My kids love Legoland. We have been to both Florida and California. I thought Florida was a lot better than California. The rides didn't seem as good in California and I wasn't a fan of the water park there. It also seemed a lot busier at the California one but that could have been because of the time of the year. We bought three day passes for the family each time under some sort of special offer and it was under $100 per day for the 4 of us. Anyone who pays the regular gate admission is a sucker.
If you aren't renting a car to take between San Diego and Anaheim, take the Amtrak train between the two cities. My friend and I took it last year from San Diego to Anaheim and it was a neat trip to take, most of it goes along the ocean. The train station in Anaheim is right by the Honda Center though, and people will look at you funny when you boo at the building
__________________
The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
Thanks for all the great advice and tips everyone, this is why the CP community is awesome.
A few quick notes, we will be renting a car and actually not doing hotels and staying at some Air BNB places. We found them to actually be extremely affordable and also give us separate bedrooms for us and the kids. Looks like we will start the trip in San Diego Nov 29-Dec 3 and be in Anaheim Dec 3-Dec 7.
I got tickets for myself and my son to see RAW Monday at the Staples Center would it be best to drive from in and around the Disneyland area or do an Uber or train ?
If you aren't renting a car to take between San Diego and Anaheim, take the Amtrak train between the two cities. My friend and I took it last year from San Diego to Anaheim and it was a neat trip to take, most of it goes along the ocean. The train station in Anaheim is right by the Honda Center though, and people will look at you funny when you boo at the building
It is fun taking Amtrak but would not recommend for families travelling with young children and with lots of luggage. Renting a car/minivan would be much cheaper and much less stressful. Amtrak is great for solo travellers though.
Thanks for all the great advice and tips everyone, this is why the CP community is awesome.
A few quick notes, we will be renting a car and actually not doing hotels and staying at some Air BNB places. We found them to actually be extremely affordable and also give us separate bedrooms for us and the kids. Looks like we will start the trip in San Diego Nov 29-Dec 3 and be in Anaheim Dec 3-Dec 7.
I got tickets for myself and my son to see RAW Monday at the Staples Center would it be best to drive from in and around the Disneyland area or do an Uber or train ?
I would avoid driving anywhere around downtown LA personally. I did so earlier this year (going to a Dodgers game) and the traffic was unlike anything I've ever seen. It took me an hour to go the last two miles to the stadium - we were planning on getting there for batting practice and ended up almost missing the start of the game. Car is good in the Anaheim area, but the closer you get to LA downtown it gets exponentially worse.
__________________
Much like a sports ticker, you may feel obligated to read this
Resist eating in the parks if you can. If I recall correctly, you can bring outside food in (so bring a backpack for food and water). The food offerings at Disney and the other places is pretty mediocre and expensive. Of course, your kids will pine for something, but try limit it, and enjoy the foods outside the park.
I would avoid driving anywhere around downtown LA personally. I did so earlier this year (going to a Dodgers game) and the traffic was unlike anything I've ever seen. It took me an hour to go the last two miles to the stadium - we were planning on getting there for batting practice and ended up almost missing the start of the game. Car is good in the Anaheim area, but the closer you get to LA downtown it gets exponentially worse.
Driving to events like a Dodgers game is not a good idea. I always take the Metro Rail to the Dodgers game. For the Staples Center, seems like the best idea is to drive to Long Beach downtown and park there and then take the Metro Rail Blue Line to the Staples Center. However, that drive to Long Beach can also get backed up pretty bad depending on the time of day. The best thing is to just start early and have dinner near Staples Center (or even in downtown Long Beach) before the event.
Resist eating in the parks if you can. If I recall correctly, you can bring outside food in (so bring a backpack for food and water). The food offerings at Disney and the other places is pretty mediocre and expensive. Of course, your kids will pine for something, but try limit it, and enjoy the foods outside the park.
Churros. The only good food at Disney. You can bring in food and unopened drinks.
You can buy beer and wine to walk around with at DCA. Bring your passport or Nexus even if you think you look old. They wont accept an AB license.
If your fastpass game is on point, you shouldn't need to pay the $10/person to do it on your phone. Download one of the many line apps to watch the wait times. There sometimes is no real rhyme or reason to the lines. Big Thunder 5 mins, Splash 50 mins.
Grab a Splash Fastpass, Ride Big Thunder, Pirates, pull a Haunted Mansion FP then walk onto Splash followed by Haunted Mansion. Head to Tomorrowland and do it again with Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain etc.
Be efficient, If you have to wait in a line, make sure you have a fastpass for something else and are also burning up the time in which you cant pull another Fastpass.
With a 5 and a 2 year old you can do a rider switch where one parent waits with the youngest and then switches off with the other so both parents can ride.
I love Disneyland and have been a few times with my kids recently. They are a bit older than yours but not that much. Here are my tips
1) be there for when the park opens, hit the exciting rides, then back to the hotel around noon. Rest up, use the pool, then back at night. Stay late. The heat of the day is really tough on the kids as the lineups seem longest then and you're in the sun. That was the toughest part on them.
2) buy the Disney Photopass package. This means every ride photo and all the professional photographers around the park will be included in digital images. You probably don't need to bring your own camera (but we did anyways). The best photos were the ones on the pass though.
3) characters are THE BIGGEST DEAL. I'll never forget when my oldest met Cinderella for the first time. She was 4. Literally a dream coming true in front of your eyes. So it's worth the lineups to meet whomever - princesses, super hero's, etc.
4) goofy's breakfast was a good time. Ariel's breakfast was mehh.
5) the evening parade isn't bad - do it once - and be prepared to sit on the ground with thousands of others. That said, when your kid's get looked in the eye by their favourite character and waved at, or when Mr Smee gives them a high 5, their minds get blown. Lots of fun.
6) bring good walking shoes. You'll be on your feet a lot.
7) we found a good strategy with the kids is that they get 1 toy from Disneyland, to be bought on the last day. That way they can look but don't beg and plead everyone a cool looking toy walks by.
8) go online and order groceries to be delivered to your hotel room. Order in advance and have the delivery time for a few hours after you expect to arrive. Order bottled water, granola bars, apples, etc. Not a lot, but it helps save some $$$ when everyone has the munchies.
I'm jealous of you to be honest. My kids going at that age are some of my favourite memories as a parent.
Good luck!
__________________
"OOOOOOHHHHHHH those Russians" - Boney M
Last edited by killer_carlson; 10-25-2017 at 04:58 PM.
Book one of the character meals available at the park or at the hotels. The food is better and a great way for your kids to meet several characters without standing in ridiculous lines.
And get yourself up to speed on how fast passes work. You can purchase your tickets in advance and reserve your fast pass times. I think up to 60 days in advance.
3) characters are THE BIGGEST DEAL. I'll never forget when my oldest met Cinderella for the first time. She was 4. Literally a dream coming true in front of your eyes. So it's worth the lineups to meet whomever - princesses, super hero's, etc.
I'm assuming they still do this but: get an autograph book and your kids can get the characters to autograph it and have some one-on-one interaction, too.
And get yourself up to speed on how fast passes work. You can purchase your tickets in advance and reserve your fast pass times. I think up to 60 days in advance.
Cannot book fastpasses in advance at Disneyland -- only in Disney World. Recent changes to the fastpass system at Disneyland include:
- Disney Maxpass, which allows you to obtain fastpasses on an app instead of being physically at the fastpass machine. Costs $10/day to use MaxPass.
- Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney California Adventure is now part of the fastpass universe
- Fastpass systems at Disneyland and DCA are no longer disconnected. If you get a fastpass for a ride in DCA, you will now have to wait until your designated time to get your next fastpass at either Disneyland or DCA.
- The actual fastpass is now on your admission pass, not on the paper fastpass ticket dispensed by the machines. This means that when you get on a ride via your fastpass, a cast member will need to scan your actual admission pass instead of the fastpass ticket.
Last edited by snootchiebootchies; 10-25-2017 at 05:27 PM.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to snootchiebootchies For This Useful Post:
Going during the week in early December is so uncrowded that it's not really even worth it to worry about Fastpasses. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for them.
Most of the rides you come to will have a posted wait time of 5 minutes, which pretty much means there's no line (Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror usually post the default wait time of 13 minutes, but that still means no wait -- I don't know if the Guardians of the Galaxy version of ToT still does that). If you come to a ride that has a longer wait time posted, then look at grabbing a Fastpass for it, but generally, the lines aren't long enough at that time of year for a Fastpass to save you much time.
Of course, this assumes that Disney won't artificially make the regular lines wait longer just to encourage people to buy the MaxPass, but I'd be surprised if they do.
Another thing to keep in mind with Fastpasses is that most of the rides you'll be going on with a 2 & 5 year-old don't have Fastpasses anyway.
The weather in Southern California that time of year will still generally be pleasant during the day for cold-blooded Canadians. Do plan for the temperature to drop once the sun goes down. Either pack some heavier clothing you can throw on later, or plan to go back to where you're staying to change for the evening.
__________________
Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
Should also mention that an excursion to the beach is a cheap way to entertain young kids. Buy a couple big bags of beach toys at Daiso (kind of like a Japanese dollar store) and then head to the beach. The beaches in La Jolla are beautiful but are crowded. There are many beaches in Orange County that would be pretty empty during December.
I agree. Just keep in mind the ocean water is cool. Kids still have a blast. You get used to it.
Going during the week in early December is so uncrowded that it's not really even worth it to worry about Fastpasses. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for them.
I have to disagree. I forgot the Disneyland fast pass experience is different but the $10 is a drop in the bucket to avoid a line or two on the popular attractions. I couldn’t imagine going without even at a slower time of year. Some of the tamer rides can still have longer lines too. Just my 2 cents.
The wife and I decided to take our kids (5&2) to Disneyland in early December. The plan is to spend 4 days in Anaheim/LA doing Disneyland for a couple days and 3 days in San Diego doing Sea World and the Zoo.
Just looking for recommendations on things not to miss out on or experiences on the best place or ways to buy Disney passes because holy crapola are they pricey.
Just did the same trip with our 2 -year old.
- There are no cheaper places to buy Disney tickets
- If you, the adult, want to enjoy the larger rides please make sure you pay the extra for the max pass on the phone (this will give you the ability to book your ride time slots on your phone for you, wife and chidlren, and save you time plus you get all the disney photos for free)
-Book Goofy's kitchen well in advance, I fd this one up
-Stay as close to Disney as you can, we did a 10 min walk.
We skipped lego land and went to the zoo and sea world.
My readings have led me to believe that the safari is just too big for the little ones.
Going during the week in early December is so uncrowded that it's not really even worth it to worry about Fastpasses. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for them.
Most of the rides you come to will have a posted wait time of 5 minutes, which pretty much means there's no line (Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror usually post the default wait time of 13 minutes, but that still means no wait -- I don't know if the Guardians of the Galaxy version of ToT still does that). If you come to a ride that has a longer wait time posted, then look at grabbing a Fastpass for it, but generally, the lines aren't long enough at that time of year for a Fastpass to save you much time.
Of course, this assumes that Disney won't artificially make the regular lines wait longer just to encourage people to buy the MaxPass, but I'd be surprised if they do.
Another thing to keep in mind with Fastpasses is that most of the rides you'll be going on with a 2 & 5 year-old don't have Fastpasses anyway.
The weather in Southern California that time of year will still generally be pleasant during the day for cold-blooded Canadians. Do plan for the temperature to drop once the sun goes down. Either pack some heavier clothing you can throw on later, or plan to go back to where you're staying to change for the evening.
We did that exact trip with our two kids (ages two and almost 4) last year
We got disneyland tickets through Air Miles. They took awhile to come, so if you want to do this do it now. There is a 1 week pass that covers San Diego Zoo/Sea World/San Diego Zoo Safari. We hit the Safari park on the way between San Diego and Anaheim, its sort of on the way if you take the inland highway. Our little guys enjoyed it. We may have told them at the entrance that the 3 year old was 6 so we could go in the walk through lemur exhibit. Now the Calgary zoo has this, so maybe not as cool if you've done it there.
San Diego zoo was amazing. Make sure you see the tortoises - they are the size of a VW beetle. Our little guys really liked the small cages of bugs/lizards, and the polar bears and panda bears were a hit as well. Seaworld is great, parking is extra. I wouldn't bother with the upgraded parking, we arrived soon after it opened (kids get up early) and parking was no further away.
This year there was a Canadians only deal for Disneyland tickets. It's too late to buy them, but they expire at the end of December. You might find someone on kijiji or a work classified looking to dump ones they didn't use. Obviously want to be super careful not to get scammed, but could be worth it.
