Which Beach for youth group

[Pinboys]

Hey all. I know this board can help out with this one. I am going to be with a group of 26 teenagers from our church youth group (5 other adults too) the last week of July. I have some questions:

1. We want to spend some time at a beach near Anaheim. We have some beach lovers and some shopping lovers. Is there a beach that offers both? Also, are there fire rings at one of the beaches?

2. We will be at the Hilton Anaheim. Does anyone know of a shuttle that will take us to Universal Studios one day and if so, how much are we talking?

3. Does anyone know, historically, how late Disneyland stays open in late July? We will be there on a Friday of the last week of this July. We won't be able to get to the park until either 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I hope it is open late.

4. How long of a walk is it to DTD from the Hilton?

Thanks so much for all your help.

 

[eduk8r26]

I don't know much about the beaches, not being from Orange County, although I know Newport is a good beach and so is Huntington. Don't know about shopping nearby, though. I do know that Disneyland is open until midnight during the summer. However, it is usually extremely busy and entering late in the afternoon you sometimes run the risk of not getting in because it is too busy.

 

[Tink33]

There are firerings in Huntington Beach. You must get there early to stake one out. There are some shops in the downtown area a short walk from the beach. You can also rent boogie boards and bikes. I think a group of teenagers would like this area.

Disneyland might be open until midnight on Friday night during the summer.

 

[stampinshauna]

Sounds like a fun trip. I'd suggest Huntington Beach as well. Disneyland should be open until midnight, and will likely be crowded.

 

[stampinshauna]

One more note about Huntington Beach, I believe it is $10 to park.

 

[Pir8girl]

I grew up in Newport Beach.
I would go to Corona del Mar. ( this is technically in Newport Beach but south of the Peninsula) At Big Corona there are bathrooms, firepits and there is lots of room. My second choice would be Newport. There aren't many fire pits but the beach is clean and there are plenty of places to eat around the pier.
My last choice would be Huntington.

 

[Pinboys]

As eduk8r26 states that we may run the risk of not getting in, we were looking at purchasing our tickets through a website (given to me by the group reservation folks at Disneyland) with one of the options being $31/ticket but can't get in to the park until after 4:00 p.m. The price is for convention attendees which we will be a part of. Is there a possibility of being "locked" out even though we have tickets that are good for one specific day?

 

[Pir8girl]

I did hear of the park closing last year on days that were extremely busy, but I thought those days were around Christmas break.
Is there anyway you can take one day out for the beach? Or another option would be to do Disneyland in the morning and head for the beach around 2 or 3 p.m. and stay for an evening bbq.

 

[Pinboys]

Well, our schedule is pretty tight right now. The convention ends at noon on Friday, so we could go directly over to Disneyland right after that and get there...say a bit after 1:00 IF we get the all day pass and not the after 4:00 pass. The difference betweein the two tickets is $17/person. That might work.

We will have transportation for the Monday prior and we are planning to go to Universal Studios that day and then turn in the vans that evening. Tues. - Friday noon is the convention which will be FANTASTIC!!!!!