Amy

Hi,
I'd like to plan a vacation to Anaheim for some time in October. The things I'd like to do are Disney, Sea World, Universal, Long Beach Aquarium, San Diego Zoo & the Wild Animal Park.

It's just me an my husband, I sort of like the idea of staying by disney and doing day trips. Does this make sense? I know most hotels around Disney will schedule transportation to other attractions, which is what we'd do since we don't want to rent a car (don't like driving in new places).

I wondered what everyone thought? What you would do if this was your trip, where you'd stay, what you would definitey see and do, what could be skipped...I thank everyone for their input in advance!

Amy

calif native

Hi Amy,

There is considerable distance between the areas you describe, so it will pay to do some more research. But figure on dividing your hotel time over the San Diego, Orange County, and Hollywood areas or you will spend a disproportionate amount of your holiday on the freeway. Whether you are driving or not.

The area around Disneyland is rather seedy. They are working hard to spiff it up and the major hotels are fine, but overall it is not the most attractive area in which to stay. Since you mention Long Beach Aquarium, you might stay in Long Beach. Also in Long Beach is the Queen Mary, which is worth a visit.

Sea World, the Zoo, and Wild Animal Park are all in San Diego, roughly a 3 hour drive from Disneyland. Add your return trip and you've logged 6 hours on the road in one day.

Ditto for Universal Studios, which is on the other side of Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, public transportation is sorely lacking, but there are taxis and busses and there is a train between San Diego and Los Angeles and a subway between Los Angeles Hollywood.

I would stay three nights in San Diego, two nights in Long Beach or Anaheim, and two nights in Hollywood.

I might skip the Wild Animal Park, but only because it is remote if you don't have a car.

Have fun.

Barbara

Southern Calif is a tough place to rely on public transportation. You might want to re-consider the car rental, think about driving off peak times, etc since that would be the easiest way to get around, by far. The freeways are in good condition and the weather makes for good driving conditions - it's the traffic that is a bear. But you can still manage a great vacation there without a car. I second all of Calif Native's advise. I would stay at Disneyland Park, try the new hotel, I forget the name (California Hotel??). I stayed there last year - it is a beautiful monument to the arts and crafts era. You feel like you are staying in a beautiful mountain lodge. It is so incredibly convenient to stay on site. You definitely need to move to San Diego for a few days to take in those sights. Don't try to do it from an LA/Orange County base. Taking the train to town is an excellent idea. Perhaps you should base yourself downtown since you can easily walk to many restaurants, shops, nightlife etc in San Diego. The train station is right downtown as well. You could easily take a taxi to the Zoo or SeaWorld - both are 15-20 min from downtown. Check out Balboa Park as well - this is where the zoo is located. There are museums, Shakespeare theatre (Old Globe) and botanical gardens in the park Have fun!

Dawn Ct

We are also planning a similar trip for next month. Right now we are staying three nights at the Anaheim Sheraton and plan to do Disney California Adventure on the day of arrival, Disneyland on the second day and Universal Studios on the third day. On the forth day, we will drive to Wild Animal Park, en route to San Diego for two nights and the Hotel Del Coronado, switching to the Marriott Resort and Marina for the remaining three days. My question is, is Universal Studios that inconvenient to drive to for a day, and return to Anaheim? Or should we move to a hotel near Universal. 45 minutes one way will not bother me. Thanks, Dawn

Barbara

Amy, I agree with most of the advice you've been given, but I'd like to clarify one thing. The drive from Disneyland to San Diego is about two hours, not three, and that will get you all the way downtown. The Wild Animal Park would be less, as it's north of the city.

xxx

for the l.a. portion, i'd just stay in the disneyland area. they have daily shuttles to universal studio or if you are driving it's no problem driving there (just might run into some traffic).
then, if you want to see wild animal park, i'd consider renting a car for the drive from l.a. to san diego, stopping at the park. san diego is actually a very enjoyable town to drive in (not scary like l.a.) so if you wanted to keep the car for a few days, i don't think you'd have a problem finding your way around.

ss

Stay at the Grand Californian at Downtown Disney. It's wonderful!!!

terry

I have to agree with everyone that says you should split your trip between Anaheim and San Diego.

I'm sure any of the disney properties will be happy to arrange transportation to Universal Studios and back, I've never done it so you may want to call first. It may only be 45 min under normal circumstances but at peak hours it can be considerably longer. The hotels may also arrange transportation to the aquarium.

San Diego is only 2 hr drive maybe even less from Disneyland, but that too can be considerably longer at certain times. We try and drive down at off hours or take the train (AmTrak, from Anaheim stadium), once there you can get a car or stay downtown. Any of the downtown hotels can get you to the Zoo and SeaWorld. Downtown they have a cable car that can get you to Old Towne or the Gas Lamp area and even to the border. They also have the Trolley, a hop-on hop-off bus that takes you most tourist attractions.

mt

Hi Amy!
I agree with the other posters about staying in OC & SD.
Also, I believe Universal provides free transportation from Anaheim to Universal Studios. But you may want to contact Universal Studios just to be sure.

Alisa

Driving from Anaheim to Universal is doable in one day. Leave early--give yourself an hour at least. On a weekday--more if it is rush hour.