Need help with itinerary

[friedela]

We pretty much have our itinerary planned out but we have some down time that we don't know what to do with. Can someone have a look over our plan and let us know of any suggestions?

Tuesday - Arrive at 12 PM, get to hotel, grab some groceries, spend time in the pool
Wednesday - DCA
Thursday - DL with magic morning
Friday - Sea World (renting a car)
Saturday - Beach (still not sure which one to do - wouldn't mind suggestions on that too)
Sunday - ??? (we will still have a rental car)
Monday - DL
Tuesday - Fly home in the early afternoon

We originally would have liked to do DL on our first day, but we want to use our Magic Morning which isn't offered on the Wednesday nor the Monday before we leave. As noted we will still have a rental car but with our long day at Seaworld the day before and the drive there and back I can't see us wanting to go far on Sunday. Any thoughts?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Is there a reason why you've chosen to do DL on the Monday and not during the weekend? (Why are Mondays so busy?) The lower APs are blocked on Saturday, the 4th, so even though that is "May the Fourth," it still may be a good crowd day for DL, especially if you start at RD and use MP/FP to your advantage. The MM people will do FL and TL, but you can start at RD and head to the west side of the park where there won't be crowds yet. (And you could choose to use your MM on Saturday instead of Thursday in this scenario -- yet another option.) Also, Wednesdays have been pretty consistently good days at DL according to people here who go every week. Are you sure you want to begin your first trip to DLR at DCA? Nothing wrong with that, but many people want to start their first trip with DL, the view of the floral Mickey face and the train station (and photos, of course!), and walking through the tunnel into Town Square. Just a thought...

 

[Bossy22]

Going up from 3 days to 4 days is not too expensive. I would do another day with the mouse!!!

 

[DisNerdSocal]

Saturday - Beach (still not sure which one to do - wouldn't mind suggestions on that too)

For beaches - Carlsbad (north San Diego County), San Clemente (Orange County), La Jolla (south San Diego County) and Huntington Beach

Anaheim in general has a lot of touristy things to do, plenty of activities to fill your day. Other interesting things to do around here are the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Safari Park (Escondido), LA is doable from Anaheim if you have a rental car, any of the baseball stadiums locally - Angels, Padres, Dodgers, tons of shopping, other amusement parks are pretty close including Knotts Berry Farm, Universal or Six Flags.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Going up from 3 days to 4 days is not too expensive. I would do another day with the mouse!!!

This is a good option to keep in mind. If your family falls in love with the parks and/or if you want to take a slower pace in the parks, you should be able to upgrade your tickets at the booths (adding up to 2 more days) for a reasonable amount. It just needs to be done before the end of your last park day.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I would add a 4th day!

 

[avalon451]

Another vote to add a 4th day-- or even a 5th and do some relaxed wandering and exploring on your first day as well. That is one of my favorite times of my trip. We usually fly in and get to the hotel late morning or early afternoon. That first afternoon for us is about wandering... taking pictures by the Floral Mickey, the Castle, etc. ...soaking up the ambiance... enjoying snacks... having a relaxed meal... and maybe riding a few rides that have short lines or fastpasses with immediate or short return times-- I always like to do Pirates first thing. If fireworks are on, it's a great time to see them early in your trip when you're not so tired after days of touring.

That said, I agree with the PPs that it might be a good idea to do Sunday in the parks instead of Monday. Mondays are notoriously crazy.

 

[cmwade77]

For beaches, I would say Laguna Beach is a really nice area and they have shuttles a lot of the times, so you can find a parking spot and not need to move (unless it has a time limit).

I would definitely add at least one more Disney day and I would move Monday to Saturday and make Monday the beach day. The beach will be less crowded as well as Disneyland being less crowded. Although I might make that a DCA day and move DL to another day as DCA tends to be slightly less crowded on Saturdays than DL is.

I would not do DL or DCA on Sunday, it.is almost as bad as Monday.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I would not do DL or DCA on Sunday, it.is almost as bad as Monday.

(This part is in response to the original/unedited quote above.)
We are usually in the parks on Saturdays and do not find this to be true normally, especially when the lower APs are blocked (as they will be on May 4th when the OP is visiting). Can Saturdays be busy? Yes, but when the lower APs are blocked, it is very manageable. Look at Memorial Day Weekend the last two years in a row -- Saturday was lovely! (And, yup, the lower APs were blocked those days.) But Mondays? When it's busy on a Monday, it can be nuts.

ETA (in response to the edited quote above): Sundays do not have to be bad -- it all depends on how many APs are blocked, getting to the parks early, and having a good plan of attack (preferably one that includes MP/FP). Sundays can be better than a crowded Monday. This might have something to do with the crowd makeup and mindset. People might go in on a Sunday expecting weekend crowds and being somewhat prepared, whereas people going on a Monday may think that the parks will be fairly empty (won't everyone else be at work and at school?). People expecting low crowds, then getting slammed with crowds can really affect the vibe in the parks. Sunday can be a good day to do shows, parades, live entertainment, eat whatever snacks you've missed, etc. -- catch up on the park atmosphere and enjoy not standing in lines all day. Let everyone else do that!

 

[friedela]

Is there a reason why you've chosen to do DL on the Monday and not during the weekend? (Why are Mondays so busy?) The lower APs are blocked on Saturday, the 4th, so even though that is "May the Fourth," it still may be a good crowd day for DL, especially if you start at RD and use MP/FP to your advantage. The MM people will do FL and TL, but you can start at RD and head to the west side of the park where there won't be crowds yet. (And you could choose to use your MM on Saturday instead of Thursday in this scenario -- yet another option.) Also, Wednesdays have been pretty consistently good days at DL according to people here who go every week. Are you sure you want to begin your first trip to DLR at DCA? Nothing wrong with that, but many people want to start their first trip with DL, the view of the floral Mickey face and the train station (and photos, of course!), and walking through the tunnel into Town Square. Just a thought...

Thanks for the suggestions!! We considered doing DL on Saturday but I like to end our trip with a Disney day instead of getting Disney all over with super fast. I'd prefer to savour it!

 

[friedela]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!! Doing a 4th day isn't really an option, we are good with the 3 days. Our last trip to the World we did 4 days and felt it was exclusively a Disney trip because we didn't have time for anything else. We'd love to use that day to do something different other than a theme park. Does anyone have any suggestions of other day trips or sight seeing that would be fun? Our kids are 7 and 8.

 

[Rich M]

Knots Berry Farm is a few exits away and they even have a water park there. Another fun trip can be going to Hollywood and seeing the hand prints and stuff. Universal Studios is a fun day trip also. Depending on how young your kids are my GS just loved our trip to Legoland. If you don't mind a little further drive and your into Roller Coasters then Magic Mountain is the best theme park for roller coasters and they are open 365 days a year now. Last suggestion is if your going to SeaWorld why not hit the San Diego Zoo. It is a great zoo and a very relaxing day. Have a great trip.

 

[Southern Dis Fan]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!! Doing a 4th day isn't really an option, we are good with the 3 days. Our last trip to the World we did 4 days and felt it was exclusively a Disney trip because we didn't have time for anything else. We'd love to use that day to do something different other than a theme park. Does anyone have any suggestions of other day trips or sight seeing that would be fun? Our kids are 7 and 8.

Maybe the aquarium at Long Beach?

 

[cmwade77]

(This part is in response to the original/unedited quote above.)
We are usually in the parks on Saturdays and do not find this to be true normally, especially when the lower APs are blocked (as they will be on May 4th when the OP is visiting). Can Saturdays be busy? Yes, but when the lower APs are blocked, it is very manageable. Look at Memorial Day Weekend the last two years in a row -- Saturday was lovely! (And, yup, the lower APs were blocked those days.) But Mondays? When it's busy on a Monday, it can be nuts.

ETA (in response to the edited quote above): Sundays do not have to be bad -- it all depends on how many APs are blocked, getting to the parks early, and having a good plan of attack (preferably one that includes MP/FP). Sundays can be better than a crowded Monday. This might have something to do with the crowd makeup and mindset. People might go in on a Sunday expecting weekend crowds and being somewhat prepared, whereas people going on a Monday may think that the parks will be fairly empty (won't everyone else be at work and at school?). People expecting low crowds, then getting slammed with crowds can really affect the vibe in the parks. Sunday can be a good day to do shows, parades, live entertainment, eat whatever snacks you've missed, etc. -- catch up on the park atmosphere and enjoy not standing in lines all day. Let everyone else do that!

I didn't say Saturday, I said Sundays, I even previously said Saturdays can actually be a good day of the week. And yes, Sundays can be decent if most APs are blocked, but Deluxe usually isn't on most Sundays and has lately become the most popular pass level.

 

[friedela]

Maybe the aquarium at Long Beach?

that's a good idea! I'll look into it

 

[cmwade77]

that's a good idea! I'll look into it

Be sure to look for coupons, there is almost always buy one get one free out there somewhere (usually allows up to 6 or 10 tickets to be bought at a discount) and if you buy an odd number of tickets, they will usually just give 50% off that last ticket.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I didn't say Saturday, I said Sundays...

I answered the post as it stood originally. Either way, it is now a moot point since the OP has decided not to use the weekend for park days.
@friedela : Here are some ideas of things to do outside the parks: DAY SIX Podcasts of Things to Do Around Disneyland.