We interrupt this Trip Report to talk a bit about future vacation planning. Mostly because I wanted to ask my dear readers' opinion over whether or not to add thousands of dollars of expenses to the end of trip.
We really racked our brains trying to come up with a trip that we could do this summer with a baby. We are still trying to get to all 50 states, and the older kids have already done the east coast. The clock is ticking before Sarah has to start worrying about summer jobs and college expenses, so felt a strong pull to keep trying to explore new places while we still can. But most of the places we have left to explore are out west, and there are long distances between places of interest out west.
Naturally, the longer the drive, the less likely you are to go without incident when traveling with a baby. Add in the need to stop every 2-3 hours for feedings, and western trips become more difficult.
We looked hard at several options. We looked at the Upper Midwest--specifically Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills (somebody, and I won't mention who, really wanted to hold baby Drew up in just the right way to get his mug alongside the Presidents on Rushmore). But the Black Hills are a long drive from just about everywhere. We tried to make it work, but no matter how we planned it, there were going to be at least two 8+hour driving days.
Same with Texas. Big Bend National Park just isn't close to anything, and it's not something we would want to cut out of the trip.
We finally found some fairly cheap rates on airfare to Las Vegas. We're not into casinos and gambling at all, but as we planned, we realized that it made for a good starting point for a tour of the Southwest. Many of drives between points of interest only amounted to 2-4 hours, which felt more feasible to us. So we ended up pulling the trigger, and we're spending 11 days in the American Southwest. In late July. Because when you think of late July, you naturally want to visit the desert.
I can write more about our plans later, but we're looking at visiting Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon N.P., Zion N.P. the Grand Canyon, and Phoenix, AZ.
The question comes near the end of the trip. We were looking at spending a couple of days relaxing at a resort in Phoenix to rest up after some longer drives. Then we were going to swing west through Joshua Tree N.P. in California and the Mojave Desert National Preserve.
But then we got to thinking...(and you probably know where this is heading).
Google Maps says Joshua Tree N.P. is only 1 hour, 45 minutes from Anaheim, CA (discounting L.A. traffic, of course).
Rumor has it there is a popular tourist destination located in Anaheim.
So...do we try and get to
Disneyland?
On the plus side, we're already going to be very close. We are, of course, Disney geeks, and would love to see the original Disney park. We wouldn't have to go very far out of our way on this trip to get there. And I'm sure the kids would be thrilled. I also think it would make for a better end to the vacation than 2 days in the desert.
On the downside, we don't have Julie's 2nd income anymore thanks to baby Drew. So the extra money that funded Hawaii has gone away. Disney, as you may have heard, is very expensive, especially because they get most of their money up front. So a 1-day or 2-day ticket doesn't save you much. It's going to be July, and hot, and crowded. And we'll have to do a lot of child swaps on rides with the baby.
We got good prices on airfare and a rental van, so I'm reluctant to change the dates on the trip. We can make it work if we cut our stay in Phoenix short by a day or two. But it's still an expensive add-on, even staying at the cheapest Good Neighbor Hotel I can find. We might only be able to afford a 1-day ticket. Is it worth going if we have to skip a park? It feels like it's on the edge of what we think we can afford.
On the other hand, it's not easy for us to get to California from Delaware. It feels like we'd be missing an opportunity by being so close and not taking the time to go. And of course we have a desire to go, since...well, it's Disney.
So I figured I'd post this note here and see what you think? Is it worth the extra expense? Or are we just setting ourselves up for an expensive, hot, crowded experience?
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