Family trip out West

[kymom99]

i'm a cheapskate-i only add the coverage when i need it.

It covers any car I drive occasionally. It’s not a rider or anything.

 

[kandb]

if planning on renting a car it's worth calling your existing insurance company to see if they offer a rental car policy. we do this each time-start it up the day before we leave, cancel it when we get back. costs less than $20 and covers everything (our insurance company recommends doing it this way unless you rent all the time and need it month to month).

Thanks for that. We always decline the car rental insurance because we have collision insurance on our cars and were previously told that if you do, a rental would be covered but I should check just in case. We have Geico insurance.

 

[Ngwira]

Looking forward to your trip report. We’re headed to California next July. Flying into San Francisco to check out Yosemite and Redwoods and Sequoia NP followed by 2 nights in Disneyland and 2 nights in San Diego. I just finalized our dates.

Like you, we normally go to WDW every year in August but with all the price increases, we’ve realized how much farther our money will stretch elsewhere.

Plan to spend 10 days in Italy next year for Spring break for less than one WDW trip staying in a deluxe for 8 nights and deluxe dining plan.

 

[kandb]

Looking forward to your trip report. We’re headed to California next July. Flying into San Francisco to check out Yosemite and Redwoods and Sequoia NP followed by 2 nights in Disneyland and 2 nights in San Diego. I just finalized our dates.

Like you, we normally go to WDW every year in August but with all the price increases, we’ve realized how much farther our money will stretch elsewhere.

Plan to spend 10 days in Italy for Spring break for less than one WDW trip staying in a deluxe for 8 nights and deluxe dining plan.

Yes, we have gone to WDW for the last 12 years every year. It is getting more expensive and we have gotten used to staying deluxe and the food prices have gone up considerably. I am really excited to go out West. I am also a planner, so looking forward to planning what we are going to do in San Diego and Vegas. We are also spending a day at the Grand Canyon. I am hoping 2 weeks will be enough to cover everything we want to cover.

 

[Ngwira]

Yes, we have gone to WDW for the last 12 years every year. It is getting more expensive and we have gotten used to staying deluxe and the food prices have gone up considerably. I am really excited to go out West. I am also a planner, so looking forward to planning what we are going to do in San Diego and Vegas. We are also spending a day at the Grand Canyon. I am hoping 2 weeks will be enough to cover everything we want to cover.

Our love affair with the western part of the US started with the Grand Canyon. It’s truly Grand. You will love it. You should have enough time. The south rim which is the real Grand Canyon is 5 hours from Vegas. The west rim which is on native land is not really considered the true Grand Canyon. Also Check out Valley of Fire National Park and the Hoover dam too while you’re out there! In terms of what to do with teens, there is lots to do. Google “Vegas with teens” or Vegas for families.

 

[kymom99]

Looking forward to your trip report. We’re headed to California next July. Flying into San Francisco to check out Yosemite and Redwoods and Sequoia NP followed by 2 nights in Disneyland and 2 nights in San Diego. I just finalized our dates.

Like you, we normally go to WDW every year in August but with all the price increases, we’ve realized how much farther our money will stretch elsewhere.

Plan to spend 10 days in Italy next year for Spring break for less than one WDW trip staying in a deluxe for 8 nights and deluxe dining plan.

Your Yosemite trip is one of my bucket list trips. Hope you have a great time!

 

[lovemygoofy]

This was extremely helpful, thank you. We are thinking of not going to DL because we go to WDW every year. I know DL is a little different but there are so many other sites we want to see and even going to DL for one day will be expensive and I heard it is very crowded. Have you ever traveled up to Zion or Bryce from Grand Canyon? How is the ride? Thanks for your help.

I did not make the drive from Grand Canyon to Bryce. We had road tripped from SW Texas and stopped hiking and do things on the way. By the time we were done with the Grand Canyon I just wanted a fancy bed, hot shower and room service. I love national parks but I like nice hotels too. Make sure you are gassed up driving around the areas from the canyon to Bryce or to Vegas. There are long stretches of the road where you see nothing and if you drive at night be careful as it is super duper dark going up the road to Vegas and with limited cell reception along the way in some spots. I would download the maps from phones and save directions before you start on those routes.

If you are looking for place to stay in Vegas, we stayed Planet Hollywood last year. It's a decent hotel and reasonable priced. I would made short list of hotels and research things like pools because some are not family friendly. PH is in the middle of the strip and if your teens are going to be out on their own then it's easier to walk for them with things like World of Coke, M&M store(3 stories and a cute movie!) or across the street to Cesar's and it's neat that PH is across from the fountains at Bellagio.

I'm planning my own ridiculous trip out west for May. We are doing Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Badlands and Mount Rushmore or going to try in a road trip at that. Hopefully the same two that leave will be the same two that come back after such a trip!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Well, we stayed inside the park but my friend stayed just outside in I think a holiday inn express. I know this is part of a bigger trip and I get that you just want a general picture when it comes to the canyon. It’s not hard to see a lot in a little time. If you study up on the different sites you can pick a few things to see. They have a fairly efficient shuttle service inside the park. My favorite spot was on the drive to the east of the welcome center. We went to the watchtower and worked our way back. It was quieter on that end

In san Diego we stayed at the island palms on shelter island. I loved it there. It is owned by best western we had a junior suite and it was just gorgeous.

We did this too last Sept/Oct as part of a long trip, hopping around out west. Keep in mind GC is very remote to the rest of civilization. We don't normally stay at HIE but seriously, it was so overpriced for all the hotels in Tusayan. I had points I could use from our Chase cc so that made it an easy choice and includes free breakfast.

The only non stop flight from Philly got us to Vegas at around 4-5 pm so we immediately drove to Kingman, AZ and stayed at the Fairfield Inn (by Marriott). Then drove the rest of the way in the am. It was good to arrive well rested.

I would highly recommend Sedona (avoid weekend crowds/traffic) and Page, AZ. The latter was part of a different trip to UT in 2014. We did a rafting trip down the Colorado which begins at the Glen Canyon Dam and takes you through Horseshoe Bend. Beautiful. Then in afternoon they took us through a slot canyon. Really out of this world for us in the Northeast. The next day we drove to the overlook area of Horseshoe Bend. We did it in the summer and it was so dang hot. Bring LOTS of water. It was cool to see it from above and from the water.

So much to see out west but dh and I have never had an urge to visit LA. I always picture it as a crowded city with some celebrity house ogling tour.