trip planned for July

[ORSM4B]

Mate we are planning our next trip over now sometime in the next 2 months coming over to show the kids Disneyland and Vegas but not going to San Fran.

We wil probably stay in Anahiem again as it pretty central to alot of the things we will go and see....

Hey one thing l forgot, l got to go onto a Aircraft Carrier in San Fran it was worth the look as we dont have them in Aus the carrier is across the bay bridge it took a bit of finding......

Anyway you will have fun with anything you do over there as it is a fantastic place for a holiday l didn't want to come home could easily move over to the states......

Cheers Chris

[bucknaked]

how busy will these theme parks be in July/August? not interested if they are like 1 hour lines to get on something
any one know if we will be striking any holidays end of July?

[ORSM4B]

Hi Bucky you will be going over in their summer Holidays and wife says lines maybe longer than an hour,,,,will be expensive for hotels as well as it's their peak season we are heading over early sep and price for a week stay at the disneyland resort will drop $2000 from peak price....

Cheers Chris

[PNW Judy]

how busy will these theme parks be in July/August? not interested if they are like 1 hour lines to get on something
any one know if we will be striking any holidays end of July?

I've been to Disneyland several times during holiday weekends as that was the only time we could get away to get there and I have NEVER spent an hour in line for any ride. One way to do this is to get to Disney an hour before it officially opens. The Main Street area is open then. Figure out which of the more popular rides you want to go on first (Magic Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Indiana Jones come to mind), and situate yourself at the ropes so you can race there as soon as the ropes are dropped.

As soon as you're done doing those popular rides in the early morning, you will want to switch to the types of rides that are quicker loading. Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion are two rides that are very fast loading and the line moves very fast. By the time you've done these, the park will be packed. So it's a good time for a lunch break. Some people like to go back to their hotel for a rest at this time. I prefer to hang around until the afternoon parade. With all the people watching the parade, the lines have a bit of a lull. If I need a rest, I'll go back to the hotel after the parade is over.

Enjoy the night-time show and then, after the show is over, go back to some of your favorite rides. So many people leave the park after the show that it's pretty easy to squeeze in numerous rides during this time. We rode Splash Mountain 3 (or was it 4?) times in a row. The last two times they didn't even make us get out of our boat and get in line because we were the ONLY ones there. Fun.

Of course, if you're not real ride/amusement park people, this might not be worth it to you. I'm a ride freak so, to me, it's worth it.

The FastPass option works really well to save time, too. The last time we went, we didn't understand how they work so we didn't use it. We will next time.

There are so many hotels in Anaheim that reasonably-priced ones are easy to find. For example, the Anaheim Plaza & Suites, the hotel that we have stayed at each time we've gone, is $69/night right now for rooms in July and August of 2008. It's just across the street from the main entrance so it's a very short walk into the park.

[vegas_sinsei]

terry,

Here's some ideas. I live in the San fran area and frequent s.f and vegas

1. Go here you will spend hours reading user reviews of the the hottest things in any city. Great resource.

2. Since you will be I'm s.f. I would recommend bar hoping in the marina, mission or north beach districts. Great times!
stay at the Marriott off of market and go to the top floor for cocktails and the view.

3. Go to "slims" in San francisco, good Alt rock bands.

4. Drive a hour north and experience the napa valley for a day. Amazing wineries and a drunken good time. V. Satui, coppala, sterling. There are a ton of others.

5. Drive down the coast, I have taken my rental car with no problems into Mexico . Rental car company will sell you special Mexico insurance for the gringos. Think its 14 bucks a day. Go to rosarito and a place called "pappas and beer" outdoor drinking colliseum Mecca on the beach. 2 blocks away on the mainstrip is a great steakhouse. Remember Mexico is mostly 3rd world so dont expect Beverly hills.

6. You can't go wrong in vegas. Research on yelp for the hot bars and clubs. You will be back for more, trust me.

[bucknaked]

great stuff
thanks for your posts, I will print these out

[bucknaked]

off in a couple of days!!!!
what do you think about staying in Union Square in S.F.? for the first night at least?
looked at The Marina, looked a bit old and daggy
the Marriott a little pricey

[ORSM4B]

Yeah mate Union Square is the way to go......

Cheers Chris

[bucknaked]

Thanks for your input everyone

I will let you know how it went

Cheers

[bucknaked]

well, I have survived my first depressing week back at work, with crappy cold wet weather. Had a fantastic trip, 2 weeks flew by. For those who may be interested here is a brief run down.

Landed in San Fran, had a hassle collecting rental car [Hertz] as they had 2 other people waiting for convertable Mustangs and it could take a few hours, cut a long story short, moaned to the supervisor and were given a 2008 convertable bright yellow Corvette for the same price!! push button ignition roared that 6.2 litre V8 into life and we were off. no idea what the car was worth but we attracted attention in it every where we went, awesome car.
took a bit of getting used to driving on the RH side of the road but we got used to it after a gew days.

First night in Fishermans Wharf, quite nice, missed out on Alcatraz tour as they were booked 10 days in advance unless you linked it with other tours.
Also never got around to having a clam chowder in a bread bowl which seemed to be everywhere!!
second night in Union Square, did a few shops and bars, had a good night.

headed off down the coast road, stops at San Jose, Santa Cruz. Found the coast road a bit boring after awhile, seemed to be a constant fog coming off the sea. Weather warmed up as soon as we were out of S.F.

Found some cool shops in Barstow.
Corona's got cheaper the further south we went
Our Satnav was brilliant, so much easier then reading maps, made finding Motels easier as well, iPod plugged straight into Car stereo.

Vegas, stayed 3 nights at The Palms, nice place, great rooms, fab pool, a bit far out, about $12-$15 in a cab, but honestly apart from cheaper drinks/tables the strip was so/so, the older part of Vegas even more so/so.
best times were seeing Blueman Group, chilling by the pool with a few beers

off again, partner hungover [too many 99c Margaritas]
Stayed Santa Monica, very nice, that fog again!!
arrived San Diego, couldn't find a place to stay, had a conference in town and a sporting event, real bugger as it looked pretty lively downtown, drove further out towards Mexico and stayed.
Tijuana, parked and walked over, had a good fun day, plenty of $1.00 Corona's and cheap Taco's, bought a few things, pretty junky though, got into some slammers on the way back, [suffered the next day] went into San Diego after a quick nap and had a meal, too knackered to make much of a night of it so that was a real shame we never got to really see S.D.

Back to L.A. stayed in Hollywood, pretty cool spot, bit like Kings cross in Sydney but not as sleezy
visited Universal Studios, bit disappointing, not many big rides and some were there when my pertner visited 20 years ago, i.e Backdraft, Jurrasic Park.
Simpsons ride was fantastic. We pre purchased tickets and paid twice as much to get front of line tickets. as the day wore on lines where up to 50 minutes wait to get on some rides, our tickets got us on in 10 max, worth the money

Weather was fantastic, first day in Vegas it was 44 deg [back in Melbourne it's 14]
Tippings a pain in the butt, someone told us you just double the tax which is shown on your bill.
also tax isn’t mentioned when you buy something, it gets added on after wards
People there surprised me, really quite respectful and polite. Didnt understand a word we said, had to repeat most things we said, all good fun though.
never got to see a band, saw a great Busker in Santa Monica, Viper room was closed when we went past

All over too quickly, need to start planning the next one
cheers again for all your help