Other things to do in SoCal?

[Disneylover152]

Hey guys!

I am going on my third trip to Disneyland this summer for 8 days. We are planning on 2 days at Disneyland Resort (park hoppers) and a day at Universal and a beach day. This is the first trip that we are going and spending days not at a theme park (we have 2.5 free days). Our last trip in November we spent 2 days in Los Angeles and we don't feel the need to go back. Anyone have any other suggestions for things to do in the SoCal & Disneyland area? We will have a car and are open to anything!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Here you go:

The Official "Explore Southern California!" Thread

Since I'm wide awake and it's the middle of the night, I decided to actually do one of those things that we've always talked about doing in the Disneyland forum... make a thread just for the tons of cool non-Disneyland stuff, and I need your help! That's right, I said YOU! Here's my vision...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[Darkbeer1]

Where are you staying?

What type of things do you like to do?

Buena Park has three Dinner Theaters, Medieval Times, Pirate's Dinner Adventure and the R Rated Adult themed Teatro Martini.

Knott's Berry Farm and Soak City.

Adventure City is a good Kids Amusement Park.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Socal is kind of small, with lousy weather. It's a barren desert with no beaches, mountains. Tourists typically avoid it. Honestly not much to do there, and it's a miracle Disneyland is able to survive in that market.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Socal is kind of small, with lousy weather. It's a barren desert with no beaches, mountains. Tourists typically avoid it. Honestly not much to do there, and it's a miracle Disneyland is able to survive in that market.

No, LOS ANGELES is small with lousy weather (exception is Magic Mountain, that is always nice and cool, and NOT in the high desert).

Orange County is large, lots of Beaches, National Forest, Museums, Performing Arts and lots more.

Orange County | The Heart of Southern California - Visit the OC

Discover why Orange County, California is one of the top destinations for tourism in the country. From surfing to shopping, there is something for everyone.

www.visittheoc.com

 

[PiratesMansion]

I think Los Angeles is too large of a city/Metro area to paint with a bad brush based on one encounter, personally. It took me a few visits to warm up to the city and the surrounding area, and my trips were better for it. You'd be eliminating a ton of options if you stayed away entirely.

If you do decide to venture in that direction, I've enjoyed the Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach; Queen Mary nearby is ok if touring an older ocean liner might appeal to you), all of the other Studio Tours (mostly out of Hollywood; beyond Universal, Warner Bros is best; you could potentially combine Sony and Warner Bros on the same day with the LA Go Card or whatever they're calling it now); The Gamble House (Pasadena); La Brea Tar Pits; Griffith Park in general is huge and has a ton of potentially worthwhile stuff. I have not experienced, but have heard great things about, the various Getty properties. Maybe I've gotten really lucky, but I haven't had nearly the parking hassles or expenses in SoCal that I have had in Chicago or other large cities, except for the Packing House, which I would nonetheless recommend.

There is a nearby museum (Bowers?) that will have an exhibition from the Walt Disney Archives. That would be fabulous, I'd imagine.

If you're around the third sunday of the month, you could take Bob Gurr's Waltland Tour, which takes you around a bunch of Walt-related sites in the area.

Waze will be your best friend in getting around efficiently.

That said, if that's not in the cards, you could head to San Diego for a few days. You have the Zoo, the San Diego Safari Park (Escondido), Sea World, and a number of presumably fabulous non-animal attractions too that I have no experience with.

 

[Th3 DUd3]

Visit a Dispensary in Santa Ana.