PTR - Disneyworld, The Dream, Disneyland and some Las Vegas Glitter

[WanderlustNZ]

So long story short, I would do a helicopter trip with a touchdown at the bottom over a road trip with just a view from the top. Having explored from the top, inside and the bottom, I would love to now do a helicopter trip to see the whole picture!

I'm not sure I would recommend the drive either. I saw the Grand Canyon via a small plane (more expensive than a car, but cheaper than a helicopter) and even without the drive it was a long day. Thankfully the majority of it was spent actually in the canyon, not just getting there and back.

I'm not sure if the tour I did still exists, but it was excellent.

We flew over Hoover Dam and some pretty parts of the canyon, onto a small airstrip located within a working Ranch at the North rim. Once there we were greeted by a group of working cowboys. We were fed a cowboy lunch, taken target shooting (more DH's style than mine) and then given a 4-wheel drive tour to the Canyon Rim. While the area we toured wasn't as impressive or barren as the more touristy spots, this was more than made up for by the peace and quiet our small group encountered on the tour. It was like we had the whole Canyon to our ourselves. Plus we were entertained by the most interesting tales of Canyon Pioneers, Prickly Pear cactus, Rattlesnakes and Scorpians. The cowboys and their stories will always hold a more special place in my heart than the canyon itself.

Long story short, if you can find a tour like this I recommend it. Sometimes the charm of the American West is as much in the people as it is the scenery.

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm not sure I would recommend the drive either. I saw the Grand Canyon via a small plane (more expensive than a car, but cheaper than a helicopter) and even without the drive it was a long day. Thankfully the majority of it was spent actually in the canyon, not just getting there and back.

I'm not sure if the tour I did still exists, but it was excellent.

We flew over Hoover Dam and some pretty parts of the canyon, onto a small airstrip located within a working Ranch at the North rim. Once there we were greeted by a group of working cowboys. We were fed a cowboy lunch, taken target shooting (more DH's style than mine) and then given a 4-wheel drive tour to the Canyon Rim. While the area we toured wasn't as impressive or barren as the more touristy spots, this was more than made up for by the peace and quiet our small group encountered on the tour. It was like we had the whole Canyon to our ourselves. Plus we were entertained by the most interesting tales of Canyon Pioneers, Prickly Pear cactus, Rattlesnakes and Scorpians. The cowboys and their stories will always hold a more special place in my heart than the canyon itself.

Long story short, if you can find a tour like this I recommend it. Sometimes the charm of the American West is as much in the people as it is the scenery.

That sounds amazing Honestly, with such spectacular scenery all round, I think there's a less pressing need to go to the 'most' spectacular spot.

 

[Tashinwdw]

After much discussion )and I feel its not actually over yet) DH has decided that we might not do grand canyon at all now......ARGHHH! Besides seeing some shows it was the main reason why we were going back to Las Vegas. I am sure I will be able to convince him.

I had another alternative all mapped out, driving from LAX and then stay over night at the route 66 motel. then up early and onto the grand canyon and spend the day there and then drive to Las vegas, this would include if we can budget it in a tour by helicopter. Which in theory sounds good but then the kids reminded me that they will be sitting in a plane for 13 hours and now I expect them to sit in a car for another 5 - 6 hours (which to me is only an hour or two more than what we have to do to drive to las vegas anyway. I was spending so much time worrying about the WDW and universal part of the planning I cant believe I have nearly six weeks to go and I am not sure what we are now doing for the first 5 days of our trip.

DH will not get on a bus and do the canyon that way and now he doesnt want to spend two days driving - which was his idea in the first place.

Wanderlust your tour sounds great but DH will not get on a small plane, he had to do it for work when he was younger and had some wild rides up at the mines and its one of the reasons why he hates flying, I am only now getting him on big planes, there is no way in the world I would get him on a small plane, even if I double his plane drugs

On a different note and maybe why my itinerary for the first five days is a bit of a mess, I have been working on my FE gifts, I would love some feedback as I have no idea what I am doing and if its right, I keep changing my mind. I will put them in the next post because I am not sure if the photos will work

 

[Tashinwdw]

After changing what I am giving for FE's I think this is what I have settled on

for the women



There is a range of different gifts with an Australian theme, tea towells, shopping bags, coasters, pens and bathing sarongs

for the men

they will get the same which is an Australia bottle opener key ring and a boomerang magnet.

for the children


Girls get a variety of things from hair bands and purses, note pads and pens, jewellery, Australian stationery, they boys all get the same which is a pirate bag with Australian chocolate coins, patch, pencil, game, scope, whistle, earrings
Each gift gets a little cling on koala

Also each cabin will get a gift of a range of different Aussie lollies and chocolates as well as Vegemite and butter menthols

OK what do you think?

 

[zanzibar138]

I feel your pain. My DH likes to mess with my planning too

I can understand people getting concerned about spending so long sitting still in a car after having just had such a long flight. However, I love a good road trip - you get a much better view of the scenery, you can stop whenever you want to and stretch your legs, and you can get to the not-so-accessible places.

Hmm let me re-familiarise myself with your whole itinerary...

Have you thought about flying from LAX - Vegas? I know no one will be in the mood to get on another flight after having just arrived, but it will be shorter and less demanding than driving. If you're going to do that, you could always fly into Flagstaff instead, and be much closer to the Grand Canyon. You could spend a couple of nights there to give yourself a break from travelling before the long trip back to Vegas.

If it's just that they don't want to drive for hours after just getting off the flight, would it be worth doing the Grand Canyon part at the end of your stay in Vegas?

Otherwise, why don't you just stick with the helicopter tour from Vegas? It seems a shame not to go, if it's the main reason for going to Vegas.

FWIW, Death Valley and Zion National Park are also 2-3 hours drive from Vegas. If your family aren't going to be keen on being in the car for that long, you might have to re-think that whole part of your itinerary. Red Rock Canyon should be good though

I have no idea how FE works, so I'm not much help there!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I think they're fantastic. Well done!

 

[PrincessInOz]

What fantastic looking FE gifts. Well done!



AARgh! What is it about husbands messing with OUR plans???

I know Zanzibar suggested flying into Flagstaff. The last time I looked, the flights were pretty expensive.
Personally with your DH not wanting to fly or do too much driving, for the 5 days, I would consider taking a slow drive to Vegas and stopping at some of the other NP along the way. Perhaps Sequoia NP on the way through Death Valley and then also to Zion and Bryce from Vegas if your family feels up to it.

 

[BecBennett]

I feel your pain. My DH likes to mess with my planning too

AARgh! What is it about husbands messing with OUR plans???

Was just coming to make this comment! It must be a man thing...

If you're going to do that, you could always fly into Flagstaff instead, and be much closer to the Grand Canyon

So Flagstaff is where you fly into of you want to see the Grand Canyon without going to Vegas?

 

[PrincessInOz]

So Flagstaff is where you fly into of you want to see the Grand Canyon without going to Vegas?

Flagstaff to the GC South Rim is still about 80 miles, if you decide to take the direct route. I believe you can catch a Greyhound bus from Flagstaff to the South Rim. It is probably more convenient to hire a car and drive.

The other option is to get to Williams. It's about 60 miles from Williams to the South Rim and there is the GC Train that runs between Williams and the South Rim. The Train does offer overnight stays as part of a package.
I'm pretty sure that there are no commercial flights into Williams; but it's been a while since I checked that.

 

[zanzibar138]

I know Zanzibar suggested flying into Flagstaff. The last time I looked, the flights were pretty expensive.
Personally with your DH not wanting to fly or do too much driving, for the 5 days, I would consider taking a slow drive to Vegas and stopping at some of the other NP along the way. Perhaps Sequoia NP on the way through Death Valley and then also to Zion and Bryce from Vegas if your family feels up to it.

Oh, I didn't look at the pricing/routes etc. It could well be that there are no direct flights there either from LAX.

The slow drive to Vegas would probably work better if Tash isn't set on visiting the Grand Canyon specifically.

So Flagstaff is where you fly into of you want to see the Grand Canyon without going to Vegas?

Flagstaff is the closest commercial airport to the Grand Canyon. It would still be close to a 2 hour drive, but definitely do-able for a day trip.

The other option is to get to Williams. It's about 60 miles from Williams to the South Rim and there is the GC Train that runs between Williams and the South Rim. The Train does offer overnight stays as part of a package.
I'm pretty sure that there are no commercial flights into Williams; but it's been a while since I checked that.

There are still no commercial flights to Williams, but you could take the train if you were so inclined. Otherwise, Williams is not far from Flagstaff. The train ride to the Grand Canyon is part of my travel wishlist

 

[Tashinwdw]

I looked into staying at Williams yesterday when I did my mock up of the new itenerary but DH has decided against it.......

New plan as of today, As I have already seen the grand canyon (loved it) and he is not fussed and the kids really want to do it with the helicopter tour so we have settled on this -

drive straight to Las vegas from LAX, settle into hotel, then DH and I will have a quick look at one of those places that offer the tours. We will then book a helicopter tour that takes us to the west rim (I prefer the south rim, but I have not done the west rim or the sky walk so it will be different for me) That way we still have 4 days to do other things.

We will keep our fingers crossed that they will have vacancy on the tour. When we were there last time we couldn't decide if we should do it (DH and his anxiety) the prices were so much cheaper than the quotes I had gotten online, by the time we decided to go ahead we really only had two days to do it and their next booking was for the day we left and we didnt want to risk how long it took because we had not driven from Las vegas to LA before.

So we will look into it as soon as we arrive.

Our list of other things to do in LV is -
at least 2 shows, we are leaning towards, O and also David Copperfield.
Medieval dinner show
I want to see the Titanic exhibition
DH wants to got to a shooting range (I am ok with this and may also have a go, I dont like hunting or anything like that but am interested to know what it is like to shoot a gun - at a paper target only) I think its mostly so I can tick it off the bucket list.
Of course I still want to go check out at least 1 other national park, 2 if we dont get to go to grand canyon. I am thinking red rock canyon, death valley, or zion national park as I think they will be nice trips.

As everything will be up in the air depending on what day we can get the tour it will have to be wait and see what happens. It will be sad to miss out on the grand canyon but the only one that seems to be upset about it is me.

 

[Tashinwdw]

Just had my first experience with booking FP+, because of DH I have only done it for the 6th and 8th September so far. Other half of our stay is not available yet.

6th September booked
Festival of the Lion King
Kali River Rapids
Dinosaur

8th September ADR Dessert party
Festival of fantasy parade - premium viewing
seven dwarfs mine ride
Enchanted tales with Belle

I am not really sure how much we will need these bookings as when we were there last time in September we never had to wait in line for more than 10 minutes, it was more the time in actually getting from where you line up to the actual ride that took the time. The only exception we found was the Toy Story Mania ride, this was the only time we used the old fast pass system during our whole stay.

Once I can book in some rides and shows in our second half of our stay then I will book in some more ADR's around those days and times.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds like a good compromise. I suppose if you've already been to the Grand Canyon and no one else is that keen on it, it shouldn't be too much of a disappointment if you don't get there. SIL did the sky walk at the west rim and thought it was great. Her photos don't look as spectacular as ours, but still pretty good! Now I've been to the South Rim, I'd definitely be interested in visiting other parts of the Grand Canyon too. Death Valley and Zion are both towards the top of my priority list. I would have done them on this trip, but I want to do Death Valley at a cooler time of year!

I'll be interested to hear how the lines compare to your last trip now that FP+ is in place. I still can't get over having to decide which three rides you're going to want to do such a long way out from your trip - I can't even decide what I'm going to have for dinner tonight

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad you got the plans sorted with DH. At least it keeps the option of heading to the West Rim opened.

Your FP+ sounds great. Having them locked in is a good place to be.....even if the queues end up being shorter, at least you have secured rides.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Is the premium viewing for the parade the same viewing area they use for the electric parade in the evening (i.e. Right in front of the castle)? I would argue that it's the best use of a Fastpass + in all of MK.

 

[Tashinwdw]

Is the premium viewing for the parade the same viewing area they use for the electric parade in the evening (i.e. Right in front of the castle)? I would argue that it's the best use of a Fastpass + in all of MK.

Yes, I think that is correct Wanderlust, but it was really just picking 3 things that we had not done before. This of course may change once we go into the the parks and realise that the Fast pass + system has changed the waiting times and its not like it was 2 years ago.

Even though DH wants me to keep it very relaxed with only a few ADR's and Fast passes (so that he is not pressured into being well on the day) but I will be going in over the next few days and adding days to MK pastpasses for the big rides etc, I guess this is the good thing about Fast Pass +, Its not set in stone and we dont have to go there or we can change it at any time.

 

[losfp]

at least 2 shows, we are leaning towards, O and also David Copperfield.
Medieval dinner show

We saw a couple of shows in LV in 2012.. Mystere was CdS's first Vegas show, it's pretty good. The highlight from a show point of view for me was Love, the show at the Mirage. Just wonderful, a must-see if you are a Beatles fan.

Of course I still want to go check out at least 1 other national park, 2 if we dont get to go to grand canyon. I am thinking red rock canyon, death valley, or zion national park as I think they will be nice trips.

Of those I can only vouch for Zion, which is amazing. However if you are planning to get back to LA, it is a few hours in the opposite direction.

This gallery - http://losfp.smugmug.com/Holidays/USA-Trip-2012/2-Utah/ - starts with us driving from Vegas up to Utah and Zion NP, and then proceeding onto Bryce Canyon, if you're interested.

 

[cola]

Another vote for Zion and Bryce Canyon, but it's a very long day trip from Vegas. Red Rock is just on the outskirts of Vegas.


Re Vegas shows, O is amazing, KA is also amazing, I think it is the only CdS show with a real plot line, rather than a bit of a framework to put between fancy acts. I think Mystere is a bit tired and faded compared to the newer options, but you can get very cheap tickets for it.
Avoid the O copy at the Wynn, it's called something like LeReve, it's a bad copy.

 

[Tashinwdw]

Another vote for Zion and Bryce Canyon, but it's a very long day trip from Vegas. Red Rock is just on the outskirts of Vegas.


Re Vegas shows, O is amazing, KA is also amazing, I think it is the only CdS show with a real plot line, rather than a bit of a framework to put between fancy acts. I think Mystere is a bit tired and faded compared to the newer options, but you can get very cheap tickets for it.
Avoid the O copy at the Wynn, it's called something like LeReve, it's a bad copy.

We had seen the visiting Cirque du soleil shows here in Australia, liked it, appreciated it but couldn't say that we were tripping over ourselves to see it the next time they came here. We were recommended Le Reve last time we were in Vegas by the ticket guy and thought because it was similar (created by the same guy as Cirque) but with a twist because of the water. We all loved it and thought it was amazing. Thats why we are thinking 'O' for this one as it can only be better.

 

[Tashinwdw]

Been busy the last few days booking flights, accommodation and shows. I cannot believe it is now only 4 weeks to go

We have changed our dates for MNSSHP and now we will be attending the 9th instead of the 12th. I just paid for them so we cannot change our mind again. We are meeting up with my High School best friend while we are there and she can only come down to Florida from the 11th till the 13th and they want to do universal and sea world.

It is such a relief to know that all the internal US flights are booked and paid for as well as all our airport transfers. I still have a few things to get like the Disneyland, universal and discovery cove tickets but I hope to get then done this weekend.

I have also finished all the FE gift packing and have them all safely hidden in a suitcase, away from the kids (just hope customs don't open it up and wreck the surprise)

Picked up the etickets from the TA yesterday for our qantas flights and all our suitcases are packed and near the door already - is that being just a bit too keen????? I think by the end of the weekend it should all be done, so not sure what I will do for the next 4 weeks...........start planning the next holiday