Would LOVE input for our Sept trip

[lkperich]

Hi all! Me and my family (husband, daughter(10) and son (8) will be coming to DLR in Sept (8th - 19th). I have been twice before (once when I was in Grade 6, and the last time in 1988) and my husband once in 88.....so it's been a LONG time! Kids First time!!

So we arrive Saturday at 11:30. We are booked into HOJO's until Sept 13th. On the 13th we drive to San Diego and do Sea World. Then on the 14th Legoland (and the 15th). Back into Anaheim the night of the 15th at staying at Desert Inn & Suites remainder of trip. Right now we purchased a City Pass I think it's called - 3 day hopper for DL/CA, Sea World and Universal. Got our LL passes thru airmiles. Just trying to figure out what (if anything) we should do on the Sat we get in. Was thinking of upgrading our hopper passes for MANY more days? And have to fit Universal in there somewhere. Any advice on what park we should do Sun 9th? We also want to do Medieval I think (Pirates??). Maybe a beach day. Maybe a shopping day. It's all so overwhelming! I did purchase RideMaxx but haven't yet started to play with it.

Any MUST DO rides (besides Cars Land, lol)? Any tips? I have been reading lots of threads and getting major overwhelmed....lol...so thought I'd just post.
Oh, and we have rented a car the whole time we are there - and we fly into John Wayne airport....

Thanks!

 

[skiingfast]

I would do shopping on the arrival day if you arrive at 11:30am. While you will be taking freeways, if you went as the crow flies from John Wayne to DLR you would pass, the South Coast Plaza, then the Block at Orange Outlets. A couple miles north of DLR at Harbor and Orangthorpe is the Disney Character Warehouse Outlet. Also you could have time to walk over to DTD.

On Sunday you may want to goto Disneyland as a weekend will be your only chance to catch the fireworks and Fantasmic. The weekdays should have short hours and no night entertainment.

You may want to break up the early days or late days with Universal.

You may want to upgrade your DLR part of the Citypass to a longer park hopper to fill your days, or you could leave a day open for shopping and the Midevil Times or Pirates dinner.

 

[lkperich]

Thanks! Which beach is the best?

 

[skiingfast]

Hunington and Newport. These are nice and close to DLR.


Where are you staying in San Diego? There are lots of nice beaches down there as well. You might want to go to one in the evening.

 

[lkperich]

Hunington and Newport. These are nice and close to DLR.


Where are you staying in San Diego? There are lots of nice beaches down there as well. You might want to go to one in the evening.

Comfort Inn & Suites Hotel Circle SeaWorld Area

 

[skiingfast]

Comfort Inn & Suites Hotel Circle SeaWorld Area

You could just go to Mission Beach or the area in Mission Bay, this is very close and waht Seaworld is built on. Also Pacific Beach just north of Mission Bay is nice. Another beach I would go to now and then is Solano Beach which will be on the way back to your hotel from Legoland.

 

[ArchOwl]

So, how many days were you thinking of being in the parks? You are in Anaheim at first for five days? Then San Diego and then back again for another five days? You may want to upgrade your City Pass for some extra park time. I would try to schedule at least one weekend day at Disneyland to catch the entertainment like fireworks and Fantasmic!, which is only available on weekends during the off season.

Maybe five days in the parks? This gives you lots of play time and also lots of other days to visit the beaches, I really like Huntington Beach myself. There is also a day for Universal, a day for shopping at South Coast Plaza and dinner at Medieval Times.

Arrival day is a good day to visit Downton Disney, check out the resorts, shop, and have a nice dinner and maybe a drink at Trader Sam's. . I always like to make it an early night and be ready to hit the parks the next day.

Sounds like a fun trip! Enjoy!

 

[lkperich]

Thanks for all the input......it is GREATLY appreciated!!!!

 

[smiles33]

I definitely think you should consider adding days, especially since your first half of the trip is before all the Halloween decor goes up. So you'll want to ride HMH, SMGG, and enjoy the holiday touches during the second half after SD. We went right when the Halloween decor went up last year and had a fantastic time! Hope you do, too!

 

[lkperich]

I definitely think you should consider adding days, especially since your first half of the trip is before all the Halloween decor goes up. So you'll want to ride HMH, SMGG, and enjoy the holiday touches during the second half after SD. We went right when the Halloween decor went up last year and had a fantastic time! Hope you do, too!

Definitely going to add days.....I'm thinking upping it maybe to 7 or 8 in total, depending on the price to do that.....and then maybe even stopping in and walking around one of the parks on the Saturday night that we get in....maybe walk around and see Cars with all the neon lit up??? No rush, just get a feel for the parks for the next few days?? Or does that sound like a dumb thing to do???

 

[TeddiBarra]

Yep, add days, at least two.

Some days you may like having the luxury of just going for a half day or few hours in the a.m. or p.m.

Downtown Disney is closer by, and has some good options like A) eat at the Rain Forrest Cafe and then hit a movie up or the ESPN zone for some game fun. Walk around and check out The Grand or Disneyland Hotel (or do a character meal at one of the restaurants).

 

[Rubygoose]

If you won't be spending a whole day in the park on your arrival, you could just do Downtown Disney shopping and dining because you don't need to pay admission to go there. Your kids would probably love Rainforest Cafe, or you could go to Goofy's kitchen. The world of Disney store is huge and you could spend a great deal of time in there.

 

[lkperich]

I definitely think you should consider adding days, especially since your first half of the trip is before all the Halloween decor goes up. So you'll want to ride HMH, SMGG, and enjoy the holiday touches during the second half after SD. We went right when the Halloween decor went up last year and had a fantastic time! Hope you do, too!

But won't those rides that are getting the holiday touches be closed the first part of our trip??

 

[skiingfast]

But won't those rides that are getting the holiday touches be closed the first part of our trip??

HM will be closed, it close late August to reopen on the 14th. Space Mountain May be open the first weekend. When you return the will be in Halloween and Holiday form.

 

[smiles33]

But won't those rides that are getting the holiday touches be closed the first part of our trip??

Yes, that's why I said you need to add days to make sure you get a couple days after San Diego in DLR. SM is one of my fave rides and I had never seen SMHH until this most recent trip. I think I rode it 3 or 4 times, including 2 consecutive times during magic morning when there wasn't a line so CM let us just stay on!

I also rode HMH twice! It's fun to see the holiday touches!

 

[KittyKat1978]

HM will be closed, it close late August to reopen on the 14th. Space Mountain May be open the first weekend. When you return the will be in Halloween and Holiday form.

Is the Halloween overlay and the Xmas one the same for HM?

 

[ArchOwl]

Is the Halloween overlay and the Xmas one the same for HM?

Yes, the overlay works well for Halloween and Christmas, so they keep it up from late September through the end of the Christmas holiday season.