What to add to Disneyland vacation in July 2018

[OhStuffandFluff]

This will be our first trip to Disneyland. We have been to WDW 5 times so are wanting to check out the original park! We will be staying middle of July for 8 days and 7 nights. My kids will be 13, 12, and 3 at that time. The oldest two want to go to Universal Studios Hollywood and also the beach. I thought we could each one of those for a day each. Then I planned to visit Disneyland for 4 days. I am looking for other ideas of what to visit either in the Anaheim, LA, or even possibly San Diego areas. What are the best beaches? Stay in Anaheim area for beaches or go to San Diego for that? Should we stay at a hotel in Anaheim or get a hotel near Universal Studios for when we visit that? We plan on renting a car for the trip. Probably don't want to do any other amusement parks other than Disney and USH. Looking for any input, ideas, thoughts anyone has! Thank you so much!

 

[PurpleKomodo]

We did a big SoCal trip this past summer. I have two kids who were almost 5 and almost 1 at the time so I can't help much with the older kids. We really liked Legoland (although the 12 and 13 year old might find it lame unless they are really into Legos). We also did the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. I would recommend either of those. We went to Ocean Beach in San Diego and it was lovely.

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

Did you tack the San Diego visit onto Disneyland? Did you stay in Anaheim and then visit San Diego for one day or did you transfer? How long did you stay in San Diego if you did transfer? Thanks!

We did a big SoCal trip this past summer. I have two kids who were almost 5 and almost 1 at the time so I can't help much with the older kids. We really liked Legoland (although the 12 and 13 year old might find it lame unless they are really into Legos). We also did the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. I would recommend either of those. We went to Ocean Beach in San Diego and it was lovely.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

We transferred. We stayed in San Diego 3 days, transferred to Legoland for 1 day, and then Disneyland for 3 days.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

San Diego is really far away from Anaheim, especially with traffic. I think if you are dying to go to San Diego, you should do it on the front end of your trip for 2-3 days. But with the plans you have I would personally suggest sticking in the Anaheim area for the duration of your trip unless San Diego is bucket list. It's wonderful but don't underestimate the travel time back and forth. I think it would be more relaxing to stay in one place, especially since you are devoting 5 full days of your 8 days to theme parks.

 

[felice]

The beaches near Anaheim are certainly good, don't get me wrong - but for a fantastic beach experience, take yourselves in the car over to Santa Monica. Parking is available either on the pier itself and also at the car park next to the pier; prices are cheap for a full day and you can also walk over to Venice Beach as well, if walking takes your fancy. You may well remember the Santa Monica area from seeing the original series of Baywatch back in the 1980s on television - and things haven't changed much, plus the magic is still there. Santa Monica itself is around an hour's drive from Anaheim but not too bad if you go via the freeways.

 

[Elima2015]

I second the suggestion to not add San Diego to the itinerary unless you will be flying in or out of SAN. I love San Diego - it is just a lot of driving to go back and forth for me.

As for beaches: Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach is wonderful, quiet. We also went to Newport Beach and that was fun also - larger, busier, more things to do (restaurants, bike rentals). I'd go back to either one!

I personally would put USH on either the front or the end of the trip and stay closer to USH and LAX (if you are flying in or out of LAX).

 

[4Mickeys]

I stayed at Santa Monica for part of our trip when we did DL/LA a few years ago - We really enjoyed it and rode bikes to Venice Beach - my kids were 13 and 10 during our trip - on some of the travel boards people don't always recommend VB for families due to the alternative vibe and medicinal marijuana shops - I only had one guy try to offer me a flyer for one of those shops and when I said "no thanks" and kept walking it was a non-issue - he did not attempt to hand it to the kids. What we really liked was the street performers and all the activity going on watching the basketball, tennis, body building action etc. we had a really fun day. As you have the car you could drive to Universal Studios from there. It can be a little more expensive to stay around Santa Monica but there are some budget friendly options to be found - depending on your wants/needs. Not too far away from Santa Monica for more beach options would be the Malibu area.

 

[HydroGuy]

San Diego is really far away from Anaheim, especially with traffic. I think if you are dying to go to San Diego, you should do it on the front end of your trip for 2-3 days. But with the plans you have I would personally suggest sticking in the Anaheim area for the duration of your trip unless San Diego is bucket list. It's wonderful but don't underestimate the travel time back and forth. I think it would be more relaxing to stay in one place, especially since you are devoting 5 full days of your 8 days to theme parks.

What she said! Totally agree!

 

[LittleFlounder]

I really like Huntington Beach. It's a 20-30 min drive from the DL area of Anaheim. The beach is big and beautiful, lots to see and do. There are tons of beach concessions stands and places to rent just about anything(bikes, boogie boards, surf boards,chairs,sand toys), and it really fun to walk the pier to see the amazing view or watch the people fishing and surfing...after all, it is "Surf City USA! Downtown Huntington Beach is just across the street(Pacific Coast highway), where there are tons of shopping and restaurants. HB just has such an awesome beach/surf vibe to it...I love it!

 

[SteveMP]

I live in San Diego, i wouldn't drive down just for the beaches. Pleanty of beutiful beaches all over OC or LA. Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Doheny, Crystal Cove, Laguna beach/Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach,etc.

Personally for Universal when we do stay the night we usually stay there at the Hilton.

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

I second the suggestion to not add San Diego to the itinerary unless you will be flying in or out of SAN. I love San Diego - it is just a lot of driving to go back and forth for me.

As for beaches: Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach is wonderful, quiet. We also went to Newport Beach and that was fun also - larger, busier, more things to do (restaurants, bike rentals). I'd go back to either one!

I personally would put USH on either the front or the end of the trip and stay closer to USH and LAX (if you are flying in or out of LAX).

I thought about this as well. One problem I was finding was that hotels near USH seem much more expensive than the ones in Anaheim. Any suggestions on decent priced hotels close to USH? Thanks so much!!

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

I stayed at Santa Monica for part of our trip when we did DL/LA a few years ago - We really enjoyed it and rode bikes to Venice Beach - my kids were 13 and 10 during our trip - on some of the travel boards people don't always recommend VB for families due to the alternative vibe and medicinal marijuana shops - I only had one guy try to offer me a flyer for one of those shops and when I said "no thanks" and kept walking it was a non-issue - he did not attempt to hand it to the kids. What we really liked was the street performers and all the activity going on watching the basketball, tennis, body building action etc. we had a really fun day. As you have the car you could drive to Universal Studios from there. It can be a little more expensive to stay around Santa Monica but there are some budget friendly options to be found - depending on your wants/needs. Not too far away from Santa Monica for more beach options would be the Malibu area.

This sounds fun! My DS13 just this weekend requested to visit Santa Monica beach. He thought it looked fun. We may have to check this out! Is the drive to USH bad from Santa Monica? Thanks for your help!

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

I live in San Diego, i wouldn't drive down just for the beaches. Pleanty of beutiful beaches all over OC or LA. Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Doheny, Crystal Cove, Laguna beach/Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach,etc.

Personally for Universal when we do stay the night we usually stay there at the Hilton.

If we stay at the Hilton for our day at USH, how does that work? Do you generally stay the night after you visit or can you stay the night before, then check out the day of and still walk to USH? Will the hotel let you keep your car and luggage there until you return from the park?

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

I really like Huntington Beach. It's a 20-30 min drive from the DL area of Anaheim. The beach is big and beautiful, lots to see and do. There are tons of beach concessions stands and places to rent just about anything(bikes, boogie boards, surf boards,chairs,sand toys), and it really fun to walk the pier to see the amazing view or watch the people fishing and surfing...after all, it is "Surf City USA! Downtown Huntington Beach is just across the street(Pacific Coast highway), where there are tons of shopping and restaurants. HB just has such an awesome beach/surf vibe to it...I love it!

There are so many great beaches to visit! I thought about this one as well! I am having a hard time pinning down just one to visit! LOL

 

[vbmom40]

We have done this trip 2 times now. We flew into SNA drove to legoland stayed 3 nights. We drove to san diego daily to do the zoo and sea world. Then we drove up to Disneyland for 4 days. Then we drove to Universal and stayed at the hilton and flew out of Burbank.

 

[vbmom40]

Is anyone in your family that is traveling with you military?

 

[SteveMP]

If we stay at the Hilton for our day at USH, how does that work? Do you generally stay the night after you visit or can you stay the night before, then check out the day of and still walk to USH? Will the hotel let you keep your car and luggage there until you return from the park?

Well kind of depends. For me the drive to USH is a little over 2 hours. So we have stayed the night there in order to go 2 days. Or we have done DL, then drive up to the Universal Hilton, stay the night, then go to USH. I seem to remember parking at the hotel last time was about the same as parking at USH(within a couple bucks but both seem to change), so we have done both leaving car there or moving it to USH. Though I once left the car at the hotel and didn't have to pay, that was nice.

 

[ExcitedMama]

We are adding on a day for Universal and a separate day for museums. On our last trip years ago we were very impressed by the dinosaurs at the natural history museum and the endeavor space ship. We also enjoyed the Petersen Car Museum. We did SD as an add on for our last trip and it was great. We did the zoo, safari park, sea world and Lego land. It's really beautiful in SD and a lot of fun to wander around. We are planning on doing it all again but also adding in the aircraft carrier. We also did Long Beach on our last trip and enjoyed that aircraft carrier and were absolutely impressed by the aquarium. We have had yearly admission tickets to our local aquarium, Monterey, and while it's very popular we actually preferred the one in Long Beach. I'm trying to fit that in again. Of course a lot depends on where you live and what you have there as far as recommendations go. I don't think we can fit it into our trip but I'd love to go to Medieval Times or the Pirates equivalent experience dinner if you have a night in L.A. where you might want to do something fun.

 

[OhStuffandFluff]

Is anyone in your family that is traveling with you military?

No.