Critique my San Diego trip plan, please! About This Page:

[nmw407]

Hi everyone.

We're seasoned WDW passholders, but this January is going to be our first trip as a family to DL. At the end of that trip, we'll be driving down from DL to San Diego to catch our flight out.

We'll have from 8AM to 7PM in San Diego, and I'd love some advise, critiques, and suggestions on the itinerary. We'll be there on a Saturday. My plan right now is to head out of DL at 8am and drive to La Jolla Cove (to see sea lions/seals) and check out the Pacific ocean/beach. Then around 12pm head to the Midway museum, maybe stay about 2 hours there and then head out to the San Diego Zoo for the rest of the day.

I was really hoping to get in some whale watching at Point Loma (I heard that was the place to go to see them) but I don't think I have enough time. As it is, I don't know if I have enough time for the zoo to do it justice.

What do you guys think?

[GingerJ]

to the boards!

It's been many years since I went to the San Diego Zoo, but I understand you can easily spend a full day there. I think I'd skip the Midway unless someone in your family has a personal interest in it, so you can spend more time at the zoo.

The new PassPorter Disneyland and Southern California Attractions LIVE! Guide has several pages devoted to San Diego, including Balboa Park, which sounds like another wonderful place to visit (not to make your planning any harder than it already is!), so you might want to check that out: http://www.passporter.com/guide/disn...rnia-guide.php .

Can you possibly add another day to your trip? Where are you visiting from--is this a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Southern California, or would you perhaps visit again in the future?

[nmw407]

We're coming from Orlando, and right now the plan is to spend 5 days at DL and have that last day in San Diego. If we take a day out of DL, we could do another day at SD instead. Still debating whether we want to do 4 or 5 days at DL.

I don't mind doing 4 days at DL, but I also don't want to feel rushed to try to fit everything in those 4 days.

I can scrap the Midway museum and maybe just spend the day at the zoo instead?

[GingerJ]

I know you can find plenty to do in 5 days at the two parks. Just remember while you're planning that DLR has fewer things to do than WDW, although Disneyland Park is jam-packed full--I counted 55 different attractions there when working on the PP Guide! DCA has fewer attractions, but then it's newer.

For myself, I would likely declare that it's primarily a Disney trip, and the side trip to San Diego is a little bonus. But then, I'm going to DLR for 8 days, just a couple of weeks from now, and I only ever stayed that long once at WDW.

But if you're unlikely to get to Southern California again for many years, it could be worth your while to spend more time outside the parks, maybe take an LA bus tour. It all depends on how your family wants to spend the time while you're out there. I really do suggest you get the PP LIVE! Guide--our contributor Kristin Billings is a travel agent in Southern California, and she has three pages on just San Diego attractions. You can look at that (or a different guidebook) to see how tempting all those things are to you, and make your decision that way.

I think it's a great idea to be sure to hit a beach, just because you can! The waters of the Pacific are much cooler than Atlantic beaches, so be prepared in case you're planning to swim.

You could buy four-day passes (check Mousesavers.com for info on Ares Travel to get small discounts) and then decide at the parks whether or not to upgrade for that fifth day, if you're comfortable playing things by ear.

If you're renting a car for the full trip, another way to handle it would be to plan a short trip to SD or LA for a half day, returning to the parks for dinner, fireworks, World of Color, or whatever that evening.

Lots of decisions to make!

[Huntermom]

I love DL, perhaps more than WDW. The thing I love is it is so compact and you spend much less time walking between attractions and going from park to park is so quick and easy. I think four days would be adequate, especially if you go during the week. My observations (based only on 3 trips) is that DL is much more crowded on the weekends than during the week. Last time I went, Saturday and Sunday were packed (it was Mother's Day weekend) but Monday was empty-sadly empty. Just about every attraction was a walk on and I remember feeling sorry for some characters in DCA standing there with no one approaching.

I also think San Diego is wonderful but to me the zoo is a full day. And remember, traffic in California can be like nothing you have ever seen before.

[DebiDebiDebi]

Personally, I think four days at DLR is really perfect; one full day for each park, one to hit the highlights of both parks and one day for relaxation and shopping/food at DownTown Disney.