What should we do - seeking recommendations

[mickeyfan0805]

We're headed to SoCal for a 2 week trip with our friends. We will have 4 adults and 6 kids (9, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1). We already have some things planned:

-Disneyland
-Legoland
-San Diego Zoo
-Sea World
-Beaches

What else should we do? What beach would be ideal (we're staying most of the time in Anaheim)? Should we go to the Wild Animal Park? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love the Wild Animal Park and prefer this to the SD Zoo.

I have a 9 year old and this time round, we're going to go to Catalina Island for a day trip. We're going to see if we can do an inland tour on a jeep or kayak round for a while.

If you haven't already investigated the Southern Californian Pass, you might want to check it out. Might work out great on the $$ front, given the theme parks you've already listed. This gives you 3 days park hopper entry to DL/DCA; 1 day Seaworld, 1 day Universal Studios, and 1 day EITHER at the SD Zoo OR the Wild Animal Park. Costco offer an online discount; and I believe others do as well.

Legoland is great for kids. If you go to Legoland and decide to come back for a second day, it used to be $1 per person for this "upgrade".

Then there are the other LA attractions - Griffith Park, Hollywood (Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Sunset Blvd Walk of Fame) etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[kalamazoo]

I can tell you one thing - do not go to the beaches just south of LA (like Laguna Beach area). They are beautiful crescent shaped beaches but the waves are rough as can be. We went to the beach twice when we were in that area and had to leave both times when one of the kids was injured (nothing major but ds had a huge sand scrape that took months to disappear completely). My kids are not all that young and can take a hit but they still got roughed up. I would never take a toddler there. I think the lifeguards there have their work cut out for them.

 

[Huff]

The wild animal park is a great place but younger kids would probably prefer the zoo. Adults might like the wine country in Temecula.

Long Beach Aquarium is a lot of fun especially if you take the excursion from there to the break waters. They bring up some ocean floor mud and let the kids find all the sea critters it is always teaming with.

Whale watching depending on season is fun. Maybe a day trip to Catalina Island although summer is better for that as many attractions are not in operation in the winter.

Knotts is a great place for a family day. While it has several extreme thrill rides theres plenty for the kids too. Great food at the famous Knotts diner located outside the park.

Universal Studios is tons of fun but probably not enough for the younger kids to do and see.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is mostly extreme coasters but they do have several great kid ride areas.

 

[snickerboo]

We went to the Newport/Balboa beah area and enjoyed it.

We went to Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The kids enjoyed that a fair bit.

We went to the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum. Thta was less exciting for the kids unless they're real science/fossils nuts.

We saw Hollywood and went to the Santa Monica Pier which has rides and an old carousel.

We went to La Jolla and saw the seals on the beach at Children's Pool.

We never went to WAP (not enough time) but we really loved the zoo. It was probably our favourite part of our So Cal trip.