Itinerary opinions

Old Jul 25th, 2014, 11:06 PM
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Itinerary opinions

We are a family of 4, my husband and 2 teens & myself. We are just starting to plan our first USA trip (its been our ultimate goal). If I list our initial itinerary (plan) could we get some feedback on whether our plans are a good idea, or are feasible etc, and suggestions as to what suburb, area we should stay and further ideas are welcomed. Here goesbr />
Depart Sydney Australia to LA 18 Sept 2015
Things we'd like to do are - Universal Studios, Hollywood Tour, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, would love to catch a football game if we can somewhere, some shopping if advisable and anything else you may suggest. Say 5-6 nights here???

Onto maybe hiring a car and drive to Las Vegas
Things we'd like to do here are:- Gand Canyon ( Would love to do this by helicopter), M & M World, Fremont Street, would love to see the Michael Jackson stage show if still playing, see the Titanic Artifact Exhibit if still there, shopping if advisable, any other suggestions. Say 4 nights here.

Fly to San Fransico
Here we'd like to see Alcatraz, Fisherman Wharf, maybe Golden Gate Bridge, anything else?? Say 3-4 nights here.

Fly to Orlando
Here we MUST go to Disneyworld, Universal Studios (daughter wants to do both Universal Studios???) Hav ehad suggestions to get on the IRide Trolley?? What else should we do here?? Suggestions on length of stay here please.

Fly to Honolulu - Hawaii
Here we'd like to see Pearl Harbour, maybe a cultural show, beaches and shopping. Plan this as a bit of a relax time but still want to see things. Thinking 5-6 nights here.

Fly home to Sydney

We expect to be away for say a month???

Thankyou in advance for taking time to read my lengthy post and for your (hopefully) forthcoming opinions, suggestions and ideas.
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 02:24 AM
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I am no expert but would think it would make more sense and use of time to try and do the Hawaii part from San Francisco as it would be a cheaper and shorter flight than doing it from Orlando

Maybe look at flying into LAX, do the Los Angeles part, hire a car from Los Angeles and take two nights driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco, stopping overnight in Cambria area and Monterey area, fly to Hawaii from San Francisco after spending a few days in San Francisco. On return driving to Las Vegas over a couple of days, do he Las Vegas part then fly Las Vegas to Orlando then home from Orlando
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 07:54 AM
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OK -- I'd try to get the looooooong travel out of the way first. I'd fly into LAX (or SFO) and on to Orlando immediately. One day to recover from the trek and then you'll need 5 or 6 days to cover all the theme parks. So say a week.

Then fly to Vegas for just maybe 2 days, 3 days max. One of those days do a coach tour to the Grand Canyon (the helicopter tours are not allowed over the National Park portions of the GC)

Then drive to LA for about 4 days to cover Universal et al.

Then drive up the CA Coast taking about 3 days for the journey. One night in Santa Barbara or Cambria or ??, and 2 nights in/near Carmel.

Continue on to SF and drop the car. About 4 nights in SF - that all totals 3 weeks leaving one week for somewhere in HI before flying home.
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 10:04 AM
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"Here we MUST go to Disneyworld, Universal Studios (daughter wants to do both Universal Studios???) Hav ehad suggestions to get on the IRide Trolley?? What else should we do here?? Suggestions on length of stay here please."

7-10 days for the theme parks. Are you planning to visit SeaWorld or any of the waterparks?

The IRide Trolley has spotty service from what I've read on Tripadvisor's Orlando forum. However, you may wish to consider staying on I-Drive at least part of the time. It is very centrally located. Some hotels even have shuttles to the parks. I'd research this further here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...a_Florida.html

Now, as to what else there is to do. That depends on how many more days remain in your itinerary, your budget, the time of the year and your interests. For now, I'll just suggest an overnight trip to St. Augustine - America's oldest city. It's 2 hours away by interstate highways I-4 & I-95. Here are a few links to get you thinking.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave.../st-augustine/
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave...2.photogallery
http://www.staugustine.com/visit/
http://www.visitflorida.com/St_Augustine
http://www.getaway4florida.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...#ixzz2eo5AnXR7

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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 11:18 AM
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Agree with janisj mostly.
Helicopter trips from Vegas go to tourist trap Grand Canyon West, not the national park. Try and stay overnight in the park if possible, if that is not possible you can take a tour bus but it is a long day with only about 2-3 hours at the park.
Also agree with driving Highway 1 from LA to SF over 2-3 nights, just a beautiful drive.
Personally I prefer Disneyland, the one that Walt built over Disneyworld, more compact and less walking but it is your trip.
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 03:07 PM
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While driving between LA and SF take a tour of Hearst Castle, and stop at Nepenthe (a restaurant in Big Sur) with stunning views. (I usually just get coffee, take photos, and look in the great gift shop.) From SF, be sure to visit Muir Woods and Muir Beach. Sooo beautiful. FYI, Las Vegas will be VERY hot--but everything is air conditioned.

It sounds like an amazing trip!
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 06:24 PM
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Thankyou to all for your input. You have given me alot to think about so thanks again.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 10:07 AM
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Why don't you just stay in the LA area and go to Disneyland and Universal Studios?

I agree that you should drive to the Grand Canyon. You could probably drop a day from LA and Las Vegas each, if necessary.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 01:39 PM
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Disneyland in Anaheim is not anything close to Disney World in Orlando. WDW is four parks & 2 water parks. Universal is two parks. Then there is SeaWorld & Legoland.

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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:04 PM
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mlgb,
My daughter's biggest wish is to go to the Harry Potter thing in Universal Studios Orlando so we thought we'd do that and Disneyworld and anything else that is suggested. She tells me that one Universal Studios is more rides and the other one is the actual film sets, is this right? She "hinted" she'd love to do both studios. We didnt plan to do DisneyLAND though. It was suggested we stay in Hollywood????
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:10 PM
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>>It was suggested we stay in Hollywood????
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:31 PM
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janisj,
Thanks for speedy response!
It was suggested be ause closer to Universal.... is this so? Have you suggestions co sideri g whats on our wish list of things to do? Thanks in advance.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:46 PM
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I think the itinerary is wrong - you are flying to the West (LA), from there to the East (Orlando) and back to the West (Hawaii). Why fly back and forth? If Orlando is a must to visit, start there, from there to LA, from there to Hawaii and home.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:48 PM
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I agree on not spending more than a couple of days in Las Vegas, especially with teens. You can't stop in a casino if they're with you, and there just isn't that much to do with a family.

Lee Ann
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 07:53 PM
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(With a couple of exceptions) I would not stay in Hollywood no matter what I wanted to see/do. It isn't glamorous (or even very nice)

A lot does depend on your budget -- but I'd stay in Santa Monica or Beverly Hills or Westwood -- or even parts of the San Fernando Valley -- before I'd stay in Hollywood w/ a family.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 09:15 PM
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Dayenu,
Funny you say that, after reading all the responses yesterday I was thinking that myself, so now someone else has said it I will definately look into this, thankyou from the "overwhelmed"
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Old Jul 28th, 2014, 07:27 AM
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>

Which one, California or Florida?

Don't stay in Hollywood, California - that's more than a bit dicey.
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Old Jul 29th, 2014, 07:45 AM
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I would skip Orlando. Even if you were not traveling with teens, I would skip long drives like LA to Vegas and up the coast, LA to San Francisco. San Francisco is pretty; LA is not, and it may be in fire mode. Stay longer in San Francisco area. Stay longer in Hawaii; consider the NCL cruise to see highlights of three islands in a week, then shop Honolulu right before you depart for home.

Plan another trip to cover eastern US and to do Disney World.
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Old Jul 29th, 2014, 08:18 AM
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I'm inclined to agree with ChiSue on one point: Orlando should be saved for a separate trip as part of an eastern US tour, if you want that Theme Park Overload.

If the trip is focused on California and Hawai'i, one can expand options to incorporate northern California, San Diego and its fantabulous Zoo, and super-fun Catalina; one can really explore the riches of the San Francisco area as well as the greater LA area (parts of which are not just pretty, but spectacular).

And yes: Universal Studios Hollywood is on the grounds of the original working TV and movie studio, which is still in operation. Universal Studios Orlando is a theme park where they built production facilities just in case a TV show breaks out (I guess). The Warner Brothers studio tour has no theme park nonsense; it's a real tour of a real studio and well worth the time.

Would either teen be interested in the wide-ranging and often wacky car collection housed at the Petersen Auto Museum? I highly recommend it. Then you can go to check out Griffith Park and the world-famous Observatory....

Whoops, off on a tangent. But there is so much to see in California, it's hard to stop!
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Old Jul 29th, 2014, 08:30 AM
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I'm not going to discourage you from doing Orlando, as it is a unique place and great for kids. You will probably want somewhere between 5 and 7 days to hit all the parks (Universal can be covered in a day or two, Disney takes longer). If you can swing it, staying at Disney is convenient and Disney understands hospitality as well as anyone. Otherwise, there are tons of decent chain hotels in the area that are quite affordable.

Having recently been to Universal LA and Universal Orlando, I would say you can safely skip Universal LA unless you really want to take the back lot tour, but that is really just a trolley ride around the sets. Interesting, but nothing that special. The rides at Universal LA are limited and most are either replicated or bettered at Universal Orlando. I would not do both in such a short time.

In terms of the scheduling... I would either go straight to Orlando (which will be a long trip) or something like SYD>LA>Orlando>Vegas>SF>Hawaii>SYD, which would break up the trip.
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