Southern California Family Trip - Advice?

[DrMomof3]

We're considering a trip to San Diego/Disneyland for February break, 2012. The players will be DH and me and then our 3 kids (ages 8, 6, and 3 at time of travel). I think we want to spend a few days in San Diego and then head to Disneyland for a few days. I'd love suggestions and advice on: Where to stay? What to do? How many days should we allot for each thing?

My basic thinking: Start in San Diego (this will be President's Day weekend so I figure crowds at DL will be relatively high). My eldest definitely wants to see Sea World (we've never been to any Sea World). Is that a one-day event? I figure we'll also see the Zoo. I'm assuming it won't exactly be beach weather in February. What area of San Diego would be best for hotels? What else in that area should we plan to do? If we want to then go to Legoland, are we better off moving hotels so that we're closer to Legoland? How many days at Legoland? I'm was then thinking maybe 3-4 days at DL?

Here is a rough draft idea: Fly from NY to San Diego on Saturday. Rent a car, check into a hotel, chill out or walk around the immediate area. Sunday would be zoo vs. Sea World vs. other. Monday whichever we don't do. Tuesday same. Wednesday Legoland. Thurs, Fri, Sat at DL. Sunday fly home? Is that a reasonable plan? What should I change?

We do NOT want or need full days of on-the-go activity. We want to experience some fun things and also schedule some down time for relaxing, exploring, enjoying.

Thanks for any advice!!!
Amanda

 

[carebee21]

I prefer to stay at a hotel in Hotel Circle when we go to San Diego. It's a pretty centralized location and most of the hotels have shuttles to Sea World, Airport, Zoo, etc. Plus there's a mall within walking distance that has access to the San Diego trolley line.

I'm a bit confused as to this in your post though: We do NOT want or need full days of on-the-go activity. However, your schedule is pretty much that.
Seaworld is a full day activity. The zoo is a 10-5 activity, so basically a full day activity. Legoland is a full day activity. There's more than enough to keep you occupied for three full days at Disneyland.

Personally, if it was me, I would cut out Legoland. Although, admittedly we didn't care for the park at all so that probably sways my decision. But, it's a bit of a waste if you're just going to go to Disneyland the next day anyways...

My schedule would look like:
Sunday: Zoo
Monday: Hit the beaches (We prefer Coronado Beach) and even though it's not warm enough to swim, let the kids play in the sand, look around the shops, have yummy mexican food in Old Town, relax in the pool and spa at the hotel. Also, it's whale/dolphin watching season in Feb, so taking a boat tour might be something fun/different/interesting to try.
Tuesday: Sea World
Weds: Drive up to Disneyland. On the way, stop at a couple of the tidepool areas or any landmarks you want to hit. Have dinner at Downtown Disney or Gardenwalk.
Thurs-Sat: Disneyland and CA Adventures.

If you decide to do Legoland, I would move hotels. I would either stay at a hotel by Legoland for the night or just make the drive from Legoland to Anaheim that evening. It's a 45ish minute drive from San Diego to Legoland and you're heading up toward Anaheim, so it makes no sense to drive up to go to Legoland, then head back down to San Diego for the night, then get up the next day and drive back upward to go to Disneyland.

 

[DrMomof3]

Thanks for some awesome advice! My kids would love to go whale-watching and I wouldn't have thought of that.
I guess I know my kids and they will not last for 7 hours at any zoo, even if it's an awesome one. 3-4 hours is the max that I can imagine them being there. And even though Sea World is a full-day activity, I know that they won't make it from park opening to park closing. I guess my point was that I don't want 4 hours at the zoo followed by 4 hours "doing" something else. If we spend 4 hours at the zoo then I would want to spend the rest of the day hanging out on the beach or exploring rather than scheduling something else.
I was under the impression that Legoland is fun for younger kids so I was thinking my 3 year old might like it. Maybe that's not a good idea? Hmmm...

Great ideas!
Amanda

 

[sonnyjane]

Thanks for some awesome advice! My kids would love to go whale-watching and I wouldn't have thought of that.
I guess I know my kids and they will not last for 7 hours at any zoo, even if it's an awesome one. 3-4 hours is the max that I can imagine them being there. And even though Sea World is a full-day activity, I know that they won't make it from park opening to park closing. I guess my point was that I don't want 4 hours at the zoo followed by 4 hours "doing" something else. If we spend 4 hours at the zoo then I would want to spend the rest of the day hanging out on the beach or exploring rather than scheduling something else.
I was under the impression that Legoland is fun for younger kids so I was thinking my 3 year old might like it. Maybe that's not a good idea? Hmmm...

Great ideas!
Amanda

If you want to go whale watching, I used to volunteer for Birch Aquarium and San Diego Harbor Excursions. I highly recommend them: http://www.flagshipsd.com/harbor-tours/whale-watching

Also, I work at the SD zoo and can assure you that if 3 or 4 hours is the most you can dedicate to the zoo, you are going to miss a huge chunk of it. If that's all the time you have, make sure you do the 35 minute bus tour (included with a standard ticket) as it will give you a quick glance of about 60% of the zoo. Then, you can decide if there are other things you'd like to go back and see in detail. You are allowed to leave the zoo and then come back later, so if your kids need a break, maybe that's an option? It's just that the zoo is a bit spendy to only plan on a three hour visit.

 

[endy]

All of your kids are the right ages for Legoland. I love it there, there's something for all their ages. Usually 10-12 is when it gets a little boring or slow. We went until my ds14 was 11 and he'd still want to go again, I would too if it was cheaper.

I agree with the PP about checking out of your SD motel, driving to LL and either stay there or head up to Anaheim that night.

SeaWorld and the zoo are both great.
We did the whale and dolphin watching out of DanaWharf.com last summer and loved it so much we went again.

sonnyjane - We'll be in SD in August and maybe we'll try the place you've suggested.

 

[sonnyjane]

sonnyjane - We'll be in SD in August and maybe we'll try the place you've suggested.

Unfortunately whale watching season is only from December to April, but you can still do a shorter harbor cruise with them, just won't see whales.

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you all for the great suggestions! I love the idea of booking a whale-watching cruise. Too cool that we'll (accidentally) be there at the right time. Really appreciate the advice and thoughts. I have been San Diego but almost 2 decades ago, without kids, and I stayed with a local. Much different! Thank you, thank you!
We may find that the kids LOVE the zoo and want to stay all day. I know that the San Diego Zoo has a great reputation for awesomeness. My kids are used to going regularly to the Bronx Zoo. Because we're members, we go frequently for short trips rather than spending all day. They may last longer than I expect.

Amanda

 

[endy]

DrMomof3
Hope your kids surprise you and spend the whole day at the SD zoo. I agree with it being pricey and staying the whole day or leaving to see other parts of Balboa park and returning to the zoo for a couple more hours. We've gone several times and there's lots to see. The kid's part is lots of fun and hands on. Definetly do the bus around first. Those hills seem like mountains in the afternoon.
Lucky to be there during whale watching season.

sonnyjane
We saw whales both times last August out of Dana Point. Wouldn't you see the same whales in SD?
We've done the harbour cruise a few times. Love being on the water.

 

[sonnyjane]

sonnyjane
We saw whales both times last August out of Dana Point. Wouldn't you see the same whales in SD?
We've done the harbour cruise a few times. Love being on the water.

Do you remember what type of whales you saw? When I say December to April, I'm talking about the gray whale migration from Alaska to Baja. There can certainly be other types of whales out there in the ocean, and maybe even a stray (lost) gray whale, but the daily guaranteed sightings of whales is from December to April. The company I posted about offers free return vouchers if you don't see any, but only during those times. They don't offer whale watching trips during other months.

 

[endy]

Thanks sonnyjane
During migration you would likely see lots of whales. That makes sense now. Maybe I'll have to make a Feb trip.

Last summer we saw a blue whale and a fin whale. Lots of dolphins too. I believe it's a dolphin tour and you're guaranteed to see dolphins or you can rebook.
It's amazing to see so many dolphins along side the boat, it's hard to take pictures they're going so fast.

DrMomof3
Whale watching is not something you get to do everyday. I loved it last summer, ds13 and his friend did too. It was a highlight for us. I hope you get to go & your kids will love it.

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you again for all the advice!
We may move the trip to the first week of April during our Spring Break. Still working on details.
Any suggestions for where to stay?

Amanda

 

[cgh]

We are doing sort of the similar thing and my plan is to get there on Sunday, have a beach afternoon. Monday-zoo in the am, back to hotel for nap and either back to the zoo, or beach/explore/pool. Tuesday-back at zoo or beach/pool then afternoon Train museum. Wednesday-possibly sea world. Thursday, drive to L.A. perhaps via Legoland. (will head there, do legoland for a few hours, then leave to go to our next hotel.). My son will only do a couple hours each place and the zoo is the most 'bang for the buck' so I'm definitely going to focus our attention there and see what his temperament is like for the others. I'm also interested in the sea lions at the Children's beach in La Jolla.

Right now, I'm deciding between Embassy suites downtown, hilton resort and spa (walking distance to beach, with toddler pool, much more expensive) or Embassy Suites La Jolla. It seems from my research that there are limited, and mostly pricey hotels that are beachfront, so maybe focus your attention there. Ie. is it okay if you drive or taxi/trolley to the beach, or do you want to be closer?

It seems that the downtown or beach locations are about 10-15 minutes to the zoo without traffic (per mapquest). La Jolla is a little further (20 minutes, 10 minutes to mission bay park area).

I'm finding it hard to finalize a decision on this myself. My take away so far is that there is pluses or minuses of each that are probably vary a lot depending on the family. When I look at a nap, nothing seems that far away from anything.

 

[hockeybabe]

If you will be at Legoland, you might want to look at West Inn in Carlsbad. I haven't been, but I'm planning to in June. It looks very family friendly, near the beach (and they give you beach toys and chairs to take with you), and milk and cookies each night.