California travel info for road trip

"Greg McAllister" wrote in message
news:vxDQb.19131$oj2.1902@edtnps89...
Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down
to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ? How long is 'long enough'
for
Disneyland ? - never been there, but I hear you don't need anywhere near
the
time that you need to spend at DisneyWorld.

Thanks in Advance
--

Allow two days for Disneyland. Get a book with a good map. Find out what
the best rides are (there is probably lots of information about this
online). Try to make both days a weekday. Tuesday and Wednesday are the
best. If you can't go on a weekday plan out your day as much as you
possibly can and get there no later than 1/2 hour before the park opens. As
soon as you get in head IMMEDIATELY for the best rides that you want to go
on. Get in as many as you can as quickly as you can before the crowds and
lines get long. Later in the day you can ride the lesser rides and walk
around and shop.

On the second day, do exactly the same thing. Hit the good rides that you
missed the first day and repeat the ones that you especially liked. Then as
the day wears on and you feel like you have had enough of the fun, you can
leave without feeling that you have missed something important.

IMHO the "parades" (including the park closing fireworks) aren't worth the
wait or the traffic leaving. Seen one firework display you've seen them
all.

Other things to see in California would include the Winchester House (I
think it's in San Jose, actually), Knotts Berry Farm (kind of like
Disneyland but smaller and more intimate (located near Disneyland). Since I
am not a movie fan and could care less about it, I have no personal interest
in Universal Studios although I have heard that it is fun from people who
have enjoyed it.

Remember that Los Angeles is a huge city and has many wonderful things to
see. I have heard that the Museum of Natural History has dinosaur bones
that were extracted from the LaBrea Tar Pits.

Also, another area that you might consider checking out is the Napa Valley
where you can enjoy wine tasting at the many vinyards.

There are a lot of fun things to do. Enjoy.

SD

Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ? How long is 'long enough' for
Disneyland ? - never been there, but I hear you don't need anywhere near the
time that you need to spend at DisneyWorld.

Thanks in Advance
--


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When in San Jose be sure to visit the Winchester House. It is probably
one of the most unique in the world.

B.A.

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thanks for the info

Don Kirkman wrote in message . ..
It seems to me I heard somewhere that Shashay Doofray wrote in article
:

"Greg McAllister" wrote in message
news:vxDQb.19131$oj2.1902@edtnps89...
Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down
to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ? How long is 'long enough'
for
Disneyland ? - never been there, but I hear you don't need anywhere near
the
time that you need to spend at DisneyWorld.

Allow two days for Disneyland. Get a book with a good map. Find out what
the best rides are (there is probably lots of information about this
online). Try to make both days a weekday. Tuesday and Wednesday are the
best. If you can't go on a weekday plan out your day as much as you
possibly can and get there no later than 1/2 hour before the park opens. As
soon as you get in head IMMEDIATELY for the best rides that you want to go
on. Get in as many as you can as quickly as you can before the crowds and
lines get long. Later in the day you can ride the lesser rides and walk
around and shop.

On the second day, do exactly the same thing. Hit the good rides that you
missed the first day and repeat the ones that you especially liked. Then as
the day wears on and you feel like you have had enough of the fun, you can
leave without feeling that you have missed something important.

IMHO the "parades" (including the park closing fireworks) aren't worth the
wait or the traffic leaving. Seen one firework display you've seen them
all.

[...]

Remember that Los Angeles is a huge city and has many wonderful things to
see. I have heard that the Museum of Natural History has dinosaur bones
that were extracted from the LaBrea Tar Pits.

No, the fossils are a few million years later than the dinosaurs.
Mammoths, saber toothed cats, camels, thousands of kinds of fossils
ranging from fern spores and microbes to mammoths and giant sloths. I
don't know if it's still true, but a few years ago you could take guided
tours to see where some of the digging is done.

Also, another area that you might consider checking out is the Napa Valley
where you can enjoy wine tasting at the many vinyards.

But that's a long ways north of San Jose.


thanks for the info

Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down
to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ?

Avoid: Disneyworld.

See: Some decent bars along your route.

Axel

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:35:18 GMT, wrote:

Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down
to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ?

Avoid: Disneyworld.

Not hard to do, since it is 3000 miles out of the way.

Turby the Turbosurfer

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 23:50:51 GMT, "Greg McAllister"
wrote:

Planning a work trip to San Jose, then taking my wife and three kids down to
possibly Disney across to Las Vegas then back up home to Calgary, Alberta.
Any travel tips, places to go/see/stay/avoid ? How long is 'long enough' for
Disneyland ? - never been there, but I hear you don't need anywhere near the
time that you need to spend at DisneyWorld.

OK, OK, if you have to appease the kids, take 'em to Disneyland. Do it
in a day. On your way, go down California 1 through Big Sur. Stop and
see the big trees. If you're going to Vegas, you might as well go on
around the Grand Canyon. Then back through Bryce & Zion National
Parks. Come back up through Yosemite.

If the kids are old enough to appreciate Disney, they'll appreciate
the natural wonders even more. The first time I saw them was between
7-10 years old, and I've never forgotten the experience. I also went
to D-Land when I was 10. There is no comparison which is the better
experience.

Turby the Turbosurfer

Thank you all ...we can't wait to go

--


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"Carebare" wrote in message
om...
It sounds like you got quite a bit of driving planned to SJ, LA, &
Vegas. Avoid Napa valley and Yosemite as that is very much out of the
way. Santa Cruz is SW of SJ. If you stay along the (scenic) coast on
your way to LA, you can hit beach towns (Monterey, San Luis, Santa
barbara) and Hertz caste. Driving from south, sometimes we cut east
towards 5 over pretty hills, but San Joaquin Vally (Hwy 5) is dull.
All I know's about California.