advice please.. family of 8 trip to california in august
 

im planning a family trip in august 2015.. my thought is to fly into san fransico on the 7th of august.. stay till 10th, drive down coast from 10th and arrive in anaheim conv center on 13th for disneys d23 expo on 14th, fly out from anaheim back to orlando on 15th.. we are coming from orlando florida so we are numb to the disney, sea world, etc theme parks (except for d23 expo in anaheim).. couple of questions:

- is san fransico a place worth staying at for 3 days? if not, is there a better place to fly into and stay for 3 days? (dont want to go much further north since i have to drive to anaheim)

- any suggestions on the 3 day drive down the coast to anaheim to stop at on the way? cities, landmarks, etc.. a website would be suffice.. i would like to stay on the coast.

their are 7 adults and a 3 year old..

thanks for the help!

<i> is san fransico a place worth staying at for 3 days? </i>

Check the guidebooks to see if what SF has to offer interests you.

So,literally across the street is THE original Disneyland .
Since you are making a special trip for this Disney expo aren't you at least curious to see where all the magic began?

>> is san fransico a place worth staying at for 3 days?<<

I's held our interests for almost 40 years. Never-ending things to do. Here are some of my ideas:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

One ideal stop is in the Monterey peninsula area... We stayed in nearby Marina and enjoyed the aquarium, the pier, 17 mile drive, Monterey Whale Watch, and the marina dunes state park.... Have fun

Be sure and stop in Santa Barbara on your trip down the coast, the town is beautiful, lots of great restaurants, gorgeous mission, drive out on Stearn's Wharf and have lunch.
Monterey is great also although we stayed in Carmel instead.

Are you getting one large vehicle (van?) or two cars?
Is there a drop off fee involved picking up in SF and leaving in Anaheim?
Can you use BART for the time you will be in SF and get the vehicle(s) when you are ready to leave for Monterey.?
I don't know your budget but it might be easier to take the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Santa Barbara.
You get from the Ferry Building in SF to Emeryville on a designated Amtrak bus early in the morning to connect with the Coast Starlight. If on time, you arrive in Santa Barbara about 6PM.
There are multiple Pacific Surfliner trains each day from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles Union station.

wow, thanks for all the replies everyone!.. i guess everyone is agreement that san fransico is a good choice to start.. i assume we will be renting a nice van for the drive down coast to anaheim.. not to sure about disney though.. we have season passes to disney world here and go sometimes 2-3 times a month.. but maybe

thanks again!

To answer your first question: YES, San FRANCISCO (please spell it correctly, that spelling hurts my eyes!) is well worth three days. It's worth seven days. It's even worth three WEEKS. It's a wonderful city, and it has some incredible stuff within and surrounding its Arcadian hills. Too much to list on a single website, even given Stu's comprehensive and very helpful post.

The usual suggestions found on this forum for the coast drive (one of the most frequently-asked-about attractions in the US forum) hold. However, stopping at Hearst Castle might not be such a hot idea, given the three-year-old (for whom the ostentatious charms of Hearst Castle are completely lost). You might think about a detour into San Luis Obispo, then maybe pushing on to Solvang and the Central Coast wine country (remember the film <b>Sideways</b>?). Santa Barbara is a must.

It sounds like you will be pretty well occupied in Anaheim, so I doubt it's worth making suggestions. Besides, Anaheim itself is rather, er, nondescript; the best parts of OC are on the coast IMHO (I live across the Orange Curtain in Long Beach). Dining options are not great, other than maybe Napa Rose at the Grand Californian or the Anaheim White House (both really expensive). You should really be sure to try some of the great world cuisines California offers.

Oh well, I'm sure you'll have fun whatever you decide. And you have time to finalize plans, so dream away! :)