California, New York and Orlando

[duchy]

Originally Posted by KarenG

I would certainly put LA and New York together at the start if it wasn’t for the difference in time zones and having to criss cross the country (extra time and possibly cost)

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Surely it’s an open triangle ... they don’t need to return to LA to fly home ... so it’s only one crossing of the continent. So LA first then either NYC or MCO next as both are east coast .

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by duchy

Surely it’s an open triangle ... they don’t need to return to LA to fly home ... so it’s only one crossing of the continent. So LA first then either NYC or MCO next as both are east coast .

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Definitely an open triangle, albeit a long legged one with equally long trips to and from entry/exit points, hence my suggestion to simply stick to East or West Coasts, thus maximising the 3 weeks.

[landandword17]

One thing I thought of OP that probably sounds condescending but we all needed to hear when we first thought of a trip like this is - you really cannot fathom the distances involved! Even when we did a road trip all within California we were not prepared for how big that state is and we didn't even get north of San Francisco so I think the biggest mistake a first timer can make is failing to account for the distances involved and trying to do too much is too little time.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

Definitely an open triangle, albeit a long legged one with equally long trips to and from entry/exit points, hence my suggestion to simply stick to East or West Coasts, thus maximising the 3 weeks.

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I must admit I agree , I’d do one coast or the other if I wanted to properly explore rather than cram it in.
We are doing Both sides this year (hopefully) but Florida is just a few days RnR not a theme park trip before flying west . I’d certainly not want NYC too , even though we prefer see a lot rather than just theme parks . This is ours , comparing the maps hopefully explains why NYC is a bit too far off track for most people.

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by duchy

I must admit I agree , I’d do one coast or the other if I wanted to properly explore rather than cram it in.
We are doing Both sides this year (hopefully) but Florida is just a few days RnR not a theme park trip before flying west . I’d certainly not want NYC too , even though we prefer see a lot rather than just theme parks .

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As you well know, we are like minds. Theme Parks are great, but best interspersed with other attractions and activities.

The more we go, the more that the park time shrinks and the ‘other stuff’ takes priority.

Miles, whilst simply miles can massively eat into a vacation and in all cases I weigh up flights (and getting to airport, check in, security etc) against trains (city centre start points but slower travel, possibly with stops) against cars.

[mouskevik]

Oh my word, I was not expecting so many replies with so much detail, so soon!

This is amazing! Thank you all so much, the time you've all taken to write these posts is very kind and very much appreciated!

I came to the Dibb because I knew I'd get experience and honesty. We know we're new to and naïve about this type of holiday so it's good to be made to think about the time zones and travelling! To be honest, I was thinking Cali to NY and that Orlando would just be a short hop from NY - clearly not 😂.

Ok. We do want to see the parks on the West Coast but we kind of feel we want up finish in our happy place in Orlando too. Thinking we'd be better off going to California, then Orlando and having NY as a whole separate holiday at a time of year when it's not so hot?

I would like to see beaches in California too. I apologise if I'm being ignorant about the geography. I know Anaheim and LA aren't next door but I haven't really thought about a base to be able to see both of those. I really like the idea of seeing San Diego too...

We'll definitely go for 3 weeks as we like to make the most of US trips so if we can do those 2 bases in 3 weeks then that would be great

CornishFrogBoy - I'm definitely going to check out your trip reports, many thanks again! I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Oh and we're Hard Rock fans after getting married at the Orlando cafe so if any HRC or HRH locations are good on the West Coast, we'd love to see those too 🎸

[landandword17]

I would also give strong consideration to doing one coast too. Either NY and Orlando or the WC. If doing the WC I'd also look beyond just LA/Disney. If you're looking for a city experience I'd consider Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego and see if any take your fancy then you can build a trip around those. Seattle and the state of Oregon are stunning and overlooked for family holidays. San Diego is gorgeous and a great spot for families. San Francisco is also very picturesque and anyone who like European city breaks will love the city and it's easily paired with wither the coastal road trip down to LA or with a trip out to the national parks like Yosemite.

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by mouskevik

Oh my word, I was not expecting so many replies with so much detail, so soon!

This is amazing! Thank you all so much, the time you've all taken to write these posts is very kind and very much appreciated!

I came to the Dibb because I knew I'd get experience and honesty. We know we're new to and naïve about this type of holiday so it's good to be made to think about the time zones and travelling! To be honest, I was thinking Cali to NY and that Orlando would just be a short hop from NY - clearly not 😂.

Ok. We do want to see the parks on the West Coast but we kind of feel we want up finish in our happy place in Orlando too. Thinking we'd be better off going to California, then Orlando and having NY as a whole separate holiday at a time of year when it's not so hot?

I would like to see beaches in California too. I apologise if I'm being ignorant about the geography. I know Anaheim and LA aren't next door but I haven't really thought about a base to be able to see both of those. I really like the idea of seeing San Diego too...

We'll definitely go for 3 weeks as we like to make the most of US trips so if we can do those 2 bases in 3 weeks then that would be great

CornishFrogBoy - I'm definitely going to check out your trip reports, many thanks again! I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Oh and we're Hard Rock fans after getting married at the Orlando cafe so if any HRC or HRH locations are good on the West Coast, we'd love to see those too 🎸

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California Hard rocks are in..

San Francisco, right on Fishermans Wharf.

Sacramento

LA.

When seeking real, close in detail of W Coast locations, always try Megaflyer, who is both encyclopaedic and very helpful.
For San Diego , ‘Aims’ is the oracle. Again, nothing is too much trouble with her. She is A San Diego resident.

East Coast?
Hard rocks are in
Boston.
NY
PHILLY
D.C

[landandword17]

Originally Posted by mouskevik

Oh and we're Hard Rock fans after getting married at the Orlando cafe so if any HRC or HRH locations are good on the West Coast, we'd love to see those too 🎸

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There is a HRH in San Diego and probably some cafes about too. If you are actual fans of rock music and not just the chain then a trip to the Sunset Strip is a must if you get to LA!

[duchy]

I honestly think splitting 10 days California and ten days Orlando would work better.
Hopefully the maps help a bit . ... even though the second one stops short of LA .
A good way to look at what is feasible is to look at coach tours for where they go on the west coast to see what works together. You could for example do the Pacific highway , start in San Fran and finish in San Diego or start in San Diego, Hollywood , Disneyland then head out to the Grand Canyon and finish in Vegas and fly to Orlando from there.
For the west coast you need to consider two or three nights in a location rather than one base .