Author Topic: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions  (Read 3952 times)

Kairos

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SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« on: February 06, 2017, 03:27:31 PM »
Planning on taking a 10 day spring break road trip with my 10 year to Southern California at end of March. We'll be starting in Portland, OR and plan to get as far south as San Diego.
Looking for recommendations for where to stop.
I would like to pick one 'big' activity.
There are so many options around San Diego and LA so I'm looking for suggestions.
So far I'm looking at San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Legoland, Disneyland, or Birch Aquarium. My son said he would like to go to an aquarium, he is a Lego fan, and he has never really been to an amusement/theme/water park.
Disneyland would be the high end at $240 for the two of us to just get in the park (and honestly sounds like hell for me) and Birch Aquarium on the low end for $30 for the both of us. Legoland sounds interesting, but spendy and I could see us just building all day, which we could do at home. We will be driving all the way through California so we could stop somewhere else but are hoping for sun and warm weather.
Have you been to any of those places? What would a 10 year old like best? Best value? Anything else I should consider?
Also, if you have super great accommodations or food recommendations, I'm open but I have some Airbnb leads and some friends along the way. Thanks!!!

mindy

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2017, 04:09:34 PM »
I'm living in San Diego and I've actually had to go to all of those places due to the nature of my job. So here's my 2 cents.

San Diego Zoo: I love this place. I can spend all day there. It's so nice and big, with plenty of things to do. If you love animals, this would be the choice. It is a bit pricey for a zoo (~$50) but I do think it's worth it once, especially since it is world famous.

Sea World: Boring and expensive. At $93 a ticket, you're better off paying for a 1 day pass for Disneyland for $115 as it has many more rides and attractions for only $20 more.  There's 1 roller coaster and a couple of okay rides here. The shows are all right, but they got rid of the Shamu show because of the backlash from the documentary.

Legoland: Great for young kids and anyone who loves Legos. It is pricey like you said, but for anyone who loves Legos, it's worth it.

Disneyland: If you go on an off peak day (probably not a lot of those around spring break though...), it's not too bad, but yeah the crowds are awful. The rides and atmosphere in general are really fun, but I can't stand waiting in lines. Fast passes at Disney are free, but you can only get so many. It's a science making those things work for you so you never have to stand in lines. If it sounds like a nightmare to you, I would skip this one.

Birch Aquarium: Definitely the least expensive option. It's a nice aquarium, but it is just that: an aquarium. They're everywhere and I don't *think* it's world famous or anything, so it's just like every other aquarium. However, if your son loves aquariums than this is definitely the place to go.

Some other places you can consider:

Universal: Like Disney, the crowds can be a menace, but unlike Disney you can pay to skip the lines. It is pricey (and many people think it's morally wrong to pay to skip the lines), but I prefer it over Disney. I'm more of a Harry Potter and superhero girl than a Disney one so I like Universal better. Tickets are about $115, so it won't be cheap.

Knotts Berry Farm: Like a smaller Disneyland in the LA area. Tickets are $80, which is the cheapest for a theme park (even cheaper than Sea World which has less to do) and it's pretty nice. Crowds aren't usually as bad as Disney and Universal.

Belmont Park: A seaside amusement park in San Diego. It's free admission and then you can pay for the rides/attractions by the ride/attraction or buy an all day wristband. I think this place is really charming and it's on one of the best beaches. It's also relatively inexpensive ($30 for an all day ride wristband).

Balboa Park: Free park in San Diego. Has tons of museums that you can check out. All of them are relatively inexpensive.

As for what a 10 y/o would like best I think it really depends on the kid. I would have like Universal best, but I am a total Harry Potter nerd :)


Kairos

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2017, 04:16:37 PM »
Great suggestions! Thanks!

mindy

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2017, 04:28:11 PM »
No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions or need more suggestions. I work in recreation/tourism here so I know way too much about this area. Ha!

FireHiker

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2017, 04:43:35 PM »
Legoland does have a small (pretty cheesy) aquarium on property. We have had season passes for Legoland multiple years (not this year, this year we went Disney...). We LOVE Legoland, but we're very much a lego-loving family. There are a lot of fun things to do, but if you don't do it this year at age 10 then your 10 year old will age out. My oldest "outgrew" the place probably around age 12-13. Local schools often have buy 1/get 1 coupons where at least the kid gets in free. I had a stack that expired in December but I could probably get a current one if I ask around.

I agree with pretty much everything Mindy said. Sea World is definitely not worth it at all. In your case with your son's age I would probably got Legoland or splurge the extra for Disney if he's never been.

I do recommend checking the dates on "is it packed" though before you settle for sure on an amusement park. Depending on your spring break timing that may put Disney in the too-crowded category.

oldladystache

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2017, 04:50:38 PM »
I would skip Knott's Berry Farm. It isn't like it used to be.

Mezzie

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2017, 04:54:46 PM »
My husband loves me enough that we went to Legoland on our honeymoon (among other things). It was awesome! It's also not nearly as crowded as Disneyland.

Disneyland is fun, but if you think it will be torture, it will be. The atmosphere is great, but that doesn't always make up for the amount of waiting involved. If you go in prepared to leave when you get grumpy despite the high entry cost, you'll be okay. The most miserable people I see at DL are families with kids who stayed the entire time to get their money's worth. If you decide to go there, there's a really cool Lego store in the Downtown Disney area.

Most of the aquariums down here are great. I'm partial to the Long Beach one because of the Lorikeets.

I wouldn't recommend Seaworld. It's gone way downhill. The San Diego Zoo is nice, though.

Plugging Along

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2017, 07:29:15 PM »
We just booked out trip.  We are flying in though.

We are doing Disneyland for 3 days, Lego land, and sea world.   There was pass on Costco.ca for the city pass for all three places.   We are also going to do universal studios for 2 days, and we are just going to buy the Costco deal for a whole pass, which is the same price as one day.   We are also doing the Hollywood tour as my daughter really that stuff, so another LA Go pass from Costco. 

That pretty much sums up our trip, we are then driving to up to Sfo to visit family.

NinjaSue

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2017, 07:43:49 PM »
If you happen to be in San Diego the first weekend of April you can get into Birch for free if you have a Bank of America card with their museums on us program.  http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/global-impact/arts-and-culture/partners.html#fbid=SYwrIzV6E7k

In the Los Angeles area I recommend Portos Cuban Bakery for cheese rolls. Have fun!

oldladystache

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2017, 08:15:10 PM »
 A whale watching boat ride might work.

Mezzie

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2017, 06:34:48 AM »
Three days at Disney will be MUCH better than one -- no rushing!

A nice place to relax, by the way, is the mint julep (non-alcoholic) bar past the Blue Bayou. There's usually a good jazz group performing. We used to go just to listen to the jazz.
(Note: When I was younger, tickets were $12, so this was not nearly so big a deal.)

Secretly Saving

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2017, 06:43:27 AM »
Adding to the zoo.  I actually prefer the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido.  If you go, it's worth the sludge to haveup frontspits at the cheetah run.  Last time we went the tickets for the special viewing spot were $10.  (Not the additional cheetah experience, just the viewing area.  Kids were too little for the experience, so i cant speak to that.)

tonysemail

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2017, 10:51:15 AM »
if your son likes aquariums, then you should hit the California Science Center!
It's amazing and FREE (paid for by a big endowment).
It has a 188,000-gallon tank exhibit with a kelp forest.
You can also see the space shuttle endeavor and other neat stuff.
https://californiasciencecenter.org/

mm1970

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2017, 02:23:02 PM »
Planning on taking a 10 day spring break road trip with my 10 year to Southern California at end of March. We'll be starting in Portland, OR and plan to get as far south as San Diego.
Looking for recommendations for where to stop.
I would like to pick one 'big' activity.
There are so many options around San Diego and LA so I'm looking for suggestions.
So far I'm looking at San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Legoland, Disneyland, or Birch Aquarium. My son said he would like to go to an aquarium, he is a Lego fan, and he has never really been to an amusement/theme/water park.
Disneyland would be the high end at $240 for the two of us to just get in the park (and honestly sounds like hell for me) and Birch Aquarium on the low end for $30 for the both of us. Legoland sounds interesting, but spendy and I could see us just building all day, which we could do at home. We will be driving all the way through California so we could stop somewhere else but are hoping for sun and warm weather.
Have you been to any of those places? What would a 10 year old like best? Best value? Anything else I should consider?
Also, if you have super great accommodations or food recommendations, I'm open but I have some Airbnb leads and some friends along the way. Thanks!!!
I live in Santa Barbara, and so we've done a lot of these things.

1.  Legoland. We love legoland. We've been several times.  We are going again in 1.5 weeks.  I have a 10 year old son and a 4.5 year old son.
Legoland can be expensive (but they do have a lot of online deals, so get on their mailing list).  Like any theme park, the food will get you.  Legoland has rides, carnival games, food, entertainment, and a water park that won't be open when you go (but is FANTASTIC).  For my kids, they like the rides and some of the entertainment.  They also like the carnival games - these are expensive, and kind of a ripoff.  But there are several that will "guarantee" you a prize (stuffed animal kind of thing), so we usually set aside a set amount of money per kid ($20) and when it's gone, it's gone.

We don't build a lot of things there, but do enjoy looking at all the things that they've built, and taken some tours.  We do buy each kid a lego on the way out.

2.  Disneyland.  I never really understood Disney until I went.  Wow, it's amazing and I totally get why it's so expensive now.  A TON of things to do, activities, and it's clean and a happy place.  Our trip on my son's 8th birthday cost $1200 (3 adults, 1 kid, 1 toddler, that was 2 day park-hopper plus 3 nights in a 2 BR condo).  I really loved it but we haven't been back, and probably won't go back until our younger son is older.  End of March will be hit or miss.  That's when we went (spring break), and we got a discount.  However, I checked ahead of time and it was NOT Los Angeles, Ventura, or San Diego spring break.  (It was, however, OR and ID and CO spring break.  Saw a lot of sweatshirts.)  So the lines were not super long.

3.  Sea World.  I liked it, kid didn't, but he was only 4 at the time.

4.  Knott's Berry farm.  Did thing a different spring break, kid was ... 7?  It was fun.

5.  California Science Center in LA has the space shuttle.  It was fun.  That was another spring break trip, or maybe it was the Knott's Berry farm trip?  Don't remember. 

6.  I really enjoy Joshua Tree NP, if you are into the desert.

erutio

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2017, 05:39:09 PM »
If you're coming from Portland and driving down the coast, I would suggest stopping at Monterey Bay Aquarium if you want to hit up an aquarium.  Admission is in the ~$30 range, but totally worth it.  Great for a 10 year old. 

If you're into it, for an inexpensive suggestion, you can go to Joshua Tree NP.  Great for hiking and/or camping, can save you some money. 

galliver

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #15 on: February 07, 2017, 06:43:01 PM »
Birch aquarium is tiny and can be done in an hour; instead, Monterey Bay is always a cool visit; I love the sea dragons and jellies and they have an excellent "local wildlife" section; you can then go to Point Lobos SP and see hermit crabs, sea stars, and anemones in their natural habitat. Sea otters and sea lions sometimes stop by both the aquarium and Pt Lobos :)

In the LA area, no one has mentioned the La Brea Tar Pits! I bet a ten year old would get a huge kick out of fossilized sabertooth tigers and mammoths! And it's quite cool that besides being a museum it's an active excavation area. You can smell/see the tar pits, and see the lab! It's not huge and wouldn't take too long; you can combine with the LA County museum of Art and/or a trip to Griffith Observatory later in the evening. Great views of LA at sunset and space themed exhibits!

And then (or before) you can stop by Hollywood, preferably mid-week as it's less annoying: the only place worth going to (IMO) is Graumann's Chinese Theater, which has hand&footprints and signatures of Hollywood stars dating back to the 1930s (or '20s?) in the concrete. Walking on marks actually made by Shirley Temple or Cary Grant kind of brings you closer to them. Everyone I've taken there agrees the Walk of Fame is longer than most people expect and doesn't have that personal touch...

Farther north (MUCH farther north), I'm a big fan of Lava Beds National Monument on the boundary between CA and OR, esp for kids: you get to go spelunking totally by yourself in Real Caves! You can't actually get lost, but it sort of feels like you can; it's a little bit scary, and climbing is generally more fun than walking (hiking) for kids. My only concern is that it will be cold and could be hard to get to in April; I believe we went in May.

I haven't been to the theme parks since I was a kid (15+ years) so I can't really comment...

Mezzie

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #16 on: February 07, 2017, 07:27:49 PM »
Lava Beds is awesome!

fuzzy math

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #17 on: February 14, 2017, 04:40:37 PM »
Last week of March is Portland's spring break, and most of the country's spring break. If you go to Disney it will be pure hell. I would not recommend it, your opinion will forever be tainted. The parks can hit capacity and you can get shut out if you leave to go to restaurants etc.

We live in PDX now (moving to MO) and used to live in SoCal. I love Huntington Beach. There are really good beaches in SD too.

There's a couple museums called Discovery Cube. If you have an ASTM (association of science and technology museums) membership, like one to OMSI you can use it to get into museums all over the country.

Honestly ask your kid what they want to do. At age 10 they should have some input. Set a budget and let the kid know they could either do a day at Disney or 3 days doing cheaper stuff?

Kmp2

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Re: SoCal Road Trip with 10 year old -looking for travel suggestions
« Reply #18 on: February 14, 2017, 04:52:22 PM »
We did a west coast road trip when I was 10, we only made it south to San-Francisco but that's because we started in Canada. Here is what I remember from the part of the trip south of Portland. (I'm 35 now, so these really stuck out!)

Crater Lake NP
Hiking up Mt. Lassen
Redwood NP
Spulunking in Lava Beds National Monument

I highly recommend you stop at one of these on your way south :)
I really learned a lot about volcanos, and it translated into a fabulous science fair project in school the next year.

 

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