Yosemite and Disneyland

lynzi2004

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
We are tentatively planning a trip next summer to Yosemite and Disneyland. We are avid tent campers at National Parks and have camped at WDW at Fort Wilderness the last two years. We are from Missouri and debating a LONG roadtrip out west. I've been wanting to see Yosemite since I was little and obviously if I'm driving almost 30 hours out there, why not tack on a couple Disney days as well! We have never been to California and will be traveling with 3 kids (less than 6 y/o) who are excellent roadtrippers!

I'm looking for advice on everything from camping in Yosemite to which way will be the best to get from one destination to the other. Advice on which hotel around Disney (either Disney owned or off property). I'm also not sure if it would be better to do Disneyland or Yosemite first? Thinking of planning 3 nights at each place and about 2-3 nights to travel out there. So probably a 12-14 day trip.

The travel dates we are considering are either around Memorial Day or Fourth of July. I know both of those will be busy times and we are able to go the week before or after either, but with us being self-employed we want to utilize the extra "day off" as a travel day.
 
Have you checked to see if you can get a reservation at Yosemite yet? When we stayed in the Lodge we had to reserve 1 year in advance for July. Personally, I wouldn't drive 3 days, camp 3 days, drive another day, 3 days in a theme park, drive 3 days home. If it's possible to rent a car, drive one way, then fly to So Cal and fly home I'd think it's a much more relaxing trip with young kids.
 
Where to start?

First of all, tent camping in Yosemite is not going to be easy to secure reservations. It is an absolute mad dash to get the available reservations for the peak visitation season. Reservations becoming available at 7 AM Pacific time on the 15th of the month 4 months before each reservation window for the start of any particular trip. There are several times more people attempting to get reservations compared to available campsites. Right now they sell out within minutes of becoming available, and most sites are unavailable in less than a minute. I've tried doing it and had everything set up and got nothing. It has become a little bit better now that steps to prevent resale are more effective, but there's still the issue with the basic supply and demand. Before that, scalpers were using "bot" programs to reserve campsites faster than humans, and then they would resell them by transferring the reservations to someone else for a $10 transfer fee. They don't allow that any more. Then they got creative and would cancel the reservations for a $10 cancellation fee and rebook in the name of the "customer". That's not terribly effective any more.

There are also "first come first served" campsites throughout Yosemite. Most of the ones where you can park next to your site are located in remote areas away from Yosemite Valley. The Tuolumne Meadows campground is half sites only available FCFS, but the location may not be ideal if you're looking to visit Yosemite Valley. In Yosemite Valley there is Camp 4. It's a little bit different. It really started out as an unofficial campground where rock climbers would congregate and it was kind of illegal. Eventually the National Park Service made it legal, and the only way to stay is FCFS. It is also one where each camper pays a separate fee, so if you have multiple people staying there in the same tent, it's a fee per camper rather than per site. They have a parking lot, but you'd need to take your equipment to an assigned site (I think up to 4-6 per site). And if you have multiple people, there's no guarantee that you all get placed in the same site, although I don't think it's a problem if you only have a single larger tent. There's also a special campground that can be used by people who didn't arrive by personal vehicle. It's mostly for backpackers to use at the start or end of their permitted backpacking trips, but it can also be used by someone who arrive by bus or bicycle.

There is camping outside of Yosemite though, such as in national forest land or private campgrounds like the Midpines KOA. There are also "inholdings" or other private areas where you can find vacation home or condo rentals. There is a private inholding in Wawona, as well as in Foresta. Yosemite West is technically outside the boundaries of the park, but the only road there is through Yosemite at the Chinquapin junction.

From Disneyland there's basically a couple of practical means to get there. Most go through the south entrance, but it's also possible to go further north through Mariposa. That might made more sense if that's where you have reservations. There are a few motels closer to the Arch Rock entrance like Yosemite View Lodge and Yosemite Cedar Lodge.
 
Have you checked to see if you can get a reservation at Yosemite yet? When we stayed in the Lodge we had to reserve 1 year in advance for July. Personally, I wouldn't drive 3 days, camp 3 days, drive another day, 3 days in a theme park, drive 3 days home. If it's possible to rent a car, drive one way, then fly to So Cal and fly home I'd think it's a much more relaxing trip with young kids.

Camping reservations in Yosemite start at 5 months out. We are familiar with this process as we like to camp in the Smokies in the fall and have to be very careful to not miss the start of reservations (6 months) and this last 4th of July camped in Rocky Mtn. National park with reservations made 6 months out. But thanks for the warning bc I too have read Yosemite can be difficult! I'm afraid flying either direction isn't really feasible with camping gear for 5 people but we might could make it work!
 


Where to start?

First of all, tent camping in Yosemite is not going to be easy to secure reservations. It is an absolute mad dash to get the available reservations for the peak visitation season. Reservations becoming available at 7 AM Pacific time on the 15th of the month 4 months before each reservation window for the start of any particular trip. There are several times more people attempting to get reservations compared to available campsites. Right now they sell out within minutes of becoming available, and most sites are unavailable in less than a minute. I've tried doing it and had everything set up and got nothing. It has become a little bit better now that steps to prevent resale are more effective, but there's still the issue with the basic supply and demand. Before that, scalpers were using "bot" programs to reserve campsites faster than humans, and then they would resell them by transferring the reservations to someone else for a $10 transfer fee. They don't allow that any more. Then they got creative and would cancel the reservations for a $10 cancellation fee and rebook in the name of the "customer". That's not terribly effective any more.

There are also "first come first served" campsites throughout Yosemite. Most of the ones where you can park next to your site are located in remote areas away from Yosemite Valley. The Tuolumne Meadows campground is half sites only available FCFS, but the location may not be ideal if you're looking to visit Yosemite Valley. In Yosemite Valley there is Camp 4. It's a little bit different. It really started out as an unofficial campground where rock climbers would congregate and it was kind of illegal. Eventually the National Park Service made it legal, and the only way to stay is FCFS. It is also one where each camper pays a separate fee, so if you have multiple people staying there in the same tent, it's a fee per camper rather than per site. They have a parking lot, but you'd need to take your equipment to an assigned site (I think up to 4-6 per site). And if you have multiple people, there's no guarantee that you all get placed in the same site, although I don't think it's a problem if you only have a single larger tent. There's also a special campground that can be used by people who didn't arrive by personal vehicle. It's mostly for backpackers to use at the start or end of their permitted backpacking trips, but it can also be used by someone who arrive by bus or bicycle.

There is camping outside of Yosemite though, such as in national forest land or private campgrounds like the Midpines KOA. There are also "inholdings" or other private areas where you can find vacation home or condo rentals. There is a private inholding in Wawona, as well as in Foresta. Yosemite West is technically outside the boundaries of the park, but the only road there is through Yosemite at the Chinquapin junction.

From Disneyland there's basically a couple of practical means to get there. Most go through the south entrance, but it's also possible to go further north through Mariposa. That might made more sense if that's where you have reservations. There are a few motels closer to the Arch Rock entrance like Yosemite View Lodge and Yosemite Cedar Lodge.

Thank you! That's helpful info! While I would prefer to camp within the park, if we don't get a site, I'm not opposed to camping outside the park or worst case scenario scraping the whole camping and just booking a hotel. Its just our "thing" to camp in each National Park, but it may have to be some other time!
 
Thank you! That's helpful info! While I would prefer to camp within the park, if we don't get a site, I'm not opposed to camping outside the park or worst case scenario scraping the whole camping and just booking a hotel. Its just our "thing" to camp in each National Park, but it may have to be some other time!

Here's the basics:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/nrcamping.htm
https://www.recreation.gov/marketin...reArticles/tips-for-yosemite-reservations.htm

Yosemite is by far the most difficult place to secure reservations of any federal government recreation area. That you're looking around Memorial Day or 4th of July makes it even crazier.

There is one secret which I haven't tried, but have researched. It's called the Backpackers' Campground, and there are four of them in Yosemite. They are primarily for those going on overnight backpacking trips, where there is the right to stay one night before starting the trip and one night at the conclusion. They don't publicize that the rules allow someone to stay there under other conditions.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bpcamp.htm

This is the rule:

https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/management/upload/compendium.pdf
  • Backpackers’ campgrounds are intended for use by visitors in possession of an overnight wilderness permit or for visitors arriving in the park by foot, bicycle, or bus.
    • Wilderness permit holders may stay in a backpackers’ campground the night prior to their hiking start date and the night after returning from each overnight Wilderness trip.
    • Users arriving in the park by foot, bicycle, or bus may stay in each backpackers’ campground for a limit of one night.
The way around it would be to take the YARTS bus service into Yosemite from Merced, Mariposa, or Fresno. However, as a practical matter if you're taking a bus in it's going to be difficult to go camping unless you have something like a lightweight backpacking tent and sleeping bags.

http://yarts.com
 
Googling the time from Yosemite to Disney is shows about 5 1/2 hours. Is that reasonable or should I expect more like 7-8 with traffic?!
 


Camping reservations in Yosemite start at 5 months out. We are familiar with this process as we like to camp in the Smokies in the fall and have to be very careful to not miss the start of reservations (6 months) and this last 4th of July camped in Rocky Mtn. National park with reservations made 6 months out. But thanks for the warning bc I too have read Yosemite can be difficult! I'm afraid flying either direction isn't really feasible with camping gear for 5 people but we might could make it work!

It's not just "difficult". It's insane. There is no other camping in the United States that is as difficult to reserve as the sites in Yosemite Valley. It's almost a roll of the dice. I've gotten lucky a few times and missed out even more.

The are many reasons. One is that a little less than half the campsites in Yosemite Valley were removed after the Merced River flooding of the mid 90s. The Upper and Lower River Campgrounds were taken out of use. Parts of Upper Pines Campground are no longer designated as campsites. If you're staying there, that's the entire northeast side near the Merced River. The only active campsites now are in the loops. You can actually see where the old campsites were, although they're blocked off with logs now.

Memorial Day gets a little bit iffy because there are several campsites that may or may not be made available depending on river water levels. They're generally going to be unsuitable for use, although if it's a low snow year they've been known to make those sites available earlier than usual if they're dry and can be prepared.

And I mentioned the restrictions they have to try and prevent scalping. They no longer allow direct transfers. The person reserving must be there and check in with photo ID that matches the reservation name. The scalpers used to work around that by reserving, reselling, cancelling, then immediately rebooking the reservations with the purchaser's name. Now after a cancellation they don't put them immediately back in their "inventory", so it's not as if they'll know exactly when they can be reserved again.
 
We did the Disneyland/ Yosemite trek last year during the first week of June. Some tips would be to see Disneyland first and then Yosemite. Yosemite is so beautiful so save the best for last. We enjoyed it so much more than Disneyland and wished I planned more days there. The drive between the two would be closer to 7-8 hours. However, we did a detour to Reagan Library on way between the two. Try to stay in Housekeeping/Curry Village. It is tent cabins that have one solid wall and 3 sides of canvas for walls. It has cots and bedding so less items you will have to bring. Personally, I would scratch the road trip and fly into San Francisco or John Wayne. Get a rental to drive to your destinations. As for Disneyland lodging, check out the DL thread for ideas. We stayed in a timeshare in Anaheim (Dolphins Cove). Good luck!
 
Googling the time from Yosemite to Disney is shows about 5 1/2 hours. Is that reasonable or should I expect more like 7-8 with traffic?!

That completely depends on time of day. Assuming no accidents or construction I would figure between 6-8 hours depending on time you hit LA and Santa Clarita traffic, possibly a little traffic near areas like Bakersfield as well.

Are you camping at DL as well?
 
I've tried like 3 years in a row to get a campsite. Any campsite, any time between June and September, just for a few consecutive days. Nada. Zilch. I feel like I have a better chance of scoring comic con tickets or FOP fast passes at this point.

So my tip would be don't plan anything until you score those reservations and then plan everything around those dates. That's how I did my coast trip a few years ago, and it made things much easier. I wouldn't try for holidays or weekends- I would try for midweek.

I would want four nights at each place at least, maybe add in sequoia or SF or the redwoods if you haven't been. I enjoy yosemite, but I LOVE camping in the Redwoods. And I would try to fly- it'll save you tons of time and you can pack or rent supplies easily.

There are also the tent cabins in Yosemite- expensive but not as expensive as the hotels and much easier to score than the campsites. Or there's the Yosemite Bug Hostel, in the same area as the KOA. They have cabins for rent, activities, a cafe. Lovely place, and I liked it a lot more than the KOA.

If you are camping at DL, that may be a problem- there is not much availability for tent campers. It's a lot more RV friendly.
 
Thank you all for the replies! Thankfully, if none of this works out, I already have reservations in Yellowstone for July 4th week so not a bad backup plan! Lol

We would not be camping at Disney. We have packed up a wet tent in the rain one too many times for me to be to gun-ho on setting up camp twice in one trip. I'm willing to do it, but tack on 3 kids and many National Parks not having showers and a nice hotel looks pretty good after 3-4 nights.
 
Thank you all for the replies! Thankfully, if none of this works out, I already have reservations in Yellowstone for July 4th week so not a bad backup plan! Lol

We would not be camping at Disney. We have packed up a wet tent in the rain one too many times for me to be to gun-ho on setting up camp twice in one trip. I'm willing to do it, but tack on 3 kids and many National Parks not having showers and a nice hotel looks pretty good after 3-4 nights.

Another option on Yosemite is this. Most if not all of the camps have a reserved number of first come first serve spots. Now, there are plenty of places to camp outside the park. Plenty of campgrounds 30-60 minutes away from the valley. You lose the convenience and views etc, but can make the most of your day. And if you want, you can head into the park early AM and try to grab a first come spot. If it doesn't work out you just head to your spot at night. I'm sure you wiuld have fun either way.
 
If you are camping at DL, that may be a problem- there is not much availability for tent campers. It's a lot more RV friendly.
I agree with most of your sentiments, except maybe for the "RV friendly" description. At best I'd say Yosemite is RV neutral. Inside the park boundaries, an RV is basically only allowed to stay overnight at a campsite, and it would need to be in a site that can accommodate it (each one lists a driveway size, if one can drive through, etc).

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/rvcamping.htm

Yosemite has 10 campgrounds that can accommodate RVs and trailers (including fifth wheels) of varying lengths. (If you plan to spend the night in your RV, you must be in a designated campsite--you can't park in a parking lot or along the side of the road.)​

They have no hookups and limited generator hours (due to noise concerns). There are dump stations though. On top of that, pretty much any campsite there can accept a tent, so trying to reserve a campsite for an RV means competing for the same sites that tent campers will be trying to reserve.

There also aren't really too many RV parks around Yosemite. Maybe in Oakhurst, but that's not that close.

There is one place that's likely to have space, and that's at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds unless it's during the county fair. They don't take reservations though.

http://www.mariposafair.com/camping.html
 
I agree with most of your sentiments, except maybe for the "RV friendly" description. At best I'd say Yosemite is RV neutral. Inside the park boundaries, an RV is basically only allowed to stay overnight at a campsite, and it would need to be in a site that can accommodate it (each one lists a driveway size, if one can drive through, etc).

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/rvcamping.htm

Yosemite has 10 campgrounds that can accommodate RVs and trailers (including fifth wheels) of varying lengths. (If you plan to spend the night in your RV, you must be in a designated campsite--you can't park in a parking lot or along the side of the road.)​

They have no hookups and limited generator hours (due to noise concerns). There are dump stations though. On top of that, pretty much any campsite there can accept a tent, so trying to reserve a campsite for an RV means competing for the same sites that tent campers will be trying to reserve.

There also aren't really too many RV parks around Yosemite. Maybe in Oakhurst, but that's not that close.

There is one place that's likely to have space, and that's at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds unless it's during the county fair. They don't take reservations though.

http://www.mariposafair.com/camping.html

Uh, bcla, read my post again. That part refers to camping around DL. I agree, I wouldn't want to drive a motor home into Yosemite. But tent camping in Anaheim either sucks or is nonexistent.
 
Uh, bcla, read my post again. That part refers to camping around DL. I agree, I wouldn't want to drive a motor home into Yosemite. But tent camping in Anaheim either sucks or is nonexistent.

Sorry - brain lock. I had Yosemite on my mind. I think there might be a few county parks around Orange County, but yeah you're right.
 
Uh, bcla, read my post again. That part refers to camping around DL. I agree, I wouldn't want to drive a motor home into Yosemite. But tent camping in Anaheim either sucks or is nonexistent.


I'd probably just camp in San Clemente or Crystal Cove,somewhere near a beach and drive the 30 minutes in the morning.
 
I'd probably just camp in San Clemente or Crystal Cove,somewhere near a beach and drive the 30 minutes in the morning.

I am dying to stay in one of the crystal cove beach houses but haven't had much luck getting reservations. I thought that was further away than 30 minutes though, at least in daytime traffic? I google mapped nearly everything last spring and I had a hard time finding anything within an hour.
 
Another option on Yosemite is this. Most if not all of the camps have a reserved number of first come first serve spots. Now, there are plenty of places to camp outside the park. Plenty of campgrounds 30-60 minutes away from the valley. You lose the convenience and views etc, but can make the most of your day. And if you want, you can head into the park early AM and try to grab a first come spot. If it doesn't work out you just head to your spot at night. I'm sure you wiuld have fun either way.

Not in Yosemite Valley though during the peak season, except for Camp 4 and the backpackers campground (which has restrictions). During winter up to maybe April, Upper Pines isn't going to be full, but most of the other campgrounds are closed starting from fall to winter. All the other ones are pretty far away from Yosemite Valley, but not a bad option if you really need want to camp in Yosemite and couldn't get reservations. I guess the ideal camper at a FCFS site would be someone who lives close enough to just head home if a site can't be had. Or someone willing to find a room for the night if the camping doesn't work.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

One drawback is that a few of the FCFS campgrounds don't have running water, but they do have "vault toilets". So you'd need to bring all the water you need (including brushing teeth or washing) or perhaps boil creek water.

And obviously the Yosemite Valley campgrounds are going to be the ones in the most demand and frankly the most desirable. There's really something special about waking up, opening your tent door, and there's Half Dome right there. Well - as long as it's not bear activity that's waking you up. And even then that's kind of special.

I forgot to mention showering. There are no campground showers. The only way to get a shower is to pay at Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp, and it's pretty expensive now. I don't know how much now, but the last time I went camping it was $6 per person. Before that it was maybe $3, and a lot of campers just snuck in because they didn't have anyone monitoring the shower rooms.

I guess there is something to be said for camping at KOA. They don't allow campfires, but they do have showers and a pool. I haven't stayed at the Midpines KOA, but I did stay at one where they had a hot tub.
 
I am dying to stay in one of the crystal cove beach houses but haven't had much luck getting reservations. I thought that was further away than 30 minutes though, at least in daytime traffic? I google mapped nearly everything last spring and I had a hard time finding anything within an hour.

Try Orange County Parks?

http://www.ocparks.com/rnp/reservation

Google Maps says that O'Neill is 36 minutes, and Caspers Wilderness Park is 39 minutes.

I guess Chino Hills State Park has issues with the gate being closed. If you're going to Disneyland, I don't know if the gates opening at 8 AM is going to work or arriving after the gates close.
 

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