Where would you stay when going to California Disneyland and all the other parks?|143048

My husband and I will be driving down the coast from Washington and going to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, Redwood forest, lego land and all that fun stuff! Anyhow i_m trying to plan it out and am not sure what order I should do things or where I should stay...I_m not quite sure how far apart all the parks are so some input would be great! Thanks!

someplace cheap, day_s inn is generally nice, had some good times there. I seriously doubt anyone has fat wallets and extremely deep pockets during the recession. the parks already cost like $100 a day and the cheap, useless junk you buy is like another $100. rather then go broke with all that spending and $150 a night hotels, the _cheap_ motels can help you save some money.

route: pacific coast highway or 5 fwy
direction: south
order: universal (1 or 2 days)
disney 1-2 days
seaworld 1 days
redwood forest 2 days to 2 weeks, reserve early, camp if you_d like, however a hotel is recommended. there_s like only 2 hotels so no possibility of a cheap motel 8 or something. Redwoods also found at Yosemite national park too.

distance: down from WA state to Universal Studios, CA: 700+ miles (I don_t know, its a guess)
_30 miles SOUTH Universal to Disneyland
approx 110 miles SOUTH from disney to seaworld, San Diego, CA.
_200 miles NORTH from sea world to Sequoia or Kings Canyon National park.
_100 miles NORTH from Kings/Sequoia to Yosemite Park.

I_ve had many great experiences at motel 8, holiday inn and day_s inn.

Gas in Southern California is $2.80 to $3.20, please drive a fuel efficient car, otherwise you_ll be broke from the gas cost.

avoid driving into cities in the morning,and leaving them at the evening.
morning rush hour: 7.30a to 9.30a, noon rush 12p to2p, evening rush: 3pm to 8pm.

avoid the 110 freeway in Pasadena, 710 most of the route, 710 has construction from the 405 to the 91, avoid this route. there is a choke point in traffic flow at where the 91 and 5 freeways cross, there is a construction area a bit north of that for some odd reason people like to slow way down and cause a jam.

near downtown LA freeway speed limit is 55 for all vehicles and 45 for trucks and heavy vehicles.
California #1 in the USA for speeding tickets/speeds, so don_t speed too much and don_t get road rage is someone appears to nearly hit you while passing at the high rate of speed. It happens a lot. don_t travel in the carpool lane if you can_t drive up to 85. People get pissed and tailgate you if you drive 65 (speed limit) when traffic is light.

I recommend post 2005 maps of the LA/Orange County/Riverside and San Diego county maps, there_s been lots of change on the freeways and roads.

Lego land is in San Diego, as so is this really wilderness big zoo. all within 30 miles of seaworld.

while Mexico is real close to San Diego, do not go into Mexico. Do be careful in San Diego, some Mexican gangs have taken to kidnapping Americans for hostages or ransom. Its extremely rare, but still be careful.

you can visit universal studios, see Hollywood, see downtown LA, disney, and Knotts berry farm (amusement park like disney but more for teenagers) all going south on the 5 freeway.


other parks I recommend
Six flags/Magic Mountain
Disney California adventure
Knott_s berry farm
Long Beach Aquarium
San Diego Zoo
See Hollywood,
Visit downtown LA
Visit historic San Diego and Visit downtown San Diego
Visit historic Santa Ana, Orange, LA.
Visit downtown Long Beach (more tall buildings than downtown LA)

I always use mousesavers for my money saving when going to disneyland or disneyworld, they are great and you can find the best stuff for your trip there. And I use trip advisor for my hotel selections, it is nice to see what other people think about the hotel, not just the _experts_ I hope that this helps and have a wonderful trip.

Come live in Oceanside or Carlsbad area then you r in the middle where you can go to lego land local. Beach is awesome you can go to Sea World in half hr Disney land in 45 mints Universal Studio in an hr and Red wood forest and Yosemite in five hrs. if i know you well you would hv stayed with us lol. Enjoy your california stay nice place for vacation.

I used this book Disneyland _ Southern California with Kids to plan my family trip to Disneyland. I found it to be full of great information and advice regarding hotels, places to eat, and how to get the most out of the rides and attractions in the Park. Good luck!
http://digitsy.com/us/item/0761532625

I_ve stayed at two hotels. The Tropicana Inn _ Suites and The Camelot. Both are in walking distance of Disney (like literally less then ten minutes). They are nice and clean. However I am a picky person and their pillows go flat easily, so I just bring my own. About $100 per night, which is good considering how close they are to Disney.

Here u go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrQ6TW6IG��

This is why people in LA must drive cars. Everything is far apart. Going from North to south:

Redwood forest: Way up north, you should post a question in the San Francisco forum for this.
Universal Studios: North of downtown, a good place to stay would be in Hollywood, at the Orchid Suites, Hollywood Celebrity, or Holiday Inn Walk of Fame. That_s only one subway stop from Universal, and it_s right next to the Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, El Capitan, and Hollywood _ Highland Complex.

Disneyland: 38 miles south of Universal. I always recomment the Howard Johnson and Candy Cane Inns. There are cheaper hotels (motels, actually), but these both give outstanding value, and are a short walk to the front entrance (about a block).

Legoland: 64 miles south of Anaheim, in San Diego County.

Sea World: 31 miles south of Legoland. I_m not an expert on San Diego. You should either post a question in the San Diego forum, or visit www.localwally.com. He_ll give you the straight scoop on San Diego.

Where are the coolest places to visit in the us?|141688

Where are some of the coolest places to visit in the states. Im leary about going outside the us anymore, and want to explore the best of the best in america. Im from maryland.

the florida keys or Michigan_s upper peninsula in the summer there are over 300 waterfalls up there and lake superiors pictured rocks national lake shore is beautiful the boat cruise is a must and the porcupine mountain also known as lake of the clouds is breath taking. north west michigan is beautiful lake michigan has the best beaches and a beautiful shore line and over michigan has over 11,000 inland lakes

I_m born and raised in LA and love it with all my heart but I would say unless you_re going to rent a car or know someone who lives here you should hold off for a little while. NYC is a lot of fun but I also like Boston a lot, it_s just smaller than NYC and has a similar vibe. It_s easier to do Boston in shorter amount of time. Las Vegas is fun and extremely decadent. San Francisco is awesome. I_m ashamed to say I have never been to the south but plan on going in the near future, Austin, Texas is supposed to be a great place. If you live music than Austin is the place for you. Hope this helps!

I would have to go with Chicago Illinois. The lake and river fronts are incredible. most of the worlds tallest buildings are there. The finance district and jewelers Row, Great theaters and shopping on the magnificent mile and Oak street.

Wonderful parks and friendly people, you cannot beat it

i think that NYC it_s AWESOME there are so many lights at night and tons of fun stuff to do there. this might sound weird but where i live we don_t have this so when I visited it very facinating ang fun.I loved all the transportation there, the taxis, the subway, the shuttel.

For sure you cannot miss the city of Chicago! It is a huge city that has it all and then some. The Skyline was just voted best in the world again and their are the worlds best theaters, shopping, dining, museums, beaches and on and on!

Chicago. It has so much to offer and the people are generally very warm and friendly. (but it_s best from may-sept unless you like cold weather)

New Orleans is also really amazing.

How can I avoid the lines and cover charges at the Gaslamp?|194228

Going to San Diego this week with some girlfriends for the first time. I figured out that it_s a good idea to make dinner reservations and come early to avoid it for the most part, but what if we end up coming late?

I_ve read about getting a _promoter_ to get you in, but how do you go about contacting these folks? Thanks! Please - this is a serious question, so I expect serious answers.

I went last night. Just show up early, or get a promoter. Its your best bet.

What is the quickest and cheapest way to get grom Newark Airport to Rockefeller Center?|192138

I arrive on wednesday and need to get to Rockefeller Center quickly, easily, and for very little money. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Quick and cheap do not go together in New York. Cheapest route from Newark Airport is take the bus to Penn station in downtown Newark (yes, Newark has a Penn Station, just as does NYC). Take the PATH train to west 33 street stop in Manhattan. From there walk north 17 blocks and east 4 blocks. That is the cheapest. Definitely not the fastest. That would be to take a taxi from the airport. Cost you about $40.

The quickest way would be cab,cheapest,train.

What transportation should i use to get from San Francisco to the University of California Santa Barbara?|178364

I want to be able to easily get from the station/airport, to the campus. I will have a big luggage and items from home to move into a Residential Hall. Anyone have options and directions?

Look for a ride share.
The campus may have a posting for this or check on criagslist.
If nothing else rent a truck for a one way trip.
But your best bet is to find others in your area who also will be traveling down for school. In this way you may establish rides at shared cost for the holidays as well.

Directions are quite simple. Take 101 south for about 320 miles give or take. Honestly if you have a lot stuff for college, I would seriously recommend renting a car and driving. It takes approximately 5 hours to drive. As others have mentioned, SB is not very close to SF. Your better bet flying is either Los Angeles or Santa BArbara or San Luis Obispo. Those airports are all within approximately 90 - 100 miles of SB.

If you want public transit, your best bet would be to take bart to Emeryville and pick up Amtrak there. Or take bart to Millbrae and then pick up the caltrain down to San Jose, and transfer to amtrak there.

I_d recommend taking Amtrak! the Coast Starlight offers daily direct rail service between the Bay Area and Santa Barbara. The ride is nice _ the cost reasonable! Other departure time options are also possible but combine Amtrak rail with a thruway bus connection for a portion of the trip. Good Luck!

Los Angeles {LAX} is much closer to Santa Barbara than San Francisco [SFO} Otherwise I would take Amtrack..Probably Bart to Oakland or Emeryville train stations then straight down to Santa Barbara..you could also take Amtrack from los Angeles to Santa Barbara.

Jetpacks and hanggliders are nice because you can skip traffic.

Santa Barbara is a long way from San Francisco.

You might want to find a closer airport - perhaps Los Angeles.

What are the best towns in Colorado for comfortable living?|188876

My boyfriend and I want to buy our own property in Colorado near a ski resort and river. We would like the town to be low in crime rates and be wonderful for raising children in. We want to have some land for a few horses and dogs to run around too. Any details and information about where in Colorado would be great. Thanks!

North of Silverthorne there is Horse land...You can get to about 5 ski areas within about an hour, even on a trafficky day.

Most horse land isn_t all that close to much skiing, though, as horses tend to like it lower, warmer, and a bit less rugged, but we have a number of places in Silverthorne and Dillon (not in town, but in the county areas) where horses stay during the summers, but most of them are moved to Arizona in the winter time....only some stay all winter.

What kind of discount (if any) do Disneyland Cast Members get on WDW tickets and where can they purchase them?|187809

My friend_s father works at Disneyland (long time cast member) and I was wondering if they can purchase WDW Magic Your Way tickets for friends, what the discount is, and where they can purchase the tickets. Thanks for the help!

Well if your friends dad is going to Walt Disney World, his main gate, or silver pass whatever he has, will be able to help him gain admission to the Walt Disney World Resort parks.

He just has to use a day on his main gate or silver pass.

If he is looking to purchase tickets for extended friends or family, he can get about a 10% discount at Company D.

In all honest he would be better off sending his friends to a company that sells authorized discount disney world tickets like Orlando Fun Tickets
http://www.orlandofuntickets.com/buy-dis��


I hope this helps!

WDW is Walt Disney World. You mentioned he works for Disney Land (California) I am not sure if you just mistyped or what but I can answer the question as a former castmember of Disney World (FL) I don_t know if their discounts are the same (they were NOT the same 3 years ago)...
The tickets can be bought at discount at a company D store (yes he will know what that is no matter where he is located) and get the price off the company portal website (yes he will know what that is no matter where he is located)...

Your friend_s father should be able to buy WDW tickets at Disneyland Cast Activities. The discount isn_t very appreciable anymore (not that it ever really was), but you can get them slightly discounted through Cast Activities at Disneyland. (I believe they_re located in the TDA building).

my niece works at disneyland she can get a certain number of people in for free a year. she meets us when we get there and and gets us in the gate. i don_t know about disney world.
have your friends dad ask at work he should be able to find out something