First Disneyland / West Coast USA trip Xmas 2015 - Itinerary help needed

[shellberry]

We are planning our first trip to Disneyland and the USA west coast. We plan to depart Sydney on Christmas Day, arriving LAX at 6.30am on 25th, and will have around 3 - 3 1/2 weeks in the US as we will be departing LAX on 17th Jan. As this is our first trip to the USA we are after some help with putting together an itinerary.

We are a family of four - 2 adults and 2 kids (they will be 13 and 16 when we travel).

We would like to visit the following:

Anaheim (especially Disneyland and possibly Knotts Berry Farm), Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Yosemite.

Is it possible to fit all of this into the time we have?

We were originally think of spending Christmas day (and the following few days) at Disneyland, however have read that Disneyland is at its busiest from Christmas Eve to New Years. Would it be better to visit Anaheim and LA after New Year?

Any ideas regarding the best itinerary would be greatly appreciated.

Is it better to hire a car or use public transport? What is the best way to travel between cities?

Once again, and hints, tips and advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[aussie shaz]

Hi there. How exciting for you. We've been twice with our kids. The first time we did Anaheim (with a trip to Hollywood), Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and San Diego (or really just Legoland). We spent about 3 weeks. Our next trips was just staying an Anaheim for 15 nights.
Both times we had a car and wouldn't do without one.
I suggest you leave Disneyland until the end. 2 reasons. First, as you say, it will be so busy over the Christmas New Year period. Secondly, after Disneyland, everything else will be a letdown!
Our kids were 8 and 10 when we went to Las Vegas and we all loved it. We don't drink or gamble, but there were so many family friendly things to see and do.
Grand Canyon was good to see. If you do go, I really suggest you stay in the park. Not sure how easy it will be to get accommodation in the park though. Also remember it will be really cold, and there will be lots of snow. You probably won't be able to walk down into the canyon. It's a long way just to have a look, I feel.
I think you might have trouble with Yosemite also, as it's mid winter and you may not be able to get into the parks without snow tires etc. We drove past there years ago in winter, and we had to detour because the roads were closed.
It's totally your choice, but it maybe better to just do the Coast cities. Not sure you'd fit all the places listed in just 3 or so weeks.

 

[zanzibar138]

Welcome!

How cool that you'll get 2 Christmases!

I also suggest leaving Disneyland until last, and would be wary about including high altitude destinations like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite where you are likely to get snow that could mess up your plans.

We've found the US to be very car-centric, and in most places, public transport isn't wonderful. Driving is pretty much a necessity if you want to include national parks or destinations outside of major cities. Having said that, it's mostly easy to get around, especially if you can avoid peak hour traffic in places like LA, and driving on the wrong side of the road is not as scary as it seems. It really doesn't take long to get used to it.

Here's how I would plan it:

* Spend your first few days in LA. It will give you a chance to recover from your flight before you have to go too far. You could pick up a hire car at the airport or just take a shuttle to your hotel. We've never spent any time in LA, but I've heard the public transport isn't great.

* If you have a car (or pick one up in LA), you can drive down to San Diego along the coast, stopping off where you like along the way. If you don't have a car, there is a pretty decent looking train service between LA and San Diego. I haven't been to San Diego either, so not sure whether you would need a car down there. However, if you can get that far without a car then you can pick it up and drop it off at the same location, which will save you money.

* Fly from San Diego to San Francisco. If you wanted to fit in Vegas and the Grand Canyon, fly there first, then onto San Francisco. A couple of things to be wary of... I can't even imagine what NYE is like in Vegas! I'm guessing not very kid friendly. If your timing coincides with that, I would definitely consider spending NYE at the Grand Canyon instead. It's so pretty under snow and would have a real winter wonderland feel about it. However, to get to the Grand Canyon, you will need to be prepared for driving in snow, carry chains and be comfortable with the idea of using them. If that sounds too complicated for you (like it does for me), I would probably ditch Vegas altogether in favour of San Francisco.

* PIO is the person to talk to about San Francisco. It is one city that has a fairly good public transport network, so you shouldn't need a car here.

* Pick up a car on your last day in San Francisco, and hit the Pacific Coast Highway back down to Anaheim. You may get cold by the beach, but you won't get snow like you would at Yosemite. There are some lovely Sequoia areas you can visit along the way. Take 2 or 3 nights to make your way down. There are plenty of great towns to stay in - Monterey, anywhere along Big Sur, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara... Take your pick! If you still want to do Yosemite, I would spend 2 nights in the park, finishing off your stay with one night slightly outside the snow zone. Then you can drive straight from there to Anaheim. It's a fairly long drive as it is, without having to factor in possible delays due to snow.

* If you plan to do Knotts Berry Farm, it might be worth keeping your car in Anaheim, otherwise drop it off. You won't need to drive anywhere if you stay at a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland and parking fees at some of those hotels are pretty expensive. I would aim to spend at least 5 days at Disneyland. If you're tempted to spend more time there, don't forget Aussies can get 10 day passes.

Hope that helps!

 

[backinoz]

As much as I agree you should end on Disney - Keep in mind if you do Disneyland at the end of the trip, then you won't see the Christmas decorations - If your teens are like mine and are huge Nightmare Before Christmas fans then that would be a deciding factor in when to schedule Disneyland because of the NBC overlay they do on HM for the holiday season. We're doing 4 weeks before Christmas and like others have said, we're gonna need to take into account the possible snow around the Grand Canyon and the probable snow around Yosemite. We're driving - taking in many of the natural wonders of the south west on the way - but have decided to skip San Francisco and San Diego so don't have too many destinations near majors airports (i.e. reasonable airfares from A ->B ).

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I am in the minority as we found buses and the train system OK to get around in LA but you would be better to have a hire car to get down to Anaheim. I like Zanzibar's itinerary but would stay in Hollywood area of LA, walk to the Walk of Fame, the Waxworks, etc, take a stars homes or similar tour that all leave from here, and either do the HoHo bus getting on and off for other sights (stop outside Hollywood and Highland Shopping Centre) or catch the metro down to the city centre if you wished, or catch a bus to The Grove Shopping Centre or the really good Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits which the kids would like (and a short walk from there up to The Grove afterwards). We stayed in an old but clean semi-self contained place immediately behind Hollywood and Highland called Hollywood Orchid Suites, old and basic but have a kitchenette, a pool (probably too cold in winter) and basic breakfast included. Loews Hollywood hotel is more up market in the same area. As newbies I would seriously consider doing the HoHo (hop on hop off) in LA - there are 3 routes. Then I would hire a car so I wasn't driving in LA traffic much and head out to San Diego doing what Zanzibar suggested. If you wanted to do Disneyland with Xmas decorations then you could drive instead to Anaheim for Disneyland then drive to San Diego etc. You could also drive from San Diego afterwards back up along the coastal route all the way to San Francisco rather than flying and avoiding the snowy areas, then fly home from San Fran. Lots of options for you to research. We have found hiring cars with snow chains is very difficult, many companies just won't do it. Lots of folk will chime in here with their ideas and suggestions and can help you refine the detail. All the fun is in the planning!

 

[PrincessInOz]

We are planning our first trip to Disneyland and the USA west coast. We plan to depart Sydney on Christmas Day, arriving LAX at 6.30am on 25th, and will have around 3 - 3 1/2 weeks in the US as we will be departing LAX on 17th Jan. As this is our first trip to the USA we are after some help with putting together an itinerary.

to the Dis and Happy Planning on what looks to be a fantastic trip!




We are a family of four - 2 adults and 2 kids (they will be 13 and 16 when we travel).

We would like to visit the following:

Anaheim (especially Disneyland and possibly Knotts Berry Farm), Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Yosemite. Is it possible to fit all of this into the time we have?[/quote]

In 3 - 3.5 weeks, you should have plenty of time to fit everything in, depending on how in-depth you want to see each location. However, as others have pointed out, you are travelling in winter and there is a high chance of snow at the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. It comes down to whether you are happy to accept the risk that you could be snowed in. This risk could be low or high; it really is difficult to predict.

We were originally think of spending Christmas day (and the following few days) at Disneyland, however have read that Disneyland is at its busiest from Christmas Eve to New Years. Would it be better to visit Anaheim and LA after New Year?

North America is usually on holiday a few days before Christmas and through to the New Year. Disneyland is usually very busy during that time. In fact, I generally find that it will be busy everywhere during that time and if you haven't already done so, I would recommend that you book your accommodation between this period ASAP.

Any ideas regarding the best itinerary would be greatly appreciated.

Zanzibar has given a great itinerary. If you were after a different way of doing it, you could consider starting from San Francisco. Have you already locked in your long haul flights?
If you started from San Francisco, you could consider driving to Yosemite from there (if you were still wanting to go see it) and/or heading down the coast. I like Big Basin and Henry Cowell state parks. You can see redwoods in those parks and it might be cold, but at least you are unlikely to experience snow.


You could get to LA and then sightsee around the Hollywood and Highland area, like Wendy suggested.

From there, you could head to Anaheim and DLR. Perhaps by this time, it would be after New Year's. You could check to see how long the Christmas decorations would still be up and be there when it was a less busy.

I would continue driving down towards San Diego from here. You then have the option of thinking of driving through to Las Vegas or catching a flight from San Diego to Vegas. Just remember that it is going to take you 5 - 7 hours (depending on stops) to drive to Vegas. You could do it in 5 hours if you drove straight through.

I would recommend you investigate car hire drop-off charges and you can work out whether drop-off at San Diego would be better or not.

Is it better to hire a car or use public transport? What is the best way to travel between cities?

I like the public transport in San Francisco. It is incredibly easy to get around and you probably won't need to rent a car whilst you're checking out the city. Once you finish with the city sights and are ready to move on, you could pick up the car hire then. It may save you a few days worth of not needing to pay for a car hire.

It really depends on what you want to see and do between cities. Having said that, you might want to check out the driving times between each location and compare that with how long it will take you to get to the airport, clear security and fly to the other destination.

Once again, and hints, tips and advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Happy planning!

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Could you do a "loop"?.....

Pick up car in LA - drive: San Fran, Yosemite, Vegas/Grand Canyon - San Diego - Anaheim - Drop the car in LA before spending a couple of days there.

I've got zero experience with the national parks in winter, so I could be completely off base even suggesting this. However from Vegas you can chopper or bus to the canyon if you didn't want to/couldn't drive.

Using the HOHO bus in San Fran and LA is the way to go. We did use the trams in San Fran and that worked out for us as well.

The drive along the West Coast between LA & San Fran is lovely, lots to see and do. Check out Hearst Castle if you get the chance, you'll never look at a pool the same way again! LOL

Given the ages of your kids and some planning/rope drop "go hard, go fast" touring, from my (limited) experience you would move pretty quickly in DL even with larger crowds. I've never been to Knotts Berry Farm so I cant comment there.

We were in Vegas for Halloween one year and it was a bit of an eye opener along the strip, but nothing too outrageous, I assume that NYE would be the same. However there is plenty of other stuff to do that would keep the kids happy. The Michael Jackson One show at the Mandalay Bay is fantastic if you didn't want to be out and about that night. They will love the outlet shopping in Vegas. I think from memory that self parking at the casinos is free, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

HTH

 

[backinoz]

A heads up if you're going to hire a car - I got a quote from the TA for car hire (full size SUV - wanted space for all our bags in the back so we don't feel like the Griswalds, and wanted 4WD in case the roads up high do get a bit slick & icy)...$3,152 for 20 days hire... Anyways I was reading through Mousesavers website and they suggested to try booking through Alamo UK website - down to $1,529 - got me thinking I wonder if Hertz might be cheaper through the UK website too - $1310. This is for the same class of car, with the same insurance, and free additional driver. So definitly shop around.

We're doing a similar trip to yours starting Nov 30, returning Dec 26: 5 days DL - road trip -> Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce NP, Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite & ending with another 3 days (over Christmas) at DL. Last trip we took the Amtrak in to have a look around Hollywood but tbh would much rather spend time at DL, even with Christmas Crowd levels.

 

[aussie shaz]

Also look into Traveljigsaw for your car hire. It includes all insurances you'll need coming from Australia.