thoroughly stressing myself out about itinerary-please offer help

[SnowWhite12]

I cannot decide how to plan our trip. We want to be at Disneyland for at least 4 nights. We want to do San Diego Zoo one day, and another day either at Sea World or just touring the town. We also want to visit a beach for at least one day, and do the touristy LA stuff for one day. Can't decide if we should just stay at the motel in Anaheim whole time and just rent a car and drive ourselves around. Or stay there most of the time, and then spend a night or 2 in San Diego. (I wish we could fly into San Diego and out of LAX, but there isn't a non-stop from Memphis, and we have an almost 3 year old, so a nine hour trip with layovers is out of the question.) BTW, we'll be going mid to end April. I am just so confused and worried because from what I have read on various websites, it sounds like the normal 2 hour drive from DL to San Diego will take twice that long if we try to make the drive on a weekday. How has anyone else done this type of trip? Any and all suggestions please welcome.

 

[JanPrincess]

Hello:
We are planning a trip to DL(2 days) and SD(like4days) and we are considering:
1- staying in a hotel really close to DL so we don't need to rent a car
2- Try to find any tour so we can enjoy the city
3- Take the train Armtrak to SD
4- Check if we can use any other transportation while in SD or rent a car.


I'm just looking around, reading and gathering info... so let's see what can I do

Hope you figure a plan soooonnnn!!!

 

[Dragonfly*Tink]

When I took my whole family (5) we stayed in Anaheim and used the Grayline Tours - ticket/transportation in one - they pick you up at your hotel and return you at the end of the day - we found this very convienient, as we are from out of the country and did not know our way around. We opted to do one day in at DLR and then one day out for our excursions ... hope this idea helps!

 

[tmatthews]

We stayed in Anaheim and rented a car ..... drove to Huntington, Laguna, and Hollywood area. When we went to SD we stayed over one night there to see SD zoo one day and SeaWorld the next. We actually double booked the hotels that night but it made more sense than to take that drive 2x! (took the SD overnight trip over the weekend so traffic was not bad!)

 

[c&m]

Here's what worked for us when we took our Socal trip in July 2007.

1. Arrive in Anaheim. Spent 3 days/4 nights at DL/CA.
2. Drove ourselves to Huntington Beach. Stayed 2 nights at the Hyatt Huntington Beach.
3. Drove to San Diego. Spent 5 days/6 nights. While there, we spent 1 day at Legoland, 2 days at Encinitas Beach (beautiful family beach with bathroom facilities) to boogie board, 1 day shopping at Carlsbad Premium Outlets, and 1 day exploring Old Town.

It worked out well. Also, we would typically hit the I-5 after rush hour, at about 10am. That eliminated some traffic congestion.

 

[LauraAnn630]

We are staying in Long Beach the whole time.
We plan to drive to DL, LA, Hollywood and back to Vegas.

Its our Anniversary trip with no kids. We will play it by ear.

Our list of things to do...

Vegas
Blue Man Group
Zumanity
Madame Tussauds
Uncle Richards
Long Beach
Queenmary
Bubba Gumps
Disneyland
Disneys California Adventure
Downtown Disney
Mans Chinese Theater
Kodak Theater
Walk Of Fame
Sunset Strip
Disneys Soda Fountain
Hollywood - Los Angeles
Rodondo Beach
Queens Necklace

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I cannot decide how to plan our trip. We want to be at Disneyland for at least 4 nights. We want to do San Diego Zoo one day, and another day either at Sea World or just touring the town. We also want to visit a beach for at least one day, and do the touristy LA stuff for one day. Can't decide if we should just stay at the motel in Anaheim whole time and just rent a car and drive ourselves around. Or stay there most of the time, and then spend a night or 2 in San Diego. (I wish we could fly into San Diego and out of LAX, but there isn't a non-stop from Memphis, and we have an almost 3 year old, so a nine hour trip with layovers is out of the question.) BTW, we'll be going mid to end April. I am just so confused and worried because from what I have read on various websites, it sounds like the normal 2 hour drive from DL to San Diego will take twice that long if we try to make the drive on a weekday. How has anyone else done this type of trip? Any and all suggestions please welcome.

It has never taken me more than 2 hours (typically 1.5) between San Diego and Anaheim because I check the traffic before I leave and plan my trips around rush hour.

Unless there is a horrific accident and the freeway is closed, I can't imagine it taking 4 hours between San Diego and Anaheim. Just leave before 6am, after 9:30am, before 2pm, or after 6pm during the week.

And definitely spend the 2 nights in San Diego if you are planning to be here for 2 days. The drive to and from Anaheim, even timed perfectly, is still a fairly long one to do over and over.

I don't know about Amtrak, and don't know if there are any car rental places near the train stations.