Southern California CityPass OR Buy Tickets Seperately!?

[HappieMommie]

We are planning our first DLR trip and I was wondering,

--should we buy our tickets individually, or is this CityPass really a good deal?
--I have a 2yr old girl and a will-be 6 year old boy - will they have fun at Universal?? I have been in Orlando, and I think they would enjoy some stuff.
--I have never been to SeaWorld, and I think they would like it... is this place fun?

What about the Zoo? Is it impressive?

Thanks dis-ers!

 

[JustAKid]

I have a 3 year old, and a 5 year old and after looking at the attractions decided not to venture to Universal Studios. They have really cool characters, like Dora the Explorer, and Scooby Doo! But we could see all that in 2 hours, and then we'd be stuck with nothing to do. The shows, like Waterworld, would spook my kids because of the explosions and such, and I don't think that it would hold their interest. I even think that Shrek in 4D will freak my kids out. We aren't doing It's Tough to Be a Bug at DL for this reason.

You know your kids better then I do, but I just got the feeling that Universal wasn't catered to families like DL is. In fact, on their "Family Fun" section they only have 3 activities listed. Just not worth the price of a ticket to me.

Sea World is a BIT different, although out of 8 rides, kids under 42" can only ride 3. There are, of course, the wonderful shows and exhibits, but for my family the Zoo is the place to be. There is a bigger variety of animals, I can make it more educational for my kids, and we can pretty much go at the pace we choose. We don't have to make plans, we can just go and do whatever our family decides.

I hope I've answered your questions. As far as whether or not the City Pass is worth it, I really think it would depend on what you're doing. If you choose to hit up Universal, Sea World, The Zoo, and Disneyland then yes, it is. If you're only going to be doing one or two attractions, I'd say no. In the end it all comes down to.....MATH!

 

[wintergreen]

If you want to go to all of the attractions included in the ticket, it is an incredible value. If you don't you may want to purchase tickets separately for each of them. However, even if you decide not to do Universal, it is a good deal. Sea World is fantastic, and the San Diego Zoo is one of the best in the world. Universal has some stuff for younger kids, but not a whole lot. We have purchased the City Pass twice, and thought that it was well worth it.

 

[MichaelColey]

We found the S. Cal. CityPass to be an INCREDIBLE deal and took advantage of it back in January. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time. If you're a Costco member, check the prices there. That was the cheapest price we found for it. It looks like it's $227 for adults or $192 for kids right now, which I think is what it was when we went. The Disneyland portion is worth $184 and $154, so you're getting the others for almost nothing.

Disneyland was definitely the highlight of the trip. To top it off, we upgraded the three-day passes to Annual Passes for about $100 each. We went back once and have one more trip planned, so we're certainly getting our money out of that one.

SeaWorld is always fun. We've been to several of them, and the kids always love them.

The zoo is great. Take the bus tour (it's included with the CityPass). Without the bus tour, the walking and time it takes would probably be too much for little kids.

Universal was fine. It's not as big as the Orlando one, but there's still enough for kids to enjoy a day there.

One thing to keep in mind is that half of it is in the LA area (30 minutes apart) and half of it is in San Diego (90 minutes away). Unless you're renting a car, that can be a real hassle. In LA, we stayed near Disneyland since we were three three days and just drove to Universal for the one day there.

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

Thanks for posting the question and for all the responses...I was wondering the same question as we have a 3 and a 4 year old and would like to take them to Sea World and the Zoo on our next visit to DLR. I've also heard Legoland is a great place to take smaller kids....too bad that's not part of the package.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I think if you've been to US in Orlando, you will be disappointed with USH. It's not the same. However, the Citypass is a great value. I highly recommend Seaworld. Depending on the age of your kids, they may love it and the Zoo even more than DL. My friend took her 2 year old to DL, SD and SW and out of the 3 she loved the Zoo the best and SW 2nd best. Clearly my friend didn't expose her to enough Disney movies, etc., because she had no clue and didn't care about the characters, attractions and rides. She said it all went over her head. She loved SD Zoo and SW. I guess she understands and knows animals more than Disney! I reported on my family's experiences in SW and driving back and forth to SD in my TR which is linked in my signature.

 

[haley's mom]

So we are planning a trip for next year. We would like to spend 4 days at DL. Could we upgrade to add the extra day? How much would that cost?

We will definatly use the DL tix, Sea World and SD zoo. Would this still be a "good" Deal? BTW, we would be 4 adults and 1 child age 7.

TIA!

 

[MichaelColey]

I think 4 day tickets are only about $15 (each) more than 3 day tickets. Definitely still a great deal.

If you think you might be able to return within a year (like a trip next year, a little earlier than this year's trip), it's well worthwhile to upgrade to the annual pass. That was our original intention (coming back next year, a little earlier than this year), but we ended up coming back TWO times instead (plus I was able to make a couple day trips by myself when I had layovers in LA).

 

[BusyB]

We bought the city pass from Costco. Do we exchange this at Guest Services, or at any ticket window? I have also heard you can go straight to the turnstiles? Please help!

 

[wintergreen]

You will need to exchange the certificate in the CityPass booklet at either Guest Services or a ticket window. You cannot go directly to the turnstiles, b/c you will get a "real" ticket in exchange for the certificate (don't tear it out of the booklet yourself, btw).

 

[MichaelColey]

We were able to go straight through the turnstiles with the ones we bought at Costco. I think they exchanged them for one of the thick paper passes the first time we used it, but they did that at the turnstiles. We didn't have a booklet, but a plastic card. I think there are two formats for the Southern California City Passes.

When we upgraded to an Annual Pass, we did that at the Bank of Main Street, where they process annual passes.

 

[wintergreen]

We were able to go straight through the turnstiles with the ones we bought at Costco. I think they exchanged them for one of the thick paper passes the first time we used it, but they did that at the turnstiles. We didn't have a booklet, but a plastic card. I think there are two formats for the Southern California City Passes.

When we upgraded to an Annual Pass, we did that at the Bank of Main Street, where they process annual passes.

I guess my information is outdated. Thanks for clarifying.