While the 5+ hour plane ride with a 4-year-old and 19-month-old was as fun as poking my eye out with a dull knife, the trip itself was a great time. We spent 4 days in Anaheim (30 minutes south of Los Angeles), and 4 days in San Diego (1 1/2 hours south of Anaheim). I would definitely recommend Southern California as a Top 5 Family Travel Destination, and here's why:
- There are ENDLESS things to do for kids and families, many of them are free or low-cost.
- Theme parks like Sea World, Legoland, Universal Studios, and Disneyland are relatively close to each other so you can hit up more than 1 in a trip.
- The beaches are unreal.
Visiting Disneyland
Disneyland Park in Anaheim consists of two separate theme parks: Disneyland and Adventure Park. With two little kids, 2 full days in Disneyland was just enough time to get our fill of rides, Disney characters, and carnival-type food. Disneyland Park is not as ginormous as Magic Kingdom at Disney World, but it had the classic attractions like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, It's A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain to name a few. My son's top picks: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Adventure Park is unique to Disneyland and features Carsland (from the movie Cars and Cars 2), Paradise Pier, and Hollywood Land. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of the best thrill rides I have ever been on. However, I would NOT recommend it for anyone under the age of 8 (even though the height restriction is only 40"). We made the mistake of thinking that our little guy would like it since he loved the big, dark drops of Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean, but we were wrong!!
We quickly redeemed ourselves by heading over to Carsland. My son is a HUGE fan of Disney's Cars and Cars 2 so it was a trip walking through a re-creation of Radiator Springs. And the Radiator Springs Racers ride was top-notch, which featured the Disney Cars characters in meticulous detail and ended in a fun, fast-paced car race. My daughter's favorite ride: Ariel's Undersea Adventure.
Macaroni Tip: take advantage of "Fast Pass", a free service for popular rides that lets you come back at a certain time so you don't have to wait in line. We got to Adventureland when it opened, and my husband ran around the park getting Fast Passes for the Radiator Springs Racers Ride and The Tower of Terror while I took the kids on a few kiddie rides around A Bug's Land and strolled through Hollywood Land. Knowing when to come back for a certain ride not only saved us time waiting in line but also helped plan out our day at the park.
Other Things To Do In and Around Anaheim
We had a extra day and a half in Anaheim, so we spent a morning at Newport Beach and cruising through the small beach towns along the Pacific. The cool water, gentle breezes, and soft sand was a perfect break from the hot, sweaty long lines at Disney. That night, we checked out an Angels baseball game. The Angels are probably the equivalent to the Mets on the East Coast so we easily got good seats for under $10 each the day of the game through Stub Hub.
Macaroni Tip: plan ahead by checking out Macaroni Kid - Newport Beach for local family-friendly events happening around the area.
Sea World
As much as we loved Disneyland, we loved Sea World more. Based in San Diego, Sea World offers the best of both worlds: fun rides and attractions like other theme parks and live animal exhibits similar to a zoo. The One Ocean show featuring Shamu and other killer whales is a must-see: plan your day around the show because it will not disappoint. And if it is a hot day, sit in the "Splash Zone" to cool off. Hee, hee....
If you are looking for thrill rides, other theme parks would be better options than Sea World. However, Sesame Street Bay of Play offers many attractions for kids under 10 to keep them entertained for hours. My daughter's favorite rides were "Elmo Fish" (Elmo's Flying Fish for those who don't speak Toddler-ese) and "Abby" (aka Abby's Sea Star Spin). My son loved Oscar's Rocking Eel and the outdoor bouncy and playground.
To cool off, change the kids in their bathing suits and have them splash around with the jumping water fountains.
The best part of Sea World (besides Shamu) are the animal exhibits. Whether it is touching and feeding manta rays, walking through an aquarium full of sharks, or going to an Artic expedition to watch beluga whales and walruses in action, each exhibit is a sensorial experience.
Macaroni Tips: pack sunscreen, a change of clothes and a bathing suit for the kids. Between the water fountains, water rides, and outdoor shows your kids will need them! And if you are spending the whole day at the park, plan on hitting the rides during the early part of the day and then check out the indoor exhibits to avoid the midday sun.
Coronado
I never leave San Diego without visiting historic Coronado. The Hotel Del Coronado is an attraction itself: stroll through the beautiful grounds, window shop, and order the BEST Lemon-tini at the bar, which leads to the beach. Coronado Beach is perfect for kids with its soft, glittery sand and easily accessible public bathrooms and outdoor showers to rinse off.
Macaroni Tip: street parking may be difficult, especially during the weekends. If you are just strolling through Coronado for 1-2 hours, you can pay to park at The Hotel Del Coronado for a small fee. .
Other Things To Do In San Diego
The other beach that is great for kids is La Jolla. You can easily spend an entire day or two at La Jolla watching the sea lions sunbathing or swimming, having a picnic at the park, surfing or renting a kayak or shopping the boutique stores downtown.
If you only have a few days in San Diego, you must visit Balboa Park where the world-famous San Diego Zoo is. The Zoo is like no other, where you can get up close and personal with elephants, giraffes, monkeys and koalas. Besides the zoo, you can enjoy the beautiful park grounds or visit one of the many museums in this expansive culture and arts complex. All photos courtesy of Angeline Sheridan.
Disclosure: The author received 4 complimentary admission tickets to review Sea World. All opinions expressed in this article are solely that of the author's.
