lanejohann

Thanks to all Fodorites who have contributed to my last posts about New York accommodation
Our planning for our recent trip to Maui and Oahu was also made easier with suggestions received on this forum so really appreciate any input

Our family ( my husband and I and two kids 22 and 19 )will be travelling from Sydney to New York then on to Calgary and Banff and then down to LA
We will book airfares as soon as they're available for jan 2016 and will go whenever they begin to drop ..probably after jan 15
Intend to be away three weeks or so

Husband can only join us for ten days so we will meet him in Calgary ,( after kids and I visit New York) get a car in Calgary drive and stay in Banff to ski at lake Louise for six days or so then fly to LA get a car and do a loop out to Las Vegas maybe through Palm Springs and out to Grand Canyon and back to LA in four days
Probably stay in Vegas and do a day trip to canyon if practicable

My questions :
Is four days enough to do this loop out to Grand Canyon given it's winter?
I'm thinking..get in from Calgary and start the drive right out of the airport if it's not dark or maybe head to Palm Springs for the night...look around the next day and drive to Vegas? Is this too much for one day?
Stay night in Vegas , drive to canyon next day and then return to Vegas or stay somewhere on the way If it's not good to drive the road at night?
Anyone have a good scenic route we could take that includes Palm Springs the canyon and anything else within driving distance on the way back to Los Angeles?
(I've been to Palm Springs in summer and loved it..the town and the mountains...the cable ride...so would love the rest of the family to see it)

Then....
Where to stay in LA so we can visit universal studios and Disney land and then do the usual tourist things like rodeo drive and Beverly Hills...maybe a bus trip out to Santa Monica as well?
Once husband returns home after our side trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon we won't have a car cos none of us are comfortable driving on the 'wrong' side lol

We have been looking at Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood but it's about $870usd for three nights and I'm hoping we can get good location like that in Hollywood but maybe a bit cheaper
Don't want to stay in Anaheim seeing as we can probably get a shuttle from most hotels and at our age we probably will do only one park( been to euro and Hong Kong Disney)
Want to be in a good neighbourhood with easy access to the sights... I've read that public transport isn't all that good in LA but we will make the best of it if that's indeed the case

Is downtown LA a better option as far as transport links are concerned?
We want to keep costs down this time given there's the three of us.

Thank you for any advice !

tomfuller

Vehicle rentals are much cheaper in Las Vegas than LA in my experience. It is good if you can avoid a one way fee on your rental vehicle dropping it off at LAX since you are from Oz.
You could also fly into Salt Lake City from Calgary if it would work out better for the logistics.

janisj

>>Is four days enough to do this loop out to Grand Canyon given it's winter?>head to Palm Springs for the night...look around the next day and drive to Vegas? Is this too much for one day?

janisj

oops - didn't mean to post yet.

>>Once husband returns home after our side trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon we won't have a car cos none of us are comfortable driving on the 'wrong' side lol

logandog

As janisj said it's good to stay near the park one night.
Early morning entrance is the best way to enjoy Disneyland, you'll own the park for the first few hours.

jamie99

I'd rethink about not staying in Anaheim, from either Hollywood or downtown LA you have to take Amtrak from Union Station to Anaheim station, then taxi or OCTA bus to Disneyland area. Also hotels and motels in Anaheim tend to be cheaper than in LA. This was you can be at the park when it opens to avoid the long lines.

lanejohann

Thank you all!
Errrrghh! Sorry bout the 'los' in header ... Anyone got any whiteout?
Ok...
Tom... I'll check out e Salt Lake City option.. I'm just wondering if there's more flexibility in flying times between Calgary and Los Angeles ...want to milk our time in Banff you see
We would be flying into LA then renting a car straight from the airport and as Janis suggests driving to Palm Springs for the first night ...after visiting Grand Canyon and
Las Vegas we'd return the car to LA so don't really want to rent from Vegas

Janis..thanks for all of your advice in the past...
As for driving in LA ...trust me ... You don't want me on the roads lol
I know my limitations and my kids also are relatively new drivers who haven't done any long distance driving even here in oz ...my husband is used to both sides of the road ...he visits canada and USA often and even he takes a while to get used to the road rules etc
We won't be keeping the car in LA andthe kids and I will be relying on shuttles to Disneyland and any which way we can get to universal studios
Shame ... I know ..but that's a fact for me whenever I travel o/s without my husband...

About staying near Anaheim... Given that, after my husband leaves for home, we will only have three or four days by ourselves in LA...is it worth hopping from hotel to hotel? And are the lines very long in winter time? I might start investigating through hotels themselves if they are part of a direct shuttle service and if we have a later start, maybe that's ok...we won't be going on every ride, it's more of just a walk around, really, just to experience the atmosphere and compare it to Hong Kong and Paris .( Hong Kong by the way was fabulous... Paris one was a bit tired and lack lustre)
We will gave quite a but if luggage and shopping with us after being in ski country and New York so I'm not looking forward to packing up ...I will if it's really the only sensible thing to do but then, again we are losing time checking out and checking in again ...no?
I'll ring now and see what a random hotel suggests and post back re the availability of shuttles to Disney.
I'll check out California adventure land ...thanks for that suggestion!

janisj

>>And are the lines very long in winter time?

lanejohann

Thanks Janis
I rang Hollywood Roosevelt hotel just to get some advice re shuttles to Disney
Apparently it's about 100 to get in ...there's a shuttle of sorts...la tours I think that does it for 155 pp
Pricey...Roosevelt hotel staff member said the shuttle gets you in by 10 30 when gates open but the queues may well be long by then as you suggest Janis..yep a ninety minute commute was what the staffer said
It may well be cheaper to stay the night in Anaheim, visit one park then shift over to another hotel but...it's not a pretty option..
Imagine... A day out at Disney early start...finish at 8 pm...get back to hotel ...get transport to another hotel...check in...up early next day to continue sightseeing at universL or somewhere else...

Just don't know...need to think and work out cost of transportation to new hotel by cab I guess...we will have two bags each....I'm hoping cab can cope cos it's might squishy back here in oz when we get a cab home from airport!even our four wheel drive can barely cope lol

Maybe just have to suck it up and move to another hotel...staying the whole time in Anaheim is probably not sensible

Any suggestions how to fit universal studios, Disney and some general sightseeing in four days?
Wish we had more time...that's always the problem but we do so want that side trip out to Vegas and the canyon!

janisj

Gotta be quick -- by flight to LV leaves in a couple of hours - but I saw your post . . .

>>the shuttle gets you in by 10 30 when gates open>finish at 8 pm...get back to hotel ...get transport to another hotel...check in…

ltr

Is Palm Springs a must see on your list? If not, how about flying directly into Las Vegas and save a day of driving from Los Angeles?

When you are done with Grand Canyon,either fly or drive to Anaheim and stay near Disney. There are lots of flights to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. The hotels will have bus tours to travel to Universal Studios and Hollywood.

You could fly out of John Wayne to go home, or take one of the shuttles from the hotel to LAX.

clarkgriswold

Heading out to Palm Springs from LAX is only a good idea if you're into LAX by 1:30pm. Departing from LAX anytime after 3:15pm will put you into stop and go points all along the way, a very annoying drive.

Did you already purchase airfare or can you just fly directly into Las Vegas instead?

clarkgriswold

Disneyland requires an early start and you'll want to stay late, paying $155 to a tour company for what amounts to a shortened day at the park and 90mins each way on the freeway is not a great idea.

Universal on the other hand, you're fine with a 4-6 hour day. You could actually do it on arrival afternoon, if, say, you flew into Burbank from Las Vegas and made your way to a Universal hotel. In the evening you could hop the subway down to Hollywood/Walk of Fame...or taxi over to Griffith Observatory. Day two could be a "Hop On Hop Off" tour bus trip from Universal all around Hollywood, Beverly Hills Santa Monica etc. After lunch on day 3 you could take the train down to Anaheim and check into a near-Disney hotel for some pool time/ R&R or use the Art bus to get to some shopping . Day four early start at Disney until evening closing time.

jamie99

Look on the disneyland.com website to see what hours are, but usually weekends is 8am-midnight or 10pm and weekdays 10am-8-9pm so you want to stay in Anaheim to get there when it opens and is less busy.
Personally I never unpack for a stay of less than a week, very easy to live out of your suitcase (I am female) for a few days. Motels there also tend to be less expensive than LA. From Anaheim you can take a tour to Universal and Hollywood using something like starline or Anaheim Tour Company. You can do both the same day, Hollywood only takes 1-2 hours max and Universal can be done in 4-5 hours unless you insist on riding every ride and seeing every show. Have fun.

lanejohann

Hi again
Thanks to those who have posted since my last visit
( sorry..work got in the way )
We haven't booked airfares yet..waiting for them to become available..our agent will contact us the moment they're up for sale

Lots of options I see...except for the driving one lol Janis...but I AINT doing it.. I'd get flustered just thinking bout it...shocking hopeless case that I am!

I'd love a trip to Pam springs again but my daughter is more inclined towards beaches
Don't know why..we are spoilt here in OZ..thought she'd love to see Palm Springs but now she's vacillating...we might find ourselves doing a four day loop from Los Angeles to San Fran!
Some of my friends said they'd never do the Grand Canyon drive in winter...I wasn't aware that it was that hairy but they said that basically if we aren't flying we won't see much is that true?

janisj

I have no idea what your friends are on about. The entire area between LA and Las Vegas / Palm Springs / the Grand Canyon is essentially desert and doesn't get snow. And what are you expecting to 'see' enroute to the Grand Canyon? The views are really no different winter or summer. Day time temps at the south rim will be cool but not freezing -- cold at night though.

MichelleY

Since you have been to Disney Hong Kong and Paris, I would skip it all together. Use your time elsewhere. The Grand Canyon is so amazing. Do not skip it.

mlgb

I don't know what experience janisj is on about with Grand Canyon, but it does occasionally get snow, even on the south rim. So you will want to watch weather forecasts if that is a concern. Unless all of those pictures of the GC with snow are photo-shopped?

You could also take the train from Williams to the South Rim
http://www.thetrain.com/

During winter, there are some places you can stop in the desert that are not really possible during summer. One of the fun ones is Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve. You can also hike around Joshua Tree and Palm Springs.

The website www.desertusa.com is a good website for those who like/travel through the desert/ I'd suggest spending some time there as it's a better resource than the desert-haters here on Fodors

They havc wildflower reports there as well. January might work out well for wildflower season depending on rainfall patterns.

http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/wildupdates.html

elizzie4000

Just an fyi, the Grand Canyon can get snow in the winter. Will it when you're there? No one knows. But it does get snow.
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/winter-visits.htm

I grew up less than an hour from Palm Springs and winter is a great time to go.

janisj

Yes - it CAN get snow -- I didn't say it can't. What I commented was re >>if we aren't flying we won't see much is that true?can snow it is usually in the 40'sF or higher).