Trip Report | Disneyland, Los Angeles & Huntington Beach

Overview

This trip was one for the books! Our family loves Disney World and we’re fortunate enough to have visited several times, but we’d never been to Disneyland. We really wanted to experience it while our kids are still young enough to love it. (Then again, we firmly believe you’re never too old for Disney!)

This particular trip involved into a multi-city adventure: a few days at Disneyland, a stop in Los Angeles for Universal Hollywood and some sightseeing (Mark and the kids had never been to LA), and a few days in Huntington Beach which had long been on my list. We figured if we’re flying all the way to California from the East Coast, we might as well see a few different spots.

At the end of the post, we’ll explain how we leveraged points and miles to save a whopping $13,782 on this trip! But first, let’s tell you all about the trip.

Our itinerary

Days 1-4: Disneyland

Days 5-6: Los Angeles

Days 7-9: Huntington Beach

Disneyland

Accommodations: The Grand Californian

The Grand Californian Resort could be summarized as Disney meets craftsman-style architecture and elegant decor meets California laid back vibes. Located directly adjacent to the parks, it provides super convenient access to both Disneyland and California Adventure. The resort features spacious rooms, multiple dining options, beautiful pools, and a full-service spa. Its proximity to the parks make it a top choice for families seeking both high-end comfort and convenience.

We booked a one-bedroom suite that had a king bedroom, living room with a pull-out couch and a pull-down single bed (kind of like a Murphy bed). It also had 2 full bathrooms, a kitchenette, and dining table with banquette seating and a stackable washer/dryer (which is just fantastic for families). 10/10 recommend!

We are so fortunate that Mark’s parents have a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) timeshare. We’ve used the timeshare points before for stays at Disney World, but this was our first time using them at Disneyland. Had we paid cash for our room, it would have cost over $1,500/night!

If staying at Disneyland using DVC points (or if paying cash to stay!) isn’t feasible for you, not to worry. There are multiple options within walking distance that vary in price depending on your budget. If we weren’t able to use my in-laws’ timeshare points, we would stay at a “good neighbor” hotel, i.e. a nearby hotel that isn’t affiliated directly with Disneyland. We would look into these Hyatt options using points:

Hyatt Place at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center - 15,000 points/night or $809/night

Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort/Convention Center - 15,000 points/night or $902/night

Activities & Dining:

Day 1:

This was mostly a travel day getting to the West Coast, as our flight landed in Long Beach at about 5:00 pm.

Let’s pause for a moment of appreciation for the Long Beach airport. It was such an awesome place - aside from being almost completely outdoors surrounded by palm trees, it was small, modern and clean. The kids gave it bonus points because they don’t have jetways there; we got to walk out of the plane, down a set of steps, and right onto the tarmac!

We rented a car through Hertz and picked it up at the airport. The Long Beach vibe carried over to the rental car area, where each company had a small office in the parking lot, with no lines! It was smooth sailing, although we reserved a full-size SUV and they told us one wasn’t available. (Has anyone seen that Seinfeld episode?) They offered us a Chevy Tahoe for an upcharge or a brand new minivan for no extra charge. Much to Mark’s chagrin, we agreed to the minivan. We got the keys and were on our way!

We drove to Disneyland, checked into our resort, and spent the evening getting settled and exploring the grounds. We also walked around Downtown Disney (the shopping and retail area between the Grand Californian and the parks) and had dinner at Ballast Point Brewing Company before heading back to the hotel. And we were so surprised to find a chocolate Mickey cake waiting for us in our room with a birthday card for Elise, signed by many of the staff at the hotel. What an awesome surprise! Love that Disney magic.

Day 2:

We had purchased two-day park hopper tickets prior to departing for our trip. Our neighbor, Jenn, is a certified Disney planner so we purchased our park tickets for Disneyland and for Universal Hollywood through her. She sent me our electronic tickets and helped me with some high-level plans for our stay, which was helpful since we had never been to either place before. At Disneyland, the hopper passes worked out great because it was so easy to go back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure. Everything is easily within walking distance so I felt like it was worth the additional cost.

We started the day at Disneyland park, which is about a 10 minute walk from the Grand Californian. There is an exit from the hotel that takes you right into a security checkpoint, then leads you into Downtown Disney, just outside the parks. Once you reach the park entrance, you wait in a queue to scan your park tickets, then it’s right into the park. It’s a much easier process than at Disney World and it was much less crowded than Disney World during our stay.

We made the most of our time that day and rode Space Mountain, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, It’s a Small World, and spent some time at a kids’ playground. Then we hopped to California Adventure for the Pixar parade and rode Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure and Incredicoaster while we were there (Incredicoaster was our favorite ride of the trip)! We had dinner at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, the quick-service restaurant in California Adventure. It was nothing mind-blowing, but the kids really enjoyed it and actually ate a full meal (#winning)! Lastly, we caught the evening light show called World of Color before heading back to our hotel for the night.

Day 3:

On this day, our girl turned 8 years old! Elise wore her birthday button (given to her by the hotel front desk staff at check-in) and received a ton of “Happy birthday, Princess!” greetings throughout the parks which added to the magic. It was so sweet.

We headed to California Adventure first and road Soarin’, Radiator Springs Racers, the Golden Zephyr, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, the Pixar Pal-a-Round Ferris wheel, Indiana Jones, and the Swiss Family Treehouse. We spent quite a bit of time in Cars Land with our little Lightning McQueen lover and we all enjoyed that since they don’t have it at Disney World. We also hopped over to Disneyland park for brunch at the River Belle Terrace (birthday girl’s choice) where they gave Elise a giant slice of red velvet cake with a birthday candle in it. She was thrilled! We went back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure a few times that day to make sure we rode everything we wanted to ride.

Day 4:

Pool day at the Grand Californian. This was a much-needed rest day after two full days in the park! We packed up our room in the morning and left our suitcases with bell services, then headed to the pool area where we spent the majority of the day.

The resort has multiple pools and hot tubs, so the kids had a blast checking all of them out. One pool had a big water slide and a mini one, which Louie just adored. There were poolside waiters serving food and drinks throughout the day. The area was beautiful and not very crowded at all, especially when we first arrived. Throughout the day it got more crowded, but nothing crazy.

Late afternoon, we got changed and said goodbye to the Grand Californian, then headed to Los Angeles in our rental car. We stopped at Manhattan Beach and grabbed at bite at the Rockefeller, a tiny and quaint eatery a couple blocks up from the beach. I ordered the glazed salmon, Mark got the fish tacos, and the kids ate pasta and pizza (two of their main food groups). I will say because the restaurant is so small and there were no other kids there at the time, we felt a little bit out of place with our three little monsters (I mean children). After dinner, we decided to take a stroll on the beach before heading to our LA hotel. Spoiler alert: Louie ran into the ocean and got himself and his clothes soaking wet in the process!

Grand Californian Hotel on Disneyland Drive

The birthday cake and card from the Grand Californian hotel staff - so sweet!

Incredicoaster (on the left), Pixar Pal-a-Round (center) and Pixar Place Hotel (right). The Grand Californian is further to the right, not in this photo.

Los Angeles

Accommodations: Hyatt House LAX/West Century Blvd

Hyatt House LAX/Century Blvd is an extended-stay hotel located right near Los Angeles International Airport. It offers apartment-style suites with fully equipped kitchens, making it ideal for longer stays and/or families. Hyatt House has a complimentary breakfast, a 24-hour fitness center, and an outdoor pool on the rooftop (although we didn’t visit it this time). Its proximity to LAX makes it a convenient and comfortable choice for travelers especially.

We had some difficulty finding family-friendly accommodations in LA that we could book using Hyatt points. Admittedly, we don’t like staying near an airport unless it’s a one-night stay with an early flight the next morning. However, because we wanted to visit Universal Studios Hollywood one day and we booked a tour of LA the other day, we wanted to be somewhat equidistant to both (what you hear about the traffic in LA being terrible is not an exaggeration.)

There was certainly nothing wrong with the Hyatt House - the hotel itself was modern and clean, which is a huge win in our book. The surrounding area, however, was not the greatest and we definitely had to drive to a neighboring area to go out to dinner the two nights we spent there.

We booked a one-bedroom kitchen suite, which had a bedroom with two queen beds, a nice sized bathroom (although the storage was terrible, one of my pet peeves!), a living room with a pullout couch, a kitchenette with a full-sized fridge and stove, and a small peninsula-shaped eating area. If we take the kids back to LA, we wouldn’t have a problem staying here again. Although, we don’t intend to take the kids back to LA anytime soon. 🥴

Activities & Dining:

Day 5:

Imagine my surprise when the morning started out with Louie getting sick in the hotel room. Yikes! The joys of traveling with kids. Thankfully the mysterious stomach illness was short-lived and the rest of us remained healthy for the duration of the trip. Sadly though, this was our day to visit Universal Studios. I encouraged Mark to take the big kids for a day of fun, while Louie and I stayed back at the hotel. He slept all morning and woke up around lunchtime feeling like his normal self. #crisisaverted

Meanwhile, Mark and the kids had a blast at Universal and kept me posted with photos and videos all day. The highlight of their visit was Super Nintendo World and riding Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. They wanted to visit Toadstool Cafe for lunch, but were unable to snag a space in the virtual queue (which is currently necessary to enter the eatery). They still had a blast with the “power-up bands” which allow you to play a variety of games throughout Super Nintendo World.

They also visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was another highlight of their day. The kids aren’t huge into Harry Potter, but they loved walking around the area, seeing Ollivander’s wand shop and riding Forbidden Journey. The consensus was that the Flight of the Hippogriff was a letdown (too short and not fast/scary enough).

I encouraged them to do the Studio Tour, which came with our tickets and is supposed to be an impressive behind-the-scenes experience that lasts about an hour. Had our entire family been there, I’m sure we would have done it, but Mark and the kids wanted to focus on riding all the rides and then getting back to the hotel with Louie and me. For that, I was grateful!

We purchased one-day tickets to Universal with the express passes, which pretty much let you skip the lines. Mark said this was great to have, as they rarely waited more than a few minutes to ride anything. It allowed them to breeze through all the rides in the entire park in one day. We had been to Universal Orlando before, and Mark said Universal Hollywood is much smaller and easier to manage.

After Mark and the big kids returned to the hotel, we ventured out to a nearby restaurant called the Tin Roof Bistro. It was casual but elevated, and the food and service were fantastic. Mark and I ordered the special pasta of the night which was tagliatelle with shrimp, tomatoes and feta, and a side of broccolini to share. We crossed our fingers as Louie gobbled up an impressive amount of cheese pizza (which he managed to keep down)!

Day 6:

In an effort to squeeze in as much of LA as possible, we booked a private tour to take us all around the city. I’m not sure I would recommend this particular company as they picked us up in a pretty old passenger van and the tour guide wasn’t the greatest (lol), but we certainly made the best of it. The good news is that on the tour, we hit all the major spots in LA and left no stone unturned. We visited: Crypto.com Arena, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Beverly Hills sign, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Pier, and Venice Beach. We also ate lunch at an adorable spot in Santa Monica named the Albright, located right on the pier which served amazing seafood in a laid-back atmosphere. There is no way we could have hit all these spots without our tour guide! Also, the traffic in LA is insane, so Mark was glad he wasn’t the one behind the wheel.

While we’re happy we visited LA and saw so many of the sights, we won’t rush back there with the kids. A lot of neighborhoods were rundown and not clean - I sound like such a tourist! If I had to pick a “low point” of the trip, this would be it for me.

Ready to ride Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge

Louie, feeling better at Tin Roof Bistro

Outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater enjoying fresh-based donuts which the kids loved

Louie didn’t want his photo taken this entire trip!

Huntington Beach

Accommodations: Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa

Luckily, we ended the trip on a high note because Huntington Beach (aka Surf City, USA) was fantastic! After our tour of LA, we drove south for about 1.5 hours to the Hyatt Regency. Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach is a luxurious coastal escape with a fun, relaxed family-friendly atmosphere. It’s an expansive property right on the Pacific Ocean with beautiful Spanish architecture. It has a courtyard with restaurants and shops, almost like its own little town. We absolutely loved our time here!

We booked the SoCal suite using our Hyatt points because, as a family of five, we love to have a little extra space if possible. The SoCal suite had a bedroom with one king bed, a large living room with pullout couch, a dining table with banquette seating, a mini-fridge, and two full bathrooms. It also felt recently renovated because it was clean, bright and updated. It was a fantastic room.

We checked in, dropped off our bags, and headed right to one of the property’s restaurants in the courtyard area called Pete’s Sunset Grill. We ate outside on the patio under the twinkly lights and watched the sunset which was so beautiful. No complaints about the food, either (although it did take a while to come out and the kids were getting a little impatient). I had the chopped salad with grilled shrimp which was fresh and delish, Mark had the fish tacos (he always orders these if they’re on the menu), and the kids got a sampling of the kids’ menu offerings. Our waitress was very sweet and talked about how much she loves the Huntington Beach area. She laughed knowingly when we told her we didn’t love LA as much as we thought we would. 😊

Activities & Dining:

Day 7:

We woke up and decided to hit the beach! The resort has a pedestrian bridge that leads you right over to the beach, which is just across the street. At the end of the bridge, they have hotel staff handing out towels, beach chairs, and toys for the kids. So convenient to have all of that readily available (and included in your hotel stay too)! The resort hosted a complimentary sandcastle building “class” and lots of families were partaking in that. Our kids weren’t very interested and decided to play together on their own, but it looked cute and I thought it was a really nice perk to offer.

After a few hours at the beach, we stopped for a quick lunch at Tower 15 Pizzeria which is in the courtyard area of the resort. We loved having this as an option for lunch because we ordered a whole pizza and a Caesar salad for everyone to share. It was simple but good, and a crowd-pleaser all around. After lunch, we headed to the main pool which was fantastic. Plenty of chairs, servers taking orders poolside, beautiful landscaping. We spent some time relaxing and having fun here before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We rounded out the night by having dinner at the onsite fine dining restaurant, Watertable. The food was incredible and so was the ambiance. They had a guitarist playing live music and we enjoyed the sunset from our table. We started with a wedge salad, then dined on salmon, filet, and perhaps our kids’ favorite part: warm, fresh-baked baguette bread and butter. Yum!

Day 8:

Much like the day before, we started the day at the beach and then moved to the pool. This time, we tried the kids’ pool which has three water slides (small, medium and large). Needless to say, the kids were obsessed. They also have a restaurant adjacent to the kids’ pool, Slyder’s Bar & Grill, that serves a limited but sufficient menu and plenty of cocktails, so mom and dad enjoyed ourselves too. 😊

That evening, we ventured out to Duke’s Huntington Beach, which is an offsite restaurant but well-known in the area, right next to the long Huntington Beach Pier. It’s a cross between Southern California and Hawaii, super family-friendly, and they offer mostly fresh seafood. I tried opah fish for the first time, which is a mild, flaky white fish. It was prepared with a macadamia nut and herb crust and it was delicious! I’m still thinking about that meal, actually. Mark opted for the seafood hot pot which included lobster, shrimp, scallops, fresh fish, oyster mushrooms, coconut cilantro broth, and jasmine rice. He was a big fan. We’d definitely recommend Duke’s to anyone visiting the area. It was a wonderful spot.

After Duke’s, we crossed the street for dessert at Handel’s ice cream and then walked around the shopping district where we bought some souvenirs. Huntington Beach is the surfing capital of California, so there were lots of surf shops in the area. It was very cool and very SoCal! When we visit next time, we’d probably spend more time exploring in this part of town.

Day 9:

The next morning, we begrudgingly packed up our room and headed back to Long Beach airport. We were all sad to leave the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. It’s a beautiful resort, super family-friendly, quintessentially Southern California, and overall an awesome place to visit. All of us would love to go back someday!

Once again, the Long Beach airport was fantastic. We were able to quickly return our rental car, walk across the parking lot to the airport entrance, check in at the Southwest counter and drop our bags, and then head to security. The regular security line was fairly long, but appeared to be moving pretty well. We have TSA Pre-Check and that line was non-existent. We breezed right through and it couldn’t have been easier.

While there are a few airports near Disneyland/LA/Huntington Beach, we were so happy to fly in and out of Long Beach. It was small, not overly busy, and just easy. We would definitely fly there again!

Tips for Next Time

The five of us agreed this was an epic vacation! Mark and I discussed and came up with the following takeaways for the next time we visit:

Make the first full day of vacation a pool day . This would allow the kids to adjust to the time change and it would make for a relaxing first day (as opposed to immediately hitting the parks, which is what we did).
We absolutely loved Disneyland and highly recommend it if you’re looking for the warm and fuzzy Disney feelings without all the chaos of Disney World in Orlando. It’s a charming, less overwhelming experience that’s perfect for families. Next time, we would plan for 3 full days in the parks instead of 2. We managed to hit everything we wanted to see and ride, but there were other attractions we would have done (or done again) if we had more time. We would purchase the park hopper tickets again next time since the two parks are right next to each other and it’s easy to go back and forth.
We would skip LA next time if the kids are with us. It was fun to see and we’re happy we did it, but we don’t think the kids need to go back anytime soon. However, Mark and I would gladly spend a long weekend there together someday. If we do, we’d probably stay at the Andaz West Hollywood (using Hyatt points), go on a celebrity home tour, visit high-end restaurants, and attend a taping of one of the late-night shows.
We would definitely go back to Huntington Beach. Our resort was a sanctuary for families: clean, modern, easy access to restaurants and family-friendly activities, and great weather. Next time, we’d either stay there for several days or we’d split our time between Huntington Beach and San Diego. You really can’t go wrong with either option!

Points & Miles Breakdown

Accommodations:

Disneyland’s Grand Californian Resort: Used DVC points from Mark’s parents for three nights. Cash price would have been $4,500 ($1,500/night)!
Hyatt House LAX/West Century Blvd: Stayed for 2 nights using 46,000 Hyatt points (23,000 points/night). Cash price would have been $885 ($440/night).
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach: Stayed for 3 nights using 132,000 Hyatt points (44,000 points/night). Cash price would have been $4,221 ($1,400+/night)!

Flights:

Southwest Airlines: Paid 131,466 points for five nonstop roundtrip tickets from Pittsburgh to Long Beach, including three tickets with points and two companion passes. Total taxes and fees were $56 ($11.20/person). Cash price would have been $4,120 ($800/person).

Total Savings:

By using points and miles, we saved a total of $13,782:

Accommodation Savings: $4,500 (Disneyland) + $885 (Hyatt House) + $4,221 (Hyatt Regency) = $9,606
Flight Savings: $4,120

Total Spent:

Only $56, which went towards flight taxes and fees. We owe it all to our credit card points and miles (and our family’s DVC points)!

Earning Points

We accumulate Hyatt points via Hyatt credit cards or by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards. Southwest points come from Southwest credit cards or from transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards, plus we use our companion passes for additional savings.

If you are interested in learning more about racking up points and miles to take a dream trip, let me know! I’d love to help strategize credit card welcome bonuses with you and I’m happy to answer any questions.

Trip Report | Disneyland, Los Angeles & Huntington Beach

Overview

Our itinerary

Disneyland

Los Angeles

Huntington Beach

Tips for Next Time

Points & Miles Breakdown

Earning Points

❤️ Liz

Why the Chase Ink Business Preferred’s Limited Time Offer is a Game-Changer

How we meet our minimum spends