Hello!
I have 2 days/ 1nt in May with 2 kids 11 and 7 years old. Would you stay in Century City, Anaheim/Disneyland or Santa Monica beach (Zuma beach) and suggested itineraries?? I can't decide since this will be my first time in the area. Please help!
Thanks.

A few years back, I went to both Anaheim/Disneyland and to Santa Monica. I loved both. My son was only 4 yrs old. We rented bikes from Venice and took the path to the Santa Monica pier. Absolutely beautiful. We also did Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. It depends if you want a more laid back vacation or active. We loved both! Have fun!

Zuma Beach is barely Santa Monica-- I'd consider it Malibu. I would stay farther south in Santa Monica proper, as there is much more to do in the area.

Century City is central to everything, but its sidewalks pretty much roll up at 6 PM (it's a corporate center more than anything else these days). I do not like Anaheim outside of the Disneyland area (rundown Suburbia hell), but there are some great places to stay not too far away in Orange County, including some gems right on the coast. What is your price range?

If you only have 1 night and you're planning to go to Disneyland, that's where you should stay. Arrive LAX, visit the beaches, drive to Anaheim to stay the night and get an early start to Disneyland.

The length of the visit didn't register when I first read this. This is a VERY short time to get any quality touring time in this huge geographic area, so you might as well spend the whole time at Disney, although if you're leaving the second day you may not even have time for the parks. Why such a short time?

We have a short time b'c we are returning home after getting off a cruiseship in San Pedro. I realize we are on a time crunch, but would like to make the best of it. Price range around $200usd/nt.
Thanks for your replies.

I'm assuming that you'd be going to Disneyland or you wouldn't have mentioned Anaheim. With children those ages, my first suggestion would be the Disneyland Resort Hotel. My second would be to stay in Huntington Beach if you want a little beach activity plus Disney. There's a Hyatt and a Hilton, each adjacent to the sand. May can still be a bit cool for beach weather though. I would not bother with Century City for the reasons suggested by rjw, and Zuma is nice but there's nothing to do other than the beach. I wouldn't pay to stay in Santa Monica.