Please help with non-Disney days with kids

[mrsincredible3]

Any advice appreciated. Will be traveling in April with ds8 and ds3, so not warm enough yet for the beach am I assuming correctly? Will be spending some time in the Palm Springs area and then planning six days for the la area. Ds8 will ride everything thrilling at Disneyland, and ds3 will do all of the smaller rides, we will use rider swap to ride everything that ds3 can't ride. I am thinking four days for DL and DCA? Is that enough time? Do we need five days? Ds3 will nap in the stroller as needed. I'm guessing it will be too cold to swim in April (planning to stay at a Disney resort)?. What would be the best other area attractions to do? Ds3 loves marine animals, is the aquarium worth doing? I don't think we want to drive south to San Diego, we did the zoo, safari park and legoland a few years ago. Is universal Hollywood worth doing for one day? Is there anything there for ds3 to ride? I don't think he'll be 40 inches yet.

I'd love to spend one day doing ocean related activities but no whale watches. Could we do tide pooling in April or too cold for that? What town has a nice pier or activities by the water that we could enjoy. Laguna beach or Dana point? I need ideas for a day of activities by the water.

Ds8 wants to do the la Brea tar pits so we will do that. I don't see them being interested in the Hollywood stuff, but id like a days worth of activities that are not at a theme park.

Basically I have six days to play with and need suggestions for the non Disney days, plus how many days for Disney. Thanks!

 

[sheetz]

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is pretty good and suitable for kids. I think you can get discounted tickets from Goldstar.com.

The LA Natural History Museum and California Science Center are also great for kids. If you are a member of an ASTC museum you might be able to get free admission to both the La Brea Tar Pits and Natural History Museum.

http://www.astc.org/passport/

 

[PHXscuba]

The ocean will be cold but the beach and sand are fun with kids. Balboa/Newport isn't too far away and has a little Fun Zone right across the street from the beach with a carousel, small ferris wheel, pier area, small ferry across Newport Bay etc. that is all walkable from one parking area. It's probably about the right speed for a 3 and 8 year old.

The aquarium is worth doing too, IMO.

Easter falls early next year so crowds shouldn't be bad at all. Especially on weekdays. If you use rider swap and FastPass, I think four days should be plenty. The pools are heated, so it really depends on the air temperature whether your kids will want to swim. My AZ kids are cold in anything cooler than their 88-degree summer pool, but northern kids will probably find CA April weather wonderful for swimming.

PHXscuba

 

[mrsincredible3]

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is pretty good and suitable for kids. I think you can get discounted tickets from Goldstar.com.

The LA Natural History Museum and California Science Center are also great for kids. If you are a member of an ASTC museum you might be able to get free admission to both the La Brea Tar Pits and Natural History Museum.

http://www.astc.org/passport/

Thanks for the info!

 

[mrsincredible3]

The ocean will be cold but the beach and sand are fun with kids. Balboa/Newport isn't too far away and has a little Fun Zone right across the street from the beach with a carousel, small ferris wheel, pier area, small ferry across Newport Bay etc. that is all walkable from one parking area. It's probably about the right speed for a 3 and 8 year old.

The aquarium is worth doing too, IMO.

Easter falls early next year so crowds shouldn't be bad at all. Especially on weekdays. If you use rider swap and FastPass, I think four days should be plenty. The pools are heated, so it really depends on the air temperature whether your kids will want to swim. My AZ kids are cold in anything cooler than their 88-degree summer pool, but northern kids will probably find CA April weather wonderful for swimming.

PHXscuba

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm guessing my kids will want to swim. I know DH does t want to do a ton of unnecessary driving so I'm really trying to be selective in picking things for the whole family to enjoy.

 

[GoBears 1980]

The Disney hotel pools will be well heated so swimming is fine.

Laguna Beach is a nice beach city and it has the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which I find more interesting than the aquarium. You can also hit tide pools in Laguna Beach. Main Beach, where the tide pools are, also has two nice children's play areas.

There is also a very cool, tiny zoo in Santa Ana that charms younger children.

 

[VandVsmama]

The Discovery Cube science center in Orange County is really close. http://www.discoverycube.org/oc/

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I second the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. We just went again last week, and there were lots of kids of all ages there enjoying the many hands-on exhibits. It's a very close and easy drive. You can even take surface streets if I-5 is at a crawl. You can easily spend 3 hours there and still have time for another half-day activity. The Discovery Cube is also in the ASTC, the museum passport program referenced by a previous poster.

I don't think swimming will be a problem in April. First, the pools are heated. Second, April in southern California can get warm.

 

[mrsincredible3]

I second the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. We just went again last week, and there were lots of kids of all ages there enjoying the many hands-on exhibits. It's a very close and easy drive. You can even take surface streets if I-5 is at a crawl. You can easily spend 3 hours there and still have time for another half-day activity. The Discovery Cube is also in the ASTC, the museum passport program referenced by a previous poster.

I don't think swimming will be a problem in April. First, the pools are heated. Second, April in southern California can get warm.

I'll have to look into the discovery cube. Thanks.

I think my new tentative plan is to arrive LAX, drive to San Diego area to do legoland, sea world and spend a day checking out beaches, tide pools etc. then visit Palm Springs and return to Anaheim for 3-4 days at Disneyland. I think my kids are probably a good age for legoland and both love marine life, so I feel like we should hit those attractions. Trying to determine when to see the tar pits - either right after we arrive and then drive down to San Diego, or on out last day at Disneyland leave around noon, drive to the tar pits, and drive to the airport from there. I'll look into the cube though!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I think my kids are probably a good age for legoland...

My kids loved Legoland at those ages. It's definitely worth a visit. From a personal perspective, I always liked to finish my southern California trips with Disney, so your order of events sounds good. Legoland is really fun, but it's no Disneyland.

 

[GoBears 1980]

Instead of going out to Palm Springs, why not stay in Orange County and do a whale watching tour out of Newport Beach and visit the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.