7 day Itinerary - not sure if its doable.

[wowzadisney]

Hey everyone,

we are planning our first trip to California in may and i am planning for the week but im not sure if its doable and am looking for some advice if possible.

May 7 - Day 1 - all day
Disneyland

Day 2 - All day DCA

Day 3 - All day Disneyland

Day 4 - Drive from Anaheim to Santa Monica pier, spend day there

day 5 - Drive from Anaheim to LA - spend day doing LA stuff (walk of fame, walking sunset/Hollywood, observatory)

Day 6 - Drive from Anaheim to wither newport beach or Laguna, i heard laguna is nicer

does this sound ok?

thanks

 

[nkereina]

We're in planning for our upcoming May trip. From what I have read, Huntington Beach is among the nicest beaches in OC - so just another one to consider. Hopefully someone can come along with an opinion!

Is there a reason you are staying in Anaheim the whole time? We are staying two nights in LA after our stay in Anaheim to do the LA stuff. With the long commute, we didn't want to contend with that more than we had to. There is a hop on/hop off bus company that has a route hitting all the major LA attractions, including Santa Monica and Venice, that we're going to utilize during our LA stay. We considered spending a day at Santa Monica pier but after further researching it, there didn't seem to be as much there as we thought.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We're in planning for our upcoming May trip. From what I have read, Huntington Beach is among the nicest beaches in OC - so just another one to consider. Hopefully someone can come along with an opinion!...

Laguna, Newport, and Huntington are all nice for different reasons. Huntington is closest to DLR, so the shortest drive. This is a nice beach for a short visit, seeing the ocean, taking a surf lesson?, finding a fun restaurant -- very casual. Newport is nice because it has nicer restaurants, Balboa Island (actually a peninsula -- with a car ferry) has fun things to do, it is close to lots of shopping (e.g. Fashion Island -- upscale, outdoor mall), etc. Laguna is nice because it is more upscale in an arty way -- nice little restaurants and shops, good for walking around and window shopping, pretty beach, etc. They're all nice beaches, and if you have time, you could visit all three. But it just depends on what you like and what you want to see and do.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I would consider leaving Anaheim for the last portion of your trip - it seems like a super lengthy drive back and forth if you're not really going to be in the Anaheim area anyway or going to Disneyland.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Driving from Anaheim to Santa Monica or LA (and back again!) will be brutal - two days in a row of that type of drive sounds really unpleasant, to be honest. I’d stay up there for that portion of your trip rather than in Anaheim, so maybe stay in Anaheim for the Disney days and Laguna, and then move up to LA for your last two days?

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Driving from Anaheim to Santa Monica or LA (and back again!) will be brutal - two days in a row of that type of drive sounds really unpleasant, to be honest. I’d stay up there for that portion of your trip rather than in Anaheim, so maybe stay in Anaheim for the Disney days and Laguna, and then move up to LA for your last two days?

This is exactly what I was going to suggest! The drive from Anaheim to LA is long without traffic...add in traffic and it's going to eat up a lot of your day.

As for the beaches, I haven't been to Newport but I absolutely love Laguna Beach. The beach is stunning and there are a lot of tide pools and neat rock formations to check out. Plus as PP have mentioned, the town itself is really cute.

 

[Guy in Fargo]

We had an LA day when we went in 2017.

Went on a Sunday. Left Select Rent-a-Car on Harbor at 8 am (highly recommend). Picked up donuts at Randy's on the way to Santa Monica. Went to church by USC. Hit the Museum of Natural History, Pink's Hot Dogs, and the Walk of Fame. Made it back to Anaheim at about 8.30.

Very doable. Could stay out later, but it was pretty dark by 7 in February.

Not sure that I'd recommend any day other than Sunday.

 

[3DisMunchkins]

If you do choose to stay in Anaheim for the entire trip, I would suggest splitting up your Disney days. We love to take a day in the middle and hit Newport or Huntington Beach. You can sleep in a little later and still have a nice day and be back in time for an earlier bedtime and start your next Disney day refreshed! Maybe doing this then moving toward LA would work. I guess it really depends on your group and your touring style but we love to open and close the parks (with a 3-4 hour break midday most days). Also consider the beach to me is still pretty chilly in May! I would definitely still go, but not sure how long my kiddos would last in the water.
Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

Hey everyone,

we are planning our first trip to California in may and i am planning for the week but im not sure if its doable and am looking for some advice if possible.

May 7 - Day 1 - all day
Disneyland

Day 2 - All day DCA

Day 3 - All day Disneyland

Day 4 - Drive from Anaheim to Santa Monica pier, spend day there

day 5 - Drive from Anaheim to LA - spend day doing LA stuff (walk of fame, walking sunset/Hollywood, observatory)

Day 6 - Drive from Anaheim to wither newport beach or Laguna, i heard laguna is nicer

does this sound ok?

thanks

Us too! Also staying in Anaheim.
1st 3 days @ DLR same as you.
Also seeing the sights in LA & Santa Monica.
Only difference is we're taking Metrolink / Amtrak & LA Metro to get around when not at DLR.

Hope we both have good weather. Enjoy your trip.

 

[wowzadisney]

Thanks everyone for the great tips. The reason why we are staying in Anaheim the whole trip is really my fault Lack of preparing I guess.. I didn't realize the trip would be far as google says 1 hr approx each way and we like to drive and see things.

I like the idea of splitting the Disney days .

I wish I knew about this board before and did my due diligence . Lots of great tips.

P. S.. I'm gonna milk it and roll be asking alot more questions lol don't hate me..

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Thanks everyone for the great tips. The reason why we are staying in Anaheim the whole trip is really my fault Lack of preparing I guess.. I didn't realize the trip would be far as google says 1 hr approx each way and we like to drive and see things.

I like the idea of splitting the Disney days .

I wish I knew about this board before and did my due diligence . Lots of great tips.

P. S.. I'm gonna milk it and roll be asking alot more questions lol don't hate me..

Any chance of changing your lodging plans for the last day or two? It shouldn't be hard to grab an LA hotel...

If you really can't, then like a PP suggested, I'd definitely break up your Disney days/driving days to avoid fatigue.

 

[tarheelalum]

Staying in Anaheim and driving to LA and Santa Monica is a really bad idea. It can be A LOT more than an hour drive, depending on how the freeway gods feel. Do not do that.