catfan98
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2015
Hi guys! Well, we’ve went back and forth on vacation plans for this year - we threw around an idea of a California/Grand Canyon/Vegas trip, but ultimately ended up making plans for WDW again, instead. However after much discussion, we ended up canceling WDW in favor of just a California trip. We’re going to do a smaller Grand Canyon/Vegas trip next year. Cali is planned for the end of May/first of June. My son has been asking to go to Cali for a couple of years and we’re finally making it happen! For reference, it’ll be me, my husband, our daughter (23), and our son (almost 17). We are doing a Friday to Friday trip due to our daughter’s work schedule. Our flight in is early so that we can maximize our time there. Our plan is as follows:
Friday 5/29 - Arrive at LAX @ 8:25am - gather luggage and pick up the rental vehicle. Spend the day exploring Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and other beaches/sites in that area (my son’s #1 request is the pier). We will drive to Disneyland that evening to check into our hotel (Residence Inn convention center).
Saturday 5/30 - Hollywood Bus Tour (it’s an all day tour & picks up/drops off at our hotel). My husband thinks this will be easier than trying to navigate that area on our own, parking, etc., and that we‘ll get to see all the highlights this way. Correct me if there is a better way, though. I’m open to ideas.
Sunday 5/31 - Disneyland (no grad night)
Monday 6/1 - Disneyland (no grad night)
Tuesday 6/2 - checkout of hotel and drive to San Francisco. Spend the evening there.
Wednesday 6/3 - Leisure drive up through Redwoods area, stopping and exploring areas of interest. Spend the night somewhere along the way - either at our halfway stopping point or after we’ve turned around and started back towards SF. I’m still figuring out where to stay and I’m totally open to ideas. We’re thinking Humbolt Redwood State Park will be as far as up we go. From what I’ve researched, that gives us some pretty decent sights/stops for the time frame we have. But correct me if I need to change this.
Thursday 6/4 - Leisure drive back to San Francisco from our overnight stay and spend the afternoon/evening in San Fran.
Friday 6/5 - afternoon flight home from SFO.
The main things the kids want to do are the pier, see the ocean/beaches, typical Hollywood area sites, Disneyland, and the redwoods. I know there is SO much more to see and do in the area, and if we had additional days to stay, we would definitely be doing more. But, we’re limited to the week time frame and I have tried to make sure I fit in what the kids really want to do the most. We chose to stay close to Disneyland for the entire stay until we leave for SF, so we aren’t packing up and moving around so much for the first 4 nights.
Opinions/ideas/corrections are appreciated. Thanks so much!
Friday 5/29 - Arrive at LAX @ 8:25am - gather luggage and pick up the rental vehicle. Spend the day exploring Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and other beaches/sites in that area (my son’s #1 request is the pier). We will drive to Disneyland that evening to check into our hotel (Residence Inn convention center).
Saturday 5/30 - Hollywood Bus Tour (it’s an all day tour & picks up/drops off at our hotel). My husband thinks this will be easier than trying to navigate that area on our own, parking, etc., and that we‘ll get to see all the highlights this way. Correct me if there is a better way, though. I’m open to ideas.
Sunday 5/31 - Disneyland (no grad night)
Monday 6/1 - Disneyland (no grad night)
Tuesday 6/2 - checkout of hotel and drive to San Francisco. Spend the evening there.
Wednesday 6/3 - Leisure drive up through Redwoods area, stopping and exploring areas of interest. Spend the night somewhere along the way - either at our halfway stopping point or after we’ve turned around and started back towards SF. I’m still figuring out where to stay and I’m totally open to ideas. We’re thinking Humbolt Redwood State Park will be as far as up we go. From what I’ve researched, that gives us some pretty decent sights/stops for the time frame we have. But correct me if I need to change this.
Thursday 6/4 - Leisure drive back to San Francisco from our overnight stay and spend the afternoon/evening in San Fran.
Friday 6/5 - afternoon flight home from SFO.
The main things the kids want to do are the pier, see the ocean/beaches, typical Hollywood area sites, Disneyland, and the redwoods. I know there is SO much more to see and do in the area, and if we had additional days to stay, we would definitely be doing more. But, we’re limited to the week time frame and I have tried to make sure I fit in what the kids really want to do the most. We chose to stay close to Disneyland for the entire stay until we leave for SF, so we aren’t packing up and moving around so much for the first 4 nights.
Opinions/ideas/corrections are appreciated. Thanks so much!