Please Help San Diego First Timers
 

Family of 4 visiting CA for the first time in the beginning of April. Little monsters are 10 and 6. We have 5 full days but I opened my big mouth and promised a day at Disneyland. That was when I thought it was a 30 min drive but now I know better. Anyway theres not a snowballs chance I can get out of that one so now we are down to 4 days. We are staying on Coranado.
I am thinking our must sees are,The Zoo, Seaworld and La Jolla but am open to suggestions. Also heard something about sea lions on the beach,and places to watch surfers and wind surfers, and Old Town and,bike rides on the boardwalk and yikes! too many choices.
Restaurant suggestions are also much appreciated.
TIA

There are lots of places to watch surfers, especially a cluster of beaches from Del Mar to Encinitas. And, if you watch carefully, you'll often see groups (pods?) of dolphins moving through the surf, pretty close to the surfers. Last time I sat and watched, I saw a pod of 8 swim by.

I'm sure you already know this, but bring lots of sunscreen and sunglasses. It's bright down there!

The seals are on the Children's Beach in La Jolla. Look, but don't touch.

Check out this web site for lots of information about things to do and places to eat.

www.sandiego.org

With 5 days but 1 going to Disneyland..go to Catel in downtown Disneyland for lunch..
4 days is fine for SD..break it down to the Zoo one day with Prado restaurant for lunch..walk around the museums..
La Jolla another day, Birch Aquarium and seals, lunch at Georges at the cove on the terrace or Alfonso's for Mex..
Sea World the 3rd day..maybe hit Old Town for dinner on the way home..Old Town Mex Cafe..
4th day, Coronado with the beach, Hotel Del,
rent bikes and cruise the town..happy hour at the Brigantine..kids love this place too! the best fish tacos.
Belmont Park in Mission Beach is fun to ride the wooden roller coaster..oceanfront..or take the water taxi from Coronado to downtown SD..

belmontpark.com
georgesatthecove.com
cohnrestaurants.com
brigantine.com
sdhe.com

Could you offer them Lego Land in nearby Carlsbad instead of Disneyland?

From what I hear, Legoland is basically for the really young kids..
7 and younger..maybe the 10 year old would like to go.
Disneyland drive time is about 2 hours..depending on time of day..

I don't think Legoland would be a substitute for Disneyland. LOL! Just leave early, and stay late. Going north on I-5 from San Diego you'll be going in the opposite direction to the morning rush hour in San Diego and you'll have missed the worst of it by the time you get to Orange County. The car pool lane starts just past San Clemente in San Juan Capistrano; sometimes the traffic is quicker and sometimes there's not much difference. If you stay to see the fireworks, you should have an easy drive back-just don't fall asleep!

Thanks for the great replies but I am changing the itenerary to something that seems to make more sense. Please let me know what you think.
Original..Arrive SAN Weds 8PM
Thurs ..easy day..maybe zoo
Fri Disney
Sat,Sun Mon..open in San Diego
Tues Dpeart SAN 3 PM
New..Arrive weds 3 PM
Thurs,Fri Sat open In San Diego
Sun (Easter) Leave SD AM..drive to Disney 1/2 Day at California Adventure..Stay in Anaheim Hyatt
Monday .. Disney
Tues drive back to SD 3PM Depart
BTW my hotel at SD is the Loews..I have read some very mixed reviews,any comments are welcomed

I think you'll be happier doing Disney as an overnight.

Just expect huge crowds as it will be Spring Break time for many schools.

Much better itinerary. Driving home from Disneyland on a Friday is not recommended. From Coronado with no traffic (Easter Sunday) should be light, it should definitely be less than 2 hours.

Will you stay overnight on Monday in Anaheim also?

Let me give you some kid-friendly ideas / restaurants:
- Rent bikes in Coronado. Bike to ferry landing. Take the ferry to downtown San Diego. Bike to Seaport Village.
- Definitely do the Zoo at Balboa Park. Could also fit in one of the museums while there. Dinner at Corvette Diner in Hillcrest.
- I don't know when baseball season starts, but staying on Coronado you'll be near downtown and Petco Park. It's a fun place to see a ball game.
- Travel to North County for the day. Go to the Children's Pool in La Jolla. Travel up the coast to Del Mar. There's a great little downtown with good restaurants and a playground and park at the beach. The Poisiden (sp?) has seating on the beach. Also, The Brigintine has great views. In downtown Del Mar, Epazote is good but more expensive. If you continue up the coast to Solana Beach, have dinner at Fidel's (really, really, good Mexican food).

Let me know if any of these suggestions appeal to you and I can come up with more ideas.

Take them to a burned out warehouse and tell them Disneyland burned down like on "Deep Thoughts With Jack Handy."

Oops...I forgot Sea World.

Day 1: biking and downtown
Day 2: Zoo and Corvette Diner
Day 3: Sea World
Day 4: Disneyland
Day 5: Disneyland
Day 6: drive from Anaheim and stop in North County to see surfing on the way to the airport. Let me know if you want breakfast and lunch suggestions for North County.

Your plan (was it A? or B? or C?) to do Disneyland first and get it over with is the best. Stay the night in Anaheim, everyone will be so tired, NO one will want to drive to San Diego, no matter how lovely the hotel there.

Get up early the next morning and drive to San Diego. It's only two hours at most and you can do a number of things once in San Diego before checking into your San Diego hotel.

Have fun! Great part of the country to take little kids! :)

My son went to Legoland at 10 years old and he was bored. And he's loved building with Legos from 5 - 13 ish.

Thanks for the ideas.sd family itinerary looks like a keeper but a couple of questions. We are coming fron NYC so I am not sure if the Zoon is going to be that much better than the Bronx Zoo. I was thinking that maybe Animal Adventure would be more unique for them.
Also La Jolla seems to be a must do. Wife needs a shopping fix.
Chopped Liver would love to catch a game at Petco Park but we all know that aint happening.
The stop in North County sounds great and I would love a lunch suggestion.
Also I read somewhere about Crab Catcher so I made a reservation but I am having 2ns thoughts. Definately would like one good fish restauarant while we were there but must have a kids menu.

SD Zoo is considered the best in the world..SD Wild Animal Park is nice but no where near the caliber of the zoo..
plus you have the gorgeous museums right next door.
Crab Catcher has a kids menu but the seaside cafe next door has a seafood happy hour that is the cheapest in town and has the same killer view..CC can be very expensive but good..
Georges is really good too..shopping in downtown LJ will make the wife happy..small boutiques shops..
Padres opening day is April 6th and it is sold out but you might catch a game on the last day you are here..great baseball stadium!
Staying at Loew's is a great resort..it is on the outskirts of Coronado but it is a nice resort..
Have a good time and keep us posted what you have decided!

In April the Wild Animal Park will be very pleasant (very hot in the summer usually). Yes, you may enjoy the Wild Animal Park more. The San Diego Zoo is a beautiful and unique zoo though. I haven't been to the Bronx zoo, so I don't have a comparision.

Here's two goo link to the zoo & wild animal park:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/ex_jo...rica_tour.html

I just can't imagine going to SD and not seeing the Zoo. It really is a fabulous zoo. I have never been to the Bronx Zoo, but the SD Zoo does have a lot of really neat animals and exhibits. I recommend the bus passes. Great way to see evrything before deciding where to return.

Crab Catcher probably not for kids. Just a little on the fancy side. Not that they couldn't do well there, I just think they might enjoy somewhere else more.

We enjoeyd the outdoor patio area at the Crab Catcher, they have really good clam chowder there. Don't miss the La Jolla Cove, it's gorgeous! :)

You may also want to consider a meal at the Sheerwater at the Hotel del Coronado, we enjoyed a nice lunch there and they have a daily breakfast buffet that is very good. There is also outdoor seating here, lots of families were there with kids.

SeaWorld will be great fun, schedule your time to take in the all of the shows, they are about 30 minutes each. The Sky Ride over Mission Bay and the Journey to Atlantis are fun rides at SeaWorld. Have a nice trip! ***kim*** ((#))

I have never seen the big attraction of the Corvette Diner.

While it's much more pleasant to spend the night at Disneyland, many, many people from San Diego go in the morning and come home late at night. You're now taking three days for your one-day Disneyland trip. However, if it is Easter weekend that you'll be here, the traffic will be very bad all weekend, but especially Friday and Sunday. Sunday morning traffic to LA (only "light" in comparison to the rest of the week!)usually flows well. If you are going more slowly than others, please, please move over to the right.

Have you booked your flights? If not (hah) you could fly into Orange County/John Wayne airport (SNA), go to Disney, then drive down to San Diego and fly home from San Diego. It would make your trip flow more smoothly, but you've probably already booked.

I'm a big fan of George's, but the main dining room is not a place for young children. They might enjoy the Terrace, which is a great place for lunch.

The Wild Animal Park has recently retired its monorail which used to take you all round the park in 45 minutes. This has been replaced by a 20-minute tour through the African part of the Park. You do not see as much, but what you do see is much closer. The cost of this tour is not included in the basic entrance fee, but is included in the packages, I believe.

San Diego is fabulous! The zoo is wonderful, but I would not consider it an 'easy' day. It's exhausting!

Although I am a fan of the San Diego Zoo, I think it would be a great idea to do the Wild Animal Park because they just changed the structure of how you visit the animals as Barbara indicated. You no longer are on a tram, but rather you ride in a vehicle (forgot which kind) right up the the animals. It would be a very unique experience. I know folks who work there and it is getting very good reviews. Also I believe there is a combo ticket between thet zoo/wild animal park and the zoo. You could visit the Wild Animal Park on your way upt to Disneyland.

If your wife likes shopping in La Jolla, then prospect street is the main drag for clothes/art shopping and Girard Street (upper girard street near Pearl) is the shopping for decor/house. My favorite stores there are Mermaids, Seaside Home, Girard Collection and the Cornerstore. While she is shopping you could take the kids on a walk at coast street which hugs the beachline to see the sea lions on the rocks.

For eating places in la Jolla, Alfonso's Mexican Restaruant might be a better choice since you have the kids (try the carne asada and nacos with chorizo-then go exercise to get rid of those fabulous calories). Also Karl Strauss Brewing Company with a trip next door to Marble Slab Cremery might also be more kid friendly.

While wife is shopping, kids and you could go to La Jolla Shores, very nice beach and a park. You could pick up lunch at The Cheese Shop or Jeff's Burgers in La Jolla Shores. Also kids could visit the Birch Aquarium which is nearby.

I have stayed at the Lowe's in Coronado (our house got invaded by bees and we had coupons for a free stay so we let experts deal wtih our house while we fled-the joy of owning a historic house) with our kids and they liked it. See if they have events scheduled for that time-we did the dive-in movie. Plus rent a bike and follow the trail into the main part of Coronado and catch dinner at the Brigatine, the chart house if it is still open or Miguels-Those restaurants are on the Lowe's side of Corornado and very doable by bike which is what we did.

I'd like to make it clear that I simply outlined the changes at the Wild Animal Park. Personally, I think it's a rip-off. Most of the Park is now unavailable to visitors. When the summer crowds begin, not that it's quiet now any time of year, how are they going to deal with the huge numbers of visitors who will want to take this tour? One of these trams cruising through "Africa" is lovely, a constant stream of them will not be so lovely. The animals will quickly learn to stay away from the trail that is used.

Regardless of this change, I always believe that the Zoo is more fun for kids. There is much more for them to see and do-and it's much closer. Plus, if you're not totally exhausted after trecking up and down the hills in the Zoo, there are many museums in Balboa Park to visit.

OK...the zoo it is..thanks for the input. Now my question is can I blow off sea world since the kids don t really know about it.
Its seems like its coming down to a day of biking which sounds like something my wife and I would enjoy or Sea World? Considering we are doing Disneyland and the Zoo I dont feel too guilty about missing it unless the consensus is that I am doing my poor deprived children a grave disservice by not taking them there.
Thanks for all the responses I am feeling much less stressed about planning this trip and hope I can pay it back with some NYC advice sometime.

Hey scoooter..
You can blow off Sea World since you are doing the Zoo and Disneyland..
Biking around the bay is a wonderful idea and the boardwalk goes all around Mission Bay/Mission Beach/Pacific Beach from bay to ocean..you can rent bikes at Hamels across from Belmont Park..
You all are going to have so much fun!!
Flying this week to tape a show in Midtown/NYC and want to know if the Campbell Apartment is a must for a couple of drinks?
Since you asked.. :)

Tams...The Campbell Apt has been on my to do list for a long time but I havent made it yet. I have heard great things from people I know who have been there plus you get to see Grand Central and have some oysters in Oyster Bar downstairs which is a NY institution.
The Campbell Apt also just finished an extensive renovation which left all the historical details intact.If you are going to be in that neighborhood I would definately go for a drink.
BTW bring a warm coat and if you are coming Mon or Tues probably some boots,we have slush puddles up to your knees.You can leave the sunscreen home:)

Thanks scoooter!
We arrive on Wednesday..hopefully the slush puddles will be gone.

just one thought...the Loews hotel is quite a distance from the beginning of Coronado. I was a little disappointed at how far out they put a hotel. It took us about 15-20 min. from the Del, so keep that in mind when you arrive. I almost thought I was lost! Its a great resort and situated in a beautiful area.

Tahiti Tams suggestion for renting bikes at Hamels is good. Also there is an amusement park there which your kids might like, with attractions such as Pirate Cove (building with slides, bouncy ball pits etc.) the roller coaster and bumper cars. If the boardwalk is too crowded for biking, then go across the street to the bay- its usually the less crowded option.

If you haven't told the kids about Sea World, then I would skip it in favor of the Zoo and Disneyland. Around Spring Break, Sea World gets very crowded. If you have a free evening, then you could do Sea World at night since it will be open late during the first two weeks of April. Fireworks are shown in the evenings.

If you want to watch surfers, here are some places:

Wind and Sea in La Jolla at the base of Nautilus Street.

La Jolla Shores

Ocean Beach at the Pier (you and kids could stop in Hodads for some great shakes).

In Coronado, we usually rent bikes at Bikes by the Bay at the Ferry Landing, however I would check to see if it is still open since they are remodeling that area. You could take the ferry from that point across the bay to downtown. Its just a 30 minute ride and then you could bike along pacific highway to the airport and the Spanish Landing.

Tahiti Tams, what show are you attending a taping of? Will you make the big screen. Have fun. We went to NYC in January and since we just got cable tv, we ate at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, it was very good.

Hi itsv..
Yes, its the big time..
Thanks for your thoughts!