🍊 Plan a Trip
Orange County with kids
Curated by Simir Shah
23 spots within 60 miles of 92692
Wild Rivers Waterpark
Irvine · Water park
OC's big waterpark next to the Great Park, with serious slides for teens plus a lazy river and shallow splash zones for the little ones.
🗓️ Summer season only
💵 $$ ticketed
Get directions →Mission San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano · History & culture
The 'Jewel of the Missions' comes with a kids' audio tour, koi ponds, adobe ruins and the famous swallows story — pair it with a walk to the historic Los Rios district.
🗓️ Year-round (swallows return in spring)
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Pretend City Children's Museum
Irvine · Museum & science
A kid-sized interconnected city — grocery store, cafe, post office, construction site — built for role play, best for the under-6 crowd.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Orange County Great Park
Irvine
Ride the giant orange helium balloon for a bird's-eye view of OC, then hit the carousel, playgrounds and huge lawns — all on the old El Toro air base.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Heisler Park & Laguna Beach Coves
Laguna Beach
A blufftop garden path strings together pocket coves and some of OC's best tide pools, with stairs down to sheltered sand at Divers Cove and Picnic Beach.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Doheny State Beach
Dana Point
Gentle, kid-friendly waves by the harbor make this California's classic beginner surf and boogie-board beach, with grassy picnic lawns behind the sand.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Dana Point Whale Watching
Dana Point · Animal & nature
Boats run daily from the harbor of the self-declared Whale Watching Capital of the World, with dolphins a near-guarantee and whales by season.
🗓️ Year-round (gray whales winter, blue whales summer)
💵 Paid boat tour
Get directions →Crystal Cove State Park
Newport Coast
Three miles of undeveloped beach, tide pools and a historic 1930s beach cottage district with a famous date-shake shack right on the sand.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Irvine Regional Park & OC Zoo
Orange · Animal & nature
A shady 1897 park where one parking fee covers a small zoo of Southwestern animals, pony rides, a miniature railroad and paddle boats on the lagoon.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Per-vehicle parking (zoo small fee)
Get directions →Corona del Mar State Beach & Tide Pools
Corona del Mar
A calm, protected beach by the harbor jetty with rocky tide pools at Little Corona where kids hunt for anemones, crabs and sea stars at low tide.
🗓️ Tide pools best at low tide
Get directions →Upper Newport Bay (Back Bay)
Newport Beach
A flat, stroller-friendly estuary loop where kids spot egrets and herons, with beginner-calm kayaking and a hands-on nature center.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Balboa Island Ferry & Frozen Bananas
Newport Beach · Food & treats
The tiny three-car ferry chugs across the harbor to Balboa Island, where Marine Avenue's frozen bananas and Balboa Bars are the classic kid reward.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Small per-person fare
Get directions →OC Fair
Costa Mesa · Fairgrounds
The classic summer fair — carnival rides, livestock barns and fried everything — and the fairgrounds' free Centennial Farm keeps the animal fix going year-round.
🗓️ Annual fair, typically mid-July–mid-August
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Balboa Peninsula Fun Zone
Newport Beach
A pocket-sized harborfront boardwalk with a Ferris wheel, arcade and boat rentals — old-school Newport at per-ride prices.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Santa Ana Zoo
Santa Ana · Animal & nature
A small, walkable zoo famous for its monkeys, with a farm area and a family train ride — easily done in a half day with toddlers.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Discovery Cube Orange County
Santa Ana · Museum & science
The giant tilted cube off I-5 holds hands-on science exhibits where kids ride out an earthquake, race hockey pucks and climb through a helicopter.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Bowers Museum
Santa Ana · Museum & science
OC's flagship cultural museum brings world art and rotating blockbuster exhibitions, with family festival days and art activities pitched at kids.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Old Towne Orange Plaza
Orange
A preserved early-1900s town square ringed by antique shops, old-fashioned soda fountains and family-friendly restaurants — an easy, walkable time capsule.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure
Anaheim · Theme park
The original Disney resort — two parks across a single esplanade, with Fantasyland classics for little ones and Cars Land and Avengers Campus for bigger kids.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 $$ ticketed
Get directions →Huntington Beach Pier & Dog Beach
Huntington Beach
Walk the long pier over the surfers in Surf City, bike the flat beach path, and let kids watch the pups romp at the off-leash dog beach just north.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Anaheim Packing District
Anaheim
A restored 1919 citrus-packing house turned two-story food hall with dozens of stalls — every picky eater finds something, minutes from Disneyland.
🗓️ Year-round
Get directions →Adventure City
Anaheim · Theme park
A compact two-acre park with rides, shows and a petting farm built entirely for toddlers and young kids — a low-cost, low-overwhelm alternative to the big parks.
🗓️ Hours vary seasonally
💵 Paid admission
Get directions →Knott's Berry Farm
Buena Park · Theme park
America's oldest theme park pairs big coasters with Camp Snoopy, a whole land of rides scaled for younger kids, plus famous boysenberry treats.
🗓️ Year-round
💵 $$ ticketed
Get directions →How many days & where to stay
Plan on 3 full days for Orange County with kids — one for a theme park (Disneyland or Knott's), one for the coast, and one for the parks, museums and small-town charm locals love; add a day or two if you're doing both Disney parks. Where to stay depends on your priority: the Anaheim resort area (Harbor Blvd/Katella) puts you walking distance or a short shuttle from Disneyland with the most family hotel options, while the coast — Huntington Beach, Newport Beach or Dana Point — trades that for beach mornings and cooler evenings, with the parks still only about 30–40 minutes away outside rush hour.
A sane 3-day family itinerary
Theme-park day — Disneyland or Knott's
Give the whole day to one park and don't try to split it. Disneyland is the once-in-a-lifetime pick — arrive before rope drop, knock out the headliner rides first, and build in an afternoon hotel break if you have little ones so you can come back for the fireworks. If your crew skews younger or you'd rather skip the biggest crowds and prices, Knott's Berry Farm delivers a full day too: Camp Snoopy is a whole land built for small kids, and the boysenberry pie is non-negotiable. Either way, end a Disney day with a cheap, easy dinner at the Anaheim Packing District food hall a few minutes away.
Coast day — Newport to Laguna
Start on the Balboa Peninsula: ride the Ferris wheel at the Fun Zone, then take the tiny three-car ferry across to Balboa Island for a frozen banana on Marine Avenue. Check the tide chart — if you can hit low tide, spend midday at the Corona del Mar tide pools hunting anemones and sea stars. In the afternoon, continue down the coast: walk the blufftop path at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and drop down to a sheltered cove, or stop at Crystal Cove State Park for a wilder beach and a date shake at the historic cottages. If it's whale season energy you want instead, swap the afternoon for a boat out of Dana Point Harbor.
The real OC — parks, play and Old Towne
Skip the tourist track and do what local families do. Morning: the Orange County Great Park in Irvine — ride the big orange balloon for the view, then the carousel and playgrounds, all free or nearly so. If your kids are under 6, Pretend City Children's Museum is five minutes away and worth swapping in. After lunch, head to Irvine Regional Park in Orange for the small OC Zoo, pony rides and the miniature railroad under the oaks. Finish a mile away in Old Towne Orange: circle the historic plaza, browse the antique shops and get ice cream at an old-fashioned soda fountain.
Book Orange County tours & tickets
Bookable via Viator · we may earn a commission (no extra cost to you)Theme-park tickets, whale watching, and family experiences across OC — booked through Viator.
Free cancellationFull-Day Iconic Sights of LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Beaches and More
Free cancellationUniversal Studios Hollywood General Admission Ticket, California
Free cancellationSkip the Line: Express Ticket at Universal Studios Hollywood
Free cancellationThe VIP Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood in California
Disneyland Resort Anaheim Tickets in California
Free cancellationBest of LA, Hollywood, Griffith Park, Santa Monica & Venice Tour from Anaheim
Where to stay in Orange County
Hotels & rentals via Stay22 · we may earn a commissionCompare hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals near Orange County on one map — then book on your favorite site.
More experiences via GetYourGuide · we may earn a commission (no extra cost to you)
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Orange County with kids?
Three full days covers the highlights well: one for a theme park (Disneyland or Knott's), one for the coast from Newport to Laguna, and one for the parks and museums local families use — the Great Park, Pretend City and Irvine Regional Park. Add a day or two if you plan to do both Disney parks.
Is Orange County worth visiting beyond Disneyland?
Very much — OC has over 40 miles of coastline with calm coves and tide pools (Corona del Mar, Laguna, Crystal Cove), year-round whale watching out of Dana Point, a historic mission in San Juan Capistrano, and free family anchors like the Great Park balloon. Many families split their trip: parks first, then a slower beach day to recover.
Where should families stay in Orange County?
For a Disney-focused trip, the hotels along Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue in Anaheim put you walking distance or a short shuttle from the gates. If the beach matters more, base in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach or Dana Point — you trade park proximity for ocean mornings, and Anaheim is still roughly 30–40 minutes away outside rush hour.
Planning an OC trip?
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Going deeper? See the Disneyland battle plan, compare SoCal theme parks, browse the best family beaches and check the best time to visit. Attraction list verified August 2026 — confirm hours and seasonal closures (Wild Rivers and the OC Fair are summer-only) before you go.