Help!!! I'm spending a month traveling the U.S.A and i need some ideas!!!

[Dustysage]

What a wonderful trip you have planned!

While you are staying at Disneyland, you might want to take a day or two to explore Laguna and Newport Beaches. They are just a short drive away and provide a nice slice of Orange County. Lots of great restaurants and shops. San Diego is just a hour and a half away by car, LA is an hour north, and Santa Barbara is a couple of hours North (all drive times are for before or after rush hours only). So much to see and do in Southern California aside from just Disneyland.

Vegas can be fun but that sounds like a very long time to be there in the summer. Might as well research the shows. You might do Lion King in Vegas and that will free you up to see more recent shows in New York. Vegas has become a hub of great restaurants and all of the big casinos have some stunning places. I'm sure that our Vegas folks can recommend some great places for you. I personally love the Rum Jungle at Mandalay Bay.

Hawaii is just fantastic. We love it and have found that doing nothing at all in Hawaii is even more fun that running around trying to see everything.

If you want to post specific questions about cities, restaurants, shows, etc. please feel free to do so and the MiceChatters will no doubt give you more suggestions than you can handle.

Have fun planning!

-Dusty

[aussiedave]

Thank you all so much!!! we've decided to only spend 3 nights in vegas now, we are spending one night at the grand canyon and one night in yosemite. Thank you so much for all your ideas!!!

[DisneyIPresume]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaAdventurer

Dave, Dave, Dave....

You're going to the Venetian, and driving through the hot desert?

When we have both the tallest and largest trees on Earth in our California forests.

And California also has the oldest living things in the world -- the bristlecone pines are trees that are over 5000 years old and still living!

[madoka]

Be aware that if you see a Broadway show in Vegas such as The Lion King, it is likely to be slightly abridged. Rather than having 2 acts and an intermission, Vegas productions squeeze the show into one 90-minute act. That way they can offer 2 shows per night. They may cut songs and/or dialogue. If it's important to you to see the show *exactly* as it is meant to be seen, then please see it in NY. With that said though, The Lion King is fabulous! Please *make sure* to be in your seats 5 minutes before the start time. Trust me on this. There are 2 newer Disney productions on Broadway - The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins - that may also be of interest.

Also, if you don't buy advanced tickets or feel like catching an extra show while you're there, check out the TKTS booth in Time Square for same-day discount tickets.

I think adding a night at the Grand Canyon and at Yosemite was an excellent choice. Don't forget to pay attention while riding Soarin' Over California at DCA for the Yosemite and Palm Springs segments!

Also, are you sure you can't squeeze San Francisco and Napa Valley into your trip?

You will love Hawaii. It is the only other US state I would consider living in besides (northern) California. Definitely try the plate lunches and spam musubi popular with locals and get some Hawaiian shaved ice with ice cream and azuki beans from Matsumoto's. If you go to Haunauma Bay to snorkel, make sure to arrive *early* (like by 9am) to get a parking spot.

Have an awesome time and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions!

Cheers, mate! (DH is a bonafide Aussie from Melbourne. )

[Trekkie Dad]

Get away from Waikiki while in Hawaii, even if all you do is take a bus tour around the island. We were there a week and got "Go Oahu" cards that gave us free admission to tons of stuff for 3 days.

[Roo719]

For Americana, Pearl Harbor was facinating.

peace,
Roo

[pixie chick]

What a wonderful trip! I'm glad you changed up your Vegas plans to 3 nights...that should be plenty of time. I think Dusty had a great idea to see more of Orange County, like Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. San Diego is a great place to see, too, if you can squeeze it in.

Hawaii is fabulous. That's the only place I've been to, besides So Cal, where I would want to live.

[aussiedave]

Originally Posted by Trekkie Dad

Get away from Waikiki while in Hawaii, even if all you do is take a bus tour around the island. We were there a week and got "Go Oahu" cards that gave us free admission to tons of stuff for 3 days.

Those cards sound like a great idea... Where did you get those from??

We spend our first 5 nights in LA When we arrive, and we have a hire car so we'll definatley drive down to san diego and spend some time at the beaches.
We plan on driving from Laguna beach to Santa monica, stopping at the different beaches on the way, is it to much to fit it in to 1 day?

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

They can be a couple of hours, or a lifetime apart, depending on traffic.

So glad you are making time for a national park experience. But one night, mate? Does that give you time to get there and see the place, before leaving? I'd do two nights at Yosemite or two nights at the Grand Canyon, with a strong preference for YOSEMITE over the GC. But that's just me.

[tassie]

Originally Posted by aussiedave

^ thanks!! we'll put that on our to do list.. just looked into it and the Lion King show looks amazing!!

we saw the Lion King on Broadway and had 3rd row seats. It was amazing!!

Originally Posted by krystledm

I understand wanting to hit the big cities,but your going to miss so much of what America is by doing that. There is so much more to see. Next time you come, you should plot a map and go driving.

yep, we drove from LA to SF across to NYC and back

Originally Posted by aussiedave

Those cards sound like a great idea... Where did you get those from??

We spend our first 5 nights in LA When we arrive, and we have a hire car so we'll definatley drive down to san diego and spend some time at the beaches.
We plan on driving from Laguna beach to Santa monica, stopping at the different beaches on the way, is it to much to fit it in to 1 day?

just remember the water there isn't like here. It's always cold LOL LOL. Make sure you go to seaworld. No where near as good as ours, but we don't have beluga or killer wales, and the animal actors is way better there than Universal.
Make sure you plan a MEET THE AUSSIES through here. You'll get to meet alot of Micechatters. We had ours at Hearthstones, and met so many wonderful people.
When you drive out to Vegas, there's a place along the way called Calico Ghost town which is alot of fun. There are a few Micechatter's in Vegas too, so you could plan a meet there.
As for SF... HATED it!! LOL LOL Too many homeless, and didn't enjoy it at all.
I LOVE NYC and could easily live there LOL LOL. We actually stayed out at NJ, but our hotel has a bus pick up at the door for NYC every 15 minutes or so, and was only $2 a trip. Another place to stay in NJ has a train, with the first stop being the trade center. the cost of hotels in NJ compared to NYC is like a quarter of the price, and just as good, if not better.
We met a fellow MC family there and they took us out for the night to a place called Fountains of Wayne. I was watching the Sopranos recently, and Tony went to Fountains of Wayne!! LOL LOL LOL
we loved the drive in and out. You had an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline, which at night was breathtaking.
Times Square is awesome. The toysRus is fatastic! 3 stories with a ferris wheel inside. Also FAO Shwartz (sp?) where they filmed some of the movie Big (the piano scenes, and they still have that there, with people playing it).
Also, another time I was in NYC we got a taxi and did a day tour. They took us outside of Manhattan, and even over to Coney Island. Well worth it, and cost the same as if we had taken a bus tour. you can also spend a morning at a Gospel church up in Harlem, which is AMAZING.

If there's anything else you want to know, please ask!!

[Barbossa]

aussiedave, If you are in Vegas for 5 nights, the Grand Canyon is a must. If you can also spare some time try to fit in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. I just got back from an 18-day roadtrip down there. It was absolutely magnificent. We managed to fit in both the north rim and south rim of the Grand Canyon. At the south rim, east entrance, be sure to check out the Watchtower.

[tassie]

do you have you're accommodation booked at the Grand Canyon?
if not, there are three options. You can stay inside the park at a lodge (I have stay at Yavapai lodge)
Grand Canyon tours, accommodation, vacation. Hotels, camping, cabins, lodges. - Yavapai Lodge

or a small township just at the park entrance called Tusayan, which has accommodation cheaper than in the park. We stayed here at the Red Feather lodge
Grand Canyon, Arizona Hotel - Red Feather Lodge - Grand Canyon, AZ

If you want cheaper, the town of Williams is about an hour drive into the Grand Canyon, but a lovely, quaint little town
Williams, Arizona Travel & Vacation Guide

[SummerInFL]

All the suggestions have been great but I have a book suggestion for you.

It's called 1000 Places to Visit (In the US and Canada) Before you Die.

It highlights by state all the wonderful things that just can't be missed in the US. So if you're looking for ideas, I would highly recommend that book.

Amazon.com: 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. &...
Have a WONDERFUL trip and PLEASE post photos or a trip report, I'd love to read it.