USA - March 2016 with big family group (Help needed)

[familyman399]

Good morning all!

I am seeking for suggestions on our upcoming USA trip. I am aware of many threads online already; however I was hoping to get specific information on current travel plans.

Basically, travelling with full extended family of 4 couples (all in mid 30’s) and 4 kids (eldest is 3 and youngest is 1) and current itinerary is as

• 11 March 2016 – Mel to JFK
• 20 March 2016 – JFK to LAX (arrive at 2105 hours)
• 1 April 2016 – LAX to MEL.

We are looking to cover New York, Los Angeles, Vegas and San Francisco in this trip and plan to spend 9 days in NY, 3 days in Vegas, 4 days in SF and 5 days in LA (Disney Land, Universal Studio & Warner Bros – multiple days).

Given the big group, new suggestions and itineraries keep popping up and I would like to finalise the accommodation, car rentals etc, ASAP. So, I would greatly appreciate if I can get some advice on the below:

• 9 days in NY – some want to also cover Miami/Orlando. Is it advisable to catch a flight from and back to NY and spend 3 days, reducing NY time to 6 days?
• Arriving at LAX at 21:05 – Is it possible to catch a flight to Vegas at around 2250 or 2300 hours or cutting to too short? Next alternative would be to spend a night in close by hotel and catch early morning flight next day.
• Also, we considered taking flight from JFK to LAS instead of LAX. If we abandon one leg of the flight, will it impact LAX to MEL?
• Thinking about driving from Vegas to SF and then to LA. Any experiences with long drives with young kids in tow?
• Number of days sufficient in each city?
• I have been looking online for discounted tickets for Disney land etc but no major or even decent savings on group bookings. Any suggestions where to look for?
• Any other tips or suggestions you think may be beneficial for a big group.

Thanks for reading guys and all input will be appreciated!

Cheers

Abhinav396

 

[Mattg]

I'll try to answer your questions in order as best I can. This is just my personal opinion - others may have different thoughts.

-It really depends on your personal interests, and whether you would prefer to minimise the amount of air travel you have to do within the US. But certainly if I was travelling by myself, I would be happy with 6 days in New York and 3 days in Orlando or Miami. If you're travelling with kids I would personally choose Orlando over Miami - mainly for Disneyworld. Florida should also be a bit cheaper than New York in terms of accommodation, although if you need to purchase extra flights to get there then the cost saving overall will probably be minimal.

-Would you be arriving in LAX on a domestic flight? If so, and you're travelling on the same airline for both flights then the 23:00 flight connection should be okay. Although the kids in your group will probably be very tired by the time you reach LAS if coming from the east coast that day.

-Yes, it will definitely impact your last MEL flight. If you fail to take one leg of your booking, the remaining flights will be cancelled! Best to return to JFK and take the flight as originally booked.

-Can't really help you there, sorry.

-I would perhaps spend more time in SF than LA personally, but if you specifically want to spend lots of time at the LA theme parks/Hollywood etc. then 5 days is probably good.

-Not sure...

-If you're going to be hiring a car in Las Vegas, consider a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Also, do you have any frequent flyer status? If you're going to be mostly flying Qantas/American Airlines, and don't have any lounge access, you may want to consider a 30 day Admirals Club membership. You get 30 days of QF/AA lounge access for USD99. And each member can bring up to 2 guests each, so you'd only need one pass for every 3 people travelling. http://www.australianfrequentflyer....advantage/aas-admirals-club-30-day-37926.html

Also, this thread might be useful for tips on LA: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ion-guide/ideas-what-do-where-stay-73222.html

 

[RooFlyer]

Rather than repeating much the same thing, I'd say I think Mattg has it covered pretty well, but adding:

* If you are arriving LAX 21:05 from a long flight (eg from US or Oz east coasts), personally I'd stay the night at a LAX hotel. They are plentiful and close. That connection time is OK for a domestic connection, but it will be tiring and stressful at the end of the day. You are on holidays; try to minimise stress! If its an international connection, it would barely be long enough and again, subject to much stress.

* For Disneyland discounted tickets, see if local hotels will offer this. Never done it, but its worth a look/try.

 

[familyman399]

I'll try to answer your questions in order as best I can. This is just my personal opinion - others may have different thoughts.

-Would you be arriving in LAX on a domestic flight? If so, and you're travelling on the same airline for both flights then the 23:00 flight connection should be okay. Although the kids in your group will probably be very tired by the time you reach LAS if coming from the east coast that day.

-Yes, it will definitely impact your last MEL flight. If you fail to take one leg of your booking, the remaining flights will be cancelled! Best to return to JFK and take the flight as originally booked.

-If you're going to be hiring a car in Las Vegas, consider a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Also, do you have any frequent flyer status? If you're going to be mostly flying Qantas/American Airlines, and don't have any lounge access, you may want to consider a 30 day Admirals Club membership. You get 30 days of QF/AA lounge access for USD99. And each member can bring up to 2 guests each, so you'd only need one pass for every 3 people travelling. http://www.australianfrequentflyer....advantage/aas-admirals-club-30-day-37926.html

Also, this thread might be useful for tips on LA: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ion-guide/ideas-what-do-where-stay-73222.html

Thanks for the reply Mattg!

Travelling with QF and only bronze status currently. But full itinerary is booked with Qantas, however I think it probably is not worth taking a risk with kids for the flight same night.

Thought of skipping one leg of the journey - REMOVED. We do want to come back home on the same flight.

 

[familyman399]

Rather than repeating much the same thing, I'd say I think Mattg has it covered pretty well, but adding:

* If you are arriving LAX 21:05 from a long flight (eg from US or Oz east coasts), personally I'd stay the night at a LAX hotel. They are plentiful and close. That connection time is OK for a domestic connection, but it will be tiring and stressful at the end of the day. You are on holidays; try to minimise stress! If its an international connection, it would barely be long enough and again, subject to much stress.

* For Disneyland discounted tickets, see if local hotels will offer this. Never done it, but its worth a look/try.

Thanks RooFlyer!

Will be booking couple of rooms in a nearby hotel for the night and catch the flight next morning. Better be safe than sorry with kids and plenty of baggage in tow.

As for the theme park tickets, really hard to come by but I will ask the hotel concierge.

Cheers!

 

[coco50]

I personally think that you are trying to do too much. I have two adult children living in the states and I have been there many times. It is a big country with a lot to see. You need to consider whether it is really a good thing to make the side trip to Miami/Orlando this time. That does add another dimension to your trip. I would fly to LAS from New York ( LGA?) and after LAS fly to either LAX or SFO. BTW watch out for the hookers and their pimps in LAS they will approach you at a busy crossing and while one is talking to you, the other is stealing your wallet. Don't carry much money on the street. I would fly from LAS to SFO. You are pretty brave with kids so young on such a big trip. Good luck! I feel that 9 days in NYC may be about 3 too many. Do a half day city tour. Sights to see could include Statue of Liberty, The 9/11 site, Grand Central Station, Empire State, Central Park, Times Square, 5th Avenue shopping. Also do a river cruise. There is one that starts in the Hudson, goes around the Battery and up the East River. If the tides are right, you can circumnavigate the whole of Manhattan Island. I would use the subway to travel around the city. Surface transport is often slow.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Thanks RooFlyer!

Will be booking couple of rooms in a nearby hotel for the night and catch the flight next morning. Better be safe than sorry with kids and plenty of baggage in tow.

As for the theme park tickets, really hard to come by but I will ask the hotel concierge.

Cheers!

For all things Disney and Universal look at this site
http://www.mousesavers.com/

 

[Mattg]

I personally think that you are trying to do too much. I have two adult children living in the states and I have been there many times. It is a big country with a lot to see. You need to consider whether it is really a good thing to make the side trip to Miami/Orlando this time. That does add another dimension to your trip. I would fly to LAS from New York ( LGA?) and after LAS fly to either LAX or SFO. BTW watch out for the hookers and their pimps in LAS they will approach you at a busy crossing and while one is talking to you, the other is stealing your wallet. Don't carry much money on the street. I would fly from LAS to SFO. You are pretty brave with kids so young on such a big trip. Good luck! I feel that 9 days in NYC may be about 3 too many. Do a half day city tour. Sights to see could include Statue of Liberty, The 9/11 site, Grand Central Station, Empire State, Central Park, Times Square, 5th Avenue shopping. Also do a river cruise. There is one that starts in the Hudson, goes around the Battery and up the East River. If the tides are right, you can circumnavigate the whole of Manhattan Island. I would use the subway to travel around the city. Surface transport in often slow.

I do tend to agree with your point about doing too much. Perhaps instead of going to Florida, you could do a 1 or 2 day trip on the Amtrak train to Washington DC or Philadelphia? Lots to see and do in DC and it's a much more convenient ~3 hour train trip.

 

[Dr Ralph]

I'd say go with the trip as you have it planned. You will be very active but it's the only way to see the US unless you're prepared to make multiple trips.

 

[familyman399]

Thanks all for your input!

So far, this is what we have:

- Spend 9 days in NYC. Depending on weather, we may go for a trip to the Niagara Falls. If too cold (frozen) then couple of days in DC on cards.
- Will spend the night in LA on 20 March and will catch morning flight to LAS.
- Will fly to SF from LAS.
- Last leg of the journey in LA and will spend roughly 5 days, exploring Universal/Disney etc.

It would have been good to cover off Miami/Orlando as well, but I guess its better to be safe than sorry with young kids. They are very easy to travel with, but you never know.

 

[sausagefingers]

Sounds like an amazing trip.
My only advice would be if you're going to see the Grand Canyon, hire a car and drive there, spend the night and come back the next morning to Vegas.
Honestly its a 5-6 hour drive one way, so if you plan to do it all in a day, you're not leaving much time in the park.
Also avoid the West Rim which is commonly referred to as a tourist trap, go to the actual national park south rim, I promise none of you will forget that view.
Consider buying a LA citypass or something if you want to do all those things in LA.

My family arrives in LA March 9 at LAX and leaves 30th of March. so we're equally excited!!!

 

[UP4014]

If this is the 'big trip' then go for it.

But, I tend to agree with a couple of others here it might be a bit much. If it was me, I would stick to the west coast, hire the requesite vehicles. SFO, drive over Donner Pass to Las Vegas, maybe even do a couple of national parks on way, then back to LA. It will be more relaxing.

Do the east coast on a separate trip.

Organsing 3 or more people is an effort right down to the airport shuttle.

Matt

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks RooFlyer!

Will be booking couple of rooms in a nearby hotel for the night and catch the flight next morning. Better be safe than sorry with kids and plenty of baggage in tow.

As for the theme park tickets, really hard to come by but I will ask the hotel concierge.

Cheers!

When I'm overnighting at LAX, I use the Sheraton Gateway. It is (or at least was) the first stop on the hotel shuttle in that area. If you are at the end of the shuttle route, getting to the hotel seems like forever.

Do you know about LAX shuttles? On one of the inside road islands hire car and hotel shuttle busses (free) pull up outside each of the terminals in turn on something like a 15-30 minute cycle. Some hotels have their own shuttle bus, others in the same area share a shuttle. You have to be really careful 1) to be waiting in the right coloured 'zone' for hotel shuttle busses and 2) to get on the correct hotel shuttle bus. Different Sheratons, for instance may have different shuttle bus routes. When you book your hotel, make sure you get exact instructions as to what shuttle you should take. Sometimes there is a delay, a time gap between arrivals. Its LAX; always busy. I wouldn't take cabs, as you'll get a really shi**y driver when he realises what a short fare it is.

If you don't have your boarding passes for the morning's flight (but you should, from the previous day's check-in) leave plenty of time to check-in and to go through security. If the domestic flight is 9am, I would arrive at the terminal at 7am, so get a 6:30to 6:45 shuttle. Even if you have a BP, leave 90 mins for security and mucking around. If you have an Admiral's Club 30 day membership (not a pass, a membership, with all of its rights (check the link Mattg provided: it may include extra baggage allowance!). You can get a basic brekkie in the AC.

I would also vote to skip Florida. If you are doing the theme parks in LA, Florida doesn't offer much more, except sun, which you can get in Australia. I also vote for training out of New York to see Washington DC and other sights- probably for 2 or 3 days. Maybe your NY hotel will store excess bags for 3 nights while you travel away light.

Taxis are reasonably cheap in LA, but the FX doesn't help. There is public transport (trains) and you can get to Universal Studios that way, although its another shuttle bus at the end to get to the entry. Buy you Universal Studios and any other tickets you need, on line beforehand if you can. Cuts down on queues, and you will se a LOT of queues. There are child 'size limits' on many rides. Some of your group will be 'holding the baby' in turn while the others ride. I loved Universal Studio.

 

[familyman399]

Sounds like an amazing trip.
My only advice would be if you're going to see the Grand Canyon, hire a car and drive there, spend the night and come back the next morning to Vegas.
Honestly its a 5-6 hour drive one way, so if you plan to do it all in a day, you're not leaving much time in the park.
Also avoid the West Rim which is commonly referred to as a tourist trap, go to the actual national park south rim, I promise none of you will forget that view.
Consider buying a LA citypass or something if you want to do all those things in LA.

My family arrives in LA March 9 at LAX and leaves 30th of March. so we're equally excited!!!

We were in US in November 2014 and did the canyon tour and must admit, got sucked in the tourist trap. Know better now though!

Will be hiring a car and will consider the over night too. For theme park tickets, Princess Fiona suggested - MouseSavers.com - Your source for Disney discounts, codes & deals! and worth a look.

We all are looking forward to the trip and you have a great tip as well mate!

 

[familyman399]

If this is the 'big trip' then go for it.

But, I tend to agree with a couple of others here it might be a bit much. If it was me, I would stick to the west coast, hire the requesite vehicles. SFO, drive over Donner Pass to Las Vegas, maybe even do a couple of national parks on way, then back to LA. It will be more relaxing.

Do the east coast on a separate trip.

Organsing 3 or more people is an effort right down to the airport shuttle.

Matt

Cheers Matt!

We have been before and will for sure go again in future. Flights are already booked for MEL - LAX - JFK (Direct) and JFK - LAX (12 days) and back to MEL.

But will not try and cover everything in this trip. Want to take it easy and if can't get to any attraction, will cover it off in the next trip.

 

[familyman399]

When I'm overnighting at LAX, I use the Sheraton Gateway. It is (or at least was) the first stop on the hotel shuttle in that area.

Do you know about LAX shuttles?

If you don't have your boarding passes for the morning's flight (but you should, from the previous day's check-in) leave plenty of time to check-in and to go through security.

I would also vote to skip Florida. I also vote for training out of New York to see Washington DC and other sights- probably for 2 or 3 days. Maybe your NY hotel will store excess bags for 3 nights while you travel away light.

Taxis are reasonably cheap in LA, but the FX doesn't help. Buy you Universal Studios and any other tickets you need, on line beforehand if you can. I loved Universal Studio.

Thanks for the more insights RooFlyer!

Last time we were in LA, we stayed at Crowne Plaza which was very nice for the price. Mind you, FX was around 90c at the time. We will be hiring a car when in West Coast, so taxis, public transport will be avoided.

We can either take a trip to Niagara Falls or DC and still thinking which way should we go. Is it advisable to look amtrak seats in advance? Or can we book it whilst we are there?

Also, wife and I love theme parks but agree, skipping Orlando for this trip.

 

[karen blancfield]

We say that every time you fly, you lose a day. That's why we prefer to drive if we can e.g. Vegas to LA. There's no one-way rental penalty either between Nevada and California. 9 days in NY also allows for down time or if someone's off colour. Any travel in USA is brilliant! Envious, even though we have just got home!

 

[awkwardpaws]

abhinav396,sounds like an excellent trip! Others have weighed in with excellent suggestions, thought I can hone in on some theme park suggestions:

- Agree with the point made above that if you are planning to hit up theme parks in California, you can probably give Orlando a miss. I personally did Orlando earlier in life than the ones in California, but I wouldn't do Orlando and California theme parks on the same trip due to theme park overkill (and I LOVE Disney).

- For Disney theme parks, be aware that there are two theme parks - Disneyland (which is 'Magic Kingdom' and is classic Disney with the iconic castle) and California Adventure Park (which has the more 'thrilling' rides). Depending on how much time you have, you may want to get the park hopper (if you are at Disney for a total of 1 day), or spend at least 1 day in each (which is my personal recommendation)

- Whichever way you choose to do Disney, always worth checking what rides are closes for refurbishment. Since it isnt summer, chances are a few rides could be closed. Check here for confirmation. We went a few weeks ago in the middle of winter, so a lot of the rides we wanted to go on were closed

- Depending on how you plan to structure your Disney day(s), learning a little bit about how FastPass works will (in my opinion) make your day a little bit more enjoyable

 

[familyman399]

Thanks awkwardpaws!

Will have around 5 days in LA and leaning towards getting a park hopper ticket, works out cheaper anyways.

 

[sausagefingers]

abhinav396,sounds like an excellent trip! Others have weighed in with excellent suggestions, thought I can hone in on some theme park suggestions:

- Agree with the point made above that if you are planning to hit up theme parks in California, you can probably give Orlando a miss. I personally did Orlando earlier in life than the ones in California, but I wouldn't do Orlando and California theme parks on the same trip due to theme park overkill (and I LOVE Disney).

- For Disney theme parks, be aware that there are two theme parks - Disneyland (which is 'Magic Kingdom' and is classic Disney with the iconic castle) and California Adventure Park (which has the more 'thrilling' rides). Depending on how much time you have, you may want to get the park hopper (if you are at Disney for a total of 1 day), or spend at least 1 day in each (which is my personal recommendation)

- Whichever way you choose to do Disney, always worth checking what rides are closes for refurbishment. Since it isnt summer, chances are a few rides could be closed. Check here for confirmation. We went a few weeks ago in the middle of winter, so a lot of the rides we wanted to go on were closed

- Depending on how you plan to structure your Disney day(s), learning a little bit about how FastPass works will (in my opinion) make your day a little bit more enjoyable

Good point on the ride refurbs or "enhancements" There will be a bunch closed during your stay.
Autotopia (one of our favs, this is getting a Honda makeover which will include electric cars)
Mark Twain river cruise is closed due to StarWars Land
The Disney Railroad is also closed due to StarWars Land
Jungle Cruise is closed for a refurb
and I think maybe Soaring over USA is getting a new makeover too around that time.

Good news is, Luigi's ride in California Adventure is going to be open real soon, so that's cool.

Also if you want to do ANY Disney dining, I would consider booking now, they sell out fast.
We've booked Ariel's Grotto for breakfast (princess character Dinning) and the Blue Bayou (which sit he restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean ride) its expensive but we feel like its worth it.
Also do some research on Fastpass at Disneyland, it will make getting on the popular rides much easier and there are a bunch of great tricks to lean online.
also download the disneyland app which gives you all of the opening and closing times on your dates, as well as approx wait times for each ride.