San Diego trip WWYD

[mmackeymouse]

I will be traveling to San Diego in February, and have never been to Disneyland, so I thought I might as well make the trip up to Anaheim.

My initial thought was to take the Amtrak up and then back later in the evening/night. Make a day trip of it.

Then, I thought maybe I could stay the night and fly out of one of the LA airports. But...that would require getting lodging, which isn't guaranteed to work out.

Which way would you go with this?

 

[Aspencreek]

We will be in San Diego in a couple weeks and are going up to DL for 1 day. Thought about doing the Amtrak up and back as that seemed like a fun way to go as we rarely travel by train. Apparently the train station in Anaheim is fairly close to the park so you can Uber over for like $10. But then we ended up needing a rental car for SD so we've decided to just drive up and back since it was going to cost at least $140 for the train (roundtrip for 2 people plus uber rides). But if you don't have a car that is what I would do as it seems like a much simpler way to go than flights/hotels for 1 day to DL.

 

[Pluto468]

I would get a hotel, because then you'll be able to have more time in the park and it would be more relaxing than going back and forth to SD twice in a day. Also you can stay to see night time entertainment if there's any the day you're there.

Maybe check to see if it's possible with your flights, and then look for a hotel. What are your dates? Would you want to stay onsite?

 

[dizneedoll]

I would get a hotel too. The train schedule isn’t very good and you’d have to leave Anaheim early to make the train back. Not worth all the time wasted traveling either.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

It's more of a drive than I'd want to do twice in one day, especially with the exhaustion of touring a theme park for the return trip.

If you can get the hotel and fly out of SNA or LGB to head home, that's your best bet.

 

[jimmymc]

The train is about two hours each way, so you could leave at 6 am, get to DL around 8:30, catch the last train at 8:50 pm 10:50 pm, and get back to San Diego around 1 am. It would be a very long day, but definitely possible.

I would prefer to get a hotel, so you can watch the DL nighttime shows and not have a such a long day. Then fly out from SNA the next morning.

 

[China Expat]

I would rent a car and stay the night in a hotel.

 

[starry_solo]

Stay in a hotel

 

[starlite_]

I would stay at a hotel. The only reason to travel that late at night is if you have something to do super early in the morning.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

The train is about two hours each way, so you could leave at 6 am, get to DL around 8:30, catch the last train at 8:50 pm, and get back to San Diego around 11. It would be a very long day, but definitely possible.

I would prefer to get a hotel, so you can watch the DL nighttime shows and not have a such a long day. Then fly out from SNA the next morning.

The last train leaves at 10:50pm.

OP - I live in San Diego and have done day trips to Disneyland using the Surfliner a few times. It’s pretty exhausting but if it is your only option, it’s easily doable. I’ve left directly after the fireworks and made it to the train station for the last train with plenty of time. Keep in mind that you’ll be leaving the parks during a peak time for Uber and Lyft. So you will want to be walking out of the park as soon as the fireworks are over or watch the fireworks from the esplanade. I’ve found it to be easier to walk to the Grand Californian to call an Uber from there. The pickup area on the other side of the park is hard to get into at that time of night.

 

[Aspencreek]

So Google maps says drive time should be around 2 hours. Does that seem accurate to any of you that are local and/or have done that trip? Looks to be about the equal time as the train schedule says. If we drive up and back I-5 do we need to worry about tolls or anything else? Debating the same thing as the OP whether to make a day trip of it or not.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

So Google maps says drive time should be around 2 hours. Does that seem accurate to any of you that are local and/or have done that trip? Looks to be about the equal time as the train schedule says. If we drive up and back I-5 do we need to worry about tolls or anything else? Debating the same thing as the OP whether to make a day trip of it or not.

There are no tolls but, depending on the day, you will have to worry about traffic. If your goal is to make it to rope drop on a weekday, you will be hitting some of the worst morning commuter traffic. I drove myself one time and left at 5am to miss traffic and still hit a little bit. But it was exhausting driving home. I ended up having to pull off the road and take a nap. I don’t recommend it. The exhausting drive is the reason we started taking the train and staying overnight. It’s really not a pleasant drive after being in the parks all day.

 

[Kenshin21]

Depending on what part of San Diego you are leaving from, it can take 2 hours or more. I'm from north county San Diego, and usually leave a little after 5 to make rope drop. These days leaving after fireworks, the drive home is pretty rough. There are pockets throughout the day that have the least amount of traffic.

 

[Aspencreek]

I'm not so sure about rope drop.... the better half is not a morning person and we're hard pressed to make rope drop when we stay on Harbor! We'll be in an Airbnb near Balboa Park for the SD trip. So even if we leave an hour before the midnight close we'll still be getting back around 1am. Really want to see all the Christmas decorations but not sure now.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I'm not so sure about rope drop.... the better half is not a morning person and we're hard pressed to make rope drop when we stay on Harbor! We'll be in an Airbnb near Balboa Park for the SD trip. So even if we leave an hour before the midnight close we'll still be getting back around 1am. Really want to see all the Christmas decorations but not sure now.

Also keep in mind there are quite a few construction zones on the 5 that will often close down lanes of the freeway after 11pm. This can cause significant traffic during late night hours. If you don’t care about rope drop, I highly recommend the train. It’s a super comfortable ride and the majority of it has great views of the coastline. If you’re staying near Balboa Park, the Santa Fe and Old Town stations are quick and cheap Uber rides from there.

 

[Kit Jackson]

The two places in California are not that close together, especially with traffic. If you wanted to do Disneyland with holiday decorations, I would do the Disney trip as a separate trip another time if you can afford it/save up for it.

 

[chezcurrie]

I'm not so sure about rope drop.... the better half is not a morning person and we're hard pressed to make rope drop when we stay on Harbor! We'll be in an Airbnb near Balboa Park for the SD trip. So even if we leave an hour before the midnight close we'll still be getting back around 1am. Really want to see all the Christmas decorations but not sure now.

If your goal is Christmas decorations and ambiance (and not doing ALL THE THINGS) you can absolutely accomplish this in one day with a later arrival. We are in north county San Diego and never arrive for rope drop, or stay to close. The drive is very easy, even with traffic. For reference I have lived in 6 states and 2 countries and make the drive easily twice a month or more. It really depends on your local traffic and tolerance. Since living here I have noticed mine has gone down because I am so used to things being “around the corner.”

Do you have a Mkey? If you aren’t having to purchase tickets I would definitely go for the day. Keep in mind it gets dark really early this time of year so there is plenty of time for nighttime ambiance, even if you aren’t staying for fireworks or world of color. One of my favourite days last year was one where I just walked around soaking up everything Christmas - all the decor, some treats, all the entertainment - I didn’t even go on any rides and it was bliss! If you decide to go figure out your priorities (ie: parade, small world holiday, shaboom in cars land… whatever, and focus on making the most of those experiences.)

 

[nalabear]

SD and passholders. We do both day trips and overnights depending on our mood.
Daytrips for newbie is just asking for trouble IMHO.

Balboa - nontraffic at 75mph will be roughly 2 hours each way. Would definitely take car. Train takes 2 hours+Uber about 15min each way. with two people; car makes more sense.

Overnight - if no budget limits; Grand California. If budget limits and want nice hotel: Westin/Residence Inn or Courtyard would be hotel level. Drive up in the evening; do Downtown Disney; and get up AM to rope drop. If at GC, take midmorning break before checkout then pound the afternoon to fireworks and then head out back to SD.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

SD and passholders. We do both day trips and overnights depending on our mood.
Daytrips for newbie is just asking for trouble IMHO.

Balboa - nontraffic at 75mph will be roughly 2 hours each way. Would definitely take car. Train takes 2 hours+Uber about 15min each way. with two people; car makes more sense.

Overnight - if no budget limits; Grand California. If budget limits and want nice hotel: Westin/Residence Inn or Courtyard would be hotel level. Drive up in the evening; do Downtown Disney; and get up AM to rope drop. If at GC, take midmorning break before checkout then pound the afternoon to fireworks and then head out back to SD.

Respectfully disagree with this. We love the train, even though it takes a bit longer with travel time and can cost more than driving. If there is no budget, spring for business class. We always do business class (which isn’t much more than a regular ticket) and have a nice relaxing trip up and then back down again. We take the earliest train up and usually sleep on the way there. Sometimes we have a mimosa before we get off. Then we sleep the whole way back.

But we honestly also haven’t done a day trip to the parks by car or train in years. Before we had our second child (we have a 2 year old and 16 year old) and we were AP/MK holders, we took the train up the night before, stayed in a hotel (usually onsite, if not Courtyard, RI, JW, or Westin since we are brand loyal to Marriott), hit the parks for a day or two and then took the train home. Now with a giant car seat and extra stuff that comes with a toddler, the train doesn’t make sense. But I look forward to the day when once again our vacation can start when we step foot out of our house and into an Uber to the train station, as opposed to after that drive up there.

 

[Meriweather]

I'd stay the night