Help me fill in 5 weeks on the West Coast.

[ohsobusymum]

Hi Members, My family of 12 ( 7 adults 5 kids) are heading over to the USA for 6 weeks at the end of OCT to DEC. I'm a little stuck at where to go that's interesting and not all the same. We have been before but only for 3 weeks and it was easy to fill up the trip and we didn't do San Fran or New York.

So far I have :

Anaheim 7 days
San Diego 4 days
Vegas 3 days
San Francisco 6 days
New York 7 days

I would love to hear some suggestions or any other feedback at where we should go.

Thanks Cheree

 

[AussieNSW]

We have just returned home today from I think it is 5th trip to the states about 7 hours ago and I am trying to stay awake so that I sleep tonight. Just a few ideas that might interest you.
*Niagra Falls the Canadian side beautiful spot near there called Niagra on the lake we went at the early Oct and the fall leaves were beautiful and the maid of the mist was fantastic. Check to see when they close for the season.
*Washington Dc you can catch train from NewYork.
*Amish towns ( Bird in the Hand)
*Orlando
*Disney or another companies cruise to the Caribbean
*Seattle
*Catch a ferry from Seattle to Vancouver

We traveled internally with SouthWest airlines they give you 2 bags free which is very important. The security at all venues including airports has increased so give yourself more time than you think you wil need. I was surprised as to how long it took at some airports.
Always carry snacks with you, we got to the airport at Atlanta and the security line was beyond huge so no time for food at airport. When we finally got through we had to quickly board our plane. The result was hungry wingy children and on board you could buy a sandwich but they did not accept cash only card and sometimes international cards dont work in their machines.

 

[disneymum2201]

From San Francisco we have travelled to Yosemite National Park. You could actually do a road trip either the coast Big Sir down to Anaheim from San Fran or do a national parks tour inland. If you travel the coast the whale watching in Monterey was amazing. We went out with Kate from Fast Raft. There were seals and little sea otters near the shore we saw them as we walked. Santa Barbara is interesting. Disneyland is a must in Anaheim. We have purchased City Passes before that included entry to Disneyland, San Diego Zoo. Sea World and I think LEGOLAND but it may have been universal studios. In Orlando our family enjoyed Kennedy Space centre you may even see a rocket launch. One trip by coincidence we saw a space shuttle launch that was pretty special. Also an airboat tour through some swamps. I really like spirit of the swamp but your group may need a bigger boat. Disneyworld of course. In San Diego seaworld is interesting there are behind the scenes tour you can do. We were a bit disappointed with the zoo although that is a few years ago. We did an intensive 1 day tour in New York that took us to the statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Little Italy, 911 monuments. Previous poster mentioned cruises and you might pick up a cruise in LA, Port Canaveral or New York that would take you to some interesting places. We have cruised in all those places, Panama Canal transit, New England in Autumn, the Pacific Coast and Mexico. We have cruised with Disney, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity X. We are doing a Caribbean cruise in Late November. Keep in mind the weather as you make plans.