San Diego/Anaheim advice needed!!

[spendleb]

Hi all, we have made a sort of decision now to visit San Diego/Anaheim (so we can do Disney again!!) next year in a 2 centre holiday, has anyone been to either and can offer advice on the suitability with a 3 year old and if there is plenty to do etc? Also where is the best place to stay in San Diego (no idea what the places are like but see loads of hotels in the Mission Bay area or overlooking San Diego bay?).

United Vacations appear the favourite brochure as Virgin don't fly from Manchester.

Cheers,
Simon

[minniemick]

We stayed 2 nights in San Diego, we were not really impressed with it, we went on a trip round the harbour & we went to Mexico for the day but all this consists of is jewellery shops & chemist shops you can buy any tablets that we have on presciption here. Sea World is there so with a three year old that would probably be a better choice. :mickey2:

[AEllis]

I would just say don't expect Anaheim to be like International Drive. I know that might sound obvious - although it wasn't to me, I expected the same sort of area - but it has a very different feel about the area and when I was there was much less touristy. I know there are lots of things to do in the area but it's not on your doorstep like in Orlando.

Alison

[AEllis]

Spendleb

Just noticed you're in Topcliffe - Thirsk is my home town although I live in Beverley now. Hope the sun's shining on you all!

Alison

[Rio]

Simon,
We went to Anaheim in 2002 and we are going back again in 2 weeks time. We love Disneyland and California Adventure, but my 15 year old daughter also likes the Hollywood side of it too.
Universal Studios is great and theres a Legoland not too far from Anaheim as well as Knotts Berry Farm which is based on Snoopy.
We went to San Diego, but just to Seaworld, theres also a zoo there and we also did the trip to Mexico and we hated it, they were just too pushy and my daughter got a bit frightened when they were trying to drag us into the shops by our arms!!
Having never been to Orlando, I don't know the difference between the 2 places.
Love Rio

[Astrid]

I went to San Diego a long time ago but loved it! Went to Sea World, the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo which was great!

I stayed on Coronado (a small island linked by a bridge to San Diego) in a small motel opposite the very posh Hotel del Coronado and it was lovely.

I've stayed in Anaheim a couple of times too. Stayed at the Holiday Inn once and we could have walked to the Disney Parks if we'd have felt energetic. Would certainly recommend Knotts Berry Farm and Universal Studios. Plus doing a tour of LA Downtown is fun, seeing the sights like the stars on the pavement and Manns Chinese Theatre. It's all very different to Orlando but I love it over the West coast!

Have fun planning! :)

[spendleb]

Thanks for all the advice, we are certainly expecting a different experience to Orlando but will be nice to see another side to America.

[icatqman]

I echo astrids comments. Coranado is wonderful. Stayed in the Hotel del Corando amongst other places. San Diego is well worth a visit. Surronding countryside is beautiful esp. the mountains.
Give Mexico a miss though, Tijiuanha isnt the real mexico anyway.
P

[Bobbins]

We've done this twice, as part of a bigger California / Nevada tour so only stayed a few days in San Diego. Disney used to do a package which included the Bahia Hotel www.bahiahotel.com in Mission Bay cheaper than booking it direct. We did this once but the second time booked it ourselves. If you look at the picture on the website we had a room - more like a small flat - in the main block. The side facing you in the picture looks out towards Seaworld and we watched the fireworks from our room. We also went to (I think) San Diego Zoo (the one that's up in the hills).
We flew from MAN via LHR on BA but they used to give you the shuttle to London free.
Not sure there's much for a 3 yr old - it's more a relaxing, laid back kind of place. You will like the weather though - especially compared to Orlando (and the UK!).
Compared to WDW, I remember Disneyland opened very early - on EE day we were standing in a queue outside at 6.00AM for 6.30 opening. Maybe they've shortened the hours now?

It's a few years since we last did this, so lots of things (except the weather) may have changed.

[Hellie]

San Diego is one of my favourite places in America it really is beautiful and there are loads of things to do. Last time we stayed at the Town & Country Club which is on the hotel circile and at the back of the grounds there was the tram and a shopping mall!! fantastic if you are a shopaholic like me.

You can go to Sea World, The San Diego Zoo (well worth it) and we even went to see a baseball game, didn't have a clue what was going on but you just get carried away with all the excitement.

Crossing the border to Tijuana (Mexico) is really easy and worth doing for half a day, if you don't mind being hassled and like a good barter.

Anaheim has become more geared to tourists now and we went in October and stayed at the Hilton. There is a resort trolley (like the I Ride) and you can buy 1, 3, 4 or 7 day passes for unlimited travel, the trolleys stop about 40 mins after park closing.

We used United Vacations in October to book our trip, as they fly from Manchester to Chicago with BMI (which was fantastic).

Any questions just fire away.

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Originally posted by Hellie
Crossing the border to Tijuana (Mexico) is really easy and worth doing for half a day, if you don't mind being hassled and like a good barter.

Don't take your hire car into Mexico without valid insurance. This can be easily bought separately but your hire company cover usually won't cover you, often they restrict you to US and Canada anyway regardless of insurance.
You could take a bus tour instead if you are determined.
My trip to Tijuana was memorable, straight through the border from US but a massive queue waiting for nearly two hours whilst being hassled by street vendors and pan handlers to get from Mexico back into US.
Driving into Mexico, immediately the traffic signs are disorientating, the roads are poorly maintained with dead animals, ( cows, dogs, ) and stray children throwing rocks at passing cars ( a bit like the M62 nr Chorlton ). The locals drive around in battered pick-up trucks and they carry guns.
Tijuana itself was a ramshackle collection of flea market stalls, bordellos, gambling dens and mini-supermarkets. A local cop warned us that we were being watched and to be very careful, reason being it's common to car-jack American tourists, kidnap them and hold them as hostage or just kill them.
We spent a day around local bars and stuff then travelled back to San Diego. It was an adventure but it's not for everyone.
If you cross the border near Yuma instead there are several much better and safer Mexican towns to visit. :spin:

[Rio]

Hollywood is great to visit, seeing Manns theatre with the hand and footprints outside it and the stars names on the pavement.
We did the Star Tour where you drive round Beverly Hills seeing where the stars live but to be honest, this was a waste of money as you only see the hedge or the fence or gates.
love Rio

[jubileegirl]

We visited Anaheim many years ago when our daughter was also 3! We had a great time at Disneyland and also went on a day trip to Sea World. Best bit of that was visiting the mission at San Juan Capistrano where the swallows always return on a certain date every year. It just captured my sense of romance i think:blush:

We also 'did' the Hollywood sights and Universal and the children loved it.
Most exciting bit was waking up early one morning and wondering who was shaking the bed - it was an earth tremor! That's the thing both my kids remember best (probably due to the indelible memory of Mum running around the room starkers having a panic attack):eek:

[Rio]

OMG...I had forgotten about the earthquakes and tremors!!!!...lol.
We too went to the San Juan Capistrano mission and it was a beautiful place, did you see the lights in the shapes of bells? They were so unusual, we are planning a longer visit there this time as it was just a brief stop on our way to San Diego.
Love Rio