US Holiday

[Freakie]

3 days at Disney is more than enough at this time of year. I had 1 and I can't see how anyone would need 2!

It's disneyland!! I've gone all that way I'll spend as much time as I can there, it will be another 10 years before I get back there!

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

So I've got 8 weeks off at the end of the year and I'm going back. Already starting to think where I will go, which a lot will depend of if there is a NFL season.

I've been to LA, Vegas, Milwaukee, Cleveland, NYC, DC, Philly, Boston. Will go back to Vegas, NY, Philly and Boston but still got to decide what other parts I'd like to see.

At the moment thinking San Diego/San Fran, Chicago, Denver, Houston/Dallas, New Orleans, Miami. Also make a slight detour through Mexico and Canada. Then again I could split and do 4 weeks Euro 4 US..

 

[Hard Ball Get]

It's disneyland!! I've gone all that way I'll spend as much time as I can there, it will be another 10 years before I get back there!

Fair enough. I mean it was alright but I wouldn't go back in a hurry. Wouldn't have been in the top 10 things I did whilst over there.

 

[raskolnikov]

Disneyland is overrated. It's good for one day but no more. Why so much shopping? You can shop in Australia. One day fair enough as you might find some bargains but you don't need more than that. Go to Knotts Berry Farm or Magic Mountain. I preferred these to Disneyland.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Disneyland is overrated. It's good for one day but no more. Why so much shopping? You can shop in Australia. One day fair enough as you might find some bargains but you don't need more than that. Go to Knotts Berry Farm or Magic Mountain. I preferred these to Disneyland.

Kids are 3 and 5. Disneyland is great for them. He said he will be more relaxing rather than shopping on those days. Just leaving his options open.

 

[Keys]

Actually staying in anaheim. Got it all planned, kids are 3 and 5:

15th - Shop/Relax
16th - Disney
17th - Shop/Relax
18th - Disney
19th - Shop/Relax
20th - NBA Game Clippers vs Suns, visit LA area (Santa Monica etc)
21st - Shop/Relax
22nd - Disney
23rd - Shop/Relax
24th - Universal Studios
25th - Shop/Relax (or day trip to somewhere)
26th - Seaworld
27th - Legoland
28th - San Diego Zoo
29th and 30th day trips somewhere.

Don't go to Disney on weekends - crowds are insane

3 days at Disney is more than enough at this time of year. I had 1 and I can't see how anyone would need 2!

Did you go to both parks?

With two kids under 5 it's easy to find things to do over 3 days

Disneyland is overrated. It's good for one day but no more. Why so much shopping? You can shop in Australia. One day fair enough as you might find some bargains but you don't need more than that. Go to Knotts Berry Farm or Magic Mountain. I preferred these to Disneyland.

Magic Mountain is awesome but it's a long way from Anaheim and isn't really suited to young kids


Someone was asking about driving from San Francisco to vegas - go via Yosemite and give yourself a day there. Yosemite to Vegas can be done in a day

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

It's disneyland!! I've gone all that way I'll spend as much time as I can there, it will be another 10 years before I get back there!

I agree, use the 2 days and enjoy it. And make sure you do space mountain.

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

Freakie, you will have an awesome time. Disneyland is the greatest, they don't call it the happiest place on earth for no reason. However, I found Universal Studios to be just as good, but that was just me and my traveling people.

After reading this thread, I've decided to ditch New Zealand in October and head back to LA again in October. I'm spending $4,000 for New Zealand anyway, whats another $6,000 and do a real country. Meh, it's only money I guess.

Just a few questions for the more knowledgeable among us.

• Is it possible to do Anaheim to Las Vegas and back in one day? or should we look to stay over a night or two?
  
• what would be the better option, hire a car, get the train or bus or tour buses. I am leaning towards hiring a car but a bit apprehensive about driving in the LA traffic, i've gone before bit only on a tour bus, never driven. How much worse than Sydney is it?
  
• And should I stay in Anaheim commute everywhere or look for a different location in LA closer to Hollywood. Last time we went, we stayed in Anaheim and then commuted everywhere. Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, Staple Center, Universal et el. Therefore, I don't know where a good location would be for us to stay.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kirky]

Freakie, you will have an awesome time. Disneyland is the greatest, they don't call it the happiest place on earth for no reason. However, I found Universal Studios to be just as good, but that was just me and my traveling people.

After reading this thread, I've decided to ditch New Zealand in October and head back to LA again in October. I'm spending $4,000 for New Zealand anyway, whats another $6,000 and do a real country. Meh, it's only money I guess.

Just a few questions for the more knowledgeable among us.

• Is it possible to do Anaheim to Las Vegas and back in one day? or should we look to stay over a night or two?
  
  Would take a good 4-5 hours just one way. So no.
  
• what would be the better option, hire a car, get the train or bus or tour buses. I am leaning towards hiring a car but a bit apprehensive about driving in the LA traffic, i've gone before bit only on a tour bus, never driven. How much worse than Sydney is it?
  
  Just as cheap to fly - AA one way $60-. The roads aren't really a problem. I actually love driving in the USA/Canada. Bit of an adrenalin rush.
  
• And should I stay in Anaheim commute everywhere or look for a different location in LA closer to Hollywood. Last time we went, we stayed in Anaheim and then commuted everywhere. Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, Staple Center, Universal et el. Therefore, I don't know where a good location would be for us to stay.

Thanks in advance.

Anahiem is fine and you can drive up the I5 (I think) and then to Hollywood but West Hollywood is an option - its just means long days but heck leave early in the morning and back later after peak hour (after 7pm).

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

You can drive from Anaheim to Vegas and back in a day, but you wouldn't be there long.

I stayed in Vegas, 3 nights, 2 days and saw basically half the strip and an Outlet mall, and one show. To fully experience Vegas you have to be on the move and spend at least 3 full days there. When I go back I will spend 3 days and I have done half of it.

Honestly, you could spend a couple of days just soaking up one casino there, let alone check out the unique aspects of the others, different dining options, gimmicks, shopping, clubs etc.

To anybody heading there for the first time, I would suggest 5-7 days minimum to get your fill.

As for staying in Anaheim, depends on how long you want to be at Disneyland and how long you want to spend in LA.

I stayed in Hollywood and got a private tour around LA, Santa Monica, Malibu, San Fernando Valley etc, plus the train line is extremely easy and safe to use.

I stayed Hollywood first and saw Universal and LA, then after I went East and did a circuit back to California again, I stayed at Anaheim to do Disney. I would just stay at one for a couple of days then stay at the other for a couple of days, rather than maintain one base and commute.

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

Thanks for the help guys.

This may sound like a silly question to others, but do they have tolls in LA and how much do they cost?

 

[Keys]

Thanks for the help guys.

This may sound like a silly question to others, but do they have tolls in LA and how much do they cost?

None in LA that I'm aware of

 

[Freakie]

Don't ditch NZ just for the hell of it! It is such a beatiful country (especially the Sth Island) and such a great place to visit. Just avoid Dorkland and you'll have a great time!

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

Don't ditch NZ just for the hell of it! It is such a beatiful country (especially the Sth Island) and such a great place to visit. Just avoid Dorkland and you'll have a great time!

Na, it's just postponed for 12 months. It's been 5 or 6 years since we've been back to the states.

 

[kirky]

Thanks for the help guys.

This may sound like a silly question to others, but do they have tolls in LA and how much do they cost?

No tolls in LA however there is a toll on a part of a road that goes from LA to San Diego (forget the name of the road). The I5 and I15 have no tolls.

Happy to provide any info on the USA/Canada - have been there 8 times (have friends in San Diego) and covered around half the states (mostly by car).

 

[Hard Ball Get]

We drove from San Diego through LA and encountered 2 tolls from memory. They were pretty cheap. Something like 5 bucks.

 

[SonOfScray]

My trip in November took in LA, Vegas, Memphis, DC, NYC, Boston and Anaheim. Absolutlely had the time of my life and have really fallen in love with a few places to the point that I want to go again.

Sports are a must, see as many games of as many sports as you can. When I go back I will plan better so I get to see the Bruins play at home, and on the road. Try and squeeze in more College games and maybe go see something a little more obscure like MLS or Lacrosse. NHL live - incredible.

Next trip I'd be looking at doing some national parks, if Yellowstone etc are even a small amount of the experience of the Grand Canyon and Colorado river then that'd be worth a trip in itself. Would love to see bears and what not, maybe Mt Rushmore. I have a feeling that'd not be as exciting as it is in my mind though.

I'd want to visit different cities to last time, somewhere in Texas, Chicago, Buffalo, Philly, more of New England and New Orleans or thereabouts. I loved NYC and Boston though so I would be drawn there again I think. I'd live in Boston if the opportunity presented itself.

 

[kirky]

Next trip I'd be looking at doing some national parks, if Yellowstone etc are even a small amount of the experience of the Grand Canyon and Colorado river then that'd be worth a trip in itself. Would love to see bears and what not, maybe Mt Rushmore. I have a feeling that'd not be as exciting as it is in my mind though.

Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP are great and Yellowstone NP has many contrasts. Would suggest start in Vegas and go thru Utah seeing Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP and then move up thru Wyoming to the Jackson Hole which is just south of the Tetons/Yellowstone. You can then drop across to Devils Monument (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and Mt Rushmore. Mind you the trip from Yellowstone to Devils Mountain is Buffalo Bill country.

 

[Changamagic]

My trip in November took in LA, Vegas, Memphis, DC, NYC, Boston and Anaheim. Absolutlely had the time of my life and have really fallen in love with a few places to the point that I want to go again.

Sports are a must, see as many games of as many sports as you can. When I go back I will plan better so I get to see the Bruins play at home, and on the road. Try and squeeze in more College games and maybe go see something a little more obscure like MLS or Lacrosse. NHL live - incredible.

Next trip I'd be looking at doing some national parks, if Yellowstone etc are even a small amount of the experience of the Grand Canyon and Colorado river then that'd be worth a trip in itself. Would love to see bears and what not, maybe Mt Rushmore. I have a feeling that'd not be as exciting as it is in my mind though.

I'd want to visit different cities to last time, somewhere in Texas, Chicago, Buffalo, Philly, more of New England and New Orleans or thereabouts. I loved NYC and Boston though so I would be drawn there again I think. I'd live in Boston if the opportunity presented itself.

Sounds great SOS, how did you go about getting your sporting tickets?

 

[SonOfScray]

Sounds great SOS, how did you go about getting your sporting tickets?

We booked all our stops, staying in most places more than 3 days to make sure we had a decent chance of seeing any team, in any city we were in. The day the schedules came out I just scoured through what matches were open to us and then went to www.stubhub.com and had a look around. Excellent service, although in some instances you probably pay over the odds.

We had them send tickets to our hotels in advance, or in most cases they just emailed us the tickets. Very easy to use and fairly safe I'd have to say. There are a few similar sites, but I did my research and this one is well regarded. Main ones I had tickets to were NY Jets v Bengals, Celtics v Bulls, Heat v Grizzlies, Kings v Dallas (bought at the gate), Rangers v Penguins. Just missed out on Boston College v Boston Uni (probably could have made it if the other half was more keen )

In some cases, its worth looking beyond the top leagues as well. You've got things like the Central Hockey League etc in your more regional towns that pull decent crowds, high school and college games are interesting. Minor league baseball etc. It all has its own bit of magic. I did a video blog of the whole holiday which is up on youtube under my channel waffles85, probably a bit boring for most but might be interesting to someone doing a bit of research.
[YOUTUBE]Mifc_teBowg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

That is awesome SOS. Thanks for sharing.

 

[SonOfScray]

That is awesome SOS. Thanks for sharing.

No worries, I loved every second of that holiday - will carry the memories of it for many years to come. I could talk about the US etc and plan different trips there for an eternity I reckon, I never thought I'd be that into the USA and their cultures etc but I'm hooked. Genuinely feel like I need to go back.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I know the feeling. I wanted to go back within about a week or landing back in Australia. People were so friendly to us over there. I loved every moment of it.

 

[Freakie]

3 weeks!!!

 

[Changamagic]

We booked all our stops, staying in most places more than 3 days to make sure we had a decent chance of seeing any team, in any city we were in. The day the schedules came out I just scoured through what matches were open to us and then went to www.stubhub.com and had a look around. Excellent service, although in some instances you probably pay over the odds.

We had them send tickets to our hotels in advance, or in most cases they just emailed us the tickets. Very easy to use and fairly safe I'd have to say. There are a few similar sites, but I did my research and this one is well regarded. Main ones I had tickets to were NY Jets v Bengals, Celtics v Bulls, Heat v Grizzlies, Kings v Dallas (bought at the gate), Rangers v Penguins. Just missed out on Boston College v Boston Uni (probably could have made it if the other half was more keen )

In some cases, its worth looking beyond the top leagues as well. You've got things like the Central Hockey League etc in your more regional towns that pull decent crowds, high school and college games are interesting. Minor league baseball etc. It all has its own bit of magic. I did a video blog of the whole holiday which is up on youtube under my channel waffles85, probably a bit boring for most but might be interesting to someone doing a bit of research.
[youtube]Mifc_teBowg[/youtube]

Cheers mate, this is great! I have heard that Stubhub is the way to go but wasn't sure security wise...