What would you do? travel related

[sbell111]

Sorry, going to side with hubby on this one. Regardless to when he decides to complain, If you agree that it's true (you making vacation decisions) then it's time to give in to his suggestion.
Every vacation destination is different that doesn't mean you won't have a great time. It's just different.

I like Disneyland, I don't compare it to disneyworld because to me they are two different animals so to speak. I've had a great time at both.

That is completely true of all the Disneylands. You will enjoy yourself more if you are not constantly comparing them to each other and to WDW. However, you will have a fairly good idea where everything is.

 

[disneyfanforever]

We are big Disney World fans and have gone almost every year since we had our first son 12 years ago. This year we are going to be different and head to Southern California. Our boys are 12 and 8 and thrilled with doing something completely different. We are going to be spending a week and are going to Disneyland, California Adventure, Legoland, Magic Mountain and the beach. Hopefully, they will have as good as a time as they think they will. I know I am super excited about it!

I say give California a try!

 

[bookgirl]

Yes, I should have mentioned, if we switch to DLR we wouldn't spend the whole week there, we would explore the area, neither of us has ever been to california, so we would love to see the sights,
i already started getting travel books in the mail because we were planning to do this another time, but now i am thinking why not do it instead of wdw.
i am torn, and i almost feel like a kid saying " but i wanna go to wdw!"

I did DL about 9 years ago as part of a California trip and it was really great. Now they were just building Calif. Adventure so that might take a day in itself, but we flew in on a Sunday and stayed in Anaheim, at a local hotel. I spent Monday doing the Hollywood thing, walk of stars, rodeo drive, and then went to a taping of the Jay Leno show. Tuesday was Disneyland, we did morning till parade there. Wednesday we got up early and drove down to San Diago Zoo, this was an all day thing. Thurdsay/Friday/Sat I was in buisness conference but in the evenings we went to local areas like Newport Beach, and Hollywood Hills etc. It was a lot of fun. But anymore than one day at DL would have been too much.

I would like to go back to California, but I still would not plan to stay at the resort or do more than two days in the park. But I don't have little kids who might want a charecter meal.

 

[eliza61]

I think one "trap" we disneyphiles fall into is believing that we can never have a good time any where else. We (my family) were going to Disneyworld almost every year and then one year we went to Yosemite. Let me tell you, while it was a different, it was beyond belief. I mean jaw dropping, awe inspiring awesome. We went horseback riding, white water rafting and hiking. Initially I was worried that my sons would not like it after spending so many years at the world but you know what, they thought it was "cool".

 

[Planogirl]

We did this one year and had a blast! We spent two days at Disneyland (and could have easily spent three) and saw other places the rest of the week.

Disneyland is charming and unique and where it all began. The place has a different atmosphere - it's hard to explain.

I agree that there is a ton of things to do in California. We just scratched the surface of southern California. We spent one day checking out Hollywood. We didn't care for it much but I enjoyed seeing the Roosevelt Hotel and driving Mullholland Drive. We also saw the Queen Mary which was a winner and visited one of the local beaches. We spent a half day at Knotts Berry Farm which was fun. Great restaurant there too. The rest of the trip we spent in San Diego. We all loved San Diego which itself has plenty to do.

I think that you'll like California plus you still get your Disney fix.

 

[KCmike]

First let me start by saying I WAS a WDW vet. Disneyland is amazing. It does feel more like a local amusement park at first. It seems very small at first too. But if you have any nostalgia you become totally locked in. Walt built this for his girls. The park is true to what Walt dreamed of. I can't get enough of it. The rides are far superior. Fantasyland is what WDW should have been 20 years ago. I can go on and on. DCA is in flux right now. There is still no reason you shouldn't go. The Aladdin play is going away soon. It is the best Disney park performance by far. I love how you can park hop from DL to DCA within a few minutes. I love how you can walk back to your resort within a few minutes. I love how Downtown Disney is right there. Oh yeah did I mention that the gorgeous Pacific Ocean is within 20 minutes of DL? Our favorite vacation to date (this is after six visits to WDW) is the one where we started in San Diego, did the Hotel Del Coronado for a few days (its right on the beach and many celebs have stayed there (Marilyn Monroe, etc..) and all of the Presidents have stayed there (look it up on Wikipedia). We did SeaWorld and just hung out. It was so relaxing and so beautiful in San Diego. We then Drove up to DL. Think about 90 minutes max. We stayed onsite at DL hotel and had the time of our lives. We've gone back three years in a row. I asked the kids if they would like to go back to Disneyworld and they all say heck no we want California.

Here are my top reasons to go to California:
1. Weather - Its always mild there. Never rains. Unbelievably gorgeous.
2. So much to do. Hollywood, Ocean, San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, Yosemite NAtional Park, Seqouia Natl. Park, Santa Monica Pier, Whale Watching, Catalina Island, the desert, and oh yeah Disneyland!
3. Space Mountain - 100 times better than WDW
4. Fantasyland - 100 times better than WDW
5. Fantasmic - 100 times better than WDW
6. Remember Dreams Come True - Best firework show in all Disney Parks
7. Haunted Mansion Overlay and Small World Overlay
8. Aladdin play at DCA
9. Proximity of all the attractions. You don't have to walk 10-15 miles per day. There are as many rides in DL as WDW has in 4 parks!
10. Main Street hasn't changed. WDW has sold out and made everything a souvenir shop.
11. Matterhorn
12. Sleepy's Castle - Get past the size issue...it is truly great and has a walk thru inside.
13. California Screamin
14. Tikerbells flight during the fireworks. WDW screwed it up again.
15. Finding Nemo Subs - WDW screwed it up again
16. Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
17. Tiki Room - the orginal, did you know Walt personally supervised it and it was one of the first original attractions - We all know what WDW did to it.
18. Indianna Jones ride - wow
19. Mainstreet Electrical Parade at DCA
20. The original Soarin over California - I think its funny that they have the ride in Epcot at it shows DL at the end. And the whole film is about CALIFORNIA!!!!

And finally my favorite quote:

There's an answer the old timers at Disney like to give when asked to compare the Anaheim and Orlando main parks, and to me it still applies as to how they are currently run: Disneyland is a park designed by a father for his daughters, while the Magic Kingdom is designed by a committee for the hordes.


If you have any questions please ask me.
We have been now to:
San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, Yosemite Natl Park, Newport Beach, Drove the HWY 1 from LA to San Fran., and of course DL.

 

[DawnCt1]

Yes, I should have mentioned, if we switch to DLR we wouldn't spend the whole week there, we would explore the area, neither of us has ever been to california, so we would love to see the sights,
i already started getting travel books in the mail because we were planning to do this another time, but now i am thinking why not do it instead of wdw.
i am torn, and i almost feel like a kid saying " but i wanna go to wdw!"

We had ONE OF THE BEST vacations ever going to California. My SIL was supposed to come with DS#4 and I, and her two kids but at the last minute she had to work. I took two 14 year olds and my 11 year old niece. We couldn't have had a better time. We spent three days in Anaheim, opened and closed Disneyland twice and the day of arrival, we just closed it. We then spent the day at Universal Studios (wonderful in California) and then headed south to Escondido for the Wild Animal Park (part of the San Diego Zoo). We stayed 3 nights at the Hotel Del Coronado and two nights at the Marriott. During that time we went to the Zoo, Old Town, Sea World, the beach and surfing. On the last day we drove back to Anaheim, went to Downtown Disney and a saw a movie and flew home from LA that night. You will love it. Just venture out down to San Diego, you won't be sorry.

 

[KCmike]

I think one "trap" we disneyphiles fall into is believing that we can never have a good time any where else. We (my family) were going to Disneyworld almost every year and then one year we went to Yosemite. Let me tell you, while it was a different, it was beyond belief. I mean jaw dropping, awe inspiring awesome. We went horseback riding, white water rafting and hiking. Initially I was worried that my sons would not like it after spending so many years at the world but you know what, they thought it was "cool".

It's funny that you wrote this. My family did the exact same thing this year (in the early summertime while the were still active) and it was unbelievable. Our family was overwhelmed by so much beauty. We did drive down to DL afterwords too. Again i have to say that California is amazing. Hollywood isn't that great (kind of a letdown really) and the city is kind of dirty while travelling through the highways but everything else is great.

Where did you stay in Yosemite?

 

[pixiewings71]

I did DL about 9 years ago as part of a California trip and it was really great. Now they were just building Calif. Adventure so that might take a day in itself, but we flew in on a Sunday and stayed in Anaheim, at a local hotel. I spent Monday doing the Hollywood thing, walk of stars, rodeo drive, and then went to a taping of the Jay Leno show. Tuesday was Disneyland, we did morning till parade there. Wednesday we got up early and drove down to San Diago Zoo, this was an all day thing. Thurdsay/Friday/Sat I was in buisness conference but in the evenings we went to local areas like Newport Beach, and Hollywood Hills etc. It was a lot of fun. But anymore than one day at DL would have been too much.

I would like to go back to California, but I still would not plan to stay at the resort or do more than two days in the park. But I don't have little kids who might want a charecter meal.

I don't agree that you can do it all in 2 days. As I said, check my sig, we have been a LOT and we still haven't done everything there is. I recommend 3 days minimum, 4 is better and 6 is ideal....seriously, there are so many shows and random things to do that 4 is really the best for our family. Our next trip will be 6 days, we were just there for 5, we still didn't do everything we wanted to.

It's funny that you wrote this. My family did the exact same thing this year (in the early summertime while the were still active) and it was unbelievable. Our family was overwhelmed by so much beauty. We did drive down to DL afterwords too. Again i have to say that California is amazing. Hollywood isn't that great (kind of a letdown really) and the city is kind of dirty while travelling through the highways but everything else is great.

Where did you stay in Yosemite?

Hi Mike!

 

[KCmike]

Hey pixiewings71!

I love it when people ask whether they should visit Disneyland/California because I was in their shoes a few years ago.

 

[npmommie]

Thank you so much for all the replies and suggestions!!
I talked to him about it last night, and he wants to keep the wdw trip since it is already planned and kind of soon.........too soon to switch gears he said.........LOL

so the next trip will be california, he really wants to go to yosemite, tahoe, and the northern part of the state, so we will do tahoe, yosemite, drive over to san fran, and north a bit for the redwoods.............

I am really looking forward to it too , especially since all the guide books have started arriving in the mail.

and I just want to add, he does have say in picking vacations, I would never pick something he hated. He does love WDW, he is just wanting to do some different trips........which I can totally understand

 

[golfgal]

Thank you so much for all the replies and suggestions!!
I talked to him about it last night, and he wants to keep the wdw trip since it is already planned and kind of soon.........too soon to switch gears he said.........LOL

so the next trip will be california, he really wants to go to yosemite, tahoe, and the northern part of the state, so we will do tahoe, yosemite, drive over to san fran, and north a bit for the redwoods.............

I am really looking forward to it too , especially since all the guide books have started arriving in the mail.

and I just want to add, he does have say in picking vacations, I would never pick something he hated. He does love WDW, he is just wanting to do some different trips........which I can totally understand

Sounds like a good compromise. The hard part with vacations is that you KNOW you will have fun at WDW but there is SO much more to see and WHAT IF you plan one that isn't fun when you could have gone to WDW? I have a really hard time when we plan vacations because I want to go see something new but then again we had so much fun at _____________ I want to go back. We went to Phoenix a few years ago and it was a BLAST. I REALLY want to go back but I have a list a mile long of other places I want to go so we will do those first. So far we haven't been disappointed in visiting new places.

I LOVE California-San Diego specifically--one of those places I want to go back to but have to go other places first--except our kids didn't go on this trip so that is a good excuse to go back--well, technically the twins went but I was pregnant with them so it doesn't really count.

 

[bookgirl]

Thank you so much for all the replies and suggestions!!
I talked to him about it last night, and he wants to keep the wdw trip since it is already planned and kind of soon.........too soon to switch gears he said.........LOL

so the next trip will be california, he really wants to go to yosemite, tahoe, and the northern part of the state, so we will do tahoe, yosemite, drive over to san fran, and north a bit for the redwoods.............

I am really looking forward to it too , especially since all the guide books have started arriving in the mail.

and I just want to add, he does have say in picking vacations, I would never pick something he hated. He does love WDW, he is just wanting to do some different trips........which I can totally understand

Make sure someone not afraid of heights or long drops drives LOL I just drove to and from Tahoe from Reno and it was a little nerve-racking, but I've been told the back side of Tahoe is much much worse (I've done Sante Fe and Taos as well and I didn't like them either), . I'm from the plains so mountains are so not me. Have a good trip.