https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 14 May 2026 13:35:08 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2140200 Fri, 10 Apr 2015 18:59:38 +0000 shopaholic 2140200@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@su9su9: That means you'll be really close to Cerritos Town Center as well. A simple place to take the kids to get out if you want, but unfortunately no playground. </p> <p>If your uncle or relative can go WITH you, they can buy the 2-day local passes I think for a pretty good rate right now. I've heard mixed things about if everyone or just 1 person needs to show I.D., but if he can go with you to the ticket counter, it might be worth a shot. For the little kid, I think CA Adventure is easier and more things to do, but if you only do 1 day, I'd pick DL for the experience. <a href="https://disneyland.disney.go.com/offers-discounts/southern-california-tickets/" rel="nofollow">https://disneyland.disney.go.com/offers-discounts/southern-california-tickets/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2139491 Fri, 10 Apr 2015 08:25:29 +0000 su9su9 2139491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HabesBabe: Thanks so much for the links. Will definitely read through them! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2139487 Fri, 10 Apr 2015 08:23:40 +0000 su9su9 2139487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. High Heels: Thank you for the tip on which pier to go to. That's on my list of to-do too. </p> <p>A follow-up question...Disneyland tickets are so expensive, is there a way to get them at a discount? We just want to go for 1 day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2139476 Fri, 10 Apr 2015 08:17:33 +0000 su9su9 2139476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@shopaholic: My husband's uncle literally lives across the street from Heritage Park so that might just be a daily spot for us. I've heard of amazing things about the library too. Thank you for your suggestions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138921 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 18:55:39 +0000 shopaholic 2138921@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A lot of local moms chimed in with great suggestions above!</p> <p>I grew up basically in Cerritos. Their library has a great fish tank, and also near Heritage Park, which has a fun little "island" with a moat for the kids to run around. Cerritos Mall has a food court and A/C if you need somewhere close to go. </p> <p>The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and Knott's Berry Farm are also pretty close by. </p> <p>Seal Beach and Huntington Beach are closest and easy to get to locally. </p> <p>Agreed the OC Great Park is probably not worth the drive from Cerritos alone, but I'd make a trip out of it and have a meal and let the kids run around at nearby Irvine Spectrum. </p> <p>The Discovery Science Center and La Habra Children's Museum are also not too far. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138738 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:28:16 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2138738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@su9su9: I like Balboa. Balboa Island is a small area with a cute tiny little downtown you can walk around. There is a candy shop and the place everyone goes for "balboa bars" which is an ice cream treat. Its got a little board walk you can go down but not too much else to do but what you can do from there is take the ferry (with or without your car) and that will drop you off in the Peninsula where the fun zone is. there is a ferris wheel, arcade and such. Something fun you can do there also is rent a duffy boat for an hour or two and cruise around newport. Like a pp said, check out groupon. They have duffy boat rentals on there all the time and you can fit a good number of people and bring your own food and drinks on it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138625 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 15:35:50 +0000 HabesBabe 2138625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@su9su9: Balboa Fun Zone is OK if you can find a deal on Groupon. Otherwise, it's overpriced and pretty run down (not at all like a typical beach boardwalk). There's a little car ferry you can take to get to Balboa Island-- but there's not much on the actual island. Just houses and some cafes.</p> <p>Pretend City is fun, and so is the Spectrum, but a bit of a drive from Cerritos. For a good local park in Cerritos, go to Heritage Park-- it's got a cute playground with an island and indoor/shaded structures. Nice for an easy day around town.</p> <p>Splash! La Mirada is a small water park nearby and it's really reasonably priced, and perfect for that age. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/splash-la-mirada-regional-aquatics-center-la-mirada" rel="nofollow">http://www.yelp.com/biz/splash-la-mirada-regional-aquatics-center-la-mirada</a></p> <p>Adventure City is down the street from Knott's Berry Farm and it's a great little amusement park for the preschool crowd. It's not in the best part of town, but it's safe. The rides are perfect for that age, and it only costs $17 to get in. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/adventure-city-anaheim" rel="nofollow">http://www.yelp.com/biz/adventure-city-anaheim</a></p> <p>Here's a list of things to do in OC from a local blogger: <a href="http://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/orange-county/101-things-to-do-with-kids/" rel="nofollow">http://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/orange-county/101-things-to-do-with-kids/</a></p> <p>And a rundown of many of the parks/playgrounds in OC: <a href="http://funorangecountyparks.com/" rel="nofollow">http://funorangecountyparks.com/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138622 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 15:34:56 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 2138622@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oooh your kids are close in ages to mine (mine are 4 and 2), and I am an Orange County resident so I'll tell you what we typically do! It is going to be HOT in august, so we spend a lot of time at the pool or beach, but we also like to take it indoors instead of sweating it out in scorching sun.</p> <p>There is an awesome indoor playspace in Lake Forest called We Play Loud - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/we-play-loud-inc-lake-forest" rel="nofollow">http://www.yelp.com/biz/we-play-loud-inc-lake-forest</a> - it's $26 for our family of four. It's really fun, the staff are awesome, it's a huge space, and they're constantly sanitizing. There's a bounce house, fun indoor rides, ball pits, slides, etc. there.</p> <p>For beaches, the most easily accessible one is probably Corona Del Mar and will be perfect for you and the kiddos. Laguna Beach is great too, but it gets super crowded and trafficky around that area and is going to be a further drive from Cerritos. Wherever you go, I recommend bringing a beach umbrella or pop-up tent because the sun is so strong. Eta: Actually, from Cerritos - I'd say Huntington Beach and/or Redondo Beach would be closer and they're both great beaches. Redondo Beach pier is nice and has a lot of good food!</p> <p>OC great park is okay. It's a big empty space so its nice for people to bring their kids and their bikes and just have the kids roam around without fear of cars. We go here a lot. The main attraction there is the carousel. For $3 you get all day unlimited rides! It's a nice way to kill time. And there is a ton of grass and tables with umbrellas... so a great place to have a picnic too. It does have a small playground, but it's more for the younger toddler set, so I think your 3 and 5 yr old will get bored of that.</p> <p>When it's hot we actually love going to South Coast Plaza too. It's a mall, but it also has a carousel ($2/ride), and there is the Lego store and Disney store right next to it that my kids love hanging out in. At the Lego store, there are areas where the kids can just play and build legos. At the Disney store, they're always playing shows/movies in the back, and there's a little table with coloring sheets and crayons where the kids can just chill and color. You can also get some shopping in too while you're there because Gap Kids is right next to the carousel haha.</p> <p>Irvine Spectrum is a nice outdoor mall where you can wander around. They also have a carousel ($3/ride), train rides, and a ferris wheel. It's a nice place to lounge around, take the kids on some rides, do some shopping, and grab some food. Lots of good food there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138612 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 15:26:40 +0000 su9su9 2138612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Pinecone316: Thank you! I am going to look up all the places you suggested. What's your opinion on Balboa Peninsula/Island area? Yay or nay? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138458 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 14:01:48 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2138458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The Irvine Great park is really nothing special. Going in the balloon was cool when it was free but now that they charge I wouldn't bother.</p> <p>Irvine Regional Park is my favorite place to go with my family. Its a beautiful park with a lake and tons of trees. There is the train, pony rides, you can rent bikes and just lots of places to picnic and roam. They have a cheap little zoo there too.</p> <p>If you want to do any shopping Irvine Spectrum is all out door and they have a carousel and ferris wheel and some fountains on the ground that you always see kids running through. </p> <p>The most beautiful beaches I think are in Laguna Beach but for a good kid beach you can go to Dana Point Harbor they have a kiddy beach with no waves, there is a cool old Ship "the Pilgram" there and also the Ocean Institute where kids can learn about marine biology and different things like that.<br /> They also have those Bikes you can rent there with the steering wheels where the parents pedal and the kids sit in the front. Lots of different grass areas where you can BBQ also.</p> <p>In the Summer in Laguna Beach they have the Sawdust festival, I've never done it with kids but its a great adult thing and maybe your kids would be fine with it. It is all local laguna beach artists with their art work and its just a really pretty atmosphere with trees everywhere with lights and live music at night and they have a guy that does glass blowing that is fun to watch. Also during the summer in Laguna they have a free Trolly. You pay to park your car in a lot but then all day you can get on and off the Trolleys that go around the down town.</p> <p>Downtown Disney is a fun place to go eat since you will be near Disneyland. They have rain forest cafe there that kids always love. </p> <p>Pretend City is awesome.</p> <p>In San Juan Capistrano there is a little petting zoo called Zoomars and a cute downtown area. The train stops there so maybe you could take a little train ride there?</p> <p>Knotts Berry Farm is where I mostly went as a kid. Its cheaper than disneyland so if you are able afford another theme park (I know disneyland is a fortune) that is def a place worth going. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138256 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:31:51 +0000 brownie 2138256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Pretend city is fun. The discovery cube science center is okay (better for you 5 year old). Santa Ana zoo looked okay but we never went there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138218 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:13:04 +0000 MaryM 2138218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was at the OC Great Park for an event last year, and I have to say, it's underwhelming. The balloon and a carousel are really the only things there other than a giant tarmac. If you have to travel to get there, I'm not sure if it's worth it.</p> <p>But I'm also from the East coast and used to landscapes having a lot more color in them... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/things-to-do-around-orange-county#post-2138202 Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:03:17 +0000 su9su9 2138202@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are taking our two kids (ages 5 and 3) to Cerritos CA to visit family in August. According to Google map, husband's uncle (who we will be staying with) is 15 minutes away from Disneyland. </p> <p>I am looking for suggestions on kid-friendly things to do around the area. The biggest thing we will do is Disneyland for a day, but beyond that, what else? I am not particular interested in seeing the typical LA sights...because I don't think my two little ones will be interested and I also don't want to deal with traffic. I just want to visit local parks (Irvine Regional Park and OC Great Park Balloon, maybe?) and kid-friendly beaches. Basically do what the locals do on the weekends. </p> <p>We will be there for 8 days total. We are not trying to "do it all" but would love some suggestions from OC bees. </p> <p>Thanks! </p>