You've all got me thinking now...

[rylisal]

We are 'thinking' of what to do when DS finishes school next June/July & having read quite a few of these West Coast threads I'm tempted!
Florida is our 1st love but it would be really good to see even more of USA(Seeing a bit later this year as well as Canada!)
So my 1st couple of questions are:

1. Who is the best to fly with & what kind of cost are we looking at?(Direct or In direct)

2. Our youngest will be 5 next year-Is that too young for such a long flight?

1st ? of many I'm sure!

Thanks
Sally x

[andyhayley]

Virgin, BA and Air New Zealand all fly direct from London to LA, we are going on Air NZ in September and the flight time is just over 11 hours, so its only a couple more than Orlando and the planes all have seat back videos etc.

Costs vary a lot, best to shop around depending on the exact dates but they are usually just a little more than Orlando.

[Mazzy]

Originally Posted by rylisal

We are 'thinking' of what to do when DS finishes school next June/July & having read quite a few of these West Coast threads I'm tempted!
Florida is our 1st love but it would be really good to see even more of USA(Seeing a bit later this year as well as Canada!)
So my 1st couple of questions are:

1. Who is the best to fly with & what kind of cost are we looking at?(Direct or In direct)

2. Our youngest will be 5 next year-Is that too young for such a long flight?

1st ? of many I'm sure!

Thanks
Sally x

See more...

Hi Sally! I'm sure you'd love California, and I don't think 5 years of age is too young for the flight, they would probably sleep anyway. We flew to San Francisco 3 years ago and to be honest it didn't seem THAT much longer than the Orlando flight, even though it was, if you know what I mean, you just get in the zone don't you?

We flew with Virgin Atlantic last time, and it cost us a fortune as we went in August, but next year, like you we can go at the end of June so the prices should be much more reasonable. I'm actually going to try and get Miles flights with VA, if their 'half miles' offer is still going by the time I can book, that would be £216 each for the tax, so a bargain.

If I can't use the miles on LA flights, I might consider using them for New York and then getting an internal flight to/from LA. To be honest there's loads of options for getting there, and lots of airlines to choose from, the availability is much better than for Orlando, so I don't think you'd have a problem getting a good deal for June.

I've been researching all DS's exams for next year, and his final exam should be on 21 June if the provisional 2010 dates stay the same, so it will be great to take advantage of the lower fares.

We're looking at staying a week or so in San Diego, it looks an amazing place, then a few nights at Anaheim for Disneyland, as we loved it last time but don't feel we had long enough there to experience it fully. I may even try to get flights London/LA and Orlando/Manchester, like we did last time, if I can, as that means we can fly home to Manchester as we're only 15 mins drive from the airport.

Any particular parts of California you're keen on?

[Bee happy]

We love the west coast but haven't been since having my boys,eldest is 7.
Funny enough I was thinking this week would love to take them maybe in a year or 2,so much to see and do. San Fransisco is great,loads to do there !
We also visited Disneyland in LA but wouldn't rate staying in Anaheim,I wouldn't go out after dark
Im sure your family would love it !

[Cannavar]

You can fly direct or indirect. I always see a stop over as a chance for a few days in another city free of charge!

My kids have flown since they we just months old... the flights have never been an issue.

Don't have a single airline in mind when booking, just try for the cheapest price and then look at the service and plane they run on that route. Try every day for a few weeks and you will soon notices that prices never stay the same...its all about buying at the right time.

Best of luck!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Bee happy

We love the west coast but haven't been since having my boys,eldest is 7.
Funny enough I was thinking this week would love to take them maybe in a year or 2,so much to see and do. San Fransisco is great,loads to do there !
We also visited Disneyland in LA but wouldn't rate staying in Anaheim,I wouldn't go out after dark
Im sure your family would love it !

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where abouts in anaheim did you stay? weve been there 3 times now and always walk around at night ,never felt unsafe at all there? we stayed at the shearton anaheim once and hyatt orange county twice,reg walked to and from disney and too local restaurants

[Cannavar]

Originally Posted by Bee happy

We love the west coast but haven't been since having my boys,eldest is 7.
Funny enough I was thinking this week would love to take them maybe in a year or 2,so much to see and do. San Fransisco is great,loads to do there !
We also visited Disneyland in LA but wouldn't rate staying in Anaheim,I wouldn't go out after dark
Im sure your family would love it !

See more...

Anaheim around Disney has changed a lot in the last 10 years... I would agree that it used to have a few issues quite close the park. Now its much better.

[Cannavar]

Originally Posted by danny

where abouts in anaheim did you stay? weve been there 3 times now and always walk around at night ,never felt unsafe at all there? we stayed at the shearton anaheim once and hyatt orange county twice,reg walked to and from disney and too local restaurants

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Love the Hyatt Orange County. Had the first week of our honeymoon there and the suite they upgraded us to was HUGE!

[Bee happy]

Originally Posted by Cannavar

Anaheim around Disney has changed a lot in the last 10 years... I would agree that it used to have a few issues quite close the park. Now its much better.

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You are right it was a long time ago (nearly 10 yrs), we stayed right opposite Disneyland it was called Castle hotel I think !
All I remember was that there where lots of gangs of people around after dark just felt a bit intimidated,it was a long time ago so Im sure its changed now.
Disneyland was great and we done the Hollywood tour,shopped on Rodeo Drive,did the tour of Beverley Hills even visited Marilyn Monroe's grave (was on the tour)
We have also visited Las Vegas a few times and love it would love to take the kids there what an experience,Grand Canyon is breathtaking !

[rylisal]

I was lucky to go to California when i was 13-OMG thats 29 years ago now! We went to LA, Vegas & San Fransisco-I remember some of it-Pier 39 in San Fran especially and some other bits but it would be great to go back as a 'grown up!'
I remember going to a cabaret show in Vegas & being REALLY embarrassed as the girls were topless-I was with my Mum & Dad!
Will look into flight costs & then suggest it to DS & DH so may be back asking more questions soon!
Sally x