Theme Park Plan HELP needed

[DizNutDad]

So we are going in July. Saturday to Saturday
Staying at Disneyland Hotel Sat-Wed
2 options - need you to weigh in
Sat - travel day
Sun - Disneyland
Mon - universal or California adventure
Tue - Disneyland or California adventure if we go to universal on Monday
Wed - Hollywood/LA touring, drive to San Diego
Thur - Sea World
Fri - San Diego Zoo
Sat - safari in morning then afternoon flight out.

So my questions -- is it too tough to drive from Disneyland to Universal? I don't want a 2 hour drive before the park day.

What do you think of the San diego plan?

My thought on Disneyland the first day is that we are staying right there - we have to.
Any advice will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[66Goofy]

last year we did the City pass with 3 day park hopper and 1 day in both universal and Sea World. I want to say we left Anaheim around 9 am and it took a little over an hour to get to Universal, the drive back was 2 hours because we did it during Rush hour . I was impressed with how fun and entertaining Sea World was, my young kids loved it. Universal was very crowded and hard for young kids, but maybe it was due to being tired from being our 4th day on vacation.
On picking what day you go to California adventure you may look into what day you would get early entry.

I dont know what you are planning for tickets but have you looked into the city pass? it offers all the things you want to do at a discount, you even get 3 days in DL for cheaper than buying the 2 day pass and other park entrance fees separately. Maybe you already have an annual pass to some of these
http://www.citypass.com/southern-california

 

[sheetz]

I think if you're going to spend more than one day around LA/Hollywood then you should split your hotel stay. Stay 2 nights in Hollywood and 3 nights at DLH. With all the backtracking you have to do you're wasting a lot of time. Weekday traffic in LA is no joke.

 

[SMD]

What airport are you flying into, what are the ages in your party and what are your dates? Generally I think you're better off doing San Diego on a weekend and DLR during the week. You might be better off starting in Hollywood and then just doing DLR to SD.

 

[DizNutDad]

What airport are you flying into, what are the ages in your party and what are your dates? Generally I think you're better off doing San Diego on a weekend and DLR during the week. You might be better off starting in Hollywood and then just doing DLR to SD.

We have the airfare and hotels booked. Flying into LAX and flying out of SAN.

DD 16
DS 11

Sat-Wed Disneyland Hotel
Wed-Sat San Diego Hotel

It stinks that the Citypass is discontinued after June 2015. It looked like a real good deal.

 

[sheetz]

Citypass is not being discontinued as far as I know, but it's likely the price will increase after that date if you purchase from the website.

You can also buy them from Ares Travel for dates until Dec 31.
http://arestravel.com/77_attraction-info_a22.html

These tickets don't include the Zoo, however.

 

[DizNutDad]

Citypass is not being discontinued as far as I know, but it's likely the price will increase after that date if you purchase from the website.

You can also buy them from Ares Travel for dates until Dec 31.
http://arestravel.com/77_attraction-info_a22.html

These tickets don't include the Zoo, however.

Thanks on the ares travel. That may be my best bet. I'd add the zoo on my own. The city pass people were not able to provide me any details on what will happen after June. They just said to check back.

Thanks for this tip.

 

[kitayama]

I would skip Universal if I were you...
If you don't want to be stuck in traffic, it would be advisable to steer clear of the greater LA area during the week. Since you will be staying in the Disneyland Hotel, your time may be better spent staying in the Disneyland Resort area on Tuesday.

I love the San Diego idea! Just be prepared to pay for preferred seating for the shows at a Sea World or wait in the hot Summer sun for a decent seat. Plus, get some rest before the Zoo because there are a lot of hills and stairs there. I always leave the zoo exhausted; I can't imagine doing the zoo after six days of constant running.

 

[Lynne G]

If you have a car, this is what we did 2 years ago. We flew into LA and drove to SD. It was a 2 or so hour trip, we also got lost leaving the airport, so more like almost 3 hours by the time we got to the Navy base. We stayed 3 nights at a hotel on Mission Beach, and did the Zoo, SW, the Amusement park on the beach, and a baseball game at the stadium. Then, we drove to Universal, in rush hour, which was not fun, but we spent 2 nights at the Sheraton to do Universal and tour Hollywood and see a move in the Disney theater. Then, we went to DL for 7 nights, and flew back out of LA. I was a fun trip. My kids were 11, turning 12 on the way home, and 15 when we went. It was the last 2 weeks of August.

 

[mabbott7242]

Let me know how it goes...toying with the same type of trip!

 

[GenGen22]

We have visited US & DL while staying in Anaheim or Buena Park several times. We usually go on a Wed or Thur and leave about 10am and it takes about 45 minutes as it's past the rush hour traffic & come back when the park closes & it takes no more than an hour. As far as the citypass you can also buy it from way.com (the lowest price I have found) or also getawaytoday.com. They are not being discontinued as far as I know as I was just looking into this pass for our July trip.