Another highs and lows August 2018 with kids

[flo-tinka]

I’m not a trip writer but I love using the DIBB to plan trips and I felt like I wanted to give something back to those of you who are finding that, while still helpful, the DIBB isn’t quite as forthcoming with information on California trip planning.
We did 3 + weeks Virgin PE LHR-LAX, Disney, San Diego, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Burbank for LA.
7-30 August just gone.

Highs
5 days at Disney. Our first day at Disneyland was the fave for me and DD11. Early morning repeat rides of BTMR and Splash were great fun. At DCA we loved Cars Land, Guardians and we spent so much time on Pixar Pier!
Max Pass worked well for us on a couple of days too, saved (my! ) tired legs from having to run around/ between 2 parks getting paper FPs! Includes Photopass too.
Good to be able to wander between 2 parks and also have afternoon break at hotel/pool/Cheesecake Factory/Blaze Pizza nearby
Boys had a blast at the LA Galaxy match, girls enjoyed more Disney 🤣
San Diego was simply gorgeous. We had a HomeAway house which gave us more freedom to bbq rather than eat out, plus space for a family who aren’t used to living in one room for 3 + weeks.
La Jolla, whale watching (Groupon) and the Zoo were all fab in San Diego.
Lime and bird scooters (get the app on your phone, saves tired legs when sightseeing) were a real hit with all of us one day around San Diego Seaport and Gaslamp District until we realised that they aren’t meant for kids!
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was really worth doing, great short trails up above the desert, amazing views but note that once you are on the trails there is no food and drink up there until you get back to the Tramway station.
Drives through Joshua Tree and Mojave National Preserve from Palm Springs to Las Vegas were great but quite a long way around!
Palazzo at LV was a fab hotel, well located, good pools (although we had little time to use them) and access to Grand Canal shoppes was good when the kids needed some pizza (Grimaldis, yummy) or some chocolate covered strawberries (Godiva) later at night.
We loved the virtual reality VOID in Grand Canal too.
Unfortunately Penn and Teller cancelled on us week before but instead we went to Mac King at Harrahs which suited us as it was an afternoon performance, cheaper (Rewards Desk back of casino, got our free ticket voucher for the show, then walked a short distance to another desk near front of casino, where we paid about $17 for a drink voucher per ticket! Tip from the DIBB really worked!) and both me and DD ended up on stage as assistants!
Buffets in LV: highly recommend both Contemporary and Wynn brunches. The food was amazing in both (and also their endless pours packages, 2hours of inclusive drinks for less than $20 each 😂&#129346
Grand Canyon (day trip from LV) and Death Valley (road trip between LV and LA) were great but long drives for the kids, especially the latter. We left LV about 1 (thankfully having eaten) and didn’t arrive at Hampton Ridgecrest until 10 pm, after nearly running out of gas as it took us longer than expected to get out of Death Valley. The sights were amazing though (man, it was hot so we didn’t go far away from the car until the sun started setting) and kids would have loved more time at the sand dunes but it was getting dark! Artists Pallette Drive was just like Radiator Springs Racers!
We liked LA more than I thought we would. Stayed Hilton garden inn Burbank which was walking distance to great restaurants like Gordon Biersch and Granvilles.
Six Flags was a brain numbing fab day, no queues and mind blowing rides. It was about 3/4 hour from Burbank and was voted the best day by DS 15 (aside from LA Galaxy)
Universal was a nice last day surprise for the kids and we had a great time. it was not as impressive size wise as Florida but we enjoyed the rides and shows etc, and it was worth adding to our LA Go Card for this. Dinner at Vivo Citywalk was good that night too.
We also used the Go card for Warner Bros and Hollywood Stars Tour (office near the Chinese Theatre, pick up from there too, just over 2 hours duration), both of which we really enjoyed.

Lows
Brunch with Donald at Pacific Pier Hotel wasn’t a patch on the Contemporary Mickey brunch in terms of food or setting but we did have great interactions with Stitch, DDs fave.
Disneyland was hot in early August (but dry &#128077 and then the car temp reached 53 degrees when we drove on the Route 66 section at Amboy 😳
That journey out of Death Valley, we had got there too late to allow us to see what we wanted (take ten million photos as my DH likes to do) and then reach our hotel in good time.
For our DD 11 that journey in particular was just a bit too long. I think the miles we did are as far as we should go with kids this age if they are to not be watching screens all day (different for me and DH as we will look at scenery all day, and we made the kids put screens down when we were driving certain bits)
Las Vegas Premium Outlets South were underwhelming but we found great shops at UTC Westfield San Diego

So I certainly found it harder to plan this trip than any other Florida trip (and we have done road trips there too) but it was well worth it. More expensive for sure in terms of food and hotels/houses and food. Great experience for the whole family though. We loved it. Happy planning to those of you who are embarking in this journey now for next year or beyond...

[Vinniecat]

Sounds like you had a great time. We got back on Sunday after doing 9th August until September 1st so similar amount of time. However we did Disney last and by that time were not up to doing early mornings. It was a shame really because the afternoons were a little bit too hot to be standing in long queues and the evenings were unbelievably busy. We still had a great time and went over 5 days so managed all the rides we wanted just at a slower pace though.

[flo-tinka]

Hi Vinniecat! I did wonder in planning about whether to do Disney at start or end (as I thought end may be a bit quieter although AP blackouts back in and Disney never quiet, right?!). The mornings definitely worked for us, even the boys came early with us on 2 mornings! But we were really struggling to stay for fireworks and definitely couldn’t make it beyond that 😴
Great trip though

[MichelleB]

Glad you had a good time! We are planning for LA, Disneyland then San Diego next summer

[Animagus]

Sounds like you had an amazing time. We're hoping to do a West Coast trip in 2020 and plan to visit many of the same places as you. We won't do Vegas but want to do San Francisco.

Any tips, help, comments etc. always gratefully received.

[flo-tinka]

Ask away Animagus and anyone else who needs some info.

[Minniebella]

Thank you for writing.We are planning a similar trip for August 2020 with Kiddo’s.Unsure whether to do a couple of nights in Vegas as it will be our 10 year wedding anniversary and that’s where we were married
I am feeling totally overwhelmed even thinking about it... but very excited too!

[flo-tinka]

Originally Posted by Minniebella

Thank you for writing.We are planning a similar trip for August 2020 with Kiddo’s.Unsure whether to do a couple of nights in Vegas as it will be our 10 year wedding anniversary and that’s where we were married
I am feeling totally overwhelmed even thinking about it... but very excited too!

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I know what you mean about being overwhelmed Minniebella! I felt the same for much of the planning stage (and I’m a lone planner: everyone else leaves it to me, no pressure then!) but I’m glad to say everything went well (apart from maybe the underestimation on travel times out of Death Valley)
We loved the 5 nights we did in Vegas, all of us. I would recommend Palazzo/Venetian with kids as the Strip is an eye opener after dark for the younger ones (and me frankly!,) so it was good to be able to wander around these 2 hotels and the attached shopping at night