Avoid American Thanksgiving! Other than that it's a good slower time of year and Disneyland is usually done up for Christmas after the 1st week of November.
Unless you want to sightsee a little bit (Hollywood, Venice Beach, Attend a show taping...3 day sidetrip to Vegas) 2 weeks is a long time. If you're only wanting to go to theme parks I would say 9 days as a first-time California visitor is plenty (Saturdayt-next Sunday).
I would really suggest renting a car in LA. We've always gone through priceline and never paid more than $15 a day for a compact to LAX, especially if you want to do anything outside of the Anaheim area. There are tourist shuttles that go to most of the major attractions, but for the price you pay per person, you could easily have paid for 2 car rental days. You also have to work on their schedule, so even if you want to go to Universal for the day, and then go have dinner at a restaurant on Citywalk, sorry...your shuttle leaves 10 minutes after the park closes. It's also nice to go buy groceries and just general freedom of getting around. bring a GPS and L.A is pretty easy to get around, especially if you have 2 people in the car so you can use carpool lanes.
What travel agency has a good reputation? We've always just booked flights through expedia, and have had some luck with hotels around Disneyland through priceline. Most hotels around Disneyland are within walking distance. But if you find a deal on a hotel farther away buy your Disneyland passes through AMA they include free parking (last time we booked)
3. What other amusement parks are in the vicinity of Anaheim? Knott's Berry Farm is the closest. It's not very big but has some good coasters and is usually pretty cheap. We found discounts online for tickets and they were $26.99 a person, or around there. Midweek, we spent about 4 hours there and had multiple rides on anything we wanted to ride. Might want to do this coupled up with something else. It's also open all week
Six Flags Magic Mountain is EPIC if you're into roller coasters. They have some awesome rides. This is very much an extreme park, if you're not into going fast and getting flipped around all day, skip this. Next to Disneyland, this would be my *must see*, but I am a coaster nerd. Prices are usually reasonably if you book online (around $34.99pp), but it's only open weekends (go Sunday for much smaller crowds). This is also about an hour drive with no traffic from Anaheim, so you'll need a car. Offseason we've gone two times and the longest line was about 30 minutes for a coaster, most are less than 5 minute waits.
The San Diego Zoo is massive! I'd suggest taking the drive to see it. It's very hilly, so bring good shoes and will easily take the whole day to see.
Legoland and Sea World are also around San Diego, Legoland is geared towards families and doesn't have much for adults. I've never visited Sea World, so I can't comment on it.
Universal doesn't have a ton to do, only a few rides but I think is worth the trip. The backlot tram is the star of the show, and a must do regardless of the wait. There is a new Transformers ride opening up this spring which has a lot of buzz behind it. Think about coupling up this with going to a Lakers/Kings/Clippers game on a weeknight, or if you want to see the Hollywood walk of fame/Chinese Theatre/Wax Museum. Staples Centre and Hollywood are very close.
4. Is the pacific ocean tolerable in November? or too cold? Too cold, the weather in LA during that time of year isn't cold, but you're not going to see many days warmer than 22 or 23C. The only people you'll likely see in the water are surfers with wetsuits.
If you have any more questions, ask or send me a PM, I usually go to LA every 18 months so I have a pretty good lay of the land.
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