Which is a better way to visit DL and S. California?

[psimon]

My goal is to arrive in Southern california on Friday night and depart the following Saturday. Our original idea (PLAN A) was to fly into San Diego, spend two nights there and then move north to Anaheim and spend the remaining time at the Grand California hotel and visit DL, DCA and Knotts. Our plans for San Diego was the zoo and check out the area.

Am I better off flying into San Diego (the original plan) and moving, or (PLAN B) flying into LAX and spending the entire time lodging at the GC and just driving down to San Diego each day for the couple of days we are interested in touring down there? It would save the hassle of packing and moving were we to lodge in one place for the duration.

All thoughts appreciated....

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[karylrocks]

I asked this same question a couple of weeks ago. The advice I got, which makes sense to me, is to fly in and stay in San Diego for the days you plan to be there, and drive to Anaheim to stay for the rest of your trip. I think that switching hotels would be less trouble than driving 2 hours during the early morning rush hour and driving back at night after a full day of touring.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

If you haven't already purchased your theme park tickets you might want to consider the So. California City Pass:
3 Days @ Disneyland/California Adventure
1 Day @ Knotts Berry Farm
1 Day @ San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park
1 Day @ Seaworld

Adults: $185.00

http://citypass.com/city/socal.html

If you are a Costco member they have it even cheaper in the warehouses and online.

 

[FoodLover]

Am I better off flying into San Diego (the original plan) and moving, or (PLAN B) flying into LAX and spending the entire time lodging at the GC and just driving down to San Diego each day for the couple of days we are interested in touring down there?

You definitely don't want to be "commuting" from Anaheim to San Diego if you can help it. That will easily take 1.5 to 3 hours each way, depending on traffic!

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, be sure to price out flights into SAN (San Diego) and out of SNA (Orange County). Sometimes the fare is the same as if you flew in and out of the same airport, and this might save you a lot of time.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[LucyKate]

Agree with the above - we did that drive once, and the traffic was ok, and even that was enough. I reckon it would be fine for a single day trip, but for any more than that, you should definitely fly into and stay in San Diego. The San Diego airport is also very close to everything, and not nearly as chaotic as LAX.

 

[paulala]

It would save the hassle of packing and moving were we to lodge in one place for the duration.

As a San Diegan I had to chuckle at the idea of tackling our awful traffic to and from the LA area to save on unpacking. It probably looks like a simple little drive on the map but the odds are you would hit traffic at some point and then you will be sitting on the freeway for quite a while. Do the plan A. If you plan on going to the Zoo and there are at least 4 of you :thewave: :thewave: give some thought to buying the annual pass. It costs about $84 for two adults in the same household and it includes two free guest passes, and it is good for the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park 365 days. Not that you are going to be coming back to SD but it is usually cheaper to buy the annual passes than to pay for the regular entrance fees for everyone.

 

[pocohontas2004]

San Diego airport is easy to get around in - we flew in and out of there, 2 days in San Diego, 4 days in Anaheim, and the last day back in San Diego. (BTW - Holiday Inn Bayside (San Diego) provides free airport shuttle 24 hours a day!) It worked out well for us to use San Diego airport. If you could get into one and out of the other (Orange County that is), that might be even better.