Please review our Family SoCal Itinerary!

[tigertides]

I have a summer conference in Disneyland, and am looking for a great SoCal with wife and kids (will be 8 and 11).
We want a mix of amusement parks, beaches, shopping... and just being outside.
We will be flying from East coast, so want to maximize our time out there.

SOME CAVEATS

• Driving 1hr between destinations no big deal
• Home base will be Anaheim for a conference (2-3 nights), then Mission Bay
• I am an AFOD (Adult Fan of Disney), and would like 2 days in the park with Genie+/Paid FP
• Love to spend time outdoors, seeing birds, seals, walking, outdoor shopping, cafe's
• I'd like to avoid Hollywood, Venice, and Santa Monica, and tourist trap places where large homeless population congregate
• I think my kids have aged out of Legoland. And we have same CedarFair-owned theme park nearby similar to Knott's Berry Farm, so would skip this too.
• Will skip Universal as we've done Florida. Also, doing Disney and Universal will make my spouse crazy in one vacation

Here are my thoughts:

DAY 1
- Land in LAX by 10am, get one-way car rental to SAN DIEGO
- Eat lunch in Westwood Village, 1 hour
- Stop by either The Getty or Griffith Observatory mid-day, 1-2 hours
- Spend the night in Burbank

Day 2
- Do the Warner Bros Tour (I heard this is most authentic) early AM
- Drive to Anaheim after lunch
- Eat at Anaheim Packing District (something non-Disney)
- Register for conference/ Hotel Pool
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 3
- Disneyland All Day (will be able to get discounted park hopper tickets)
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 4
- Disneyland/DCA All Day
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 5
- Drive thru OC, spend lunch/early afternoon in one beach town
- Stop by Newport Beach or Corona Del Mar ((time permitting)*)
- Walk around LaJolla Cove/seals +/- Scripps Aquarium
- Spend night in Mission Bay (I heard Hyatt or Bahia Resort nice)

Day 6
- San Diego Zoo
- Balboa Park
- Eat Taco's
+/- Watersports or Coronado Island
- Spend night in Mission Bay

Day 7
- Fly home early AM to East coast

 

[dieumeye]

I like your plan in general, although there are people on the board here who can provide a lot more specifics for those areas.

Just one note on the San Diego Zoo. It’s great. But note that the “Safari Park” isn’t a drive-through safari park. It’s basically a whole other zoo (which does have a safari attraction). So do look into both and see what they each have to offer.

 

[bennifer]

I have a summer conference in Disneyland, and am looking for a great SoCal with wife and kids (will be 8 and 11).
We want a mix of amusement parks, beaches, shopping... and just being outside.
We will be flying from East coast, so want to maximize our time out there.

SOME CAVEATS

• Driving 1hr between destinations no big deal
• Home base will be Anaheim for a conference (2-3 nights), then Mission Bay
• I am an AFOD (Adult Fan of Disney), and would like 2 days in the park with Genie+/Paid FP
• Love to spend time outdoors, seeing birds, seals, walking, outdoor shopping, cafe's
• I'd like to avoid Hollywood, Venice, and Santa Monica, and tourist trap places where large homeless population congregate
• I think my kids have aged out of Legoland. And we have same CedarFair-owned theme park nearby similar to Knott's Berry Farm, so would skip this too.
• Will skip Universal as we've done Florida. Also, doing Disney and Universal will make my spouse crazy in one vacation

Here are my thoughts:

DAY 1
- Land in LAX by 10am, get one-way car rental to SAN DIEGO
- Rodeo Drive
- (?) Tar Pits/The Grove vs (?) Driving to Griffith Observatory mid-day
- Spend the night in Burbank

Day 2
- Do the Warner Bros Tour (I heard this is most authentic)
(?) Or should we just skip the Studio Tour altogether and focus on Disneyland/DCA?
- Drive to Anaheim
- Register for conference / maybe DCA at night
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 3
- Disneyland All Day (will be able to get discounted park hopper tickets)
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 4
- Drive thru OC, spend lunch/early afternoon in one beach town
? Which one? Newport or Laguna (Heisler Park)
- Crystal Cove/LaJolla Cove
- Spend night in Mission Bay (I heard Hyatt is nice)

Day 5
- San Diego Zoo (would prefer this over Drive Through Safari)
- Balboa Park
- Eat Taco's
- Spend night in Mission Bay

Day 6
- 1/2 day Watersports in Mission Bay/Pacific Beach
- Cabrillo tide pools
- Spend night in Mission Bay

Day 7
- Fly home early AM to East coast

We just got back from a California trip with some of the same itinerary! Here's the changes I would make.

Day One: When you go to Rodeo Drive are you planning on shopping? It's really just a bunch of high end stores. We stopped at Beverly Park to get a picture of the Beverly Hills sign, and that was the highlight of that area for us. Also, we did Griffith Park/the outside of the observatory (we were there during the week). On our next trip we'll do the La Brea Tar Pits

Day Two: This is one regret that I have: we did not do the WB Tour. We thought going to US and doing the studios tour there would be enough and it's not. I would definitely do it, but first thing in the morning so you can have some time at DL, too. Or, schedule this later on your first day and do Griffith Park and Rodeo Dr on your way to DL.

Day Three: perfect

Day Four: We stopped at Redondo Beach and liked that area a lot and La Jolla and loved that area, but my family wasn't interested in any beach time, so I can't help with that, really. I will comment on where you're staying. I had booked a hotel in Mission Bay and after a lot of research and finding out that the bay itself isn't very nice/they have water advisories a lot to not go into the water, we cancelled that. We stayed in Hotel Circle at the Town & Country Resort. It was nice, the on site restaurants are nice and the pool looked nice. Next time, however, we'll stay either in the Gaslamp Quarter or in Downtown at the Embassy Suites or someplace similar.

Day Five: Everything!!!!

Day Six: I don't know you or your family, obviously, so I don't know your interests, but I would suggest the USS Midway for half a day. It was a surprising hit with my 13 yr old! We all really enjoyed it! We also really liked Torrey Pines.

Day 7: We changed our flight home (Pgh) from early to afternoon, and I have to admit, I wish we would have kept the earlier flight. It was a long day

 

[DLgal]

I have a summer conference in Disneyland, and am looking for a great SoCal with wife and kids (will be 8 and 11).
We want a mix of amusement parks, beaches, shopping... and just being outside.
We will be flying from East coast, so want to maximize our time out there.

SOME CAVEATS

• Driving 1hr between destinations no big deal
• Home base will be Anaheim for a conference (2-3 nights), then Mission Bay
• I am an AFOD (Adult Fan of Disney), and would like 2 days in the park with Genie+/Paid FP
• Love to spend time outdoors, seeing birds, seals, walking, outdoor shopping, cafe's
• I'd like to avoid Hollywood, Venice, and Santa Monica, and tourist trap places where large homeless population congregate
• I think my kids have aged out of Legoland. And we have same CedarFair-owned theme park nearby similar to Knott's Berry Farm, so would skip this too.
• Will skip Universal as we've done Florida. Also, doing Disney and Universal will make my spouse crazy in one vacation

Here are my thoughts:

DAY 1
- Land in LAX by 10am, get one-way car rental to SAN DIEGO
- Rodeo Drive
- (?) Tar Pits/The Grove vs (?) Driving to Griffith Observatory mid-day
- Spend the night in Burbank

Day 2
- Do the Warner Bros Tour (I heard this is most authentic)
(?) Or should we just skip the Studio Tour altogether and focus on Disneyland/DCA?
- Drive to Anaheim
- Register for conference / maybe DCA at night
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 3
- Disneyland All Day (will be able to get discounted park hopper tickets)
- Spend night in Disney Conference Hotel

Day 4
- Drive thru OC, spend lunch/early afternoon in one beach town
? Which one? Newport or Laguna (Heisler Park)
- Crystal Cove/LaJolla Cove
- Spend night in Mission Bay (I heard Hyatt is nice)

Day 5
- San Diego Zoo (would prefer this over Drive Through Safari)
- Balboa Park
- Eat Taco's
- Spend night in Mission Bay

Day 6
- 1/2 day Watersports in Mission Bay/Pacific Beach
- Cabrillo tide pools
- Spend night in Mission Bay

Day 7
- Fly home early AM to East coast

1. If you are spending the night in Burbank, fly into Burbank Airport. Everything you want to do in LA is closer to Burbank than LAX. Skip the tar pits. Your kids will be bored out of their minds. Do the Farmers Market/Grove. Go to Griffith Observatory AT NIGHT. There are telescopes up there to look at stars and the view is way better at night.

2. I would say do the Warner Bros Tour BUT kids under 10 are not allowed to do it, so you're out of luck. So, head down to Anaheim early and get started on Disneyland/DCA!

3. Good

4. Newport Beach is better than Laguna. Go to Newport. Park at the main Pier. You need to arrive before 10am or you won't find parking easily. Parking is metered. If your kids want to actually swim, I recommend Corona Del Mar instead.

If you want to see (and smell) seals, LA Jolla Cove needs to be a stop.

5. Do not stay in Mission Bay. It's awful. Stay in either the Gaslamp Quarter or near the USS Midway Museum (which you should definitely do!). I like the Safari Park much more than the zoo, but it's a ways away from downtown San Diego. It's about a 45 minute trip over there. It's not a drive thru. It's more like Animal Kingdom.

For amazing Mexican Food, I recommend Casa Guadalajara in old Town. Also, the Liberty Public Market is a cool place to check out. It's kind of like a large food hall.

6. Drive up to Carlsbad to do water sports at this place:

California WaterSports
(760) 434-3089
https://maps.app.goo.gl/egtMsxrkakhsgDfc6

It's much nicer with better water quality than Mission Bay/PB. PB is so gross. Don't go there.

 

[tigertides]

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE:

• Thanks for the replies. We may nix Rodeo Drive, as well as Tar Pits and DTLA.
• Wife def wants to do a studio tour, and WB looks like good mix of fun and educational. Paramount is second.
• We have direct flights to LAX from our East Coast home, so will always prefer that vs layover to Burbank or SNA.
• We may cut out the Orange County Beach, and head straight to LaJolla.
• Which beach in San Diego to get feet wet and run around sand? Walk, see ocean?
• Why is Mission Bay so awful?
• WB does allow kids> 5yr old

 

[Disney Kidd]

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE:

• Thanks for the replies. We may nix Rodeo Drive, as well as Tar Pits and DTLA.
• Wife def wants to do a studio tour, and WB looks like good mix of fun and educational. Paramount is second.
• We have direct flights to LAX from our East Coast home, so will always prefer that vs layover to Burbank or SNA.
• We may cut out the Orange County Beach, and head straight to LaJolla.
• Which beach in San Diego to get feet wet and run around sand? Walk, see ocean?
• Why is Mission Bay so awful?
• WB does allow kids> 5yr old

The Warner bros studio tour is definitely a must! I'm from San Diego but moved to st. Louis 2 years ago so I'm not up to date on the homeless population. Beachwise, I'd say la jolla is Def one of the best as well as coronado especially by the Hotel Del. Another fav of mine is to hike Torrey Pines. The hike isn't too long or strenuous and has amazing ocean views. The safari park is incredible and way better than the zoo imo.

 

[tigertides]

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE:

Just got back. What a wonderful trip. Thanks to all for their help. DL was soooo awesome. Very easy for East Coasters who can make it to early entry/rope drop.
Every thing was essentially a walk on. With G+/park hoppers, we got 40+ rides done in 2 days. We did Incredicoaster 3x, Space 2x, Big Thunder 3x, RSR 3x. ROTR broke down in the middle, so glad we didn't rope drop that.

Singe Rider at the end of the evening a RSR is key. Also, the Westin had an amazing breakfast place and Mexican restaurant. Overall, the cast members (and California service industry) was overall very friendly. They work very, very hard for us tourists to be happy. I spoke to employees who start their day at 3am.

Anyways, here's what we did

Day 1
Land in LAX at 11:15am
Get Rental car
All day in Newport Beach
Spend night in Newport Beach

Day 2
Walk around Balboa Peninsula
Whale Watching Tour - Davey Jones at 12p
Drive to Anaheim
Eat at Anaheim Packing House
Check in at Grand Californian
Pool
Downtown Disney

Day 3
Use Early Entry (730am) and Genie + with Park Hopper at DCA

Day 4
Use Early Entry and Genie + with Park Hopper at Disneyland

Day 5
Check out around 9am
Drove to Griffith (closed on Mondays, but see the grounds of Observatory)
WB Studio Tour at 1pm, ~ 2 hours
Drive to The Grove for dinner
Return rental car at LAX
Sleep at LAX hOtel

Day 6
Depart for home

 

[bbeagle]

2. I would say do the Warner Bros Tour BUT kids under 10 are not allowed to do it, so you're out of luck. So, head down to Anaheim early and get started on Disneyland/DCA!

Kids as young as 5 can go on the Warner Bros tour.

Paramount is 10+ and Sony is 12+

Any age can go on the Universal Studios tour - but you need to buy park tickets.

 

[Lumpy1106]

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE:

Just got back. What a wonderful trip. Thanks to all for their help. DL was soooo awesome. Very easy for East Coasters who can make it to early entry/rope drop.
Every thing was essentially a walk on. With G+/park hoppers, we got 40+ rides done in 2 days. We did Incredicoaster 3x, Space 2x, Big Thunder 3x, RSR 3x. ROTR broke down in the middle, so glad we didn't rope drop that.

Singe Rider at the end of the evening a RSR is key. Also, the Westin had an amazing breakfast place and Mexican restaurant. Overall, the cast members (and California service industry) was overall very friendly. They work very, very hard for us tourists to be happy. I spoke to employees who start their day at 3am.

Anyways, here's what we did

Day 1
Land in LAX at 11:15am
Get Rental car
All day in Newport Beach
Spend night in Newport Beach

Day 2
Walk around Balboa Peninsula
Whale Watching Tour - Davey Jones at 12p
Drive to Anaheim
Eat at Anaheim Packing House
Check in at Grand Californian
Pool
Downtown Disney

Day 3
Use Early Entry (730am) and Genie + with Park Hopper at DCA

Day 4
Use Early Entry and Genie + with Park Hopper at Disneyland

Day 5
Check out around 9am
Drove to Griffith (closed on Mondays, but see the grounds of Observatory)
WB Studio Tour at 1pm, ~ 2 hours
Drive to The Grove for dinner
Return rental car at LAX
Sleep at LAX hOtel

Day 6
Depart for home

Very cool - glad you had a good time. Would you say there was anything you regret doing or having not done? I noticed you cut out the trip to San Diego entirely. Sometimes less is more - good to save it for the next trip. Assuming just your itinerary, the only thing I would have done differently is fly into a different airport. LGB is like stepping back in time (in a good way) and SNA is just plain convenient. LAX is, well, a lousy way to welcome people to So Cal - about the nicest way I can put it.

 

[tigertides]

Very cool - glad you had a good time. Would you say there was anything you regret doing or having not done? I noticed you cut out the trip to San Diego entirely. Sometimes less is more - good to save it for the next trip. Assuming just your itinerary, the only thing I would have done differently is fly into a different airport. LGB is like stepping back in time (in a good way) and SNA is just plain convenient. LAX is, well, a lousy way to welcome people to So Cal - about the nicest way I can put it.

Would not have changed anything. Lido House in Newport was amaizng

Free bicycle rentals— whole family biked to beach which was great.

LA farmers market was fun. The Grove was just okay. Nice pit spot. Would’ve probably liked driving around west LA neighborhoods more. Griffith observatory - even in mid day- was great. And not crowded! Getting off the highway and seeing local streets was relqxing


I love movies, and seeing WB and Burbank was fun.

I’ve been to Santa Monica before kids, and very glad I did not take the family there this time. If you want to beach, spend more time in Orange County.

With all the travails of delayed and missed connections, I’m glad we flew direct to Los Angeles. Flight time was less than five hours from the East Coast for us. And there’s something to be said for knowing you have landed, even though it took us a good two hours from the time we touched down, until we got the rental car and left Inglewood

The rental car experience should be much better when they finally build their car rental terminal on property. I loved the suggestion of spending the night close to the airport the night before. I returned the rental car the night before, which was super easy.