California with 4 kids (teens)
 

We are considering taking a trip to California this July. We've never been there before and would like some advice. Our kids are girls, 11 & 19; and boys, 13 &16. We live in Florida near Disney and have annual passes so we go there all the time. My girls want to see Disneyland and the boys don't. I thought about going to Disneyland for 1-2 days and maybe the guys could go somewhere else. Then I'd like to see Hollywood and maybe do a tour of a movie studio or see the Dolby Theatre. Basically all the famous sites there would be great. My husband and the boys are looking to do something more adventurous. Does anyone have any suggestions? We thought about renting a car and checking out San Diego as well. Just looking for any advice because I'm overwhelmed. We have been to Europe a few times with the kids and have went to the Caribbean, as well as ski. We like to be on the go, we're not looking at just sitting on a beach everyday. We have about 5-6 days to do all this in. Thanks in advance,

Katie

How about spending a couple of days checking out Hollywood/Venice/Disney, and then heading over to Yosemite? Or up to San Fran? Depends if you are willing to drive

OK with only 5-6 days you don't have time for Yosemite or San Francisco. Hollywood only takes 1-2 hours to see unless you take a tour or visit the wax museum so it could be combined with a visit to a movie studio. Warner Bros is the most popular (after Universal) because it has more frequent tours and is done in small groups of 10-20 as opposed to a couple of hundred at Universal. So drive to LA, park at Hollywood and Highland mall, huge parking structure, not too expensive and you are right there to see Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, Dolby , etc.
You might also want to spend a day checking out Santa Monica for the beaches, shops, Third Street Promenade, etc. Venice is kind of iffy these days, lots of marijuana shops, etc. so up to you but research it first.
Then transfer to Anaheim and stay a few nights and visit Disneyland and California Adventure. The boys might like Knotts Berry Farm since it has some coasters, it is in nearby Buena Park.

I think I'd do LA for a couple of days, then head south, and while the girls do Disneyland, the boys can hang at some beach/beach town. Then I'd head to San Diego for a few days.

Hi sparkle - if you do more than one city if you can I'd fly into one city and home from the other.

Frankly with only 6 days I probably wouldn't come to San diego unless you can spend 3 here. We have a lot of outdoor activities so you can easily spend 3 days swimming, surfing, kayaking, hiking, biking.

But, you could also use up 6 days between LA / Anaheim / Santa Monica / Manhattan Beach, etc.

Also, IF you do come to San Diego don't come from July 8 - 12. ComicCon will be here and hotels get booked up and the ones that are available are rather $$$$.

What are your specific dates? DL/CA will be absolutely slammed over the July 4th weekend and as elizzie says, Comic-Con will definitely impact San Diego

If you go to Disney World all the time, what do your daughters think will be different or better at Disneyland? (I can tell you--nothing will be.) If you want to do something different on this vacation, skip Disneyland.

I'd recommend a couple of days in L.A. That's enough time to see the Hollywood attractions. Parking at the Hollywood & Highland mall is an excellent suggestion for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Graumann's Chinese Theatre and Dolby Theatre. We did a chocolate tasting tour in Beverly Hills which was delicious and fun--look for a Groupon deal as they offer them a lot. Before or after the tour, you can (window)shop in Beverly Hills and and/or celebrity watch. (I saw my first celebrity there.) For a slightly macabre attraction, go to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. You can buy a map to various gravesites and drive it on your own. Go to Griffith Park to visit the (free) observatory and get a fabulous view and photo op of the iconic Hollywood sign.

Then drive down to San Diego for 3 days to partake of all the outdoor activities. I'd especially plan on a surf lesson for everyone!

I think visit LA area for 2-3 days then head up to Northern California starting from San Francisco to Yosemite. Same state, but very different depending where you are!

With kids that age, did you ever think about booking a campus tour of UCLA? or if you go to San Diego, to U.C. S. D.?

Thanks for all the advice. So far the dates I'm thinking that will work for us are July 2-8th. I was thinking of doing Disney on the 2nd/3rd, then going to L.A. for 2 days. Then driving to San Diego and fly home on July 8th, since Comic Con will be starting. Is it better to fly into LAX or Orange County, SNA? I would like non-stop flights so that would mean LAX. Does anyone think one is better than the other or it doesn't matter? I would also consider going up toward San Francisco instead of San Diego. How far of a drive is SF from L.A? We're open to suggestions. I just want to finalize my plans within the next week or two and making all my bookings. One more question, what hotel would be best in L.A. with the kids? We normally stay at Westins, Ritz Carltons. I thought about the Beverly Hilton, but wasn't sure how that would be with the kids. Thanks.

If you stick with San Diego (instead of San Francisco)and LAX, I'd suggest rearranging your days - Disney, then San Diego, then Los Angeles. You might be able to fly out of SAN (San Diego) depending where you're coming from.

While the girls are at Disneyland, perhaps the boys would be interested in a whale watching cruise. Daveys Locker cruises leave from various harbors in Orange County.

Maybe look at Loew's Santa Monica and see if it is in your budget, believe they recently redid the pool area. It gets good reviews. Beverly Hills is nice and central but most shops close early so not a lot to walk around to.

SNA is a much smaller and less intimidating airport. I would use that one when possible.

SNA is an awesome airport - I missed where you are traveling from... Long Beach is great too - Jetblue has good flights in and out of LBG and renting a car in either SNA or Long Beach is a breeze..I literally hate renting cars from LAX - it is the worst! I just had a friend fly in and it took her over 2 hours from touching down to getting in her car to drive to Orange County.

Due to 4th of July your hotels and Disney are going to be PACKED...