California holiday with 4yo? (Anaheim & San Diego)

[IOnlyWentInForANano]

DH and I went to Florida for our honeymoon and are thinking of taking DS next year (April/May) when he turns 4, but as we only did FL 5 years ago, and I love San Diego, I was pondering taking him to Disneyworld in California then travelling down to San Diego for a few days.

My main concern would be the even longer flight time, and I haven't priced up properly yet, but I'm guessing it will work out a lot more than Orlando (especially as they're offering free disney dining in Orlando at the mo)

Does anyone have any experience? I know DIsney is smaller but I think that's quite appealing as he's still quite young, and they seem to have a bit more Cars stuff, which he's a fan of. He also loves Dolphins, Seals etc

Thanks in advance :)

Not much fun for a 4 year old in my view. Try a beach and sea holiday. Queuing up in hot sun for a 4 year old doesn’t sound pleasant. He won’t remember it so leave it until he’s older.

We went with dd at 2yo and 4yo and she loved it both times. The flight is long but try to get a night flight. Dd does remember going the last time, but also we remember it as being a great holiday and that counts too!

Not much fun for a 4 year old in my view. Try a beach and sea holiday. Queuing up in hot sun for a 4 year old doesn’t sound pleasant. He won’t remember it so leave it until he’s older.

Depends on the child entirely.

Dd has never liked sand and beaches and although she likes to go in the sea, she doesn't want to do it that often and certainly not for the basis of her holiday.

Dd has always preferred cities and 'on the go' holidays, and adores theme parks.

At 4y Dd had been to WDW a couple of times plus DLP and other theme parks and had a blast, doing all day every day pretty much and had enjoyed holidays in a range of places doing stuff not just sat on a beach or by a pool.

We went to Southern California a couple of years ago. Dd was much older at that point. We went to both Disney parks and the Universal Park. We used Santa Monica as our base though stayed a couple of nights one of the Disney Parks.

Most definitely. This is my absolute favourite holiday - went for the first time age 17 and have been many times since. I dream about it often. Always lots of young children there too. I know you say it's smaller, having never been to Florida, from my perspective it's huge. Usually go for 2 days and only just touch the surface. You can get a good 2 day ticket too. Also love Universal and the various beaches (Laguna, Santa Monica etc). I highly recommend a visit to Balboa Island if you have time. You won't regret it. It's stunning and the last time I went there was a fairground there for children. Love San Diego too....the zoo is great and there's a big hotel there with a nice beach which I love....can't remember the name of it though!

A 4-year-old honestly won't remember much. We took our two to Florida when they were 7 and 4 and younger DS now doesn't remember the holiday at all (almost 3 years on).

If you want to go to CA, by all means go, but don't expect your DS to remember it in years to come. If you want him to remember it I would wait until he's at least six.

theres legoland just outside san diego as well

What would you do in San Diego that wasn’t beach and sea? We thought it was all a bit tacky. We stayed in La Jolla which was better. Museums are hardly going to enthrall a 4 year old. Parents can go where they want for them, but saying a 4 year old would get anything much out of long haul seems a bit of a stretch to me.