Hey Disers! Looking to take my famiy of 5, myself, my DH, our DD(10), our DS(6) and our DS(5) on a two week whirlwind roadtrip! So thought I'd put it out here and see how many helpful tips and thoughts I can get from all of you wonderful folks! Our starting point is Minneapolis, MN! Day after the kids get out of school. Here is our rough draft plans: *Thur. June 7th Head west to Keystone, SD and stay the night in a hotel *Fri. June 8th Mt. Rushmore and anything else we can get to that day stay one more night in the hotel in Keystone *Sat. June 9th head down to Beaver Creek, CO and stay with family. *Sun. June 10th visit in Beaver Creek, Co stay one last night. *Mon. June 11th Head towards the Grandparents in Gold Canyon, AZ on the way, if time works out, visit the Grand Canyon and drive through Sedona. Staying at the Grandparents that night. *Tues. June 12th Visit with the grandparents *Wed. June 13th Visit with the grandparents. The next part of our trip will be a surprise to our kids! *Thur. June 14th Head to San Diego, CA! There we will meet up with their Aunt and cousins! Hotel night. *Fri. June 15th San Diego. stay in hotel. *Sat. June 16th San Diego. stay last night in hotel. We plan on doing SD Zoo, Sea World and beach while there, not sure what days. *Sun. June 17th Head towards Anaheim. On our way stop and visit family in Newport Beach for a bit. Then get hotel near Disneyland. If we get there early enough go to a park or downtown disney? *Mon. June 18th D.L./C.A. and hotel *Tues. June 19th Universal back to hotel *Wed. June 20th D.L/C.A. and hotel *Thur. June 21st D.L./C.A. last night in hotel. *Fri. June 22nd Head towards MN, stop somewhere on the way- but where? Maybe back in Beaver Creek with family- if they are willing!! *Sat. June 23rd ALL the way back home! *Sun. June 24th and Sun. June 25th- Recover and relax before back to reality!!! I'm looking into buying the San Diego City Pass, which would be 3 day Disney park hopper tickets, 1 day Universal, 1 day San Diego Zoo and 1 day Sea World. Anyone else bought this? Was it worth it? Really a savings. This is the only reason we plan on going to Universal, other wise we were only going to do just the other parks. I also need some input on traffic, best times of the day to travel. Nothing is set in stone, yet! Since we first started planning this it has change a couple of times. Thanks in advance for any help! You guys rock!! This will be a lot of firsts for my family so my husband and I are really excited. Oh, also, is AAA worth the extra money? We feel like it might be a good idea since we are going to be on the road so much! Thanks!
Your itinerary is intimidating! So much - bet that's why no one has commented yet. I can weigh in on a couple of things : 1. AAA - I've been a member for many years. Between the discounts and occasional need for service, it's been worth it. Seems like it only have a bit over 2 days in San Diego - you'll need a full day for Sea World, most of a day at the Zoo. And you're visiting someone - maybe you can talk them into going to the Zoo with you so you can get it all done! San Diego to Anaheim is a straight shot up the 5 fwy. Newport Beach will be a bit of a detour but not bad if you don't get stuck in rush hour traffic. I'd leave San Diego either ridiculously early if that's a weekday ( like by 6 at the latest ) or late - 10 or so. You can take a detour by getting off onto Pacific Coast Hgwy - probably around Dana Point and driving up the coast to Newport - or maybe stop at Laguna which is really pretty and has lots of good spots to eat. I have to get back to work - may add a bit more later.
It is a complete undertaking!! But I think my family is up for the challenge!! \ Thanks for the tips. I'm looking to get as many as possible! I think that when the family meets us in San Diego, that was the plan for them to join us at the zoo and/or Sea World. Because there is so much and it is SO far, our plans keep changing. I wish it wasn't SO far! But we are looking forward to the adventure. I think the thing we are most worried about is the car. Otherwise we are all ready for the trip! Making sure we get a good "check-up" on the car before we leave and most likely investing in AAA and praying that everything else will go smoothly. I think our biggest challenge right now is getting home, back to MN, without having to go through too much mountainous areas without adding to much more time on the road! Any tips on that would help ease some anxiety! Thanks again!
We love road trips! We were planning a 2 week road trip to DL this summer but are going to Texas for a WWII reunion with my father and maybe to the north to visit a few more of the just 12 remaining for us! That said, I wouldn't venture out without AAA. Always good to have a little insurance! We have had 2 tires flat while traveling. Nice to be able to call AAA and let them worry about it. We just wait and say thank you!! Even if there isn't a AAA near, we can pay and get reimbursed later. Worked great for us. Discounts are everywhere!! I know there is an Iphone app for AAA and shows nearby discounts. You can also get great maps from AAA and Road Trip books. Your kids can find out what there is to do along the way with the books. They can also map their locations with highlighters. Its the fun way to learn about the states. Game ideas for the road - find all 50 state license plates and many from Mexico and Canada. Try to meet people from as many states as you can. It has been a good way for my daughter to talk to people - safely, while we are with her, of course. Have fun!
I've had to do roadtrips from Oklahoma City to Sacramento (via Anaheim) twice a year for 8 years. Road trips, especially the first time through an area can be fun. What I would change is to put the Universal at the end of the Los Angeles trip and not in the middle of your Anaheim time frame. DL Mon, Tues and Wed and then drive up to Universal with a motel/hotel in that area. It's looks close on the map but it's an hour in so/so traffic. You could then decide which way you want to head back to MN. You could head north to Sacramento and over on 80 or 50 or start going over on 10. I bought the minature chocolate bars and put them in a tupperware container on top of the ice. We also took salami, cheese, crackers and the kids built themself their sandwiches.
When we went to SD Zoo we were very disappointed. There was no place for our 2 and 4 year old to run around. We wanted to eat lunch on a grassy area and there was not even one of those. The zoo was not for us the kids could not easily see into the animal environment, too young to sit on the bus for a long tour. On the other hand, we loved Sea World! One of my favorite days when thinking back on vacations. I also recommend LegoLand over the zoo. It is very clean and not as crowded as most parks in the summer. You do have a lot planned so if you can only do one thing I highly recommend Sea World as your top choice. Please note that light weight jackets are something that should be packed. The evening temperatures can cool down or be a little breezy. Remember to ask for a AAA discount at all the parks and hotels you go to. Your relatives can buy tickets cheaper as Southern California residents at Vonns market.
