This summer's family vacation will be spent in Carlsbad, California. We will be there for a week in June. I figured since we will be in Southern Cal, that we would also drive the 62 miles north to Anaheim to take the kiddos to Disneyland. We are planning on renting a room for one night at a hotel across the street from Disneyland (we stayed there before an liked the close proximity to the park), so that we would not have to drive an hour and a half back and forth from Carlsbad for the two days that we want to spend at Disney. I know it sounds like a lot of hassle, but hubby and I just decided that it would be easier for us to rent a room for baby to nap in the afternoon and for the night (and take a mini-vacation from our big vacation) rather than to drive so much with three little ones in tow. Anyway, my question is, does anyone know of any sites/agencies where I can get 2-day park-hopper passes at a "good" price? Any city government safety employee (firefighter) discounts? The cheapest I found was $112 for each kiddo, and $132 each for hubby and I. I also tried to find a package that included our hotel, but the bundles are only for a minimum of 2 nights. So, with these ticket prices and hotel for $149, we're at $637--and that doesn't even include food, gas, souvenirs for the kids, and the rest of our week in Carlsbad!!!
Okay, along with my cheap Disney tickets question, I also have a question about Carlsbad: what is there to do there? Any suggestions? We traded our timeshare to stay there, having heard that it was beautiful. We do plan on spending a lot of time at the beach, but I just wanted to know if perhaps anyone was familiar with the area and had any activity/restaurant/shopping suggestions.
And...just thought I'd ask for some feedback about LegoLand. Since we're doing Disneyland, LegoLand is out (that would be way too much money!), but I'm curious as to what you're experience was like there. If it was great, perhaps the kids could be persuaded into going there instead...
Thanks, Mamas!
getawaytoday.com has great prices for the hotel tickets ect. And everything is included in the one price its wonderful we have used this site manytimes for our family vacations good luck and hav3e a great time.
Hi A.,
Legoland is awesome! My son's first visit there was at 18 months, and even then, he enjoyed playing with the duplos and looking at everything. Last year, at 30 months, he had infinitely more fun, and I expect that to be the case when we go this summer as well. We're able to get discount tickets through Phoenix's law enforcement union, so maybe the firefighters have a union as well?
I just have to say something about all those who have aired opinions about your children being too young for Disneyland:
We took my son to Disneyworld when he was 22 months old. A lot of people told me I was nuts to take him so young, but because of my teaching, I firmly believe in the idea that exposing children to different experiences in their younger years only helps their brains to grow and develop and acquire background information that helps them for the rest of their lives- and I'm sure that as a former teacher, you already know that. If you can afford to go now, I say do it. You can go later too! Though my son wasn't yet two, he looks at the pictures from the trip now and so enjoys seeing that he had breakfast with Mickey, among other things- plus he's probably a Disney lover for life! Surprisingly, there was quite a bit to do with such a little guy, and the fact that he needed naps and diaper changes gave us built-in breaks that required us to really plan and avoid cramming in as much as possible into each day.We plan to go to Disneyland in October, shortly before he turns four, and again, some people will say I'm nuts, but I know he'll enjoy himself and his brain will be better for it.
To me, the bottom line is that if you can afford it, go to both places! Time is fleeting and things always come up, so you may not have the opportunity again. Just my two cents. Have fun!
We're going to Disneyland too!!! And it will be the first week of June around the 6th. Already got hotel reservations at Annabella. I love that hotel! It's not near the gate, but you can take the shuttle bus to and from. Tickets are outrageous for sure. We will buy our tickets at the Hotel front desk. That's what my hubby and I did last summer when we went. My son is three and a half years old and I know he's going to love it. We're taking grandma and grandpa with us too!
If your kidos haven't had the experience of Disneyland, I would go there. Toon Town is awesome for kids! In a few years I want to take my son to Sea World. That's our next big trip and a very costly one too. A lot more than Disneyland.
I wish I had good news about cheap tickets. When I worked at Mayo Hospital we got a discount, but since I don't work any more, then i don't get that privalage any more. :-(
Anyway, have a fabu time in California! Be safe!
My two sons love Legoland. I think it's the perfect amusement park for younger kids such as yours. Personally, we went to Legoland first because it's better suited for younger kids. We waited to do Disneyland until our kids were 6 and 7 -- that way they could go on more rides there and it wasn't so overwhelming. Can't say enough about Legoland -- lots of things to do, they added a water play area and my sons can spend hours racing cars they build in the Lego play area -- we save that for the end of the day so Mom and Dad can sit and rest while they play. Good luck!
Marilyn P is right on! Children should be at least a mature 5 or 6 years of age before going to Disneyland. Why expose the little ones to so much "oversensation" when they are truly content and overjoyed with things like the seashore, etc.? I agree with Marilyn wholeheartedly! We took our son to Disneyland for the first time when he was 6 years old and it was more meaningful for him. I think the culture makes parents feel like they should be taking little ones when, really, they have no clue where they are anyway and there is actually too much stimulaton for them anyway. Delayed gratfication is a great thing and when kids have to wait a li'l while to do something , they appreciate it so much more. I'd say one day at Legoland is plenty! Sea World is awesome and so is the beach, hiking areas, etc.
I work for Costco and we have a southern cali pass that gives you tickets to Legoland the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, Disney , and I believe Seaworld. Check it oput online at www.costco.com http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=112...
Hi
I was not that impressed with Lego land Disneyland is much more fun but I did find Disneyland hotel I belive has the park hoppper tickets included and may all work out to the same price plus the convinence of the Dinseyland hotel is big with the ages your children are you can take a break and go swimming, I would look into it. Carlsbad is fun I spent all of my summers there as a child, from what I remember it's just beach time and going out to eat we never drove anywhere everything was within walking distance.
I have three girls 12,10 and 7 and work full time have a great vacation.
I say skip Disneyland and do Legoland.
We took my oldest son to Legoland when he was 2 1/2 and he was barely tall enough to ride some of the kiddie rides but wow did he have fun. We did Sea World that trip. We used my brothers military discount for both of those.
Last year we did Disneyland and my oldest was almost 4. We weren't sure if he would want to ride the rollercoasters and he did get scared but rode all the ones he was allowed to go on height wise(once again he barely made the height). my 1 1/2 year old was too little to do anything and he was really bummed and let us know about it.
The good thing about Disneyland is that disneyland.com has a place were you can make your own maps so since we had boys our maps excluded any girl attractions and it made our park trip a tiny bit more manageable. There are shuttles within a 3 mile radius to Disneyland which makes it easy but I would suggest Legoland first, then when the kids are at a better age do Disneyland.
Either way definatly check all the height restrictions for your kids and the rides before you go.
A.,
We have a family timeshare in Carlsbad and LOVE it! It is one of the cleanest, least crowded and family-friendly beaches in San Diego. Are far as thigns to do, there is a GREAT outlet mall and the Flower Fields Garden is right next to the mall. There is a kids area there at the fields and it is really quite pretty with all of the flowers in bloom. There are tons of little beach town shops along the boardwalk and plenty of places to walk along and get a great view of the ocean. I don't know where you are staying, but most of the resorts have pools and ours has a game room with pool tables and ping pong, etc. There are also a lot of restaurants, some chain like Claim Jumper but also some smaller ones like Fidel's (Mexican) and Dini's (seafood, pasta, pizza). I hope you have a great time! Let me know if you have any other questions :)
Sincerely,
L. Smith
Owner/CEO - Regionz Kidz
http://www.regionzkidz.com
Last year for spring break we did our big vacation (after my hubby back from Afghanistan) so we did three days in Disney, one at legoland and one at sea world. Legoland was great! My son was 5 and the perfect age for it. It is definitly geared for the younger set. I also got free child tickets from the lego club magazine and then discounts at the base. I would visit Carlsbad's web site for more stuff to do. We stayed the second leg of our trip by Sea World and stopped at the visitors center. They had great ideas and told us were the sea lions would be with their calves. The lady was a wealth of info and we even found a whale watching boat trip to go on (only saw one in the bay but a great trip). Have a great time. We are going to San Diego this summer and going to Legoland and Sea World again but are skipping Disney due to the cost. I am really looking forward to it.
We actually just booked a California vacation and found expedia to have some pretty good deals right now. Up to 30% off you're hotel room. Legoland buy one day admission get one free. Sea World adults pay the kids admission price. They might have had deals on Disneyland passes, but since we weren't planning a Disney trip I didn't really pay attention. We opted for Sea World for our 3 little ones. Nothing against Disneyland, just weren't sure us adults could handle keeping up with the little ones with all the crowds around. My kids recently went to an event at the phoenix zoo where they got to touch some different marine life and came back so excited to tell me all about it, so we thought they'd really enjoy Sea World. Anyway we booked our hotel for 3 nights and our 4 sea world deluxe tix (2 day admission and a tour) for about 600. As far as what to do in the area, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on the answers to your post hoping to find out for myself.
My kids love Disneyland and Legoland! They are teenagers, now but started going when they were very young. I have family that lives in Carlsbad but still don't know of much to do there. I really like Oceanside. The harbor has fun shopping and restaruants. Check out Beach Brat - fun store!
We have never stayed there, but it is pretty. I really did not see much about the area as far as a lot of stuff to do. I thought there was a museum of music there & a lot of little lagoons for beach sitting. Legoland is nice for your age kids...but the rides are all on the slow side, which makes the lines longer to get through. They do have the lego set up while parents stand in line with most of the rides. Great water fun, so bring your suits in the park for the little ones. The park itself is just spectacular in view. Don't forget to see MINI-Town there.....it is amazing.
Have a nice trip.
On expedia they have a southern california pass that gets you into several places depending on the package you pick. I am going to get this for our vacation. My kids went to Legoland last summer with their grandparents. They both said the park was great-a lot better than they expected. Lots of stuff for little kids. Fry's has discount coupons on sale. We went to Knott's Berry farm one year and that was really great and inexpensive. Stayed at the Knott's Berry Farm resort which was nice for naps. My son is a member of the lego club. I think you can sign up online. They send out free monthly magazines. He has gotten coupons for free child admissions to Legoland in the magazines. I also plan to go to Seaworld this summer-sounds really fun. When we went to Disneyland we got really lucky because someone had 5 day park hopper tiks and they were tired of the parks so they did not want to use their last day and we scalped the tiks for a low price. Those coupon books you get at Gas Stations for hotels have great discounts for Disney area hotels. Good luck-I know it is expensive but Disneyland is so much fun.
just a suggestion and in my opinion
yes you are very close to disney and you should go BUT all I can remember is years ago that my neighbors went with their 9 y/o son and always said that they were glad they waited til he was this old to take him because he enjoyed it better at his age then he would have any younger--- they were glad they saved their money to spend it when he was older--- and mom remember that your kids are little and will require a lot of attention and I am not meaning that you have to be with them the whole time. I am talking diaper changes nap times possibly. it may be a wise move to wait a bit so your infant doesn't found that she went to disney and she doesn't remember it at all--- remember that is a possible teenage tantrum in about 10 years LOL
not sure what you are doing on your vacation.
I just checked and even lego land is not age appropiate for your kids to go to. just remember this is my opinion.
DONT go to Disney land in the summer!
We go every other year in Sept. when everyone is in school. It's worth taking your kids out of school in the middle of the week. Never go on Fri. thru Mon.
Actually we just got back yesterday from Disney World, we had all the parks to ourselves tue-thurs. It was great! We had one extra day to use so we had to go on a friday, Big mistake and It's still considered the slow season! So just imagine what summer break would be like!! It's also very hot when your standing in long lines.
We ordered our tickets through a convention we were attending. But have you tried AAA or Orbitz?
FYI Most of the rides were 40" & up.
As for Lego land, it's perfect for a 5-7 yr old boy. The lines were not shaded and very hot.
I have no intention of ever going there again.
Wow! That is going to be a great vacation. I would like to recommend that you skip Disneyland and go to Legoland for 2 days. AT the age your kids are, they will love it (Lego is geared more towards 12 and under so there are not a lot of big kids or crowds around). We spent our week in Carlsbad last year (Grand Pacific Palisads in May 2007) and loved it. Maybe Starwberry picking will still be in season (I know it is in May, but maybe it runs into June) You could do Sea World in San Diego. Or just spend a day or two at the beach. WIth little ones (Ours was 4 and 1 ar the time) we spent one day at Legoland, then the resort the next day, then back to Legoland, then to the beach then to strawberry picking.
I hope you have a lot of fun. Since you will be going to the resort in the summer, they will have activites planned there too for families. Which resort will you be going to? Have fun!
