Suggestions for Day Off-Non Park Day

[Choirmom]

Hi everyone! I have an upcoming trip July 9 through 16 staying at VGC! I it will be me, my mom, sister and niece (age 10). We will have 5 full park days and a full day off. I am very familiar with the parks (we go about once a year for three or four days), but need help on the off day. With 5 full park days, plus partial days on the travel days for exploring the resorts/Downtown Disney, I'm having trouble deciding what to do on our day off. Currently, I'm planning on Monday being the off day, since I heard it's typically a busy day. I though about Saturday, but that will only be the second day, and I think I would rather put the off day in the middle of the vacation. I will not have a car, but am open to renting one for the day, if I need to. Also, the day off may be just me, or my mom and me, or all 4 of us, depending on what we decide. Here's my thoughts so far:

Relax!!! Sleep in, pool time, find some local things to do (Garden Walk, Anaheim Packing District, etc).
or
Beach. I would prefer something with a fun boardwalk or town area to explore. Which would you suggest?
or
Hollywood. I've heard it's kind of a dirty area, but I've never been there and think my mom might enjoy it. Would probably take in a movie at El Capitan.
or
Garment District. I love to sew and would really like to visit here. I'm not sure if I want to make that part of this trip though. Any thoughts?
or
Knotts Berry Farm. I've never been there before and not sure if it's worth it. It's also another theme park, so I'm not sure if my feet will love it.
or
Any other suggestions???

Any input I can get will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Becca1007]

Cabana Rental at the pool! And a cool meal option in one of the hotels / downtown disney.

 

[Sherry Berry]

Huntington Beach is nice and not too far. There's a cute little street with shops and restaurants.

 

[CharleneTheDM]

I really enjoyed Medieval Times and/or Pirate Adventures!!

 

[SeattleTink]

I love Balboa Island/Newport Beach area. Also, check out whale watching tours...we did a Blue Whale tour that was AMAZING!

 

[AprilOrMay]

It's been awhile since I've been to the garment district, but my recollection is that it isn't as fun as it sounds. I like the beach idea - take uber/lyft or rent a car and head to Newport Beach or Laguna Beach or even Seal Beach. All are a reasonable distance and have fun places to walk around. Newport has lots to do, including whale watching or boat rentals. Laguna is sort of fancy with the art galleries. Seal Beach is quaint with shops / restaurants.

 

[Choirmom]

Lots of great ideas! Keep them coming! Is a cabana rental expensive? I think I'm leaning towards that or a beach. Unfortunately, although I think my niece would love it, Medieval Times is out. We visited there with my kids when they were young and I found out I am VERY allergic to horses!

 

[Paigesmom2013]

We are renting a car for the day on a Monday to visit the beach. $30 for the day but maybe cheaper in the summer? I plan to walk to the rental office since we have no car either. I think we settled on Newport Beach.

 

[Sherry Berry]

The garment district is horrible. I wouldn't waste a day there.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Look through this thread for some other ideas: DAY SIX Podcasts of Things to Do Around Disneyland.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Another thought is the Aquarium at the Pacific in Long Beach. You could spend some time there and the Queen Mary is walking distance to it. I think there's a deal if you buy tickets for both at the same time. Second street in Long Beach is full of places to eat and shop. So, you could go there afterward if you still had any energy left.

 

[Sherry Berry]

If you want to go into Los Angeles, I would recommend The Getty Museum or Getty Villa, LACMA, a warner brothers studio tour, walk around Santa Monica Pier, reserve a space at the Annenberg Beach House (public beach club), or Griffith Observatory.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I would relax and enjoy the pool at your gorgeous hotel! Rest your feet, no plans, no schedule. It will be hot and the pool will feel amazing!

 

[goooof1]

Agree with above !! pool day ! very relaxing and it will be nice to rejuvenate without rushing around or thinking about where to go, what to do !!

 

[jedimdes]

I would relax, enjoy the pool and rest

 

[Choirmom]

Thanks again, for all the suggestions. I think a pool day will be just what I need!

 

[Laur0406]

Last time we went, we did Balboa Pier on our off day - went to the beach for a couple of hours, rented a boat and had lunch on the boat, went on the ferris wheel, etc and it was perfect.

For our upcoming trip, we plan on doing the same, but also hitting up Pirate Adventure for dinner.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Probably just us but when we used to plan a non-park day, we just ended up wishing we were in the parks all day!
So we haven't done that in years.
But YMMV

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

We were there the same week this past July and we did a beach day. My word of warning is that it will be very crowded at the beach and parking will most likely be a nightmare. It took us an entire hour to find a place to park at Manhattan Beach, and when we did we missed the sign notifying us of the 2 hour limit and we came back to a very hefty parking ticket.

If you go to the beach (or anywhere off site, really), I highly recommend taking an Uber/Lyft so you won't have to deal with parking. If you are willing to go a little further outside of LA then it might be slightly less busy. I've visited Laguna Beach and thought it was wonderful!

Also as a side note, we experienced a random cool wave that week and our beach day ended up having a high of 72, and with the breeze off the water it was actually a little chilly for us! Not what I expected from SoCal in July