West Coast Trip Advice

kirst_al UK

kirst_al UK

Member
Original Poster
Hi guys :wave:

I'll start off saying im not sure if this is the right place to post this but me and my partner are hoping to visit DL sometime in the near future along with Seaworld and Universal and perhaps the Knotts Berry Farm.

I was wondering if anyone can tell me how far anaheim (DL) is from the hollywood/beverley hills area? What is Knotts Berry Farm like, how long do you need at all the parks aswell as how far from LA is san diego?

:veryconfu
 
MainSt1993

MainSt1993

New Member
Anaheim is a decent drive - about an hour depending on traffic - from Beverly Hills, and Universal is further away from there but not far.

Knott's Berry Farm is a toilet. If you go, see if you can get one of those After 5 specials or something. But next to Disneyland, you'll be very, very disappointed. Knott's is good for one thing, and that's Knott's Scary Farm during Halloween.

Universal is very different from it's FL facsimile, and is worth a visit.
 
Disneyfalcon

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
I'd say 45 minutes to Hollywood and Universal. I agree Knotts is not great, but there are some fun rides.

Sea World would be about 1 1/2 hours from DL.

I'd say 3 days for DL, and one for everything else. If you want to do the water park at Knotts, add a day on for that.

Just ask if you have any more questions!:)
 
kirst_al UK

kirst_al UK

Member
Original Poster
Thanks guys thats great - ye i was thinking about going to the Zoo too (!) :ROFLOL:

I want to do the multicentre/tours thing on the east - might as well make the most of it.......!!!
 
PintoColvig

PintoColvig

Active Member
Rufus T Firefly said:
If you decide to go and see Sea World, I would highly suggest spending another day to see the world famous San Diego Zoo.
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San Diego Zoo...meh.

It's overpriced if you ask me. They've got pandas but so do other zoos in the U.S. now. They've got skybuckets but so do other parks. I just think its reputation is bigger than what it delivers. I had as much fun at the St. Louis Zoo and it was completely free! I haven't visited it but I was told by locals that the Wild Animal Park (owned by the same people who own the Zoo) is much better.

By the way, if you are planning a trip to SoCal and plan on visiting DL, Universal and Sea World, and one San Diego's zoological parks, you ought to consider the Southern California CityPass http://www.citypass.com/city/socal.html which gets you a three-day pass to DL and entry into the other three places for a discount of around $100.
 
kirst_al UK

kirst_al UK

Member
Original Poster
MainSt1993 said:
http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/index.aspx
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OMG i actually meant is there a six flags park - i didnt realise it was called magic mountain doh :brick: sorry guys that sounded like a right silly question !! I've only heard of it off the "theme park" game on the PC :) !!

Well i had better get saving then i think...... in response to that last email us brits are easily entertained tho so im sure with san diego being our first visit to a proper zoo will be amazing - we have nothing that america has over here which is why we love it sooo much !!!

Is that city pass only valid for americans tho.....its a good deal that tho isnt it? Also if you stay in the aneheim resort area you can pay for transportation to all the parks for only $72 - as i states that would save a lot of petrol (sorry gas :)) and parking fees wouldnt it?!!!
 
Disneyfalcon

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
I don't think you have to be American and it is a great deal. From mousesavers:

The Southern California CityPass can be purchased at Disneyland or any of the other attractions included in the pass.

Some Costco stores offer the Southern California CityPass at great prices. Oddly, it is not being sold in Southern California stores, according to several reader reports. However, readers have reported seeing CityPass for sale in Hawaii, Utah, Colorado and Washington Costco stores. If you are interested, call your local Costco to check on availability. At Costco you'll pick up a big plastic package off the shelf. After making your purchase, you must trade the package at the service counter for the ticket(s).

You can also buy it online at:

ARESTravel.com - offers a small discount, sends tickets FedEx for a flat fee of $10 per order

CityPass web site - full price plus $2 handling charge per ticket

Costco.com - offers a very good discount and you don't even have to be a Costco member to buy through their site. (Non-members pay a 5% surcharge, however.) There is a shipping charge when ordering from Costco.com.

Disneyland.com - full price, FREE shipping

Universal Studios - full price, but you get a book of Universal coupons. Print@Home ticketing is FREE. If you purchase your Southern California CityPass using Print@Home ticketing, your ticket must be redeemed FIRST at Universal Studios Hollywood, where you will receive your tickets to the other attractions.
Should you decide to upgrade your 2007 CityPass to a Disneyland Annual Pass, you'll be credited $164 for an adult ticket, $134 for a child ticket.
 
voodoo321

voodoo321

Well-Known Member
<San Diego Zoo...meh.

It's overpriced if you ask me. They've got pandas but so do other zoos in the U.S. now. They've got skybuckets but so do other parks. I just think its reputation is bigger than what it delivers. I had as much fun at the St. Louis Zoo and it was completely free! I haven't visited it but I was told by locals that the Wild Animal Park (owned by the same people who own the Zoo) is much better.>

Totally agree with every point.

Magic Mountain is a toilet, although they do have some pretty intense coasters(when they're working). I was calling it 6 Rides Magic Mountain.

If you are going to Knott's, do it before you go to Disney. There is at least a little theming going on, especially in the Old West section, and there are some fun rides. It will all look and feel like crap if you visit right after going to Disneyland though.

Hollywood and Beverly Hills are overated. Hollywood is more of an idea/myth than an actual place. But if you are close it may be worth it just to say you have been there. Universal is pretty cool. Its an actual working studio with a theme park and entertainment district built in and around it.

Hope this helps
 
ErickainPA

ErickainPA

New Member
We just returned from Southern California.

We went to San Diego Zoo (lots of walking, so we got the bus tour and bus access along with the sky bucket (was like $33 for admission and access to the buses and sky buckets, was a good value) take the bus to a drop off point and then pick up another bus to get elsewhere if you don't want to walk the whole zoo.

Disneyland we did in a day (DH did 2 days) but I am not a huge ride person and we have an 11 month old so would have had to do parent swap anyway.

We bought a 3 day Anaheim Transit pass, it was $3 a day for the pass.
Many of the hotels have free park transportation, so check that before you get another type of transportation ticket.

Spent one day at Newport Beach where it's pay to park. We also went to SeaPort Village in San Diego, was nice place to walk around and hit some of the shops. Parking was free for the first 2 hours with a validation stamp from a purchase you make. After that was $1 for every 20 mins.
 
Princess Ariel

Princess Ariel

Member
We are thinking about the City Pass, but we are staying at the Disneyland hotel the entire stay and I was not sure if the 1.5 hr drive back and forth would be worth it. My son really wants to go to Sea World. We season passes to SW San Antonio for several years until we moved to Big Bend. Has anyone stayed in Anaheim and commuted to San Diego?
 
Nicole220

Nicole220

Well-Known Member
Princess Ariel said:
We are thinking about the City Pass, but we are staying at the Disneyland hotel the entire stay and I was not sure if the 1.5 hr drive back and forth would be worth it.
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Just beware of traffic. It can get very ugly...just look at the Disneyland...Denied thread. It could take a lot more than 1.5 hours, or it could take just under an hour. Really just depends on when you are traveling.
My son really wants to go to Sea World. We season passes to SW San Antonio for several years until we moved to Big Bend. Has anyone stayed in Anaheim and commuted to San Diego?
Click to expand...
Yes. It took about two hours or so. Again, just remember that there can be a lot of traffic!
 
kirst_al UK

kirst_al UK

Member
Original Poster
I was thinking of basing ourselves in Anaheim, travelling down to san diego, staying over a couple of nights and visting seaworld purely because of the possible traffic nightmare !!
 
GoofyMom2

GoofyMom2

New Member
That is what we are doing....staying a few days in San Diego, then the rest of the time in Anaheim. Thought the driving would be a nightmare.

Here is our sched:

Fly into LAX, drive to San Diego for 3 nights. Go to San Diego Zoo, see the ships, possibly Sea Port Village (I also have a cousin that lives there so we will visit him) (My kids really want to go to the zoo)

On 4th day drive to Anaheim. Spend 4 days visiting DL, going to Halloween party and hopefully relaxing at pool. Fly out on 9th day out of LAX.

Hope this plan works!

Only true concern is driving to LAX for our 9:30 AM flight.....I will have a rental car so I have no idea how much time to allow. Any suggestions? I have a feeling we will have to leave by 6 AM.....ugh! :veryconfu
 
Disneyfalcon

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
What day of the week is your flight out? That matters a lot. You really need to be at LAX 2 hours before your flight. Some airports say that and you don't. You do at LAX. If you have not reached the front of the line and checked in 45 minutes before your flight, they will cancel your ticket. My dh reached the check in counter 43 minutes before his flight and they would not let him board.

On a Saturday/Sunday morning you can make it in 30-40 minutes. On a weekday, totally different story.
 
GoofyMom2

GoofyMom2

New Member
Disneyfalcon said:
What day of the week is your flight out? That matters a lot. You really need to be at LAX 2 hours before your flight. Some airports say that and you don't. You do at LAX. If you have not reached the front of the line and checked in 45 minutes before your flight, they will cancel your ticket. My dh reached the check in counter 43 minutes before his flight and they would not let him board.

On a Saturday/Sunday morning you can make it in 30-40 minutes. On a weekday, totally different story.
Click to expand...

We fly out on a Saturday......so I was hoping that meant we missed crazy rush hour traffic.

There is only 1 non-stop flight from LAX to Indy and it was at 9:30......I had been hoping to get a later flight but I would rather have non-stop with just me and the kids.

Anyone know about how long it will take to return the rental car? I know depends on company etc but really trying to figure out how long all this will take.

So if we leave at 6AM that should give us enough time?

PS We are so not morning people :ROFLOL:
 

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