Has anyone done Disney California on a budget?

[MozzchopsThirty]

If so how did you do it?
Where did you stay and what did you do?

We've done Florida a couple of times but no way will the budget stretch this year

I was thinking of booking indirect flights
Couple days Disney, couple at universal and a few pool days

San Diego safari park is well worth a visit if you are going to Disneyland.

Yes thinking a couple days at Disney and one at universal

Will I need a car like in Florida?

yes you would need a car - disney and univeral in LA are miles apart prob about a 1hr drive depending on traffic

universal in LA is much smaller than florida - theres more emphasis on the studio tours than rides -- can easily be done in a day

Excellent thank you for the universal tip

What about Disney? Are there 2 parks?

If we stayed in Anaheim how far would San Diego be? What about the big national parks?

Sorry for so many questions - just trying to see if it's plausible for our holiday

We've done it. We did a few days in Santa Monica (not cheap - but could have been cheaper) and did Universal from there via the tram. We also did Madam Tussaud's etc / all the big LA sights. We then went to a different state for a few days for a family event (we did have a car for this bit). We then flew back to LA and stayed in Anaheim - we did both Disney parks for a day each and stayed in a pretty cheap hotel. We used the bus service provided by Disney.

We stayed in an Airbnb in Anaheim and used ART (Anaheim Rapid Transit) to get to and from the Disney parks and to the metrolink/Amtrak station in Anaheim. rideart.org
We did two days in Disneyland and one day at Disney California Adventure.
We took the Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego one day. It was a loooong day out but very much worth it. There’s quite a bit to do in San Diego (including sea World) but the zoo is the highlight.
You could also use Amtrak to get to LegoLand which is a few stops before San Diego.
We didn’t do Universal as it didn’t look anywhere near as good as the Florida version. Instead, we went to Knotts Berry Park which was cheaper, easier to get to, had more to do and wasn’t that busy. Again, used public transport to get there.
We took metrolink into downtown Los Angeles for two days and did the main sites.

Wow thanks both, sounds fab
Looks like I need to do a lot of internet research and plan what we want to do

I am looking at doing this too. Stayin g in a budget motel in LA and getting public transport to parks.

Was looking at staying at air b n b £100 a night for two of us

I've found a crap but clean hotel with a pool for £483 for 6 nights
For the 3 of us that's great