22. Other Destinations in Southern California
Some potential DLR visitors may conclude that a 3-5 day visit to DLR is not worth the effort because it is too short. To make the trip more worthwhile you may want to consider other destinations in Southern California.
One possibility to consider is the Southern California CityPass, which offers three days at DLR, one day at Sea World San Diego (80-100 miles away), one day at the San Diego Zoo (also 80-100 miles away) and one day at Universal Studios Hollywood (40 or so miles away). All for about $200 per adult ticket. Tickets can be bought on the DLR website and other locations.
Knott’s Berry Farm is near DLR and is actually older than DL. It has turned into a more full-fledged theme park of its own. I have not been there for 20 years but back then it was a fun place to go. Do some research if you are interested.
Up Interstate 5 about 40 miles away from DLR is the real, actual Hollywood. And near that is Universal Studios Hollywood (USH). If you are interested in either or both of these destinations you may want to try to schedule them on or near weekends. If you were to visit both, then a local hotel might be a good idea and you could visit them on subsequent days. The reason for scheduling these on weekends is that it allows easier day time driving from DLR. Or you can do your driving late in the evening. Otherwise you can take your chances with the Southern California freeway traffic. Also if you are interested you can obtain tickets to see live tapings of certain shows (such as Jay Leno). These will be at other network studio locations in and around Hollywood and typically on weekdays. I had occasion to do all of these things when I lived in California.
If you travel south of DLR on Interstate 5 about 80-100 miles you will come to Sea World San Diego which sits on a beautiful location straddling Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean. SW is a one-day destination. Nearby is the world famous San Diego Zoo. And in northern San Diego (but inland and away from Interstate 5) is the Wild Animal Park which has some parallels to WDW’s Animal Kingdom. It is operated in conjunction with the San Diego Zoo. I had occasion to visit all of these when I lived in San Diego 15 years ago, and have visited Sea World several times over the last few years.
Then there is Legoland in Carlsbad, California. Carlsbad is at the northernmost edge of San Diego County and near Interstate 5 (about 50-60 miles from DLR). Legoland is a theme park with rides that revolve around the
Lego theme. For those of you who missed childhood, Legos are those little building blocks that children use to build up creative three-dimensional structures. I have never been to LegoLand which was built about 5 or 6 years ago. Legoland appeals more to the under-12 crowd, but there are some things there to interest older kids. I have been told that they have a few thrill coasters, and Miniland, including an informative and fun boat tour, are not to be missed. Many of the United States’ major cities and historical landmarks have been recreated using nothing but standard Lego bricks that anyone can purchase.
If you travel to the north on Interstate 5 (80-100 miles) you will come to Six Flags Magic Mountain with its array of thriller roller coasters. I last did Magic Mountain about 15 years ago and it has gained a reputation as a hangout for gang members (just warning you).
OK, a couple of quick mentions to round things out. Mission San Juan Capistrano in south Orange County and right along Interstate 5 is one of the early missions established by the Spanish when exploring California and has a nice tour. And the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles is an area where many pre-historic creatures got ensnared and died. The tar pits are still there bubbling up in the middle of Los Angeles, and the exhibits there and animal skeletal findings are on display and quite interesting. I visited both of these some 15 years ago. Also there is the Santa Monica Pier on the coast near Los Angeles. This offers some interesting shopping, dining, aquatic displays, and amusement areas. It is often found in Hollywood movies so you may recognize some things there from movies. I was there just last year.
Last but not least are the Southern California beaches – a special temptation in the summer time. For those easterners not in the know, the Pacific Ocean waters circulate down from Alaska along the California coast and the water at the beaches is pretty cold. Even during mid-summer the temperatures will peak at around 72 degrees – on a good day. If you go in the summer be aware that the water temperature is tolerable albeit a bit shocking when you first get in. Once you get used to it, it is really not that bad. Nice, nearby beaches to DLR in Orange County are Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach. If you go down to San Diego there are many nice beaches there as well – that is where we usually spend a week each summer.
