Travel to USA with 2 pre-school children

[sharonkhoo]

cat_tail:

Hi all,

Nice to see this topic as my family will be planning a trip to western part of US this coming Dec. Will be covering LA, LV & San Diego. Kids are young so we will be attacking children friendly parks like Disneyland, Legoland (staying min 2 nites at their newly open Legoland hotel), Seaworld & San diego Zoo. Think we will skip Universal since we had enuff of the one in Sg. Wonder izzit too much.......

Anyway we are quite keen of trying out the helicopter rides from LV to grand Canyon too. However, their prices are really exotic so would appreciate someone can share their experience. Any inputs on other destinations or activities we should consider oso welcome. :please:

Theme parks are tiring (for adults and kids) so you may want to schedule more restful days in between. I went with my fairly big kids (10 and 12yo) in 2011. We did a 30 min helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon partly to save money and also because one daughter was a bit nervous and we thought 30 mins was all she could take! We booked a one-day coach tour from LV which brought us to the helipad, then later brought us to the Grand Canyon. It was a very long day (pickup at 6.30am and return around 10pm) so it may not be suitable for smaller kids, but it was cheaper than flying from LV.

[cat_tail]

slmkhoo:

cat_tail:

Hi all,

Nice to see this topic as my family will be planning a trip to western part of US this coming Dec. Will be covering LA, LV & San Diego. Kids are young so we will be attacking children friendly parks like Disneyland, Legoland (staying min 2 nites at their newly open Legoland hotel), Seaworld & San diego Zoo. Think we will skip Universal since we had enuff of the one in Sg. Wonder izzit too much.......

Anyway we are quite keen of trying out the helicopter rides from LV to grand Canyon too. However, their prices are really exotic so would appreciate someone can share their experience. Any inputs on other destinations or activities we should consider oso welcome. :please:

Theme parks are tiring (for adults and kids) so you may want to schedule more restful days in between. I went with my fairly big kids (10 and 12yo) in 2011. We did a 30 min helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon partly to save money and also because one daughter was a bit nervous and we thought 30 mins was all she could take! We booked a one-day coach tour from LV which brought us to the helipad, then later brought us to the Grand Canyon. It was a very long day (pickup at 6.30am and return around 10pm) so it may not be suitable for smaller kids, but it was cheaper than flying from LV.

Hi slmkhoo,
Thanks for your contributions! U r so thoughtful, must consider & plan a break in between theme park.
What a great saving to take their day tour. However I don't think we have so much time and with my super troublesome 2 young fellows, I doubt they can survive with such a long day tour. So probably looking at those heli that can setoff straight from LV which is supposedly 3 hrs or so. But most company quoted ard 400-500 pax... really must choose wisely.

[sharonkhoo]

cat_tail:

Hi slmkhoo,

Thanks for your contributions! U r so thoughtful, must consider & plan a break in between theme park.
What a great saving to take their day tour. However I don't think we have so much time and with my super troublesome 2 young fellows, I doubt they can survive with such a long day tour. So probably looking at those heli that can setoff straight from LV which is supposedly 3 hrs or so. But most company quoted ard 400-500 pax... really must choose wisely.

It's really a waste of money to go to a theme park when tired. And with young kids, once they get tired, they also get cranky! If you can, try to plan ahead what are the most crucial things to see, if there are specific times for shows etc, and prioritise! There are usually more things to see than there is time. Also explore ways to minimise queuing time - eg. Disneyland has a way to 'book' a time slot for the most popular rides etc. My husband is great for such things, so he would figure out a plan beforehand - like planning an army exercise!

[drickymummy]

Disneyland gives out fast pass for popular rides at certain timing at certain spots only once or twice a day. U missed it that’s it… Check with the counters in e morning before u go into the parks. Older kids can go in as single riders for some rides to save time …my 10 yrs old went in for some of the rides by himself cos I have to take care of baby and daddy is tired to play anymore. We just wait for him at the exit point aft we see him going in the queue.


We chose the self drive for all out holidays. Flexible that way and can cover more places like the supermarkets, mega stores like toy r us anytime we want as they are everywhere along the ways or near our hotels. I love Any local supermarkets and even my older one enjoys the supermarkets a lot whenever we travel anywhere!

[sharonkhoo]

drickymummy:

Disneyland gives out fast pass for popular rides at certain timing at certain spots only once or twice a day. U missed it that's it.. Check with the counters in e morning before u go into the parks.

That's not how I remember it, but I was there in 2010. Maybe things have changed. Best to read the website and get the latest info.

[cat_tail]

Hi drickymummy,

Tat's a good tip u gave! Is CA Disneyland fast pass any similar to HK one? HK just scan tix & they give you a time slot to q at their fast pass. We will self drive ard too & am looking forward to their outlet malls, Walmart & more supermarkets! SO much things to buy... heehee

Hi slmkhoo,
U r so lucky! My hb is hopeless when comes to theme park so I will do up the itinery & plan strategy.

Btw, what is your fav & popular rides I should attack? Anyone try their breakfast with Disney characters? :scratchhead:

[sharonkhoo]

cat_tail:

Btw, what is your fav & popular rides I should attack? Anyone try their breakfast with Disney characters? :scratchhead:

This depends on the age of your kids and your individual interests. Read the website descriptions for an idea of what would interest your kids.

[simple2005]

IMHO, Road trips and National Parks is one of the best ways to experience USA. I did it with my then 4 & 6 year-old. Took them out from pre-school for a trip in September.


Cheers.

[drickymummy]

cat_tail:

Hi drickymummy,

Tat's a good tip u gave! Is CA Disneyland fast pass any similar to HK one? HK just scan tix & they give you a time slot to q at their fast pass. We will self drive ard too & am looking forward to their outlet malls, Walmart & more supermarkets! SO much things to buy... heehee

Hi slmkhoo,
U r so lucky! My hb is hopeless when comes to theme park so I will do up the itinery & plan strategy.

Btw, what is your fav & popular rides I should attack? Anyone try their breakfast with Disney characters? :scratchhead:

Cat_tail, when u gg? I was there last nov during thanksgiving.. Was there during th black Friday sales..but yet didn't shop during that sale much.. We bought most the thursday of thanksgiving cos we were at Vegas then. We did drove to Desert Hills on e way to LA but the place was packed to the brim n no way to buy anything in the cold and packed place with a tired 10 yr old and 7 mth old. Anyway the different was abt 10 % or so from the amt I paid for the day before.
Not sure abt fast pass in HK cos was there many yrs ago.. We did scan the tix at Anaheim and was given a time slot. 3 days also not enough ... We love disneyland. We did not get to try on many of the rides but good enuf.
We love target n toy r us the most. Walmart is not that great ... The products they have r not as good as target. As for outlets, plan to spend at least a day in any of these malls. We went to a total of 3 outlets and yet only cover a few shops in 2 of them. Vegas outlet mall is the smallest among the 3 we went hence managed to Cover more shops.
Not something we will buy on a trip but gnc there is like 1/3-1/4 of prices here! And so are many supplements and medicine like fever med that has grape favor! We brought some back as my doc suggested that I buy some.

[drickymummy]

simple2005:

IMHO, Road trips and National Parks is one of the best ways to experience USA. I did it with my then 4 & 6 year-old. Took them out from pre-school for a trip in September.


Cheers.

We did visit and stayed over at Yosemite ....beautiful!