Wife 40th Trip

[dx4100]

Hey Dibbers

I did LA / Disneyland in Feb solo for my 40th and I loved it! So much so that my wife has decided she wants us all to go next year for her Birthday (Oct Half Term).

Thinking of doing the 23rd to 29th Oct which will probably give us 6 useable days. My kids will be 11 and 7.

Thinking of doing 3/4 days at Disneyland. I can't decide. What do people think ? I did 3 days last time which was more than enough but I was on my own.

I am also wondering what peoples thoughts are on things to do outside of Disney with kids of this age group.

I stayed in Santa Monica for a couple of days and did a days tour of LA in a bus which I both really enjoyed. Not sure if it would suit the kids though as it was quite fast paced.

Don't want to do Universal as we are going Orlando in May (hopefully).

Thinking of doing the hop on hop off Bus instead ? So we can go we see the sights at our own pace. Going to aim to spend some time at the Farmers Market eating and drinking as I know my wife would enjoy that. On the tour we only had an hour.

Also thinking of doing the Warner Brothers Tour.

Not sure what I am asking other than if anyone had good ideas of what worked with their kids.

Anyway thanks for any feedback!

[eaglesrest]

I think if I only had 6/7 days tops, and wanted to do Disney, I'd probably just visit Orlando. Shorter flight of-course, and if it's a theme park experience for kids is the priority then that ticks the box.

All depends on what your kids like. I have one (12) that would be very happy just doing disney, knotts berry and six flags, whereas the other (13) would love to do hollywood, griffith observatory, santa monica/venice.

We're doing 3 days DL in August. We'd probably do 4 given the choice but can't squeeze it into 'the plan'. With only 2/3 usable days left after Disney, I'd be asking the missus what she wants to do on those other 2/3 days.

We've even day-tripped to the San Diego wildlife park in the past. Love that experience!

[KayLouise]

We haven't been yet but are planning. Our Kids will be 11 and 6 when we go.

Disneyland, we are thinking 4 full days. For the LA part of our holiday, we are planning-
Griffith Observatory
Hike to Hollywood sign
Dodgers baseball game
La Brea Tar Pits
California Science Centre (see space shuttle Endeavour there)
Zuma Beach (Malibu)
Santa Monica/Venice hire bikes
Universal

[dx4100]

Originally Posted by eaglesrest

I think if I only had 6/7 days tops, and wanted to do Disney, I'd probably just visit Orlando. Shorter flight of-course, and if it's a theme park experience for kids is the priority then that ticks the box.

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I see where you are going with this but my wife wants to do the original Disneyland

[dismamx2]

Think about where you want to base yourselves or do you want to move around, will you have a car etc. I've looked at the hop on/off each of our trips but it does seem really time consuming/switching lines etc. We happily use the Metro around LA (just be aware of your surroundings) bus is okay too. Uber/Lyft is great to places that are not really accessible on public transport like the farmers market etc.

If your main focus is Disney, decide how many days you want to spend there, how many days you have left and what you could do in those days. One trip we just stayed in Anaheim did 5 (sporadic) days at Disney. In between we drove to Huntington & Newport beaches (July), Outlets @Orange, San Diego, La Jolla, Coronado Island and 1 day we drove into LA did WB tour early and spent the rest of the day at Universal.

I think your kids might be a little young to really get the Warner Bro's tour? Mine were 14 & 11 the first time we went, I think they could take or leave it but when we did the tour again at ages 18 & 15 they really loved it, they knew most of the shows etc. Also, I think the age limit is 8years, not sure how strict that is, I don't remember having to show ID.

Mine also loved the California Science Centre (both doing science at uni now) and seeing Endeavour was a treat. We used the metro to get here. Kids love Santa Monica (mainly for the pier) we've visited the beach on 3 trips, would love to stay but very expensive. Our last trip the Expo Metro line was running out to SM. One year my youngest dd, 13 at the time was a big Dance Mom's fan so we went to visit the Abby Lee dance studio, it was early morning and closed but she was thrilled to get photos outside

Other things like Griffith Observatory, Hollywood sign, Farmer's market, Hollywood walk of fame etc, kids liked but wouldn't ask to repeat.

Have fun planning your trip, nice to have something to look forward to

[dx4100]

Some good advice thanks. Didn’t realise about the age limit at the studios! Thanks for pointing that out.

[landandword17]

I'd do 3 Disney and 4 San Diego. Can get train from Anaheim to SD if not driving. Fly into LA and out of SD. SD is gorgeous, lots for adults and kids and often tricky to work into the most popular road trip itineraries so I would jump at the chance to do it under your circumstances.

[Buzz242]

I would also suggest 3/4 days at Disneyland followed by 3/4 days in San Diego. The zoo is amazing and lots of other things to see and do.

[dx4100]

I will consider it thanks