What to see besides DL ??

[TwingleMum]

We will be making a trip to Mecca (DL) in August. Do you have any suggestions of other places to visi?? I was thinking maybe Universal Hollywood, San Diego, beach etc.. My DH mentioned wanting to see La Brea Tar Pits.

 

[sonnyjane]

If you visit San Diego, do "the usual".... the zoo, possibly Sea World (although they have a LOT of construction going on this year), La Jolla cove, etc. Hollywood is kind of over-rated, so if you want to see the Walk of Fame or the Hollywood sign, only allot a couple of hours tops.

 

[calibmom24]

La Brea Tar Pits is fun , but small. Magic Mountain is fun and reasonable! Knott's Berry Farm. There is a lot to see and do here!!

 

[Disnerdia]

You should definitely go to Knott's Berry Farm since It is only 15 minutes away from Disneyland and they have some really great rides. If you are making the trip to San Diego and you have younger children, Legoland is very fun. Old Town in San Diego has great Mexican food and many historic buildings to tour. Sea port village is also nice. You easily do both Old Town and Sea port village in a day. Have fun!

 

[DizneGal]

I second San Diego Zoo and Sea World if you're driving south. Universal is pretty cool, too. Magic Mountain if you love roller coasters, and Knott's if you have younger kiddos. La Brea is something that I never did, and I'm from LA!

Have fun!!

 

[jlmarr]

Maybe a baseball game at Angel Stadium (Anaheim) or Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), depending on which team is in town when you are. Here are the schedules for August:

• Angels
• Dodgers

 

[lilpooh108]

We will be making a trip to Mecca (DL) in August. Do you have any suggestions of other places to visi?? I was thinking maybe Universal Hollywood, San Diego, beach etc.. My DH mentioned wanting to see La Brea Tar Pits.

San Diego is awesome! Great weather, fun things to do (the Zoo is awesome). On the way down, you can stop at Carlsbad Premium Outlets. Great shopping and a nice lunch stop. Food in SD is yummy too.

I would skip La Brea Tar Pits, especially b/c you're from NY and nothing beats the Natural History Museum.

If you are going to LA area, I would stop by the Getty Center if you are museum kind of people. It's beautiful and worth a visit. The exhibits are not comparable to the Met but the grounds are lovely and it's a great place overall.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks everyone. I live right by the Atlantic Ocean on Long Island so we have great beaches very close. I would love to spend the day at the "Other Ocean". Any suggestions?? My kids are young and OK swimmers but I don't want to deal with bad rip tides. Any 'safe' family friendly beaches not too far??

 

[lilpooh108]

Thanks everyone. I live right by the Atlantic Ocean on Long Island so we have great beaches very close. I would love to spend the day at the "Other Ocean". Any suggestions?? My kids are young and OK swimmers but I don't want to deal with bad rip tides. Any 'safe' family friendly beaches not too far??

I love the Balboa Peninsula stretch of beach. If you take the 55 south until it ends, drive until you cross the bridge over to the Peninsula. The beach is just beyond all the houses on your right hand side. If you drove down further, you'll see beach (metered & lot) parking. There is a pier with a Ruby's Diner (like burgers, fries, shakes) on it. Across the street is Balboa Fun Zone (arcades, carnival rides, etc).

It's a small "town" w/great food...about 30 minute drive from DLR w/no traffic. I personally think it's cleaner than the beaches closer to Anaheim (like Huntington).

 

[jeepwreck]

i say Knott's Berry Farm if a most too, also there are two good dinner shows around there too the medivial times, and priate's

 

[jpark]

If you want to spend some time outside you can drive up to Santa Monica area. They have the pier there along with a ton of shopping along 3rd street promenade. You can also take a walk (a little over a mile) along the boardwalk down to Venice, which is fun, too.

 

[Tommy_B]

We will be making a trip to Mecca (DL) in August. Do you have any suggestions of other places to visi?? I was thinking maybe Universal Hollywood, San Diego, beach etc.. My DH mentioned wanting to see La Brea Tar Pits.

Knott's Berry Farm would be my first pick even if to just go to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

Universal I can take or leave.

I would do the La Brea Tar Pits and combine it with a visit to the Original Farmers Market and the Grove.

In August I'd also visit Laguna Beach and get tickets the Pageant of the Masters.

http://www.foapom.com/

Also visit Art-a-fair and the Sawdust Festival in Laguna.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Since you have little kids (not sure how little) I'd look into height requirements for rides at Knotts, Universal and Magic Mountain. I know at least universal and Magic Mountain has a lot of rides little ones aren't tall enough for.

 

[Chumpson]

I have been asking the same types of questions since I live in Oregon I don't make trips to the area very often. What I have come up with for my family, kids of 14, 12, 10 is the SoCal City Pass. For $279 I get 3 days at DL, 1 Day at Sea World, 1 day at Universal Studios. Seems like a pretty good deal as 3 day park hoppers are currently listed at $209.

We also bought season passes to Six Flags for Magic Mountain. By buying them around Christmas we were able to get a deal where Hurricane Harbor, a local water park day was included. We are going to be able to use the season pass at another park on our way back upstate in Vallejo.

I have really thought about Knotts as it seems to be getting a lot of love too, but the SoCal pass is currently winning out.

If you have more money than us I would recommend the Los Angeles Go Card. You would have to by park hoppers for DL separately, but for 5-7 day cards you can get all of what has been mentioned. Check it out at mousesavers.com.

 

[perlster]

May I suggest a look at some Southern California attractions here.

 

[calibmom24]

The best family beach is Carpinteria! It is close to Santa Barbara, but well worth the drive. It is very clean and small waves. It is perfect for families with children!!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

We are just starting the plans for a trip to DL/san diego and a few things on my list are taking the ferry over to Coronado Island, the price is reasonable. (there is a bridge to drive over that is free but it's high and gives me the heebie jeebies, my kids love ferries anyway) and to check out the Tide Pools.

I don't know if I can post the link but if you go to trip advisor there is a list of all the attractions in San Diego with reviews if you head down that way to go to Sea World or the Zoo.