vjose

Hi All,

Good day.

We, 3 adults and 3 kids (6,7, and 12 years) would be in San Diego for 4 days and we need help. Appreciate your comments and suggestions. We are open for changes as much as possible.

Note that this post is a branch out from our original post .
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-need-help.cfm

from the wonderful suggestions and advise we got from above post we completely reworked our itinerary . Thanks to Gardyloo, jamie99, Cjar,jlub,nanabee and many others

-- Disneyland - 2 days

-- Universal Studio
-- Drive through Beverly hills, walk of fame, Santa Monica beach through Malibu
-- Pepperdine university campus and Santa Monica pier in the evening
-- Griffith observatory
-- La Brea tarpits, Getty center
-- California science center

As brilliant as I am, I have pre paid for this apartment(was definitely cheaper than other options) https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9729921?s=Lssi_aEQ for 4 days. how ever on an after thought with help from a sensible Fodorite , I have decided to cut down Disney days to be 2. That leaves us a couple of days at Anaheim with out plans. Some suggestion please.

Other than Disneyland we really haven't made any plans. the above list is selection from reviews.
We need to find a place to stay for this part. Is Glendale,Pasadena a good choice or as Gardyloo suggested LA proper would be better.

Thanks

janisj

Either Pasadena or west-ish LA would be fine ---

But keeping the 4 days in Anaheim would also be perfectly OK. Besides Disney, you could visit Knotts Berry Farm, several Orange County beaches, do a day trip to Catalina Island, go to an Angels game (major league baseball), visit the mission at San Juan Capistrano, etc etc.

curiousgeo

2 days at Disneyland during the summer may or may not be enough time. It could be hot and very crowded with long lines everywhere for the most popular attractions.

With young children you may want to take breaks, perhaps leaving the park to rest and returning later for the evening festivities. But with 2 extra days you will have the flexibility to see other area places like Knotts Berry Farm or return to Disneyland for extra day or two if needed.

By the way, at that age my son loved Legoland in Carlsbad.

janisj

>>2 days at Disneyland during the summer may or may not be enough time. It could be hot and very crowded with long lines everywhere for the most popular attractions.

mlgb

I would not pay extra for a 3-day park hopper. If you are going 3 days just get the 3 day, one park per day ticket. Going back and forth and trying to stockpile Fastpasses doesn't really work any more, and is kind of exhausting. Two days may be all you can handle, anyways.

If you do buy a 3-day ticket you get one "Magic Morning" which is helpful. Otherwise you really do need to go as soon as the park opens.

With two younger children I assume you will probably not go on some of the roller coasters and fast rides so you may not need the third day anyways. Just try to go as early as possible and use Fastpasses where you can. There is lots to enjoy in Disneyland other than going on rides.

FranknSense

The last 3 times, we did both parks(Disnyland/CA Adventure) in one day. We arrive early, stay late, eat there and spend the night across the street

Figure your best fastpass opportunity is when you arrive, so check the apps to see which rides are in most demand

I cant stand Knotts Berry Farm, rather spend the extra days in San Diego

jamie99

What are your dates? Disneyland will likely reach capacity over the 4th of July weekend, in which case if you leave the park you will not be allowed back in until attendance decreases.
I would stay in Anaheim for the days you visit Disneyland and California Adventure so you can be there when the gates open and crowds are not bad, less wait time. Also the motel rooms there have more lenient fire codes as far as how many people can occupy one room. Most hotels in LA are 4 people (there are exceptions).

vjose

Thanks janisj. Any specific stay recommendations would be great.
Further noticed that for LA there are many rentals through airbnb and vbro and quite cheap compared to San Diego. Only thing I didn't understood well is the Damage Insurance?
Noted other activities and will include it in our plan.

Thanks curiousgeo, mlgb. We already been to Paris Disneyland. So we will start with a 2 day individual Park pass and if we see that we need more time then will go for 3rd day.

Thanks FranknSense. your suggestions are exactly what we had in our mind - will arrive early, stay late, eat there.

In case Knotts Berry Farm is all about roller coasters then we will give it a miss since only me and DS will do those.

vjose

Thanks jamie99. Our plan for Disneyland is to be on be 25 and 26th July. Is there any chance that Tuesday & Wednesday will be less crowd then we will do 26-27.

jamie99

http://www.isitpacked.com/disneyland...ctor-calendar/
Looks like the whole month of July will be busy.

Knott's is not all about coasters, there is Camp Snoopy, the old west town (part of the original built by Walter Knott), stagecoach and train rides. If you go be sure to eat at Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken Dinner restaurant.

FranknSense

We went one Wednesday in July, and there was less than 10 min waits on Cyclone. My boys took it 10 times in one hour. This latest visit our only long wait was the Rte 66 car ride, 50 min because of a stoppage. Take the single line, you get to race against your companions and its faster.
We used fastpasses for Space Mtn(boring) and the new Star Wars(worth it). Other than that waits were under 25 min except for the log ride. I needed to be washed before dinner

janisj

Frank is making things up -- just to let you know . . . There is no 'Cyclone' at DL and the 'Route 66' ride is really Radiator Springs. And IF he does mean Radiator Springs, it has VERY long lines almost every day (unless you get early Magic Morning before the park opens to the general public)

(he is a long time Fodorite who just re-joined w/ a new screen name)

FranknSense

I would never let my kids take a Roller Coaster with a stupid cheesy name like "California Screamin," it would be sacrilege


btw- Ive been on blah blah blah Radiator Springs at least 20 times, you? Ive been on the Cyclone 100+ times, you? And don't get me started about the real rides at Disney. Not to mention I can even tell you where they bought the authentic witches table used in the Haunted House. If you want, I can introduce you to the spirit that possesses it

mlgb

The banned FrankS?

For the Radiator Springs there is a dedicated single-rider line (sometimes it is too busy for them to open it). It isn't going to work well for a large family with younger kids, but it might if just a few of you want to ride it (such as the 12 year old and one parent). Try to grab a Fastpass for that ride as soon as you arrive at California Adventure. It is IMO the best ride in the parks.

I have seen a few young kids freak out on the Tower of Terror. Doubt the youngest will want to go on California Screamin' anyways, if that is what FrankS is calling Cyclone.

It's going to be busy every day in July.

janisj

>>(sometimes it is too busy for them to open it). . . . every other time I've ridden it it has been via the SR line.

StantonHyde

We just did LA for Spring Break. The BEST part of trip was Harry Potter at Universal. Really awesome. Our whole family loved it!!!
We did just one day at Disney--my kids have been before.
We also saw:
Aquarium in Long Beach
Warner Bros studio/lot tour--great
Peterson Auto Museum--DH insisted. It's cool but not for a really long time!!
I wanted to go to the La Brea Tar Pits--didn't get there. (see Auto Museum)
California Science Center-meh, its ok. My kids are 11 and 13. I thought you could go into the Space Shuttle--you just look at it. If you have a great science center near you then I would skip this. If you don't it is good.

logandog

As a long time annual pass holder I can tell you the best time time to visit Disneyland is February 1987.

FranknSense

As a long time annual pass holder I can tell you the best time time to visit Disneyland is February 1987.

sf7307

FWIW, we (two senior adults) really liked the California Science Center, including seeing the space shuttle from the outside.

mlgb

My dentist today told me they just went to the new Frozen musical at the theater in Cal Adventure). They are using Fastpasses for seatings and they got there at 9 am and only managed to get the last show at 5:30 pm.

She said it was excellent. Due to a fear of heights, she has to sit on the lowest level and they were told to line up an hour early for that.