Newport Beach, California!

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Grandma

Sherry would you mind post a link to your Catalina Island thread here. I'd love to read it. Thanks!

I hope pixarmom doesn't mind. I don't want to hijack her thread, but she did post in the Catalina thread so her contributions can be found there as well!

The Catalina thread is actually immediately underneath this Newport Beach thread on the forum page:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2703621

It started out being about the free birthday boat offer, but I called upon pixarmom and PrincessInOz to share their Catalina experiences as well. Then other DIS'ers spoke up. I think I posted links to my own photos (I can't recall). Eventually Endy took advantage of the free boat offer and reported back to us about her first trip to Catalina.

I had planned on doing a Catalina Superthread last year (much like my Halloween and Christmas Superthreads on the Disneyland forum). but it didn't happen. I plan on resurrecting that idea this year. In the meantime, the current thread is interesting.



Now - enough hijacking from me! Back to pixarmom's wonderful Newport Beach thread (with such amazing photos!)!!

[Grumpy Grandma]

Thank you Sherry and now ladies and gentlemen back to our feature event ..... NEWPORT BEACH!!!!

[pixarmom]

Originally Posted by Sherry E

Hi, pixarmom!

I haven't said hello to you since last year, and it's funny because I just thought of you yesterday and here you are! I am planning to add an update to my Catalina Island thread and was thinking about the people who had already been kind enough to post in it (such as yourself).

I love love love your idea for this dedicated Newport Beach thread. I love the photos you have posted - the beaches look so inviting - and you've covered a good array of beach pictures, city pictures, etc.

I'm going to move this over to the SoCal forum (right now it's in the main California & the West section but it should be in SoCal). I will leave a redirect for it so people can find it, but I just wanted to let you know!

Again - fantastic thread!!

Hello Sherry!!! SO happy to hear from you and thank you for moving this to the right place! I was thinking of you when I took some of these photos because it was such clear day with the most clear view of Catalina I've ever seen! Can you see the island in the photos?

And OF COURSE you should link to your wonderful Catalina thread. In fact, I was thinking about that when I put the thread together. To me, Catalina is a part of Newport - just hop on the Catalina Flyer and you're there in no time. I considered a day in Catalina on our last trip, but my beloved Flyer had no weekday departures during that time in the offseason. We would have to travel to Long Beach to catch the Express. After driving down the coast from San Francisco to Newport, we had no driving time left in us!

I do plan a return to Catalina next year while we're in Newport. So I'll try to get some photos to add! I have to go catch up on your thread and see what might be helpful. I just recently learned that they have ziplining on Catalina now - a HUGE draw for our older boys. So excited about that!

Hugs to you!

Grumpy Grandma, have you been to Catalina before? I just can't say enough good things about it. Enjoy Sherry's amazing thread, and always feel free to talk about Catalina here - like I said, it's a part of Newport to me!

Originally Posted by natebenma

More great beach pictures! The one with gull is beautiful.

I the beach!

Thanks for info on temps. I think I would be right at home! These pictures remind me a lot of New England Beaches.

I think you are not far off the mark with the Martha's Vineyard beaches- I think they tend to be warmer because of their position in the Gulf Stream.

I do think Crystal Cove would be a perfect spot for you, Dee! Those rocks and coves are just so amazing. In some ways, the waves splashing on the rocks reminded me of Monterey - but much warmer. And there is even a rock-free area for boogie boarding, so it's quite perfect. And the cottages for rent are very retro, very inexpensive and right on the beach - just have to learn the system because it's a tough one to book. (Remember Bette Midler and the movie Beaches? They filmed it there.) And the Beachcomber restaurant quickly became one of my favorites - amazing view, yummy margarita, Tiny Ahi Tacos . . . doesn't get much better!

[Grumpy Grandma]

pixarmom it's been years since I've been to Catalina. I do get a little seasick in those boats going over. I hate to take the seasick pills .... they always make me feel very strange for several hours. Guess what I need to do is spend the night instead of just doing a day trip!!

I'm flying down to LA on Monday for a little over a week. My daughter loves Huntington Beach but I'm really a Newport Beach kind of girl. Maybe I can talk her into a nice long walk along the boardwalk in NB???

[pixarmom]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Grandma

pixarmom it's been years since I've been to Catalina. I do get a little seasick in those boats going over. I hate to take the seasick pills .... they always make me feel very strange for several hours. Guess what I need to do is spend the night instead of just doing a day trip!!

I'm flying down to LA on Monday for a little over a week. My daughter loves Huntington Beach but I'm really a Newport Beach kind of girl. Maybe I can talk her into a nice long walk along the boardwalk in NB???

Linda, I know what you mean about seasick. I've been on the flyer with my dad enough times to really understand the impact of seasickness and the nearly equally horrible impact of seasickness pills - it's really tough on him!

My mom and I have spent many days over many years taking the ferry over to Balboa Island and walking around the perimeter of the island. Everyone else walks directly from the ferry to Marine - my mom is the only one who will walk the entire perimeter with me! We love that Rosey Toes place for manicures and pedicures and we've enjoyed lunch outside at Ciao's on a few occasions. Hope you can talk your daughter into that walk!

[Grumpy Grandma]

Originally Posted by pixarmom

Linda, I know what you mean about seasick. I've been on the flyer with my dad enough times to really understand the impact of seasickness and the nearly equally horrible impact of seasickness pills - it's really tough on him!

My mom and I have spent many days over many years taking the ferry over to Balboa Island and walking around the perimeter of the island. Everyone else walks directly from the ferry to Marine - my mom is the only one who will walk the entire perimeter with me! We love that Rosey Toes place for manicures and pedicures and we've enjoyed lunch outside at Ciao's on a few occasions. Hope you can talk your daughter into that walk!

How funny because my DH and I always walk the perimeter too! We never even thought of not walking the whole island. By the way I'll be Newport Beach a week from this Saturday!!! Long walk along the boardwalk and maybe lunch at Sharkys.

[martinolichfamily]

So glad to find your post about Newport Beach! We will be heading to DL in July and none of us have ever been to the west coast...I really want to take the kiddos to a beach and requested info from website and received the book on Newport beach this past week! I've yet to get time to look at it but will be jotting some of you info in it! Thanks for the great info and pics!

[oumagic]

We just got back from Crystal Cove Beach Cottages and absolutely loved it. We were in #27 (Dive Shack) for two nights and then up top on the bluff for two nights in a dorm room (#29A). If you have mobility issues, the cottages could be tough with lots of stairs. I know that they have accessible cottages but we were not in one of those cottages and not with anyone that had a wheelchair. My mother-in-law chose not to go because she saw all the stairs when we visited the restaurant and staked it out back in Oct on our Disney trip.

The restaurant can develop a wait, but I saw that they now take some reservations through the opentable website. They have some good kids meals; my kids liked the grilled cheese and fish and chips. My wife enjoyed their wine list and I tried a different drink every visit and their martinis are great. The restaurant is not cheap, but I would say that I felt their appetizers and lunch menu were not necessarily overpriced either for the location (on the sand).

You can take a propane grill and cook your own food if you stay in the cottages. We liked going to the restaurant and having a drink and appetizer (great soups) and then we cooked at our cottage as the sun set.

The beach has some great tide pools (we saw a lot of anemones, mussels and some huge starfish) when the tide is out and from the bluff up top we saw many, many dolphins in the early morning hours.

We thought we might get bored at the beach for so many days and had a contingency to hit Knotts a day and The Aquarium of the Pacific, but the kids had so much fun that we only ever got to the Aquarium. The water is cold, but they mostly just got in up to their ankles and spent most of their time digging in the sand and running from the waves.

The shuttle runs from Los Trancos parking lot for $1 each way and the parking is $15 but I think you can get validated with your Beachcomber receipt; I am not sure because parking was included with our cottage rental. The walk down and under PCH1 is nice, but the walk back up can get tiring and you might consider walking there and then taking the shuttle back up.

We drove through Newport and love that area, but if you ever get a chance to stay in the cottages, I recommend trying it. They are not modern by any means, but it was nice staying in a historic cottage instead of a modern hotel for a change. I have not got pics downloaded yet, but will try and post a few when I do. I think having a beach day and lunch here when we visit Disney is going to be our thing. In October, we did that and then went to the Halloween Party and it was the perfect day/night.

If you do try to stay there, as Sherry mentioned, it is tough to get a reservation. There are numerous quirks with the place regarding check-in and all that, but we researched ahead of time and were ready for them. You do have to pay when you reserve, so when you are reserving 6 months out, that might be an issue. You can cancel, but they charge you some fees to do so. It was definitely a bucket-list thing for us to do. We would love to go back some day and stay at the cottages but just going for a day on our hectic Disney trip was also nice.

[DSNY4ever]

LOVE all the info, thank you so much, we needed this! Great pictures too.

[HannaBelle]

Awesome thread OP! Thank you for all of the work.


Can anyone recommend somewhere for surf lessons at Newport Beach?

[pixarmom]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Grandma

How funny because my DH and I always walk the perimeter too! We never even thought of not walking the whole island. By the way I'll be Newport Beach a week from this Saturday!!! Long walk along the boardwalk and maybe lunch at Sharkys.

GG, we'll be thinking of you enjoying your day in Newport tomorrow!!

Originally Posted by martinolichfamily

So glad to find your post about Newport Beach! We will be heading to DL in July and none of us have ever been to the west coast...I really want to take the kiddos to a beach and requested info from website and received the book on Newport beach this past week! I've yet to get time to look at it but will be jotting some of you info in it! Thanks for the great info and pics!

martinolichfamily, have a wonderful trip! After you read through the Newport book, let us know if you have any questions!

oumagic, thanks for that wonderful and detailed report - very helpful! The Beachcomber restaurant at Crystal Cove does take reservations now - we made an open table reservation for our lunch earlier this month. Really enjoyed the margaritas, and the Tiny Ahi Tacos were outstanding - it was my favorite meal of the week! Can't wait to see your photos - particularly any you have of the cottage interiors.

Originally Posted by DSNY4ever

LOVE all the info, thank you so much, we needed this! Great pictures too.

Hi DDNY4ever! Really glad the info is helpful!

Originally Posted by HannaBelle

Awesome thread OP! Thank you for all of the work.

Can anyone recommend somewhere for surf lessons at Newport Beach?

Thanks, HannaBelle! I love to talk about Newport, so it's a pleasure! Funny you ask about surf lessons. That's on my bucket list, but with three kids and busy schedules, it hasn't happened yet. So I've researched several different places to take surf lessons in Newport, but I don't have any first-hand experience . . . yet! I did grab a surf school card at the 15th Street Surf Shop earlier this month because I'd trust their recommendations. The card is for Clint Carroll Surf School - website is clintcarrollsurf.com. Does anyone have personal experience or additional recommendations? I'd like to know, too!

[sumlee]

Thanks for this wonderful thread! Your pictures and recommendations are making me so excited for our trip in January! Thanks!

[dis2cruise]

We're going to California for the first time January 2013 this post was very helpful for our trip, thanks

[Disney's Fan]

Thanks for the great information! I've been looking for a good beach for a day trip when we make it to Disneyland, and you have made Newport Beach look most appealing.

[pixarmom]

Originally Posted by sumlee

Thanks for this wonderful thread! Your pictures and recommendations are making me so excited for our trip in January! Thanks!

Originally Posted by dis2cruise

We're going to California for the first time January 2013 this post was very helpful for our trip, thanks

Originally Posted by Disney's Fan

Thanks for the great information! I've been looking for a good beach for a day trip when we make it to Disneyland, and you have made Newport Beach look most appealing.

So glad the information is helpful!!! Newport really is a perfect day trip from DL, with the combination of Balboa Island, Fun Zone and beach! As you plan, please let me know if you have any questions!