here!

~Beach
~Walk of fame
~Forest lawn Cemetary

I'm not sure I can do ALL of those though.
Will have to pick.


(What is USH?)

 

[PinkBudgie]

We had a Saturday we were blocked out of with our APs last June. So we used that day to sleep in and have a slow breakfast. We then walked from Embassy Suites South to Garden Walk. We looked around a little but there weren't many stores and of the few there were, most were clothing. So we then walked to DTD, looked around there. Then walked back to Garden Walk to eat lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We then walked back and just relaxed at the hotel. I had bought a book at DTD: Disneyland- Then, Now and Forever so I read that.

We thought about going to the beach or somewhere but we just needed a break to rest after going to the park before opening everyday.

 

[nana50]

Remember Oceanside and Carlsbad beach are only 45 - 60 minutes away. Head down South to Legoland or even Wild Animal Park. They are as close as driving into L.A.

 

[HydroGuy]

(What is USH?)

See "DLR Abbreviations List" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520784

Universal Studios Hollywood

 

[TeaToo!]

See "DLR Abbreviations List" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520784

Universal Studios Hollywood

Thanks!

 

[pigby]

We are going on the Woody bus - the one that picks you up from the hotel and takes you to Huntington, Laguna and Newport beaches- it's hop on/ hop off

 

[Zoemakes5]

For me it would depend upon where the members of the group are from and the ages and genders, oh, and how much you might want to spend....

If the beach is close by to most of you, I probably wouldn't bother with the beach, but if it isn't, orange county beaches are great. I like Huntington Beach by the pier and eating at Ruby's on the pier. They also have bikes that can be rented to ride on the strand.

If you have girls, I think a trip to American Girl is a GREAT experience. Though, make sure you have the same expectations about how much will be spent. Dolls cost $95, their animal friends 20-30. They have a really fun lunch and dinner (I recommend dinner) at the American Girl Cafe. The Grove is a neat mall to go to as well. It's outdoors and has a musical fountain and trolley car. If there's boys in the group who wouldn't want to do American Girl, then there's a movie theatre they could go to, or the La Brea tar pits are close by. When we go to American Girl (or anything else in Hollywood) we always go to Sprinkles cupcakes. They are the bestest. They are located in Beverly Hills, about a 10 minute drive from AG store. If I wanted to make a really full day, I'd go see Graumann's Chinese Theatre, El Capitan, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame and get pictures in front of the Hollywood Sign (which is easy to do from the upper levels of the shopping center at Hollywood and Highland.

If I wanted another theme park, I'd do Sea World.

Often, on "down days" we've done Disney without doing the park....later breakfast seating at one of the character meals outside the park, play in the pool, dinner in downtown disney, build a bear, maybe a movie at the theatres there. Get DD a makeover at what used to be club libby lu, I think it's Club 365 now. The kids, especially when they were younger, complained they didn't get enough pool time, so that would help solve that issue.

 

[pixarmom]

I'm highly biased, as I have been vacationing in Newport beach since childhood and go there with my extended family and my own family nearly annually. I've loved it at every stage of my life and my kids (pre-school to pre-teen) love it now.

It's hard to summarize quickly, but the beach itself is amazing (#2 on travel channel best beaches in CA - woo hoo!) It's on a peninsula, so you have the ocean side OR the bay side - both very walkable. Two piers - Newport Pier (Crab Cooker restaurant, bars, etc.) or the Balboa Pier (ORIGINAL Ruby's on the Pier, Fun Zone with ferris wheel, merry-go-round and arcade games, and ferry to Balboa Island.) If you take the ferry to Balboa Island, there is a great walkway (no bikes) around the island, and shops/restaurants on Marine Avenue. If you go to the end of the peninsula (the "wedge") you'll see the point where ocean and bay meet - great watching the waves and the surfers.

Our favorite spot on the beach is at 15th street - fun burger spot called Stuft Surfer (picnic tables on the sand), 15th Street Surf Shop (t-shirts and boogie board, bike rentals) and Fry's Market for sodas, beach toys, etc. They also have bathroom facilities. Playground for kids on the beach at 13th street.

The only negative - parking is tough, so arrive early!! (Although Stuft Surfer has a good greasy breakfast and Cinnamon Roll Fair on Balboa Island has the best cinnamon rolls.)

 

[franandaj]

I would reccomend Long Beach, we have the Aquarium, the Queen Mary and the Pike & Shoreline Village (shopping & dining districts) all located Downtown near the water. There's plenty of parking, lots of places to eat, you could even take a ride on the water taxi.

 

[rentayenta]

I would reccomend Long Beach, we have the Aquarium, the Queen Mary and the Pike & Shoreline Village (shopping & dining districts) all located Downtown near the water. There's plenty of parking, lots of places to eat, you could even take a ride on the water taxi.

Love the LBC. Worked on 2nd Street at Legend's during my time at CSULB- great town!