(PTR) Getting There Is Half The Fun - 11 People, 2 Minivans, and a 5K Mile Road Trip!

[MarbleBob]

Getting There Is Half the Fun - An Epic Road Trip with 2 Minivans, 11 States, and 5K Miles!

Introduction

Before I introduce myself, let’s get this out of the way first…. Yes, I am crazy!
I say that because when you read that we are driving from St. Louis, Missouri to California, and then back (with in-laws, a total of 11 people, in two minivans, over the span of two weeks, driving over 5,000 miles round trip), and then you read about all the stuff we are going to try and cram into this trip, you’ll probably say something along the lines of, “this guy must be a bit goofy”.

I’ve never embarked on such a crazy road trip, but I’ve always wanted to do something like this. It’s either going to be epically awesome or an epic disaster, but either way, we’ll make some epic memories!!!

Trip Background

The original idea for this trip was spawned in 2013 from the concern that our family vacations may have been a bit too Florida heavy through the years. Certainly, our kids have seen other parts of the country, but probably 75% of their trips have involved Florida and Disney in some shape or form. We've been thinking that we should probably broaden their horizons a little more before they grow up.

We thought about visiting the North East, NYC or even going up to visit an old friend in Montreal, or going to Wyoming/Yellowstone, or the Grand Canyon, etc. I had always wanted to do a mega road trip out west, and there's still the conflict of wanting to see other places besides Disney, but still wanting to experience Disney.... So we thought, how about driving to visit my aunt and uncle in San Francisco, then spending a couple days in Yosemite (I've flown over it countless times on the Soarin' ride, but I really want to see it in person!), and then make our way to the LA area... spend a few days at Disneyland and LA in general, and then stop at the Grand Canyon for a night on the way back. That would meet both parts of the vacation equation... Get a Disney fix, expose the kids to new parts of the country, and also satisfy a bit of the road trip dream. Perfect!!

Except for.... yeah, we had to cancel that trip a week before it was time to leave. I broke my foot skateboarding and the doctor said that I'd cause irreparable damage to my foot if I didn’t have surgery immediately. We had already purchased our Disneyland tickets, but nothing else was set in stone... So we ended up doing a shorter Disneyland only trip that October. It was a blast, but we are still excited about the non-Disneyland portions of the trip…

We already had plans to visit WDW with my side of the family (and even larger group of 19 people) in the summer of 2014. So, we decided to give this road trip idea another go in the summer of 2015.

The twist is that we invited DW’s parents to join us. And then somehow, that turned into her brother and his family joining us too.

This trip will span the second half of June, so we are just now around the four month mark. Yahoo!
Here’s the current high-level plan:

• St. Louis to San Francisco over three days. (Overnighting in Cheyenne, WY and Elko, NV.)
• Spending four nights in San Francisco. (A visit to Walt Disney Family Museum is a must!)
• Two nights in Yosemite Valley.
• Five nights in Anaheim. (Yahoo for experiencing Disneyland’s Diamond Celebration events!)
• One night at the Grand Canyon's South Rim
• Two more days driving back to St. (Overnighting in Amarillo, TX)

More details to follow! But let’s move on to a little more information about my family.

 

[MarbleBob]

Reserved for table of contents

 

[MarbleBob]

Meet the Family

For those of you who followed along with my previous trip reports, welcome back! This section is mostly a repeat from previous trip reports, but I’ve tweaked everything and updated the photo collages.

For everyone else, welcome! It’s nice to meet you. Here’s a little background about my family and me:

About My Immediate Family

DW and I have been Disney fans most of our lives. Both enjoying the classic movies and cartoons as kids, and we each went on family vacations to WDW several times. (She had gone 4 times and I had been twice.) The first movie that we saw in a theater together was 101 Dalmatians in 1996. And when we were first dating, I remember she mentioned that as a little girl, she dreamed of going to WDW on her honeymoon. So, later when get got married, the decision on where to go for our honeymoon was a no brainer! That started the tradition of including Disney in our family vacations and we've been going back for more ever since.


Honeymoon WDW 1997

For most of my family, this will be our third trip to Disneyland. DW and I went on a solo trip in 2010, staying at the HOJO. And then DD15 (Princess) went on her “10 year old trip” with my parents in 2010, staying at the Grand Californian. Next up was DS12 (Buddy) who went on his “10 year old trip” with my parents in 2013, staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Finally, all five of us visited in 2013 staying at the Disneyland Hotel. That was DD7’s (Pickle) first trip to Disneyland. After two visits, we are hooked! We consider WDW our “home” resort, but Disneyland may now be our favorite.



Matt (me) - Please don’t ask how/why I came up with the MarbleBob screen name, because I don't really remember. (It’s hard to believe I joined Disboards over 11 years ago.) I'm not related to anyone named Bob and I don't even own any marbles. Some might argue, that I've lost a few marbles, but that's a different story. About me? I’m an IT manager, skateboarder, gardener, and of course, a Disney fan. I tend to go through phases where I'm super into Disney, and then I focus my interest on other things. But I always come back.




Stephanie (DW) - My best friend and awesome mother to our 3 kids. She isn't really any more or less into Disney than I am, but she's certainly more consistently plugged in. I think she's listened to almost every DIS Unplugged podcast through the years (both WDW and DL) and she's probably listened to every one of Ricky Brigante's Inside the Magic podcasts too. She keeps me up to date on the latest Disney related events, and she’s been closely following the plans for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary. We’ll be there before the actual anniversary, but not too early to experience the Diamond Celebration events and decorations!



I periodically make collages of our kids growing up with Disney. I thought it would be fun to make one out of a few scan’s from Stephanie’s trips to WDW as a kid.



Princess (DD15) - My oldest daughter. Obviously, that's not her real name, but that's the name that we'll use for this trip report. (We went with "Ninja Potato" on the 2013 DLR trip report, and she moved on from that silly name for the 2014 WDW trip report. ) As mentioned above, she's grown up going to Disney World, and loving Disney princesses. She outgrew the princess loving stage a few years ago, but her love for Disney hasn't diminished. She also loves everything Nintendo and Japan, and of course, her favorite Disney attraction is the Japan Pavilion in Epcot. And in the last year or so, her skateboarding skills have really taken off. We’re hoping to hit some of the classic California skateparks this summer!




Buddy (DS11) - Also not his real name, but this is what we usually call him around the house. He's our engineer. He loves building things with his monorail sets, Legos, Rokenbok, trains, etc. And of course, his favorite past time is playing Minecraft on the computer. Visiting the various Disney World Minecraft servers makes it ever better His favorite Disney attractions are the trains, monorails, Expedition Everest, and California Screamin'.




Pickle (DD7) - We don't really call her this too much in person, but she owns up to her nickname, and it fits her well. Very sweet and loving, but she can be a bit ornery and spicey too! She's just starting to outgrow the princess loving stage, but she’s not quite finished yet. Her favorite princess is still Cinderella. Pickle is really excited to wear princess dresses at Disneyland with her cousin Leia this summer!



About Stephanie’s Family

Stephanie’s Parents - We’ve have a lot of Disney experiences with my parents, but outside of a daytrip to Walt’s hometown (Marceline, MO) last year, we’ve never gone on a Disney trip with Stephanie’s parents before. So this is going to be a special treat for us! Dennis and Shirley have gone to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland multiple times through the years, but I think the last time that they visited Disneyland was right before California Adventure opened up.

For the sake of the trip report, we’re going to refer to them by the names my kids call them. Nanny and Grandpa.



Dave’s Family - Dave (Stephanie’s brother) and his wife Angie will be joining us too. They have two kids, let’s call them Luke (6) and Leia (4) during this trip report. (Yes, there are a lot of Star Wars fans in our family.) They went on their first trip to Disney World with Nanny and Grandpa last year, and are looking forward to their first trip to Disneyland. Pickle is super excited to travel and visit with her favorite cousins!
I don’t have a great picture of Dave’s family, so this one will have to do. I’ll probably swap it out later.



I guess that’s it for the initial introductions. Next up, I’ll start sharing the plans that we’ve laid out so far.
And we’ll be looking for feedback and suggestions, especially when it comes to things to see and do as we get there.

As they say, “Getting there is half the fun!”

 

[sophies*mom]

Wow, sounds like quite the trip!

 

[jedijill]

I am here! Sounds like an epic trip! I am, however, a bit disappointed that you won't be visiting my fair city but instead overnighting in Cheyenne. boo!

Jill in CO

 

[KelleyK75]

I'm here. Can't wait to read about another one of your family road trips.

 

[MarbleBob]

Wow, sounds like quite the trip!

Yes, we are super excited. Can't wait!!!

I am here! Sounds like an epic trip! I am, however, a bit disappointed that you won't be visiting my fair city but instead overnighting in Cheyenne. boo!

Jill in CO

Yeah, I thought about heading through Colorado instead of Nebraska, but we can save a bit of time if we go north. Big fans of Colorado, though. Stephanie's parents have a time share in Estes Park, and outside of WDW, our second most visited location is Rocky Mountain National Park. LOVE that place!!!!

I'm here. Can't wait to read about another one of your family road trips.

Thanks Kelley, I can't wait to get "on the road again"!

 

[annegirl]

Looks fun! I love road trips!
your collages are great.
I am excited to read along.

 

[PrincessInOz]

YAY! You're finally getting there on this road trip. What a great cast you're going with!

 

[MarbleBob]

Thanks Cheryl and PIO. It's great to see more familiar faces!!!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I'm joining in and I have to say I like the animated map you did

 

[jeeperwy]

I just finished reading your WDW trip report with your extended family. I throughly enjoyed it!! We were at Star Wars Weekends the same day you were. We did the VIP tour that day which was really neat but really long!! But it was worth it to see Mark Hammil's show (I totally would have walked right past him-the beard threw me off!!) We also did the train tour on our trip before this last one. Our tour guide had worked on the railroad for a long time so he was definitely well versed in all things about the trains so much that we didn't end our tour until almost noon! (And as a side note I was the only female!!!). This reply is entirely too long but I wanted to say that we are doing an almost identical road trip this summer at the same time as yours. The only difference is we live in Wyoming so we will start from there!
I look forward to seeing your planning for this upcoming trip.
Kari
PS-Go Cards!! Maybe this will be our year.

 

[MarbleBob]

I'm joining in and I have to say I like the animated map you did

Thanks EastYorkDisneyFan! Very happy to have you joining in

I just finished reading your WDW trip report with your extended family. I throughly enjoyed it!! We were at Star Wars Weekends the same day you were. We did the VIP tour that day which was really neat but really long!! But it was worth it to see Mark Hammil's show (I totally would have walked right past him-the beard threw me off!!) We also did the train tour on our trip before this last one. Our tour guide had worked on the railroad for a long time so he was definitely well versed in all things about the trains so much that we didn't end our tour until almost noon! (And as a side note I was the only female!!!). This reply is entirely too long but I wanted to say that we are doing an almost identical road trip this summer at the same time as yours. The only difference is we live in Wyoming so we will start from there!
I look forward to seeing your planning for this upcoming trip.
Kari
PS-Go Cards!! Maybe this will be our year.

Cool! Cool! and Cool! (Go Cards!)

My mom and I wanted to do the VIP tour on Star Wars day, but we waited too long to make up our minds and the tickets were sold out. Sounds like it would have been worth it... I agree about Mark Hamill. Seeing him tell his stories was a real treat!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing how the new movie turns out, beard and all!

Wyoming?!?!?!?, I love that place. Haven't been there in MANY years, but I spent nearly 2 months near Lander (in the Wind River Range) doing field work as the last part of my degree in Geology. Such great memories of a beautiful state!

That's cool that you are doing a similar road trip. I'll start posting our plans soon. I look forward to comparing notes with you. Hopefully, we can pick up a few tips from each other.

 

[MarbleBob]

Well, it’s been all over social media this afternoon… Disneyland ticket prices go up tomorrow. I went ahead and purchased 3-day Park Hopper tickets from ARes Travel this evening. (We’ve used them twice before, and never had any issues.) We may choose to upgrade them to 4 day tickets later, but we wanted to lock in the price for at least the 3-day tickets before the increase. More details on our Disneyland plans soon, but l figured that I’d start sharing plans from the beginning.

Part 1 - Getting to California

Day 1 - Drive from St. Louis to Cheyenne, WY. This is probably the biggest driving day of the whole trip. 850 miles, about 12.25 hours without stops. At least we have the time zone change in our favor here! Will probably get up early and arrive late. Not too much to talk about this day, other than if we are making good time, then we hope to hop off the highway for a quick (30 minutes?) pit stop at the Golden Spike Tower in Nebraska…. where you can watch trains being moved around the nation’s largest rail yard.

http://goldenspiketower.com

If you’ve followed along any of our past TR’s, you probably noticed that Buddy is a big fan of trains. This would be a dream come true for him.

Day 2 - Drive from Cheyenne to Elko, NV. This is a medium-level travel day… around 660 miles and 9.25 hours without stops. This should at least give us an hour or two for quick stops to see the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Flats. (We’ve never seen either of these before.) And maybe a stop to grab a photo of Wendover Will as we enter Nevada.

Day 3 - Elko, NV to Hayward, CA. Yahoo! This will be one of the shortest travel days at about 500 miles and 7.5 hours without stops. Not exactly sure how this will play out, but we’ll probably pit stop somewhere near Sacramento as we pass through.

Pitstop Ideas Include:

• California State Railroad Museum http://www.csrmf.org
  
  
  
• Stopping at a historical Gold Rush site. http://www.coloma.com/california-gold-discovery/
• If neither of those pan out (pun intended), then maybe the Jelly Belly Factory Tour
  http://www.jellybelly.com/california-factory-tours
  
  
  
• Candy Heaven in Sacramento. You've got to see this place.... click on this link or a Google maps interactive tour!
  
  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Candy+Heaven/@38.581126,-121.506204,3a,75y,195.86h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1s-QGkwxCpgqdv-LIt32782A!2e0!3e2!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xb466d265e763b4f2!6m1!1e1

So yeah, we're already facing a dilemma. Can't do all of this, and there are probably a TON more option as we make our way to San Francisco. I'm thinking if we save about 3 hours or so for the above stuff, then we'll arrive in SF around 7 or 8 pm.

Well, that's it for the Part 1 plans. Next up will be a summary of what were thinking for our three full days in SF.

 

[jeeperwy]

We live in Casper, about 2 1/2 hours from Lander. We won't get on I80 until Rawlins which reminds me make sure you have something to listen to or something to read as I80 across Wyoming is seriously flat and boring. Overall Wyoming is a pretty state but not that stretch! Also I don't know if you'll have time but there is a Big Boy train at Holliday Park in Cheyenne. It's just out in the open at the park so you can look at it anytime not like at a museum. It really is awesome in size.
I think we'll finalize our dates this weekend for this summer trip. I'm just waiting to see if DS18 wants to go or if he's going to take a summer class at college. DS12 says that we should just go for a month so we can see everything we want without having to choose!
Kari

 

[PrincessInOz]

Bob - that Railway museum is amazing! And if you are driving past, I would stop at the Jelly Belly Factory as well. It is a great tour. But be aware - there could be long lines at the JB Factory. We were there in summer time and waited an hour in order to get in. And everyone gets a free sample bag of JB.

 

[melk]

I am so happy I stumbled on this thread! I've read your other trip reports and enjoyed them. You are literally doing my dream trip! I would love to do a road trip that included Yosemite, Disneyland, and the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, if we drove from New England it would probably take a month! But I still toy with the idea of flying out and renting a car to do this.

I can't wait for you to go on this trip, haha!

 

[MarbleBob]

We live in Casper, about 2 1/2 hours from Lander. We won't get on I80 until Rawlins which reminds me make sure you have something to listen to or something to read as I80 across Wyoming is seriously flat and boring. Overall Wyoming is a pretty state but not that stretch! Also I don't know if you'll have time but there is a Big Boy train at Holliday Park in Cheyenne. It's just out in the open at the park so you can look at it anytime not like at a museum. It really is awesome in size.
I think we'll finalize our dates this weekend for this summer trip. I'm just waiting to see if DS18 wants to go or if he's going to take a summer class at college. DS12 says that we should just go for a month so we can see everything we want without having to choose!
Kari

Given the fact that we'll be driving through Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri too, I plan to come up with a few ideas to keep everyone entertained during those flat and boring sections of the trip. LOL.

Thanks for the tip on the Big Boy train. We might have to check that out as we head out of town that morning.

Bob - that Railway museum is amazing! And if you are driving past, I would stop at the Jelly Belly Factory as well. It is a great tour. But be aware - there could be long lines at the JB Factory. We were there in summer time and waited an hour in order to get in. And everyone gets a free sample bag of JB.

Thanks PiO! Wondering, have you ever visited any of the gold rush historical sites?

I am so happy I stumbled on this thread! I've read your other trip reports and enjoyed them. You are literally doing my dream trip! I would love to do a road trip that included Yosemite, Disneyland, and the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, if we drove from New England it would probably take a month! But I still toy with the idea of flying out and renting a car to do this.

I can't wait for you to go on this trip, haha!

Hi Melk! Nice to have you joining us. Flying out and renting a car might be a great idea (if not too costly). It seems like it's not all too uncommon for people to fly out to San Francisco and work their way down to SoCal via rental car.


I've been busy with some projects at home/work the last week or so, but I hope to update with some notes about our San Francisco plans in the next day or two

 

[KSL]

Wow, so happy to have found this thread!
We are planning a very similar trip, but from Saratoga Springs, NY. We were going to fly to SF and rent a car, but one-way rental from SF to LA was getting crazy-expensive since we need a mini-van to fit our group (DH, our 3 girls, my mother & me), not to mention the 6 airfares. Plus DH has always dreamed of a cross-country road trip and the girls are getting older, so... Road Trip it is! The plan is to leave directly from the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction (Cooperstown, NY) in late July and spend 3 days driving to San Francisco. I think we will be trading drivers nearly around the clock to make it.
Honestly I haven't researched the route that much yet, so may just find my way to St. Louis and then follow you!
Is there a road-trip planning site you are using to find all these fun places to visit along the way?
Once we get to CA, we are spending 3 nights in San Francisco (Homewood Suites), 3 nights in Yosemite (Wawona Hotel), 2 nights at Sequoia (hotel TBD), 6 nights in Anaheim (3 at VGC, 3 at CCI), and then start the trek home. We may drive down to San Diego for one day to see the zoo, but not certain.
I will try to check back often to see how your plans are coming! By your level of planning already I can tell you will be way ahead of me, but if I have any tips to share, I will!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Happy to see this report and join in! And also very happy you messaged me about the ticket price increase

Love all the family photos - love seeing your honeymoon picture (Stephanie looks like she has barely aged!) and all the kid collage ones.

It’s either going to be epically awesome or an epic disaster

Well, probably a little of both - but it will definitely be an epic trip!

Wow - looks like it will take you no time! And having those extra-large minivans will make things much more comfortable I suspect as well! (seriously though - very cool animated map!)

That Golden Spike Tower rail yard looks seriously cool. Issue I see if we stopped there is Peter would be screaming his head off when we made him leave.

Ok, that Candy Heaven place looks amazing and what a cool google map thing! Noticed when I zoomed in on the cash register they have a sign that says "Don't Steal! The government hates competition"