Trip Motivation
In February 2023, we flew to the West Coast for a trip to Disneyland and the LA area. We’ve been to LA multiple times including trips to Beverly Hills, LA, and Disneyland! We’ve also traveled to San Diego a few times. California weather is always fantastic. My parents were able to meet up with us on this trip! We love spending time with them and this trip was a great mix of fun, food, relaxation, and a long day at the House of the Mouse.
Flying: BNA to LGB (4.5 hours)
We love flying Southwest. You can earn Southwest points from Southwest Credit Cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal. See more tips on using points and miles here. We had a pair of companion passes for this trip. Companion passes are a perk of getting a ton of Southwest miles in a year. Because of our companion passes, we just had to pay taxes of $11.20 for each kid. This is an amazing perk and we definitely took advantage of the kids flying for free when we had the pass previously and will continue to do so again in the next few years. Be sure to read if you’re interested in learning more.
For more tips on flying with kids, see this post here. For this trip, we flew to the Long Beach airport instead of LAX. I highly recommend it if prices are comparable. The airport has less than 20 gates and it was so easy to get in and out of.
We rented a van through Costco Travel for $410 for 4 days. I highly recommend using Budget and their Fastbreak system to pre-register so you don’t have to wait in line at the rental desk. You can do this even if you use Costco to get the best price. For more info on car rentals and the best credit card to use, see this post.
See this post here if you need tips for putting together a packing list! The kids are getting great at packing for trips too!
Baby Carrier
Car Seat Travel Bag
Sleep Toy (with sound)
When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the local airport website and the Priority Pass Lounge website prior to the trip. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass access. This card gets you access to various airport lounges. It is much more common internationally. In Nashville, there is a Minute Suites lounge in terminal D and 400 Degrees Chicken.
Another perk you can get from several credit cards we have used is Global Entry/Pre-Check. This is always helpful for avoiding long lines and spending as little time as possible with others. After you activate your credit card, you’ll use it to pay for the Global Entry fee and get reimbursed immediately. If you want more on this particular benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, check out our tips here.
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort
We spent 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort. The hotel is about 40 minutes from the Long Beach airport and right across the street from the beach. Between the beach and hotel activities, we filled our days full. The hotel was gorgeous with fountains and courtyards everywhere. It is a very large hotel so if you’re traveling in a group, make sure you get a map! The hotel definitely has some Spanish inspiration throughout and felt fancy but not necessarily straight line modern fancy. There were several weddings while we were there and the hotel is often booked up so book ahead!
This hotel was pretty pricey with rates going for $500+. We paid using points for 2 rooms at 20k/night each. This price came with a ton of perks, some available to all guests, and some because of our hotel status. We received free breakfast, a gift certificate to the grocery store, free parking and a nice suite upgrade overlooking the beach. When sleeping with kids, extra space to spread is always a great perk. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points, which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Beach Access
It was a little chilly (70 degrees) but that doesn’t stop us! The hotel overlooks the beach and our room had a fantastic view. There was a small private bridge over the street to the beach. The hotel provides chairs, umbrellas, and towels for free!
About a mile west, there was a really awesome fun playground where the kids played, grandma and grandpa watched, and Ben and I took sunset pics for the insta 🙂
Pool Time
Our hotel had a large heated pool with drink service. We packed goggles and dive sticks and had a blast. My favorite kind of vacations involve pina coladas and sitter-vising. Virgin with cherries for the littles.
There were also multiple adult hot tubs around the resort. When we visited, the water slides were being remodeled and we were sad to miss out. Usually, there’s a whole additional area with slides and a shallow baby pool. The hotel offered us access to the Hilton pool with slides nearby but we didn’t want to walk a block. We still had a blast.
Hotel Recreation
Although there wasn’t a full activity calendar like at other properties we’ve stayed at in Orlando, Maui, Lost Pines, Coconut Point, or Clearwater, there was still a fun resort atmosphere. The pool was great and there were numerous hot tubs, fire-pits, as well as a small arcade room, some fish feeding activities, and yoga classes.
Eat, Eat, Eat!
Hotel breakfast: Our kiddos are becoming spoiled from hotel breakfasts! As a perk of our hotel status, we were able to enjoy free breakfast buffet with bacon, assorted cheeses, fruits, cereals, and more. We were also able to order off menu. Carter loved the pancakes and I loved the sausage hash.
Lunch: We didn’t eat dinner or lunch at the hotel, only breakfasts. There are several options on-site including pizza, tacos, pool bar, and more.
One of the days, we headed into the LA suburbs of Torrance to meet up with family on one of our days and had delicious Chinese food! We always make a point to seek out good Asian food and In N Out whenever on the the West Coast!
Dinners: On the first day, we found a fantastic restaurant between the hotel and the Long Beach Airport. San Pedro’s Fish Market had a great selection of grilled and fried seafood, was kid-friendly and service was excellent. We also stopped by Ballast Point Brewery for drinks and soft pretzels. Lots of great restaurant choices in the area.
On another evening, we drove a few minutes from the hotel towards the main Huntington Beach strip and found a restaurant called Longboards serving up some Mardis Gras yummys. Service was a little slow but the food was delicious! In this area, there was also choices for burgers, ramen, Mexican, sushi and more.
Activities in LA
We spent a lot of time enjoying the pool and beach near the resort. I wouldn’t stay at the Huntington beach resort if you’re planning on commuting to LA. Its about a 30 minute to Long Beach and 45 minutes to downtown. We did spend some time exploring some Long Beach highlights. Next time, we might consider a stay at a Long Beach hotel to be closer.
Aquarium of the Pacific: A little pricey (~$40) and absolutely packed on the holiday weekend we visited. Parts of the aquarium felt a little run down but it still had a lot of highlights such as jelly-fish touch tanks, seals, and sharks. Many exhibits are outdoors which is unique. Parking is easy in the garage nearby.
Long beach pier and arcade: We knew this was a money suck but the kids love it and my Dad loves cheering the kids on as they show off their basketball, racing, and crane skills. We found one game that was play till you win and collected 12 ducks. Spent about $40 for an hour of entertainment and some crappy dollar store prizes.
Disneyland: You know I’m incapable of going to a city and not spending time at Disney… We’ve been to Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and Paris Disneyland. More to come about this portion of the trip soon!
Hyatt Anaheim/Cypress
Final Thoughts
Last year, we told Ellie we could come back when she grew a few more inches for more rides and I keep my promises. 😛 We have extended family in LA, and it’s always nice to mix vacation with family. I love that it wasn’t too difficult for my parents to travel to meet us and get some quality grandparent-grandkid snuggle time. This might become a yearly tradition! Shh don’t tell Ben
