Hi all,
Hoping for some advise, I'm wanting to plan my next holiday for 2013 to California and stay in a villa, as there is 6 of us. I wanna visit disney park and california adventure and also the universal park.
What else is there to see and do whilst your over there?
It all has to be in driving distance as we are looking to stay in anaheim i think thats it.
any advise would be much appreciated.
Thanks Mia
Hey I live about 15 minutes from Disneyland and I can say that Huntington beach is awesome. (surf city USA) there is a really good taco joint there called Sancho's tacos. Seriously the best tacos I've ever had. I you want some more fancier food then there is a restaurant called dukes. It's right on the Huntington pier and it's Hawaiian themed ( named after duke the king of surf in Waikiki Hawaii). Seal beach (north on pch) is great too. There's a restaurant over there called walt's wharf. Great sea food. If you are feeling really touristy there is hollywood although I really don't enjoy it too much. You can always go see a movie at the Chinese theater or a Disney movie at el capitan. There is the Griffith observatory where you can go at night, and if you're into art the Getty art museum. The Getty also has a garden that's north a bit up pch. Ummm concerts are always happening here if you can find a cheap one for maybe the Gibson amphitheater or the Hollywood bowl. Other than that I can't think of too much more lol.
Six Flags Magic Mountain (about 20 minutes north of Universal Studios Hollywood by car) and Knott's Berry Farm (about 10 minutes north of Disneyland by car) each have some really fantastic roller coasters. Knott's is a charming park - even with all that Cedar Fair has kind of sucked out of it over the years.
Have you thought about when you want to do this trip? I'd really recommend doing it *sometime* during the seasonal run of Haunted Mansion Holiday. It's so unique and so well done. It runs from mid-September until the first week of January. If you are a fan of Halloween things in general, Universal Studios Hollywood has - in my opinion - the best Halloween event in the country. It trumps Universal Studios Florida's event every year in quality, sets and scares. Knott's has a fun Halloween Haunt event as well - although it's a bit more quantity over quality there. The Hanging - their annual parody show - is typically hilarious.
Oh my goodness I forgot about knotts. Yeah haunt is on I haven't been to universal studios yet for Halloween and I heard six flags reverses the direction for this rollercosters. Knotts haunt parody show is hilarious every time I see it.Originally Posted by CreateAmations
What are you planning on doing exactly? Could probably narrow it based on your interests lol
Only one - they turn one side of Collosus (a racing wooden coaster for those not familiar) backwards. The catch is the backwards side doesn't open until 5pm, which I always found to be very stupid. As such I've never ridden it because I'm never there that late. I always split the day with Universal's HHN that evening.
unfortunately we would have to visit in august as that is the holidays over here as my youngest brother is at university still.
We would preferably like to do theme parks, with roller coasters.
A couple of water days,
a safari or zoo day,
a few beach days.
and any good sight seeing that is recommended?
Obviously we'd do the two disney parks and the universal hollywood park.
I have had a look at the 6 flags park and the knotts berry farm and they look ideal.
Do you think it would be realistic to fill up 2 weeks with things to do? As when we went to Florida, 2 weeks wasn't enough!
Thanks the help, Mia
Ok, so looking at your notes above, I'd say:
-Skip Six Flags Magic Mountain for sure. That park really is *just* roller coasters. Give Knott's a little consideration, but still the biggest draw there are the coasters. Knott's does have a unique feel and charm that set it apart, so you might consider a visit just the same. Knott's Berry Farm also has a separate gated water park across the street.
-San Diego Zoo (About 90 minutes south of Disneyland if traffic is behaving - which it never is) is one of the best zoos in the entire world. In fact it's literally world famous. I visited a few years ago after having not been since I was a child. I'm really not a "zoo person" although I do love animals, but even I was blown away by how fantastic the place is. It's heavily themed and well laid out, and massive. You could easily spend a full day at the zoo alone.
-San Diego Wild Animal Park is separate from San Diego Zoo. That is your drive through safari attraction. I personally picked the zoo, so I cannot give you any feed back on the Wild Animal Park off memory. Any locals want to chime in with the pros and cons?
-SeaWorld San Diego is very close to the Zoo. I would not call this place a full day park as it has much less to offer than SeaWorld Orlando, but if you're in town, this would be your spot for an aquatic life park for sure.
-Santa Monica is a fun beach area. It has an old fashion amusement pier which one does not find often in the US anymore. Think Blackpool Pleasure Beach on a *much* smaller scale, but it's still a quaint atmosphere.
As for time, there is a lot to see and do in California. If you have a car, you could even make a weekend trip up to San Francisco. You might find the Walt Disney Family Musuem of interst, and of course a photo with the Golden Gate Bridge is iconic. San Francisco is a 7-8 hour drive from Los Angeles. Even without San Fran, there is enough in Southern California to keep you busy. I would recommend planning several days at the two parks of the Disneyland Resort. There is *much* more to do in Disneyland than in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Quite a few more rides, and quite a few better rides when you compare like attractions. Disney California Adventure will be finished with its $1 billion refurbishment so there will be lots to enjoy there as well. Disneyland park also gets very crowded. And it *feels* more crowded on a busy day there than in the Magic Kingdom thanks to a smaller park footprint and narrower pathways. You might find you are more comfortable splitting the park in half and not trying to cram too much in. There's so many wonderful little details in Walt's park that all other Magic Kingdom parks around the world completely lack.
CreateAmations list is perfect. You can also add in LegoLand in Carlsbad (about half way between LA and San Diego).
If you are a Costco Member, they have a Southern California multiple day pass that captures most of these parks. Great deal
okay, so you are coming to California from England..
Around Anaheim & LA:
Disneyland (of course and do a little shopping at D Street)
Hollywood (El Capitan, Disney Soda Fountain, see a show at the Pantages or the Kodak theater)
Universal Studios (definitely the back lot tour) and City Walk - the Gibson Amphitheatre is to be demolished soon, so if it's still there when you visit, you might want to see a show / concert there. Best sound / acoustics!
If you are willing to drive a bit, six hours north:
Yosemite (drive in from the South entrance so you can see the tunnel view of the valley - it is amazing - people come from all over the world to visit Yosemite)
then drive west to:
San Francisco (the warf, alcatraz, china town, AND the Disney Family Museum and Store)
Have a great vacation and post some of your pictures!
Last edited by iVinyl; 01-27-2012 at 02:48 AM. Reason: typo
I would actually highly recommend skipping LEGOLand California. Beyond the fact that the park is extremely kiddie-centric, in my opinion LEGOLand Windsor is a nicer park much closer to home for you. Spend your time seeing things that are unique to you!
I visited California twice a few years ago now, here is some of the things I loved:
1) a day in LA, do the city tour to visit the hollywood homes, the chinese theatre, walk of fame, the rose bowl, the hills etc.
2) I would try to head north as Yosemite National Park is simply stunning and fantastic , I would say you might need a night or 2 up here to make the most of it but you could also include:
3) San Francisco is also a fantastic place to visit, alcatraz, the warf, the trolley's, the bridge,
4) Big sur, there is a fantastic coastal drive that takes in Monterey which is a funny little town with a fab aquarium which is a bit of a drive from LA but simply amazing views.
5) LA is the entertainment capital of the world, see if you can see a live event at the Staples Center or something ( I went to watch WWE's Wrestlemania & RAW there!!, but you could see a some sport like NBA, NFL or some musical acts as I'm sure somebody will be on when ever you go)
I found Cali to be a very different place to Flordia, first up, its a lot busier on the roads, people live and work there and thus it doesn't feel like a holiday resort. As orlando is very spaced out and lets be honest, if Disney wasn't there, nobody would visit. Orlando is made up for tourists and because of the size of WDW, it feels like its own place, whereas I could also most say its similar to the Thorpe Park or Chessington in London in that they are pretty invisible, whereas in Orlando, you know your there for Disney and parks.
I never made it south to San Diego but I had wished I did. Also you could go east to Las Vegas which is only 4/5 hours away.
I personally wouldn't spend 2 weeks just in LA as there is so many places that are fantastic to visit in the State that are fantastic. like I said before, LA isn't like Orlando at all. I wouldn't worry about not having enough things to see and do,
Another zoo you might want to go to is the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana. It's very close to Anaheim. The only thing is that it's a very small zoo, nothing compared to the San Diego zoo but if you don't want to drive far that's a nice place to spend a few hours at.
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