My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

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Epcotmaniac
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My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

Post by Epcotmaniac » Apr Mon 06, 2015 6:49 am

I am planning my next trip to the USA in 2016.

Planned so far are a few days in Orlando, staying at the Pop Century, Disneyland Anaheim and a round trip through California and visiting a national park.

How many days should I stay at Anaheim to have enough time to see everything at the Disney Parks? Are 3 to 4 days enough?
Last edited by Epcotmaniac on Oct Mon 03, 2016 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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cy1229
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by cy1229 » Apr Mon 06, 2015 9:45 am

WHAT AN AWESOME TRIP!!! I think you'll have a GREAT time.

Just for planning - some of the National Parks are so very popular that the traffic becomes really problematic. Yosemite is one of the most popular parks and I think I read that they close to private vehicles if the number of guests gets too high. You can use the National Park Service website to investigate: http://www.nps.gov

My favorite National Parks are Yellowstone (in Wyoming, not at all close to southern California), Acadia (in Maine), and Grand Canyon (which is about 6 hours' driving time from Los Angeles, give or take some time).

I've never been to Disneyland but will be there this summer, and can give you some feedback about number of days after I get back. :) And if you have any other questions about any other stuff, let us know.
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Epcotmaniac
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by Epcotmaniac » Apr Mon 06, 2015 10:19 am

Maybe I will skip Orlando to have more time for the National Parks. I was at Yosemite Park once in 1997 with my parents and sister. I really loved it but we were at Yosemite just for one day. Grand Canyon is also something I want to see in my life.

I also want to visit Walnut Grove. http://walnutgrovemn.weebly.com/

I am looking for any advices for places or National Parks which are not so popular outside of the USA but worth to see.
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by cy1229 » Apr Mon 06, 2015 12:07 pm

I have a TON of questions to help you choose places for your 2016 USA trip.
1. How long do you plan on being in the US?
2. Beside Yosemite, where would you like to go?
3. I assume you have a maximum cost for the trip?
4. Will you rent a car and drive all over, or will you fly from place to place? For example, from California to Minnesota is approximately 2,800 km from Disneyland in California. That will take quite awhile to drive. :)
5. What kinds of experiences are you wanting? Hiking, photography, rustic camping, nice hotels, and so on?

I posted this to your Facebook page, too.
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by Amy » Apr Mon 06, 2015 3:39 pm

How exciting Epcotmaniac! cy1229 can probably give you the best information on national parks. I've been to Redwood and Yosemite with my brother and his family and both were really great!
You definitely need a car, even if you are planning to fly from the further destination points, the US doesn't have a great public transportation system, and I'm guessing it is a bit harder in the bigger parks unless you are staying there and there is some sort of internal shuttle.
As for Disneyland, 3 days would be the least amount of time I would suggest to visit, 4 would be better. If you are coming during the more peak season, the crowds will be heavier and wait times longer, but the park hours are also longer. cy1229 will have some good information for you after her visit about the parks in the summertime as well. I believe all of our visits to DL have been in and around December.

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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by MmeLeota » Apr Mon 06, 2015 10:31 pm

Grand Canyon is an amazing park! One cannot imagine its true vastness without seeing it in person...all the pictures in the world could never do it justice. The good news is, there are TONS of tours that can get you there if you don't wish to drive (I know there are a bunch that leave from Las Vegas...I would imagine there would be several that leave from Phoenix, AZ as well).

Here is a link to one particular tour.http://www.thetrain.com/
We did this several (more than 10) years ago, and I know there have been some updates since we were there...but we had a blast! We did a 2 night package that included a 2 night stay at the main hotel in Williams, AZ, most of our meals, the train ride, and a bus tour of the Grand Canyon. It was a fun little trip and I imagine it's still pretty neat.

4 days at the Disneyland Resort should be sufficient. DLR is a VERY different experience than WDW. For one thing, it is compact...compared to WDW where everything is spread out. There aren't many perks to staying on property either, so unless you would (possibly) get a CM discount, I would save your money and stay at one of the hotels within walking distance. (There are 3 in property hotels. Paradise Pier (the 'lowest' end), The Disneyland Hotel, and Grand Californian (mucho dinero)...there is one monorail station in the middle of the Downtown Disney Area that services all 3 hotels, and the monorail drops you off in Tomorrowland. Unless things have changed, there isn't much in the way of perks to staying on property like at WDW either.) There aren't magic bands as of yet, nor do I forsee them attempting it anytime soon...but you never know. (Personally, I don't think they will work in CA like they do in FL.)


Maybe we'll get to meet up at some point! It sounds like you will have an awesome trip regardless!

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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by Epcotmaniac » Apr Wed 08, 2015 12:34 pm

Wow I love that idea with the train. I hope we can meet-up. Would be great.
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by cy1229 » Apr Wed 08, 2015 3:10 pm

So you do that Yellowstone bus tour I told you about, the train tour MmeLeota told you about, some days at DLR, and you're up to about 12-13 days including travel time. So there are a couple things you could do to round our your two weeks:

1. Tack on an extra day in California to go to the beach. Pacific Ocean!
2. Add a day or two to Yellowstone. Seriously, there isn't enough time to see it all. :) You can do some backcountry camping if you're really brave (bears! bugs!)
3. Spend a little time in Sonoma, AZ, which is really pretty

One thing to keep in mind, there ARE commercial flights available from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon. They have a little information on the park website. http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm And it would be nice to spend a day in Old Scottsdale, but keep in mind that June is the "slow season" for Phoenix, and it's REALLY REALLY hot there. Don't believe any of that nonsense about it being a dry heat. Hot is hot. It frequently gets over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is obnoxious. So, many of the touristy kinds of places are closed at that time of year. But you'll be there at the tail end of "spring" so the desert might yet be green(ish) and not all brown and dried out. April is a BEAUTIFUL time to be in the desert in Arizona. I haven't been in June. And again, you'll have to drive to see it.

Now, if you want to extend into the third week of your trip, I recommend one of the following:
1. Rocky Mountain National Park. It's reasonably near Denver, and I imagine that if you are able to get transportation to Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, you should be able to arrange something similar to Rocky Mountain.
2. Glacier National Park in Montana. I only mention this one because the glaciers are rapidly disappearing and within the next 25-30 years they might be gone. It's much more remote than even Yellowstone is, though, and you might be forced to rent a car to get there. I do know there is an Amtrak train that goes to the region, but I don't know anything about it.
3. Spend some time in Chicago. GREAT museums and food, good public transportation system. You'd be in town during baseball season, and a Cubs game is always a good time if you can stand sitting in a hard seat for 3 hours+, eating hot dogs and drinking bad beer. :)
4. St. Louis Gateway Arch. I think you might find this interesting, and the museum beneath is pretty cool. Gives you some American history. :) Not more than a day, though. It's pretty easy to get there from the airport via public transportation or taxi.
5. Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Again, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere as most of our parks and monuments are. But it's in the midst of the Badlands, which is a really rugged, yet beautiful, part of the country. Not really mountains, and not flat plains.

If you really don't want to rent a car you're going to be limited. We Americans love our cars and our public transportation system as a whole really stinks. There are exceptions in some areas, but they're few and far between. We all just drive places all the time.

One of the things you might consider is visiting the major cities or areas where us Subsonic folks are living. Might not be the National Parks but would definitely be interesting. You'd see the "real" American countryside. Just a thought. You'd be welcome here in Indy. I'll take you to the track and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. :) The race is always Memorial Day weekend but the museum is open year-round.

So there's some more stuff to think about. Of course, we haven't even considered anything in northern California (Sequoia National Park) or the northern Pacific Coast, nor have we talked about the lesser-known but equally beautiful parks in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona (Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest). And now you know why people have visiting all of the National Parks on their "bucket lists". :) It's just too much to do even in one year.
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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by Amy » Apr Wed 08, 2015 4:08 pm

Whew ~ now I want to go on a trip out that way ~ lots of info cy1229 :D
I definitely want to get to see Mount Rushmore someday, and the point about the glaciers is very true so that should probably be moved up on my list to sooner rather than later.
The only thing I saw that I wouldn't recommend is the Cubs game, but only because I went to one just a few summers back. We were packed like sardines into the seats and while it was fun, there were far too many drunk people for me to enjoy the game. Plus it was expensive, a bit over $50 per ticket :shock:

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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by tutuwahinelv » Apr Wed 08, 2015 8:48 pm

3 days are plenty to do Disneyland/California Adventure. Just remember that California is a lot bigger than it seems. The national parks are 4-5, or more hours drive from Anaheim.

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Re: My USA-Trip June 2016 WDW and DL

Post by cy1229 » Apr Thu 09, 2015 3:01 pm

tutuwahinelv wrote:3 days are plenty to do Disneyland/California Adventure. Just remember that California is a lot bigger than it seems. The national parks are 4-5, or more hours drive from Anaheim.
Joshua Tree isn't. But who wants to go there? :)
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Re: My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

Post by Epcotmaniac » Oct Mon 03, 2016 9:02 am

Well, a lot things happened during the last 18 month. I couldn't make my trip this year and I had to delay it to an unknown date in 2017 or 2018.
2018 would fit my pattern of visiting Orlando every four years. 2006-2010-2014

It could be possible now that I will be in Orlando in September/October for Epcots 35th Birthday or in spring 2018 for a trip to see the parks at both coasts.

It all depends if I get a better paid job at my university this year and if I get a scholarship.

So we all know that a stay at the parks can be expensive I started to save some extra money which I will spend for some cool stuff I wouldn't normally buy.
I made this savings box this summer by myself. I bought one and wrapped it with colored paper and glued some pictures from an old travel catalogue on it.
Once a week I put all my change in it. I also put all the money in it I found on the street.
Here in Germany you have to pay a bottle deposit when you buy soft drinks, water or beer. That are 8, 15 or 25 Cent, depending of the kind of drink. Whenever I return the bottles I put the money into the box.
When I turn 19 next month I will ask my guests to give a litte donation instead of buying gifts.
It is also a can, which you only can open with a can opener so you can't get the money without destroying the box.
My plan is to open the can one week before my flight goes and until then save money.

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So if anyone of you is planing a trip to WDW in a year from now let me know. I can't promise it but maybe we could meet up.
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Re: My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

Post by Amy » Oct Mon 03, 2016 10:12 am

That's a great idea Lars! I wonder if you might want to open it up a bit sooner though so you have some idea of how much money you have in it? Although if you are just using it for extras, like souvenirs or treats when you are in the US, then it wouldn't matter as much.
Didn't you turn 19 once already? ;)

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Re: My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

Post by Epcotmaniac » Oct Mon 03, 2016 10:37 am

Amy wrote:That's a great idea Lars! I wonder if you might want to open it up a bit sooner though so you have some idea of how much money you have in it? Although if you are just using it for extras, like souvenirs or treats when you are in the US, then it wouldn't matter as much.
Didn't you turn 19 once already? ;)
I might will open it the night before the flight so I don't have the chance to waste the money. I know myself. :D
And I want to be surprised how much is in it.

I will also give a friend some math lessons. I don't want to get paid for that directly because I can't charge friends for something like that. I will ask her to put some money in that box for what the lessons were worth for her.

Sorry, my english is not so good. I don't understand your last sentence. Did you call me old? :cry:
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Re: My USA-Trip someday in 2017 or 2018

Post by cy1229 » Oct Mon 03, 2016 1:38 pm

Epcotmaniac wrote:
Amy wrote:That's a great idea Lars! I wonder if you might want to open it up a bit sooner though so you have some idea of how much money you have in it? Although if you are just using it for extras, like souvenirs or treats when you are in the US, then it wouldn't matter as much.
Didn't you turn 19 once already? ;)
I might will open it the night before the flight so I don't have the chance to waste the money. I know myself. :D
And I want to be surprised how much is in it.

I will also give a friend some math lessons. I don't want to get paid for that directly because I can't charge friends for something like that. I will ask her to put some money in that box for what the lessons were worth for her.

Sorry, my english is not so good. I don't understand your last sentence. Did you call me old? :cry:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, Epcotmaniac, YOU are old. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think Amy meant to say, we all thought you were already 19.
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