Southern Ca - Which Parks/activities

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Just curious why the zoo over the wild animal park. DD is a photographer & thought the Wild animal park would be better.

I was thinking also about santa monica pier - is it worth it?

And what about venice beach?


We've decided to just do disney - not sure if for one or two days and the wild animal park. (we may reconsider & do the zoo) and then just to beaches etc. I did find a website you can sign up to extras in films - Thought they might get a kick out of that.

DD's BF is a US permanent resident (Has Card) but has a Mexican Passport. I would be a little hesitant to go to Mexico for fear we would have trouble coming back. It may be easy as can be but I would hate to have any issues. Although it would be nice to travel with someone who is fluent in the language.

He should have no problem returning to the US from Mexico with a Green Card. There are thousands of people crossing that border every day with Green Cards. We have many relatives that are Mexican citizens living in the US with Green Cards and they cross the border almost daily with no incidents.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

Not sure in miles, but not too far. I always check mapquest when I'm not sure of distances.
.

Ok-this statement cracked me up...spoken like a true Californian. There are no "miles" there is only time. How long to get to ??? We answer in time-not miles-miles are not relevant. You are being given great ideas-don't get too adventurous as time on the freeways can make for a not so nice outing unless you time it correctly. Good luck!

[chellej Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chellej]

I live in Houston and it is the same way here - it isn't miles, it is time and it also varies greatly based on the time of day.

I travel in town alot for my job - I am a State Inspector and use mapquest to pull up the Licensee's locations. It always cracks me up what Mapquest says for travel time - they obviously don't live here.

[chellej Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chellej]

He should have no problem returning to the US from Mexico with a Green Card. There are thousands of people crossing that border every day with Green Cards. We have many relatives that are Mexican citizens living in the US with Green Cards and they cross the border almost daily with no incidents.

That's good to know John. He would probably get a kick out of going. I'll have to see what He & DD think.

[bsheets326 Member Find all posts View Profile Close bsheets326]

I enjoyed the wild animal park much more also. I live in Columbus, OH, and we have an excellent zoo here. As far as theme parks, I liked WD in FL much more. It's more spread out, and it's separated from the surrounding area. In Anaheim you can see the Denny's and Ramada across the street from Disney. For some reason that takes away a bit of the magic. On the other hand, US seemed a lot nicer in CA.

[emba2005 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close emba2005]

La Jolla

In La Jolla,

There is the Birch Aquarium.

La Jolla Cove

Black Beach has hang gliding and is also a nude beach.

[rockedge Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rockedge]

The time of day you travel is important. If you want a full day anywhere leave extremely early and have breakfast near the attraction or go between 10 and 2. Otherwise the traffic is a parking lot. I;ve been to the Fl attractions and I live in CA and been to all here and I much prefer all the parks here with the exception of the Animal Kingdom. Sea World is on the coast which is quite different from the Orlando park and I prefer the setting and atmosphere here better. The SD zoo has some unique animals eg Pandas, and more variety, but the atmosphere of seeing the animals in open spaces is unique at the wild animal park. The safari into the pens is a bit pricey though. If you love roller coasters, skip Knotts and go early am to 6 flags which has a huge variety of coasters. If you plan travel wisely you can get there in 1hr 45 min from Newport but worth it for coaster fans. Great surfing in Newport and lots of water activities including being close to Laguna Beach which is picturesque and artsy. Have fun.

[kapear Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kapear]

I would do Disneyland/CA Adventure for sure. It is interesting to compare DL to MK. We found that we prefer DL. CA Adventure is probably a one day visit while I could spend a few days at Disneyland.