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Old 2 Sep 18, 12:06 PM  
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The Shady Side of California - Part 1 - San Francisco

Had 5 nights in SF staying at the Hyatt Centric Fishermans Wharf. We stay here a couple of years ago and loved it so we were happy to get a reasonable rate again (By SF prices al least). We love the great breakfast options in this area, plenty of places to walk too and it’s back off the main busy bit of Fishermans Wharf.

This is our third visit to SF so no Alcatraz or Dylan tours for us this time. Some favourite things we did this trip were:

Red & White Fleet Bridge Cruise - A one hour trip under the Golden Gate Bridge. Went on the 4.15pm cruise so it wasn’t too busy. We were lucky with clear weather so the views were amazing. Theres a nice audio tour included and you go around Alcatraz too. Highly recommend this, just wrap up warm as it blowy!


Big Bus Tour Night Tour - Hour and a half trip that takes you around part of the City and then out over the bay bridge and onto Treasure Island where you get views back across the bay. We manage to time our tour at sunset so got beautiful views. Also got to see the Bay Bridge lights show on our way back. Had a great tour guide too so really enjoyed this. Again wrap up warm if you sit on the top.


Lucasfilm &Presidio - Our Star Wars mad teen loves popping in here (Did it on our 2016 visit too). Took photos at the Yoda fountain and called into the lobby. There had been some debate on the forum recently as to whether they were still allowing people in but we didn’t have any issues. We quietly walked around as it is a place of work. No problems with taking a few photos. The Presidio area where it’s located is lovely and also contains the Walt Disney Family Museum and new Visitor Centre which are both worth visiting.


Walt Disney Family Museum - A must for any Disney fan who want to know more about Walt. We were a bit short on time at the end of our last visit so we decided to go again. They have change some of the exhibits since our last visit so that made it more interesting. I had also been listening to a lot of history podcasts in the last year so wanted to revisit to see some of the things that had been mentioned. Did the ‘Nine Old Men’ special exhibit too which was good but a little smaller than we were thinking it would be.


Muir Woods - We visited before as part of a Dylans Tour and really wanted to go back with some more time so we used the shuttle this time. We took an Uber over to Sausalito and picked up the shuttle to Muir Woods (You have to book this in advance). All very easy and gave us a wonderful 2 and a half hours to explorer this magical place, we could have had longer if we wanted. Took the boardwalk paths up to bridge four and also explored a bit of the fern valley trail. Still as beautiful as we remembered from our last visit. Caught the shuttle back into Sausalito and took the ferry back to SF.


Musee Mécanique - Again a revisit for us but such a lot of fun. Converted $10 into quarters and had a hour of fun playing on the old and retro games. On our last visit a few things weren’t working properly but they seem to have everything up and running perfectly again so thumbs up for this, especially with a teen.


Hollywood Cafe - Still a great breakfast and no place refills coffee like here which makes my husband very happy! Get there early to avoid a wait in line.


Boudins - No-one does sourdough like Boudin (but then I think they invented it). Used the main location at the Wharf. Great quick service place that we used a few times as it was near our hotel. The soups in a bread bowl are great on a chilly summer evening. We also tried the pizza which was delicious and breakfast pastries which were amazing, could so eat one of those now! Can choose to eat in or they will package to take out.


SF Go Pass Explorer Pass - Did the option where you have 4 attractions for a set price with up to 30 days to use them. This worked out great value for us. If you sign up to their emails they will also give you a further 5 percent off. There are some other options if you want more or less attractions. Used this for our entrance to Walt Disney Family Museum, The Boat Trip and the Night Tour and the hop on hop off bus.

Muni App - Downloaded this and used it to purchased Cable Car Tickets and tram fares. Easy to use and saves finding an open ticket booth early in the morning or fiddling about with change. You can also buy your visitor passes on this if you’re doing multiple trips but we only need a few odd ones.


Uber - Still love this and have been lucky to have great drivers. Works out well for our family of 3, often not much more than a bus and much quicker. Think the longest we waited was 4 minutes even for trips over the Sausalito and back the airport.

Wingz - Tried them out this time to pick us up from the airport. $44 plus tip for 3 of us plus 3 cases which was good value (Uber XL on the way back by comparison was $53.53 plus tip). By the time we had landed we had a text from the driver and just had to let him know once we had our bags. He then told us where to meet him on the upper level as they can not meet in arrivals.

A couple of so so for this trip was Pier 39 and In & Out Burger. We previously enjoyed both but Pier 39 was just so crowded it was hard to walk through it and In & Burger burgers have definitely got a thinner. Still taste good and a cheap meal but more fillings than patty now. The weather was also a bit cooler then we thought it might be. We have been in August twice before and the wether was colder then before. It might be that we’ve had such hot weather in the UK this year it made it feel cooler but on our last day it was only 16 degrees during the day which felt very chilly even with hoodies on.

We did do lots of other things too but the above would be our top recommendations. Happy to help with any questions anyone might have.
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Old 2 Sep 18, 01:08 PM  
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Sounds like you had a great time.

One question. What time of day did you visit Muir Woods? And do you think it seems less busy now you have to prebook parking tickets or shuttles?
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Old 2 Sep 18, 04:06 PM  
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Originally Posted by Medsdemon View Post
Sounds like you had a great time.

One question. What time of day did you visit Muir Woods? And do you think it seems less busy now you have to prebook parking tickets or shuttles?
We got there around 3.20pm on a Sunday and it was much quieter than last time we visited (1pm ish on a Thursday but same week of the year). I do think the new system helped in that although maybe it was because we were later in the day.
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DLP: '95, '98 SF, '11 NY, '12 NY, '13 NY
DL: '02, '16 DLH, '17 DLH, '18 GC
WDW: 94, '95, '97, '98 GF Wedding, '00, '02 CBR, '03 AKL, '05, '07 POP, '08 POP/WL, '10 SSR, '12 SSR, '13 SSR, '15 YC
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Old 2 Sep 18, 04:42 PM  
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sdunn
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Hi, how much time do you think we should allow for the Disney museum. We are planning a trip in October.
Thanks
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Old 2 Sep 18, 09:27 PM  
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Originally Posted by sdunn View Post
Hi, how much time do you think we should allow for the Disney museum. We are planning a trip in October.
Thanks
I would say at least 3 hours but you could easily spend more if you're really into Walt's history. It can depend how much you want to read as there is soooo much information and memorabilia in there.
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DLP: '95, '98 SF, '11 NY, '12 NY, '13 NY
DL: '02, '16 DLH, '17 DLH, '18 GC
WDW: 94, '95, '97, '98 GF Wedding, '00, '02 CBR, '03 AKL, '05, '07 POP, '08 POP/WL, '10 SSR, '12 SSR, '13 SSR, '15 YC
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Old 2 Sep 18, 09:53 PM  
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Thanks for the reply 😊
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Old 2 Sep 18, 11:37 PM  
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The big bus night tour sounds good and using the shuttle to Muir Woods. I've added these to my list!

My daughters have exams over the next few years so summer hols looks like the only time we could visit California but I was worried about the heat - looks like that wouldn't be an issue in San Fran!
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Old 3 Sep 18, 09:25 AM  
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Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
The big bus night tour sounds good and using the shuttle to Muir Woods. I've added these to my list!

My daughters have exams over the next few years so summer hols looks like the only time we could visit California but I was worried about the heat - looks like that wouldn't be an issue in San Fran!
Yes we've been tied to Easter or August for long haul trips the past few years. Tried Florida once in August and it was just to humid & wet for us so we switch to California which is a much more pleasant dry heat. Certainly no worries about being too hot in SF In all three August visits I don't think it's got much above 22 degrees.
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DLP: '95, '98 SF, '11 NY, '12 NY, '13 NY
DL: '02, '16 DLH, '17 DLH, '18 GC
WDW: 94, '95, '97, '98 GF Wedding, '00, '02 CBR, '03 AKL, '05, '07 POP, '08 POP/WL, '10 SSR, '12 SSR, '13 SSR, '15 YC
DCL: '14 Disney Magic.
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Old 13 Oct 18, 10:53 PM  
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Always enjoy your trip reports. I cannot wait to try Boudin's.

San Francisco is a must for us. My tentative plan is 5 nights. We will all be first timers, 2 adults and a 13 year old. Would you say that's about right? Should add, we're planning to start in SF so the first night will be travel day.
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Old 14 Nov 18, 12:42 PM  
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Originally Posted by Animagus View Post
Always enjoy your trip reports. I cannot wait to try Boudin's.

San Francisco is a must for us. My tentative plan is 5 nights. We will all be first timers, 2 adults and a 13 year old. Would you say that's about right? Should add, we're planning to start in SF so the first night will be travel day.
Hi Animagus, Sorry for the delay replying we been busy decorating and i've been away from the Dibb Yes I think 5 nights sounds about right. We have been 3 times and usually aim for 4 or 5 nights as we love the city. Our son has been about to turn 13 & 14 years old when we have been on the two more recent trips and has really enjoyed the city. The only downside of SF is that a lot of places don't open until 10am which is a bit of a pain when you're jeglagged and raring to go at 7am An early morning trip to Alcatraz is a good way to fill the time.
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DLP: '95, '98 SF, '11 NY, '12 NY, '13 NY
DL: '02, '16 DLH, '17 DLH, '18 GC
WDW: 94, '95, '97, '98 GF Wedding, '00, '02 CBR, '03 AKL, '05, '07 POP, '08 POP/WL, '10 SSR, '12 SSR, '13 SSR, '15 YC
DCL: '14 Disney Magic.
Disney Wishing is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
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