hi to one & all

We are going to CA next mnth end, flying from bloomington to San Jose on 5/28 & return on 6/6.
We might probably drive to LA on the same day with my sis-in-law's family, making us a total of 4 adults & 2 kids. We are planning on spending around 3-4 days to see the places around.can u please give some advice on

* the places to see
* 3 days to cover the places in LA (disney & universal Studios+ anything else)??
* resonably priced hotel,preferably the cheapest
*discount tickets to places
* most important of all, my daughter's b'day falls on the 1st of june(first birthday), would it be a good idea to celebrate in disney??

There are hundreds of threads on the topic of LA/Southern CA. My first recommendation would be to fly down to LA, but that may be too expensive. But it's a long drive, so be prepared.

As I've said ad nauseum, there are dozens and dozens of things of interest to do and see in the Los Angeles metro area. It is a vast area, larger than many countries. Three days is a short time, but you can get a taste. But you'll be doing a lot of driving, which your kids better be used to a priori.

First fact to accept: The region is NOT laid out like an urban Disneyland. You want to go to Universal Studios (well, it's your money to spend)? Fine. Universal City is just north of the Hollywood neighborhood, northwest of downtown LA. You want to go to the actual Disneyland? Head thee to Anaheim-- well south of downtown LA in Orange County. I think they're about 40 or 50 miles apart, but I could be wrong. Do you really want to do two theme parks on such a short trip (make no mistake, unless you do a VIP tour, Universal is a theme park-- they de-emphasize the working movie studio a little too much in the normal "tour").

I would normally not recommend staying in Anaheim itself (it's a hole, let's just say it)-- but given your limited time, special circumstances (families, probably unconcerned about the nightlife in the area), etc., I'd stay near Disneyland, maybe in one of the suite hotels nearby. Good luck on the rates on a Memorial Day weekend. In any case, you'll have a few upscale-ish things in Downtown Disney (nothing I'd go out of my way to do, but then again I live in an equally-gritty city with FAR better restaurants).

A child's birthday in Disneyland? Go for it!! Maybe the concierge at your hotel can hook you up with park staff to help plan it. I'm sure other Fodorites know of the Disney fan websites that can point you in the right directions.

You ARE planning to find a beach, aren't you? I'd personally head down to Huntington Beach to watch the surfers, walk around a bit and have Ruby's burgers on the Pier, then maybe drive south to Newport Beach, maybe walk around and window-shop in Corona del Mar, or even farther south in Laguna Beach (some of the most breathtaking coastline in SoCal).

I don't know-- your questions are a bit vague, and the time to visit frustratingly short. Maybe some other people can chime in.

How old are the kids, will you be getting 2 rooms or can you pile into a sofabed/suite type room that sleeps 6?

sofabed/suite type room will do coz the kids are quite small, one is 1 yr & the other is 3 yrs.

i had no idea abt the distance & that disney & universal are 50 miles apart!
but they are the 2 main things we wanna see ( as this might be the one & only trip to LA)
so thought that one day in each place would suffice + another day to relax & hop around the city

I would skip Universal with a 1 & 3 yr old. Knotts Berry Farm, closer to Disney, has a special kiddie area with rides & animal petting. The L.A. Zoo is also very nice.

You'll want to stay off the LA area freeways on laborday Friday and Monday/Tuesday so plan accordingly.

Luckily for you, the distance between Universal City and Disneyland is around 40 miles (looking at a map). Still, a long drive. Sounds like Universal is for the adults....

Knott's may be a better choice if you're trying to entertain the kids, frankly. And it's maybe 15 minutes from Disneyland, tops (in Buena Park, another stucco-and-strip-mall Orange County hole, but that's another rant).

And let's get something else straight: You don't bop around "the city" in the LA metro area. There are over 100 separate cities in LA County alone (in 4,000 square miles of land), so you're bouncing from city to city like a ping-pong ball in a clothes dryer most of the time.

Add in Orange County, and you're talking about some 4,700 square miles to think about, and a bunch of other cities. Now you see why this is such a difficult mission...?

shruti, you have gotten some very good advice regarding the Southern California portion of your trip, especially given the short time you have there.

I would also urge you to consider staying in Orange County for the 3 days you have. DL and Knotts Berry Farm are good choices for one day each, with one day for shopping or exploring the beaches. You could also consider staying in Newport or Laguna Beach which would be a lot nicer than Anaheim and still have close proximity to the parks.

I would second the idea of flying to LA rather than driving from San Jose. Per Mapquest, that would be a 5 hr and 45 min. trip without including any stops - a long drive with 2 young children. The drive there and back would pretty much eat up 2 days of your stay and it's not a very exciting drive.
Most people spend more than one day at Disneyland but with such young children you might not be planning on lots of rides.
I think a birthday in Disneyland would be a memory your daughter would cherish. Be sure to bring your camcorder!

A few thoughts... When faced with a long drive with young kids, we usually packed the car the night before, then got up *early* the next morning (5-6 am), loaded the kids into their car seats and leave. If there is not too much bustle in the departure, the kids will go back to sleep and snooze away the first 2-3 hours of the trip. When they wake up and start to get restless, then stop for breakfast.

Second thought is... don't have too high of expectations for a 1 and 3-yr old enjoying Disneyland. At that age they are sometimes terrified of the characters in costume, they get bored standing in lines, and they tire easily. Plan to get there first thing in the morning, then take a break in early afternoon to go back to the motel for naps and maybe playing in the pool. Head back in early evening when it is cooler and some of the peak crowd has left.

I wouldn't try to do much with a 1-yr olds birthday at Disney; it just adds more fussing around on an allready stretched and busy time. Doing it at the beach or a park might be a better choice.

There is a special section in Disneyland just for birthdays. Each guest is given their own cake in the shape of -- who else-- Mickey Mouse, and they get to decorate their own cakes. Go to the Disneyland website for more info. I'm sure you have to reserve this in advance.