First trip to California - advice please?!!

[katcharlwood]

Hi,

We're coming to CA from the UK between 27th Dec to 10th Jan. I am travelling with my family, DH and my two DD's (5yrs and 3yrs). We are booked to stay at Disneyland Resort Hotel for the first 5 nights and then head to Palm Springs to meet the in-laws who have a timeshare there (vacation club).

I'm concerned that there won't be much to do in Palm Springs to fill about 9 days what with the climate (a bit cold?) and lack of local activities (?). So was thinking about heading to Hollywood from 7th to 10th Jan and staying at Magic Castle Hotel, doing Capitian Theatre, magic show (as part of hotel stay) and maybe madam tussauds.

But, now I'm thinking it may be better to instead head down to San Diego and spending that time there (between 7th and 10th) and doing Seaworld, the Zoo etc. and travelling up to LAX on 10th (in one trip) to fly back that evening.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether either of these ideas are good or not? Or should we stay in Palm Springs?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you! Xxx

 

[SMD]

I would say that your Hollywood plan and your San Diego plan are both good options, just a matter of personal preference. You don't really need 4-5 days in Hollywood, so if you wanted to do 1 night at the Magic Castle, you could easily do Hollywood in 2 days. It would all depend on how much you want to drive if you wanted to do SD and LA. I believe that kids are only allowed into magic shows during Sunday brunch, so That is also a consideration.

I would consider doing DLR for the 7th-10th. The week between Christmas and New Years is the single busiest of the year, and the parks will fill to capacity, possibly every day between the 27th-31st. At the very least, you might want to do 4 days that week and save the 5th day on your hoppers to use between the 2nd-8th (assuming day 1 is the 27th, day 13 would be the 8th). Holidays at the resort will probably last until the 6th, so you have some wiggle room there on dates.

 

[katcharlwood]

Thank you for your response.

I would have preferred to do disney after the holidays (i.e. At the end of our 2 weeks) but we can't get into the timeshare at Palm Springs until the 1st Jan so we needed somewhere to go between 27th and 1st and just decided on Disney as it is Xmas after-all! We are early risers so I'm hoping crowds will be manageable using the extra morning hours (fingers crossed!)

You've got me thinking though....maybe fit in Hollywood visit first...then couple nights in Disney.....hmmmmmmm

 

[rms123]

With two young kids I would skip Hollywood or only do a day there - see if you can catch a movie in El Capitan. San Diego has a lot to offer families between the 2 zoo parks, Legoland, old town, beach, etc.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

Please be aware that if you choose Hollywood, it is not like the Hollywood pictured in movies. I think that San Diego is a much more family friendly option, speaking as someone that has lived in So Cal for 30+ years.

 

[katcharlwood]

Thanks everyone, have taken your advice and decided to ditch Hollywood and have booked Manchester Grand Hyatt for 3 nights instead. Looking at what's on offer in SD, we're spoilt for choice! Thank you very much xx