Universal Studios or Sea World San Diego or both?

[elaine amj]

We're planning a trip to DLR in March 2013 and plan to spend about 10 days. We will be travelling with another family so it will be 4 adults, DD10, DS9, and their DD8 and DS5. We're debating what to do with our additional days other than DLR.

We will spend at least 6 days in DLR.

Right now, we're considering starting our trip in San Diego and spending a day at Sea World. Then DLR for 6 days. Add 2 travel days and we still have at least 1 full day with no big plans. We're debating either:

- whale watching
- beach day near Anaheim
- Universal Studios Hollywood

With the ages of our kids, I just don't know if USH will be worth it. When I looked at the attractions, only 2-3 rides really sounded like something we would absolutely want to do. On top of that, there really didn't look like much for the 5 yr old.

Sea World sounds much better - but we're still debating about whether the ticket costs are worth it.

 

[lk2500]

So you are spending 6 full days just for Disneyland (6 day park hopper)?

Are the older kids tall enough to ride the thrill rides at Knotts or Six Flags Magic Mountain? You could always hit one of those theme parks at opening, stay for 5-6 hours and then do Disneyland at night. That's what we did in 2010 and plan on doing again this June. Knotts might be better for the young ones.

You might want to consider just spending a few extra days in SD. I haven't been there but I hear Legoland in SD is geared more towards the younger kids, might want to give that a shot.

As far as Sea World I suppose it matters if the animal shows would hold your 5 year olds attention. I would imagine he'd love the show with the cats and dogs and I personally thought the dolphin show and the one with the sea lions was cool. I probably liked those just as much as the Shamu thing. And then there is petting the manta rays and feeding the dolphins, etc... And they are adding a new coaster which looks very cool, the Manta. We were there in 2008 so the shows may have changed a bit (?).

The SD zoo is ok, but I really liked the SD Wild Animal Park. If money is not a problem then taking one of the safari trips into the compund to feed the rhinos and see the animals up close is a once in a lifetime treat. (Unless you happen to be taking a trip to Africa soon, lol) Once again though, this might be something only the older kids would enjoy. I went on it with my 11yo DS in 2008 and it was seriously the highlight of our trip that included DL/USH/SWSD/SDZoo. My wife and older DS were not interested in going, they sat in the shade and drank cold pop in the 100 degree weather instead

We did USH in 2008 when the boys were 11 and 14, it was just ok.

 

[elaine amj]

Yes, we have 6 day parkhoppers. I can see us doing some half day explorations of the area during our Disney days.

I'm contemplating Knotts Berry Farm - especially since I'm considering complementing our Disney Premier APs with Cedar Fair Platinum Passes which means Knotts would be free - but dunno if it would be good for th 5 yr old who would be too short for most rides in Knotts (unless Knotts has a different grouping of rides more geared towards the younger set than Cedar Point). The only thing is I wonder if it's just a bit too much focus on theme parks. Whale watching or a beach day might be a slightly more balanced trip

Hmm...that's an idea, spend an extra day in San Diego. It's that or explore Anaheim.

So far everything I've seen about USH doesn't make me feel like it would be worth it for my group.

E

 

[lk2500]

The only thing is I wonder if it's just a bit too much focus on theme parks.

Blasphemy!! That's not possible!!

LOL, all my DS 18 and DS 15 want to do (and myself really) is theme parks. The bigger and badder the coaster the better.

(Actually I have a friend from California that bugs me constantly for doing nothing but theme parks in his home state. There is lots of cool free stuff to do there like the beaches you mention, etc...)

Knotts has an entire section set off to the side with the smaller kids rides, perhaps the older kids could go with one parent and the younger with the other? Probably best to check with others who've taken younger kids there. It is a nice park, they keep it pretty clean and it's really close to DLR.

Also, I just noticed you are going in March. You probably already have, but be sure to check when spring break is for Orange County and local schools to make sure you are not overlapping. If they don't overlap then you should have virtually no lines at Knotts or SFMM on weekdays from what I've read on the coaster forums.

Have fun planning your trip!

 

[cagirl4life]

If you wanted to do whale watching I would suggest out of Long Beach. Because it is only an hour or 2 on the boat and then you could go to the Aquarium of the Pacific right there or the beach.

I would warn about doing the beach in March though cause the Pacific ocean is cold! The water comes from ice melts so depending what you are used to it shocking to go in. I like to go in March and watch people surf or kite board. In Long Beach there are a lot of kite surfers or go to Huntington or Laguna and there is surfers. They are a lot of fun to watch.

 

[elaine amj]

If you wanted to do whale watching I would suggest out of Long Beach. Because it is only an hour or 2 on the boat and then you could go to the Aquarium of the Pacific right there or the beach.

I would warn about doing the beach in March though cause the Pacific ocean is cold! The water comes from ice melts so depending what you are used to it shocking to go in. I like to go in March and watch people surf or kite board. In Long Beach there are a lot of kite surfers or go to Huntington or Laguna and there is surfers. They are a lot of fun to watch.

Great tip abt where to go whale watching! And yes, I just discovered about water temps in March in the ocean Oh well - our kids might still enjoy it as we don't see the ocean too often around here.

 

[msheriffm]

We love Sea World and some of our favorite days in So. CA have been at Sea World. Price is worth it, there is something for everybody to enjoy. Like it better than California Adventures.

 

[rtfelt]

The kids are the perfect age for LegoLand. It's really geared for 4-10 (maybe 11) year olds. They would probably love it. As an adult there's not a lot to do, but I do absolutely love to look at Mini-land, which are city scapes made completely from Legos (New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Vegas...). As noted Knotts has a large kid's area of rides and the old west area is fun. The Wild Animal Park in March would be perfect. The weather will be great, and I would also really recommend it. In the summer it can be unbearably hot, but in March it will be about perfect. The beaches will be downright cold in March. You could walk along the beach, but the water is around 55 degrees and the air will be around 65 (unless we have an 85 degree week--which we often do, you just never know, but the beaches are usually cooler than the surrounding areas). Seaworld will also be cold. It's right on the water, so it usually stays very cool. I've even been there in July and had to wear a jacket the whole day and wasn't about to get wet during the Shamu show. Seaworld is great though, and if your kids love animals, especially marine animals, they will love it.

 

[taaren]

Hmm. While I'm not a big fan of Universal Studios, it was fun to do once, filled up a little more than a half day.

Have you considered the SoCal Citypass? You could upgrade the Disneyland 3-day hopper to a 6 day, then you'd be getting the other two for a very reasonable price.

 

[Badge]

I would suggest doing Universal. While it doesn't have rides that the WHOLE family can do at once, it does have some really great things to do. Of course, it has its roller coaster that the 5 year old will most likely have to sit out on (just like Disney) but things like Shrek make up for that. They have a whole play area designed for kids as well.

However, the best part about Universal is the Studio Tour...which is a ride that is PART of your theme park ticket (want to make that clear, because some people think they have to pay extra for it) that the whole family will LOVE. This is a 45 minute to one hour experience that you can do multiple times if you like. You get to go onto the backlot where they film movies and TV shows. The last time I was there (a few years ago) they were filming scenes for the lastest Pirates movie and the whole tram got to see Johny Depp from a distance acting out his part. While there is never a guarantee that you will see any big Hollywood celebs, you always have the chance. Of course, you don't have to see any to still have a good time visiting movie/tv sets and even getting envolved in the action during the tour.

Universal also has a good shows for the whole family. Waterworld will most likely be closed when you visit because they are replacing the whole show (and a lot of areas around it) with Harry Potter. However, the Sound Stage and the Animal Actors are great for the whole family. Of course, they also have the new Transformers ride which looks amazing, and Mummy is another amazing ride.

I would suggest staying away from Knotts and Six Flags. Both parks are more run down than Sea World, Disney, and Universal. While they are both decent parks, I would never go back to either of them. I enjoy THEME parks (which is what you get at Universal, Sea World, and Disney) not simply amusement parks which is what you really get at Knotts and Six Flags. Sure they both try to have some themeing, but it just doesn't come through very well. I don't think you would be disappointed a Universal visit. Most likely the current promo of "Buy a day, get another day free" will extend to next year, so you could visit twice for the price of one day.