Lizzybear
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2006
- Messages
- 2,955
Since I now have JUST UNDER THREE MONTHS TO GO! 
I thought i'd start a pre-trip report for our holiday this year. First things first, the cast!
Me (Lizzy) 23 (will be 24 when we travel, just one more year of paying that blasted young driver's surcharge!) Very happy to be DONE with education having just graduated and currently working as a nursery nurse and in an office. I'm the main holiday initiator/planner which is how I like it!
Addicted to Disney (but of course!), karaoke, the internet and sewing/fabric 
That's me rockin' out in Reflex!
Steve 25 (will be 26 when we travel, our birthdays are actually a day apart and I intend to give him much ribbing about being in his LATE TWENTIES!
) Works for the city council and is currently the golden boy of his department so I guess he'll be an executive earning £100k soon enough and I can become a lady of leisure 
In his words he is 'along for the ride' on this holiday but has made one request: To see the Mighty Ducks stadium He likes shouty hardcore music, tattoos and technology/how stuff works 
Could this picture be any more cheesy?
Steve in a cheese and clog-making factory in Amsterdam!
We've been together for nearly 3 1/2 years and have been to Disneyland Paris, Orlando and Amsterdam together so far.
Us on the plane to Orlando last year
I don't even really know how the idea to go to California first came about. I think we both already wanted to go (before we even knew each other) and just assumed that after Orlando it would be next on the list, and so the planning began
Well, sort of! Since i've been working as well as doing my final degree year until recently, the planning was fairly minimal and we didn't actually book anything until a couple a weeks ago. We knew from the start that this would be a different kind of holiday to Orlando: For one thing we'll be travelling to several different places which will involve some long drives, theme parks aren't the main focus and ADRs aren't even a consideration. For Orlando I did a pretty rigid itinerary which we stuck to for the most part and I tried doing something similar this time but soon realised it would make more sense (due to the potential for tiredness from the bigger time difference and driving as well as the whole visiting a new state thing!) to just write a list of things we want to do in each place so in most cases we can decide the night before what to do the next day 
With this in mind, here is our basic plan:
18th September: Fly from Manchester to San Francisco. We'll be flying with Continental and changing in Newark which are both new to us. We plan to use the BART to get from the airport to San Francisco but may get a taxi instead. No plans for today other than find the hotel (Columbus Motor Inn), check-in and unpack.
19th-21st September: 3 full days to explore San Francisco! We definitely want to visit Alcatraz, explore Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown and see the Golden Gate Bridge. Possibly visit Sausalito aswell. We decided not to get the car for this section of the trip as the public transport in SF looks like it will be fine for our needs
22nd September: Pick-up hire car and drive to Monterey. Spend the rest of the day exploring Monterey (might visit the aquarium) and spend the night at the Super 8.
23rd September: Spend some more time in Monterey, might do the 17 Mile Drive, then drive down Highway One through Big Sur and finishing in San Luis Obispo. This is subject to my nerves holding out, though I really want to have the experience as i've heard it's amazing so i'll just take my time and enjoy it Spend the night at the Vagabond Inn.
24th September: Maybe look around San Luis Obispo then drive to Los Angeles, stopping at Solvang on the way there. Check in to the Hollywood Orchid Suites.
25th-27th September: Three full days in Los Angeles. We definitely want to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain, The La Brea Tarpits, the touristy stuff in Hollywood (Walk of Fame etc) and the LA Ink shop. We'll probably fit some shopping in here too, i've heard the fabric stores are amazing!
28th September: Visit Santa Monica Pier then drive to Anaheim and check in to the Fairfield Inn. We were planning on spending the evening at Disneyland but since I learned that Fantasmic will be in rehab for all of September and October (which i'm gutted about by the way
) we'll probably just spend a bit longer in the central Los Angeles area, since DL is apparently very busy at the weekends due to locals.
29th September-1st October: Anaheim for 3 full days. We'll be visiting Disneyland/DCA for two and San Diego Zoo for one
2nd October: Drive to Las Vegas, we plan to visit a 'ghost town' on the way Check in to the Gold Coast hotel.
3rd-5th October: 3 full days in Las Vegas. We definitely want to visit the Hoover Dam and possibly the Grand Canyon too (still on the fence as to whether or not it's worth the money for us!) My dad is actually planning a rock climbing trip to Red Rock Canyon around this time so it's possible it will coincide with our stay in Las Vegas and we'll meet up for a bit to watch him climb and have a walk We'll visit the strip too of course but it's not our main reason for going.. We want to visit the Star Trek Experience and have a bit of a wander round but aside from that I think we will play it by ear. At the moment i'm finding it hard to grasp the scale of all the casinos so i'll probably spend a good amount of time just gawking 
6th-7th October: (time difference means we get home a day later) Drive to Las Vegas airport/drop off car. Flight home to Manchester from Las Vegas (changing in Newark again)
So that's the plan so far! It's a bit of a monster and i'm sure we'll be zonked by the end of the trip. I'm already planning in my head what we'd do next time that I just couldn't fit in this time like Yosemite and Death Valley, as well as Oregon and Arizona! We pretty much want to make the most of the long flight as well as the fact that we're not relaxing holiday types, we much prefer to be on the go and visiting interesting places
Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stay with me for the 'real thing' in October
If anyone has any California or Las Vegas tips to share please feel free
I thought i'd start a pre-trip report for our holiday this year. First things first, the cast!Me (Lizzy) 23 (will be 24 when we travel, just one more year of paying that blasted young driver's surcharge!) Very happy to be DONE with education having just graduated and currently working as a nursery nurse and in an office. I'm the main holiday initiator/planner which is how I like it!
Addicted to Disney (but of course!), karaoke, the internet and sewing/fabric
That's me rockin' out in Reflex!
Steve 25 (will be 26 when we travel, our birthdays are actually a day apart and I intend to give him much ribbing about being in his LATE TWENTIES!
) Works for the city council and is currently the golden boy of his department so I guess he'll be an executive earning £100k soon enough and I can become a lady of leisure In his words he is 'along for the ride' on this holiday but has made one request: To see the Mighty Ducks stadium He likes shouty hardcore music, tattoos and technology/how stuff works
Could this picture be any more cheesy?
Steve in a cheese and clog-making factory in Amsterdam!We've been together for nearly 3 1/2 years and have been to Disneyland Paris, Orlando and Amsterdam together so far.
Us on the plane to Orlando last year
I don't even really know how the idea to go to California first came about. I think we both already wanted to go (before we even knew each other) and just assumed that after Orlando it would be next on the list, and so the planning began
Well, sort of! Since i've been working as well as doing my final degree year until recently, the planning was fairly minimal and we didn't actually book anything until a couple a weeks ago. We knew from the start that this would be a different kind of holiday to Orlando: For one thing we'll be travelling to several different places which will involve some long drives, theme parks aren't the main focus and ADRs aren't even a consideration. For Orlando I did a pretty rigid itinerary which we stuck to for the most part and I tried doing something similar this time but soon realised it would make more sense (due to the potential for tiredness from the bigger time difference and driving as well as the whole visiting a new state thing!) to just write a list of things we want to do in each place so in most cases we can decide the night before what to do the next day With this in mind, here is our basic plan:18th September: Fly from Manchester to San Francisco. We'll be flying with Continental and changing in Newark which are both new to us. We plan to use the BART to get from the airport to San Francisco but may get a taxi instead. No plans for today other than find the hotel (Columbus Motor Inn), check-in and unpack.
19th-21st September: 3 full days to explore San Francisco! We definitely want to visit Alcatraz, explore Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown and see the Golden Gate Bridge. Possibly visit Sausalito aswell. We decided not to get the car for this section of the trip as the public transport in SF looks like it will be fine for our needs
22nd September: Pick-up hire car and drive to Monterey. Spend the rest of the day exploring Monterey (might visit the aquarium) and spend the night at the Super 8.
23rd September: Spend some more time in Monterey, might do the 17 Mile Drive, then drive down Highway One through Big Sur and finishing in San Luis Obispo. This is subject to my nerves holding out, though I really want to have the experience as i've heard it's amazing so i'll just take my time and enjoy it
Spend the night at the Vagabond Inn.24th September: Maybe look around San Luis Obispo then drive to Los Angeles, stopping at Solvang on the way there. Check in to the Hollywood Orchid Suites.
25th-27th September: Three full days in Los Angeles. We definitely want to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain, The La Brea Tarpits, the touristy stuff in Hollywood (Walk of Fame etc) and the LA Ink shop. We'll probably fit some shopping in here too, i've heard the fabric stores are amazing!
28th September: Visit Santa Monica Pier then drive to Anaheim and check in to the Fairfield Inn. We were planning on spending the evening at Disneyland but since I learned that Fantasmic will be in rehab for all of September and October (which i'm gutted about by the way
) we'll probably just spend a bit longer in the central Los Angeles area, since DL is apparently very busy at the weekends due to locals.29th September-1st October: Anaheim for 3 full days. We'll be visiting Disneyland/DCA for two and San Diego Zoo for one
2nd October: Drive to Las Vegas, we plan to visit a 'ghost town' on the way
Check in to the Gold Coast hotel.3rd-5th October: 3 full days in Las Vegas. We definitely want to visit the Hoover Dam and possibly the Grand Canyon too (still on the fence as to whether or not it's worth the money for us!) My dad is actually planning a rock climbing trip to Red Rock Canyon around this time so it's possible it will coincide with our stay in Las Vegas and we'll meet up for a bit to watch him climb and have a walk
We'll visit the strip too of course but it's not our main reason for going.. We want to visit the Star Trek Experience and have a bit of a wander round but aside from that I think we will play it by ear. At the moment i'm finding it hard to grasp the scale of all the casinos so i'll probably spend a good amount of time just gawking 6th-7th October: (time difference means we get home a day later) Drive to Las Vegas airport/drop off car. Flight home to Manchester from Las Vegas (changing in Newark again)
So that's the plan so far! It's a bit of a monster and i'm sure we'll be zonked by the end of the trip. I'm already planning in my head what we'd do next time that I just couldn't fit in this time like Yosemite and Death Valley, as well as Oregon and Arizona! We pretty much want to make the most of the long flight as well as the fact that we're not relaxing holiday types, we much prefer to be on the go and visiting interesting places
Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stay with me for the 'real thing' in October
If anyone has any California or Las Vegas tips to share please feel free 
I really want to go to Las Vegas and San Francisco at some point so will be reading with interest... 
