How many days is enough???

We are planning a trip to DL in the coming years. We were aiming for July of 2012, but may have to put it off till July of 2013. We will be driving in our own car to California, and DL is not the only place we will be visiting while in California. DH will be doing a race near San Fransisco, we'll be there for 3 or 4 nights then we'll drive to Disneyland. On our way home we hope to spend a day in San Diego, then a few nights near the Grand Canyon. We are expecting this to be a two week (plus a few days) vacation. My question is do we really need a whole week in the Disneyland area? We'd like to visit some local beaches, and of course Hollywood while there. We were planning for 7 nights, but DH is thinking maybe 5 would be enough. We are looking at probably a 3 day ticket to the Disneyland parks. Any suggestions or advice?

hi there!:mickey:

I would say if you do wait till July 2013...3 days will probably be enough for the parks...by then cars land will have been open for a year...probably not as busy as july 2012 will be. It will still be busy since it is summer vacation. Just not as busy as 2012.Since Disneyland and California Adventure are right across from each other...you can park hop with ease. :thumbsup:

You should look into the Southern California City pass. that gives you 3 days DL/CA parkhopper plus admission to Universal Studios, Sea World and your choice of San Diego Zoo or San Diego Zoo safari park.

If you want to stay at a hotel that is cheaper than staying onsite, We like the carousel inn which is located right across the street from the taxi loading/unloading area. Its a 5 minute walk to the front gate from the hotel. They also serve a free continental breakfeast in a room that over looks Disney's property.

There is also a McDonalds and Denny's right in that vicinity if you want to have an inexpensive meal. If you are looking for a nicer meal, there are a LOT of options within a few miles of DL.

"The Block at Orange" is close to DL too which is an open air mall with lots of places to eat, Dave and Buster's, Lucky Strike Bowling, a theatre and lots of shopping.

For Hollywood, no trip is complete without a stop at Grauman's chinese theater. Park right there near the theatre and I wouldn't recommend wandering off the main drag.

As far as Beaches go, if you want to see the "scene" then you should go to the Beach between the Santa Monica Pier and Venice.

The next beach I would recommend would be the Newport Beach/Balboa Island area. Also, from there, it is a short drive (5 minutes) to Crystal Cove state park. During low tide, there are a lot of tide pools that are cool to explore.

Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park about 15 minutes from Disneyland and it is a very nice theme park with a good mix of themed rides and thrill rides. If nothing else, it is worth stopping by there to take a look around and have their Chicken Dinner and Boysenberry pie. Yummm :thumbsup:

If your really into Thrill Rides, then you should consider visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. (north of LA a half hour if no traffic)

oh and i would say definitely go with 7 days.... at least :D

Thank you all for the info so far. When we do make our way to DL there is only one hotel that will work for me, that's the Disneyland Hotel. I won't be happy unless I'm there!:blush:

We aren't really theme park/thrill ride people (other than Disney of course). Doing the two DL parks will be plenty enough for us on one trip. We may try Sea World San Diego, only because we get free military passes for Sea World. We aren't looking for thrills, mainly just want to take in the beauty of the area, and spend some time at the beach.

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Originally Posted by buzznwoodysmom

Thank you all for the info so far. When we do make our way to DL there is only one hotel that will work for me, that's the Disneyland Hotel. I won't be happy unless I'm there!:blush:

We aren't really theme park/thrill ride people (other than Disney of course). Doing the two DL parks will be plenty enough for us on one trip. We may try Sea World San Diego, only because we get free military passes for Sea World. We aren't looking for thrills, mainly just want to take in the beauty of the area, and spend some time at the beach.

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You should definitely make time to get to Crystal Cove then. We love it there and it is amazing at sunset. It is where I proposed to my wife. :cool:

Also, add Huntington Beach to the beach lists. They have a neat pier there and nice beaches.

Plan on getting to any beach early in the day or parking can be a major pain.

Also, you might consider a day trip up to Big Bear Lake or Lake Arrowhed in the mountains. The rim of the world highway is a neat drive and is very beautiful in that area.

Also on your drive down from San Francisco, Pacific Coast highway will take you longer, but what an amazing drive.

On the way down, Hearst castle is a neat to take a tour of.

Also, consider stopping at one of the many Missions that are along the California coast.

I don't think I can ever get enough Disney, but I thought 3 days at DLR was enough to do most things at least once. As for the surrounding area--2 or 3 days should be enough, especially if you only have a few specific activities in mind.
Have a great time! :mickey:

Will this be your kid's first trip to DLR? If so, 3 days really isn't enough, especially in the summer. It is really crowded in the summer, and can get really hot! You'll want to take midday breaks and swim at the (soon to be amazing) DLH pool!

I'd say 5 nights would be better, and 5 full days to enjoy the parks/Downtown Disney.

My personal opinion is that Sea World San Diego isn't worth taking the time to go. We got the free military admission a couple years ago, went, and were mostly disappointed by the place. A MUCH better use of time and money is the San Diego Wild Animal Park (in Escondido) or Legoland, with its new water park and Star Wars Miniland! You can get some SERIOUSLY discounted Legoland tickets from military bases. Look into it...over 50% savings over gate prices.

Beach wise, I'd stay stick to the beaches between Huntington and Newport. The L.A. beaches are not very impressive. Set aside ONE day for L.A./Hollywood. Just drive around and take in the landmarks. It's really not all that impressive. Looks much nicer on t.v. ;)

I think if you stay at DLH 6 nights, you can do the L.A. side trip one of the days, then while you are in San Diego, hit the attractions that you want to see there.

I'd do at least 4 day tix to Disneyland, and 5 would be even better. DLR multi day hoppers are not as pricey as those at WDW.

Yeah, we'll likely not use the military Sea World passes. We've used them in Orlando before, and weren't impressed either. We are also going to Sea World in San Antonio next month, so I doubt we'll want to do that in San Diego, but it is an option. However, my kids would much prefer Legoland! I hadn't even thought about that. They are both huge Lego fans!

I'm thinking maybe a compromise is in order. I want 7 nights in DL, DH thinks 5 nights would be plenty. I think we can settle on 6!

Another question, where exactly is Legoland located? Is it in San Diego?

Thank you all so much for all the help so far. This is like a whole new world to me. The trip is still far away, but I want to try to start figuring out what exactly we want to do so I can make some sort of game plan. I'm sure I'll have tons more questions as the time nears.

Denise, Legoland is in Carlsbad, directly off Interstate 5. It's approximately 50 min drive from Anaheim. I used to work at the Gemological Institute of America, which is right across the street from Legoland, so I'm very familiar with that area. :cool:

Currently, our MWR is selling a ticket to Legoland for approx. $45, and it's a "resort hopper" giving you admission into the Legoland Park, SeaLife Aquarium (a small aquarium adjacent to the park), and the Waterpark. In addition, it's a "2 days for the price of one" ticket, so you can return a second day for free. A ONE DAY ticket to JUST Legoland will run about $78, then the Aquarium and Water Park are each an additional $12, so you can see the value of the ticket. If your local MWR is not selling Legoland tix, you can call the Camp Pendleton one and you can order them over the phone and they'll FedEx them to you. They run this "2 for" offer every year.

I'd actually recommend staying in Carlsbad when you visit San Diego. It's only about 30 min from the downtown area, and it has very nice beaches, a nice downtown area with some good restaurants, and it's where Legoland is. In addition, if you'd like to visit the Wild Animal Park, it's closer to Legoland than downtown San Diego. San Diego encompasses a HUGE area, and stuff is really spread out. Plus, there's a really nice upscale outlet mall right where Legoland is (Premium Outlets Carlsbad). Great for doing some shopping! When you have small kids, there really isn't that much for them in the downtown area of San Diego. That area is much better for "adults only" fun, what with the Gaslamp district (lots of great bars and restaurants). ;):marg:

I think you can make your accommodation decisions based on whether Disneyland offers any sorts of room discounts. Summer is their "Peak time", but you never know. Sometimes, you'll see a "5 for 3" offer, or 30% off rooms, depending on occupancy. If you can catch a deal for the DLH, stay there longer. If not, I think 5 nights there would suffice, and then head down south for another 2-3. There is actually a Sheraton ATTACHED to Legoland (with a private walkway entrance into the park). You can score some really good deals on this resort by booking through their website when you prepay for a room (no refunds/no cancellations). Rates can be as low as $129. This hotel is very new and gets great reviews, and its location can't be beat!

Natalie,
Thanks for all the great tips. Staying in Carlsbad sounds like a better plan than staying in San Diego. We have no real reasons to go to San Diego, except that we will be so close we may as well stop by for a visit! LOL.

I know the military discounts aren't always around, but in pricing the same 7 nights this year with the military discount the room would only be around $1700! And thats a pool/resort view, not standard. I thought that was a pretty good price. Add in the military 3 day tickets, we may opt to get non military tickets for more days, and the price for 7 nights plus tickets for the DL part of this trip is only $2100! That seems so reasonable compared to WDW. We pay more than that for a week at a moderate with tickets! Of course the rates will be higher by the time we go, but if a military discount is to be had it looks like I'll definitely push for the full 7 nights!

Thanks again everyone for helping me get this planning underway.

One more question for the experts out there, what summer would you recommend 2012 or 2013? Do you guys think summer 2012 will be more crowded due to everything being so new? As it stands now we are thinking it may not be possible till 2013, but I'm not completely counting 2012 out yet.

Wait until 2013. There is no guarantee that DCA will be done by July 2012. All they are saying now is "2012" with no further clarification. Already, they are running behind schedule on opening some new rides/restaurants in Paradise Pier. These were supposed to open "Spring 2011" and they are reporting now "July 1". This stuff is nowhere near the magnitude of the other major projects underway at DCA either, and yet still delays happened.

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Originally Posted by BrerGnat

Wait until 2013. There is no guarantee that DCA will be done by July 2012. All they are saying now is "2012" with no further clarification. Already, they are running behind schedule on opening some new rides/restaurants in Paradise Pier. These were supposed to open "Spring 2011" and they are reporting now "July 1". This stuff is nowhere near the magnitude of the other major projects underway at DCA either, and yet still delays happened.

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Oh that's great information to know. I think we'll wait it out and aim for 2013! This will be our very first, and possibly our only, trip to the original! I want it to be as close to perfect as possible! This gives me plenty of time to plan it all out and hopefully the parks/resorts will be in great (hopefully completed) condition by then! Looks like DH will try to do the IronMan in WDW next year instead!

That sounds like a great plan. We are planning a trip for summer 2013 as well, since we're moving away from here this summer. :crying:

Awww Natalie, that's sad that you guys are moving away. How long have you been located there? Were your boys born and rasied there? I imagine its tough to leave the place where your babies were born! Good luck with the move! I hope your boys adjust well to their new home. We moved away once, and it was only for 6 months, when my boys were 2 and 4 and they asked to go home the entire time we were living there. Its a huge change for kids, but I'm sure you'll do a great job at getting them settled in!

Yes, we've been here for 7 years. My oldest son will be turning 7 right after we move. :(

They seem okay with it, though. They want a new HOUSE to live in (we've been in an apartment all this time). We're definitely going to miss it, though. Our time has come. We've ridden the So. Cal train for a LONG time (for a Marine Corps family)---10 years!

We'll be back, though. Hopefully in 4 years, but if not then, definitely when DH retires from the military in 8 years. We love it here!

for disneyland itself, at least 2 days, but up to 4. depending on how many thrill seekers you have in your group, CA adventure can be done in a day. though to see the parades and shows 2 days is better. MK needs 2 days, if you want to get the best time. I have, however done almost everything in 2 very jampacked days in the parks, with a parkhopper to go back to MK after CA closes.

just thinking about a possible sidetrip from Vegas in Sept to Anaheim...
would a mid friday arrival & leave monday from DL b enough to experience it...never been to DL