Like to see more of the USA what can you suggest

[bahamashic14]

Hello everyone we have a family of 7 coming to the USA from AUS to spend christmas. We have two disney cruises booked from 7th-20th DEC. My question is what to do the week before and the week after.
I was thinking of spending the week of 7th-12 doing theme parks as it seems to be a little cheaper than the week of christmas and possibly quieter. But after the 20th until the 6 Jan we have nothing to do and its a very special time of year, one that we normally spend celebrating with our extended family. It will be the first time in 35 years i have not spent christmas with them and I don't want it to be a sad day. What could you suggest we do? We have done disney 6 times so I am happy to avoid the crowds on christmas day.
My thoughts were drive to some other state as in start driving back to LA where we will depart on the 6 Jan and visit some towns on the way. Can you suggest any towns that might be fun to spend christmas in?
My daughter asked if we could watch the ball drop on new years in New York but I'm concerned after seeing reports on your weather that time of year. Its very expensive to get accommodation in New York I haven't found any under $4000 for 3 nights as we need two rooms everywhere we go so I don't think that would be possible.I would be grateful of any suggestions of how we could have a special christmas thanks in advance

 

[chris31997]

New Orleans is fun and historic.

There is the Alamo in Texas

Las Vegas, which might be fun for New Year's. Might also be fun to compare our dessert with yours

San Diego Zoo

Down along Navada, Arizona might see if you can find Native American stuff


It might be helpful to know what you and your family are intersted in.

 

[Iamthequeen]

You do not want to be in Times Square for New Years Eve! It is very crowded, hard to move around and limited bathroom facilities - if you can find them. I would take other's suggestions of places to visit. This is just my opinion and I admit I don't like to be in crowded conditions.

That said, I love to visit New York, but it can be very cold in December or January.

 

[set1208]

You do not want to be in Times Square for New Years Eve! It is very crowded, hard to move around and limited bathroom facilities - if you can find them. I would take other's suggestions of places to visit. This is just my opinion and I admit I don't like to be in crowded conditions. That said, I love to visit New York, but it can be very cold in December or January.

Agree.
Once you get your NYE spot on the street, which should be around 4-5, then all you do is stand there freezing. You can't have bags and definitely not many places to "go". Getting out after the ball drop is frightening...a lot of drunk pushing and rushing. I've been a couple times and it's like you're about to be trampled.

I'd say do the gulf coast states, Austin and San Antonio Texas are gorgeous. The northeast is too unpredictable as far as weather goes. You'd hate to experience travel delays.

 

[JennCa]

Stay warm and stay in the south. You could drive to Charleston and Savannah and see the Old South with historic homes and you could drive to Washington DC, a long drive, but you could check out the Blue Ridge parkway on the way.

If you want to stay south and are willing to drive far, my relatives love the Grand Canyon (South side), Vegas, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, part of the south. Also, LOVE Carlsbad caverns. If you don't want to drive too much, I would easily spend a full week in Tampa, aquarium, kayaking, museums, a fab kids museum, Salvador Dali museum.

I also like going to the Florida keys for 1-2 weeks, kayaking, walking, sunsets and views, they may even find it warm enough to swim in a pool depending on the temps they are used to.

Stay FARRRR away from Orlando over the main holidays and vist early December, it is perfect then!

Jenn

 

[GrtWtNorth]

I stopped by the Grand Canyon driving home from Disneyland after Christmas 2012. It is a spectacular sight, although winter can strike here too. My photos show snow on the upper 1/3 of the canyon. There were five other cars plus one tour bus in the parking lot when I visited. It was beautifully quiet at this time of year.

The geography of the US southwest is interesting because high elevation locations like the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas get winter conditions, while lower elevation places like Phoenix are perpetually warm. You can chose your weather as you drive across.

(Texas gulf coast is on my bucket list...)

 

[bahamashic14]

oh thank you so much you have confirmed my thoughts on New York in December I think we will definitely avoid it. I suppose Im a little naive as we certainly don't experience weather anything like that here so its hards to know what to expect but standing in the freeing cold and crowds in a place we don't know our way around is not ideal with kids. We were thinking of driving back from Orlando to LA I understand its a really large drive but according to the maps I've found theres not a lot on the way is this true. I have also read on the disboards about the Fort Im assuming its around Dallas Texas (excuse me if i sound dumb) its such a huge place. We love the sound of learning about the native Indians and have 4 boys and 1 daughter from 4-16 years so anything that is aimed at children would be fantastic. We love the ideas of the grand canyon but I have concerns re weather and road conditions would the drive across the states be okay at that time of year?. we recently did San diego, San francisco and Las vegas but I know there are so many treasures that are not touristy that only Americans will know about. thank you so much for your suggestions.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

There will be lots of "open space" on that Southern drive, but keep an eye our for hidden gems along the way, plus all the recommendations above. Look into he various cities you'll pass through. Should be a wonderful trip

 

[set1208]

We love to visit the old southern plantations. They're absolutely gorgeous and full of history. I'm sure you could find a few if you google the area you're driving through.

 

[Gracie09]

Not quite on the way back to la but Washington, D.C. Is beautiful around Christmas and many of the museums and memorials are free.
New Orleans is unique and definitely worth a visit.

 

[ajwolfe]

Silver Dollar City in Branson MO has a beautiful Christmas display. Tons of lights, lots of Christmas themed things to do. The whole town goes all out for Christmas.
In the same thought, I've heard that Pigeon Forge TN does the same in Dollywood.

 

[tanyaandallie]

If you can make it to California, I would highly recommend spending some time in San Francisco. It's so beautiful there! If you want to see some snow, I would head to Lake Tahoe or go to a resort in Colorado and spend some time there.

 

[DCbride]

Not sure how old your kids are...but we have taken Christmas vacations with our older kids for the past few years. I would definitely stay away from Disney after Dec 20 if you are able to go to the theme parks before then.

Here are places that we have really enjoyed:

New Orleans- we went for 5 days over New Years last year. The hotels were around $140 a night including breakfast. There is a lot to see besides Burbon Street.

San Antonio, TX- another great city with a beautiful Riverwalk and again, hotels were reasonable

Scottsdale/Phoenix AZ to Las Vegas- when we went it took a week and we landed in Phoenix, spent 2 days in Scottsdale, AZ. Drove to Sedona, then to the Grand Canyon then to Las Vegas

I would definitely stay away from NYC. I live about 2 hrs (even less by train) and we go into the city a few times a year and have NEVER gone over New Years Eve. Crazy!

In 1988 we went to Australia and rented a camper and drove from Sydney to Cairns. The drive was so much fun! And the world's fair was in Brisbane that year! My only regret- I didn't research the areas properly and we never saw a koala. Figured they were everywhere and I was wrong. So, basically pick an area and find tons of things to do. Or map out a route and find points of interest along the way. I have never driven to the locations, we have always flown. But I agree with the previous poster- stay in the south. We have had a few crazy winters and you do not want to get snowed in!

 

[amym2]

I'd definitely stay south that time of year. I can't imagine driving from Florida to Arizona- yes, that's a lot of driving through vast open spaces and a LONG time in the car. I agree that New Orleans would be a great place to visit. I think the "Fort" near Dallas you referred to is Fort Worth. Fort Worth has a great zoo and nice museums as well as lots of cowboy sites (Stockyards, etc). Dallas has a new science museum that is awesome. San Antonio is also a wonderful place to visit and get a taste of Mexican (Tex-Mex) culture and cuisine. You could easily spend your entire couple of weeks in Texas and Louisiana. Oklahoma also has lots of Native American and Cowboy sites.

 

[Kristina4109]

The American Southwest is truly beautiful. There are many places in New Mexico that will take your breath away. The Anasazi ruins in particular are fascinating. Or Acoma Pueblo.

It's not quite on the way, but the Sequoia Forest is spectacular. I got to stand in front of a tree that has been alive for 2000 years. Those trees are just massive and photos don't do them justice.

You could always do Disneyland, but that might be overkill!

 

[nighttowll]

We live in the south east now but have family in the south west, and when we lived in the south west our family was in the south east. It's funny we just switched places. So we have done the drive back and forth many times, and personally it's not something I'd want to try over a short Christmas period. To go slow and really enjoy the road trip you need longer.

We've done two weeks before, the Alamo, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, City of Rocks, Native American Cliff Dwellings, sand sledding at White Sands (one of my favorite things to do out west), and the art galleries of Sedona. We've also just drove straight through to our destination, and it's always a very long drive with not a whole lot to see besides the desert, oil rigs, and wind mills.

New Orleans is nice at Christmas, but there really isn't a whole lot to do there in the winter. I do really like the New Orleans Zoo, though.

I love San Antonio. You'll find the old missions and Alamo here, along with a touristy Mexican market, some nicer art galleries where you can even take one time lessons, the River Walk which should be beautiful at Christmas, Sea World, a drive through Safari zoo, and everything else a big city offers.

Nearby in Houston you've got NASA which is a lot of fun for both kids and adults.

There's a ton of different stuff to do in Texas. Houston and San Antonio are some of the largest cities in the US right behind NY, Los Angeles, and Chicago, so they've got pretty much every kind of park, zoo, muesem, and restaurant you can think of. But despite their size, the cost of living is actually lower than a lot of the US, so it makes them great places to travel to from a cost standpoint.

If you are interested in Fort Worth, you could always do a mini road trip of Texas.

Keep in mind, weather wise Christmas in the south can be hit or miss. Usually Houston and San Antonio are still be pretty warm, definitely not snowy or icy. When I use to live in Houston there were years we had pool parties at Christmas, and then other years where it was down in the 40's. This year it was extra cold, and I know they got snow at least once in Houston because my friend told me about her son who is 10 getting to see snow for the first time in his life. Dallas and Fort Worth however are much farther north and are known for their bad ice storms and colder winters. They could be pretty cold, or not, you just never know.

 

[amym2]

Keep in mind that Orlando to Dallas/Fort Worth will take you 16 hours to drive. Driving to the Grand Canyon is twice that. If you want to head to the southwest, fly there.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Keep in mind that Orlando to Dallas/Fort Worth will take you 16 hours to drive. Driving to the Grand Canyon is twice that. If you want to head to the southwest, fly there.

OP says they want to see "more of US". Best way to do that is drive