Disneyland & San Fran Questions?

puente0629

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Hi all!!

Well, we are Disneyland newbies as we only been to Disney once, in June 2007 and obviously there are new things to see and do. On this trip we will be taking my parents (my parents are coming from FL and we are coming from IL) who have never been to Disneyland, let alone California. We are DVC members and will be staying in a one bedroom villa for 4 nights and then flying to San Fran for another 4 nights. So here are my questions...

Itinerary (not set in stone on park days):

Sun, Oct. 27 Arrive early morning to LA, check-in and DL
Mon, Oct. 28 DL
Tues, Oct. 29 LA Tour
Wed, Oct. 30 DCA
Thurs, Oct. 31 Depart early afternoon to San Fran
Fri, Nov. 1
Sat, Nov. 2
Sun, Nov. 3 Napa
Mon, Nov. 4 Go home =-(

Is it worth renting a car while your there?
What is the nearest grocery store, can you walk or do they have a delivery grocer?
Can you recommend any LA tour guides that will pick up at the resort?
What will the weather be like?
How are the crowds?
What do they do for Halloween at the Parks?
Any saving budget ideas?
Anyone done a Disney & San Fran combo? any suggestions?
where did you stay in San Fran?
Tour guides? restaurants?
did you drive or fly from LA to San Fran?

Thanks!:thumbsup2
 
Hi all!!

Well, we are Disneyland newbies as we only been to Disney once, in June 2007 and obviously there are new things to see and do. On this trip we will be taking my parents (my parents are coming from FL and we are coming from IL) who have never been to Disneyland, let alone California in late October into early November. We are DVC members and will be staying in a one bedroom villa for 4 nights and then flying to San Fran for another 4 nights. So here are my questions...

Is it worth renting a car while your there? Not unless you want to drive to see something- you are coming for such a short time, if you are doing the parks all 4 days you don't need a car.
What is the nearest grocery store, can you walk or do they have a delivery grocer? Try vons.com for delivery
Can you recommend any LA tour guides that will pick up at the resort?
What will the weather be like? There is a great weather superthread here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158
How are the crowds? Looks like you are coming Thanksgiving week right? Very busy.
What do they do for Halloween at the Parks?
Any saving budget ideas? Lots of budget threads on these boards- use the search feature in the upper right and search "budget"
Anyone done a Disney & San Fran combo? any suggestions? Lots of advice on this too- including recent threads in the California & The West forum
where did you stay in San Fran?
Tour guides? restaurants? http://thestinkingrose.com/
did you drive or fly from LA to San Fran? people around here have done both and those of us that live near SF/Sac do both to visit DL- so if you have a question about that- lots of smart people here :thumbsup2

Thanks!:thumbsup2

Hope this helps get you started! Oh, and all the planning guides and super threads are here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072276 Tons of great info!
 
Is it worth renting a car while your there? At DL, no. San Fran, maybe. The transportation system in SF is great and parking is expensive, but it's nice to have a car to visit the surrounding area.
What is the nearest grocery store, can you walk or do they have a delivery grocer? Vons.com
Can you recommend any LA tour guides that will pick up at the resort? No, sorry.
What will the weather be like? It might be warm, it might be cold and wet.
How are the crowds? Right around Halloween, it can be busy.
What do they do for Halloween at the Parks? They have Halloween parties. They are up-charge events and the park closes early to regular guests. The party can be a lot of fun, with the special parade and the fireworks show and characters for meet and greets.
Any saving budget ideas? Budget? What's a budget? heh j/k If you decide to do a Halloween party, you might consider using that day as your LA day and just going to the park that night. You can get in any time after 4:00pm so you could be a 3 day hopper instead of a 4 day.
Anyone done a Disney & San Fran combo? any suggestions? I live 6 hours from DL and 2 hours from San Fran, so i've never done them together. But we have of course visited both. Thematically, be sure to go to the Walt Disney Family Museum in SF at the Presidio. A great chance to learn more about the amazing man who built the place you just have so much fun visiting.
where did you stay in San Fran? We are Marriott people so we like the JW Marriott Marquis.
Tour guides? No idea. restaurants? The Stinking Rose is famous and fun if you dig garlic. We like Kuletto's and Post Trio, but both are pretty pricey.
did you drive or fly from LA to San Fran? Fly. Definitely fly. Check out Southwest Airlines.
 
We live near SF and I would fly. It's a terribly boring long drive. Check out the Kimpton hotels. We especially like the one near the Ferry Plaza building. Walking over to see that especially on a farmers market day is fun and The Slanted Door restaurant is yummy. You didn't say if you have kids, but the Academy of Sciences is a great place to see with kids. Driving around SF is doable but parking is super expensive and its pretty stressful with all the one way streets and traffic.
 


We live near SF and I would fly. It's a terribly boring long drive. Check out the Kimpton hotels. We especially like the one near the Ferry Plaza building. Walking over to see that especially on a farmers market day is fun and The Slanted Door restaurant is yummy. You didn't say if you have kids, but the Academy of Sciences is a great place to see with kids. Driving around SF is doable but parking is super expensive and its pretty stressful with all the one way streets and traffic.

Slanted Door? There are varying opinions on that place. Some love it. Others think of it as an overpriced, overrated, and inauthentic place where you can get what's essentially street food for 3 times the price and half the portion size. The talk about is that the owner had lower prices, better food, and better service when he ran a hole in the wall in the Mission. Then he got famous and then started to take advantage of it by jacking up his prices and reducing portion sizes.

The best Vietnamese food in the Bay Area is going to be somewhere in San Jose. Not sure if the OP is willing to travel that far.
 
We are from Oregon and drove to San Francisco this past summer. We stayed at the Hotel Drisco. It's located in a neighborhood called Pacific Heights, amongst some of the most beautiful homes in SF. It's also adjacent to the Presidio where the Disney Family Museum is located. We liked the hotel a lot because we needed a pet-free hotel -allergies- and wanted a suite for our family. It is a great city with a lot to do. You will enjoy it, and the weather is best in the fall, from what the locals told us.
 
I have to agree on the Stinking Rose in SF, delish!! House of Prime Rib and The Melting Pot (Marin) are great as well. You can take the ferry in SF to Marin, which is just across from The Melting Pot.

I live 20-30 minutes from SF, usually we drive to DLR, but occasionally we fly. Driving through SF, and parking, can be a nightmare. Using a parking garage can be VERY expensive.

We are Hilton people, and I like Hilton in Union Square. Although, Park 55 is awesome as well, and can give great rates. It is also down the street from this Italian restaurant, Pucini & Panelli (spelling?), and super close to BART.

Oh, Hilton in Union Square isn't far from Macy's (which has a Cheesecake Factory on top of it), and a the SF Disney Store is there as well.
 


In San Francisco we've stayed in a couple of Marriotts and a Hilton but my favorite is the Omni. Pier 23 is a great place to go for a casual lunch. The fish tacos are made with fish fresh off the boats.
 
Whatever the reviews say, we like Slanted Door and it was one of the less expensive meals we have eaten in the city. I forgot to say, we've also stayed at the Mandarin Oriental and if you can get a room high up, the views are awesome! They sometimes run specials to make it affordable.
 
Although I LOVE Melting Pot, its a national chain and they do have Chicago area locations (since OP is from Elgin) so I wouldn't necessarily use tourist time in SF to go to Marin for Melting Pot. There is a fondue restaurant in SF called Melt that is generally well liked as well if you're interested in fondue (disclaimer- I've never been to Melt) and a plethora of other SF restaurants with a wide range of cuisines and budgets.

I second the recommendation for the Walt Disney Family Museum. I really enjoyed my visit there a few weeks ago and definitely plan to go back.

Although I do the SF to LA drive all the time, I would not recommend wasting your precious vacation time on the drive. The exception to that would be if you want to make the drive PART of your vacation by driving up the coast and visiting Hearst Castle, Monterey etc. But that would be at least 3 days to do those things.
 
Great info everyone - sorry for dropping in on the topic OP but I was wondering why people are saying to fly to LA from SF?

We are planning to drive from SF to LA in October and thought maybe the drive would be nice? Is there nothing to see - we have 2 girls 5 & 7? Is the Jelly Belly Factory somewhere nearby?
 
DisneyOz said:
Great info everyone - sorry for dropping in on the topic OP but I was wondering why people are saying to fly to LA from SF?

We are planning to drive from SF to LA in October and thought maybe the drive would be nice? Is there nothing to see - we have 2 girls 5 & 7? Is the Jelly Belly Factory somewhere nearby?

The Jelly Belly factory is North of SF so it isn't on the way from SF to LA. We live in Sac and drove both 2011 trips. This year we are flying. The long drive just burns us all out.
 
OP-my family like to stay at Union Square when in SF. I recently stayed at the Parc 55 for the first time and really liked it. We've had several great stays at the Sir Francis Drake and we also like the Saint Frances.

I'd fly over driving, but that's just me.
 
Great info everyone - sorry for dropping in on the topic OP but I was wondering why people are saying to fly to LA from SF?

We are planning to drive from SF to LA in October and thought maybe the drive would be nice? Is there nothing to see - we have 2 girls 5 & 7? Is the Jelly Belly Factory somewhere nearby?

I guess that "nearby" is a relative term. It's about 50 miles from San Francisco. It's actually pretty close for me, although it's on the way to the closest outlet mall near my home.

There are also several ways to get from SF to LA, and they may take varying amounts of time should you come across rush hour traffic, special events, etc. The most picturesque route would be the coastal route along California Route 1 through Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Big Sur. The fastest would be going across SF Bay through Oakland via I-580, I-205, and I-5.
 
Great info everyone - sorry for dropping in on the topic OP but I was wondering why people are saying to fly to LA from SF?

We are planning to drive from SF to LA in October and thought maybe the drive would be nice? Is there nothing to see - we have 2 girls 5 & 7? Is the Jelly Belly Factory somewhere nearby?
If you have lots of time and are planning to drive down the coast and see the beautiful cities of Monterey, Santa Barbara etc then yes drive. If you are making a straight shot down Hwy 5 it is a long drive with nothing to see.
 
We definitely want to try things you can't just find in any other major city. The Stinking Rose sounds like a great place to start for some yummy food. In Anaheim we definitely will be heading to the Slater's 50/50 restaurant. How about local fast food places in LA or San Fran?

Any restaurant suggestions at DL? We tried Blue Bayou and Trattoria, any others you might recommend?

Also, tickets? I'm completely stumped:confused3 Should I park hopper, is it even worth it?
 
We definitely want to try things you can't just find in any other major city. The Stinking Rose sounds like a great place to start for some yummy food. In Anaheim we definitely will be heading to the Slater's 50/50 restaurant. How about local fast food places in LA or San Fran?

Any restaurant suggestions at DL? We tried Blue Bayou and Trattoria, any others you might recommend?

Also, tickets? I'm completely stumped:confused3 Should I park hopper, is it even worth it?

Apparently the Stinking Rose has opened up a second location in Beverly Hills. Their prices seem to be higher than San Francisco.

They're definitely a tourist trap, but a fairly reasonably priced one where you get good sized portions. I've seen lines out the door.

As for the Slanted Door, I just don't like the vibe I get from the place. It's kind of the place where (for lack of a better way to describe it) white people get their Asian food because going to Chinatown or the Tenderloin for Chinese or Vietnamese would be too challenging. You'll likely be served by a Caucasian server (often with a smugly superior attitude), and a lot of Asian people who have dined there have complained that they were treated poorly or frankly insulted. Here are a few prime reviews:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-slanted-door-san-francisco#hrid:px73Od9incGm4VuLKQxy3A

I'm not sure what all the hype is about. It tasted like Vietnamese food for people who never had Vietnamese food. I guess that's why the waiter asked me, a Vietnamese gal, if I needed some directions on how to eat the crepe when he brought it to our table. My friend looked at me and I can hear her saying in her mind, "Oh no he didn't ask her that." Left feeling dissatisfied and mad at myself for wasting my money. The only plus is the view and atmosphere. Not a place to go if you want authentic Vietnamese food.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-slanted-door-san-francisco#hrid:EzWqLl4zTPGJYvsCu7Uk-Q

To get to the point, the food and service are mediocre at best...Quick background: My family and I lived in SF for about 10 years and can name about a dozen Vietnamese restaurants with better quality food and service. But a major difference between these places and the Slanted Door is that the SD is about 10x the price of these restaurants AND with an inferior product. We ended-up paying over 4 bills for Vietnamese food and the $ value isn't the issue. At issue is that, for this money, I could have taken my family to some of the best restaurants in the City and eaten and received better service.

My overall impression of The Slanted Door is that it's a place living on it's location first (cruise ship corridor) and it's reputation amongst an unfamiliar tourist 'set' sold on a restaurant with a now underserving reputation for good food. If you live locally you might eat here once but I'll bet you won't go back anytime soon and you might leave the restaurant feeling completely swindled...We did.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-slanted-door-san-francisco#hrid:9yEuem0eJyyTp5yGgBfonQ

Eating at The Slanted Door was akin to pissing money in the wind. I felt completely ripped off when the bill arrived. What a joke. For the bargain price of close to $500 ($360 of that being food) we received some mediocre Vietnamese food that I could have probably ordered in the Tenderloin for a much more affordable price (although I will readily admit the view from the Tenderloin will not be nearly as romatic as that from the windows of The Slanted Door).

Feel free to pay $12 for spring rolls, $15 for daikon cakes, and $35 for a few ounces of their "shaking beef". As for me, there are plenty of places in Chinatown that are pretty good and frankly a good value. The place I'd recommend the most is R&G Lounge. It was featured on "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel, and it is really good. Their specialty is the salt and pepper crab. It's not cheap, but it's not a ripoff. As far as the touristy places go, House of Nanking is pretty good too. It's not exactly "authentic" but they haven't raised their prices to levels that are out of reach. The same owner has a restaurant called "Fang" (his name is Peter Fang). It's near the Metreon. Just ask for the owner to select off-menu items you'll leave pretty satisfied. I remember having dinner there with my wife, and after it was all over I didn't feel like we were cheated. We had a decent amount of food for less than $32 for the both of us including tax and tip.

Here's a photo of the salt and pepper crab at R&G:

saltandpeppercrab.jpg


As far as Vietnamese fusion goes, Le Colonial comes highly recommended, and that's near the Union Square hotels that have been mentioned. Frankly the first restaurant of its type was Le Cheval in Oakland. A family of 4 could eat dinner there for $60 and leave full.

Actually the most adventurous place I could recommend is Shalimar on Jones St. It is downright cheap, although the neighborhood is **ahem** questionable. It's Indo-Pak and one of the best of its kind in the US. I remember a Pakistani customer asked us what possessed us to order the lamb's brain masala. He said he'd been there many times, but was too scared to order it.
 
In SF, at least a few hours for the touristy stuff at Fishermans Wharf is a must do. The sea lions at Pier 39 are always a sight. Most of the restaurants there are not recommended, too touristy. However, Scomas is an exception to that. They are excellent. They're not easily visible from the main walking areas. Just a tiny sign points 1/4 block behind the wharf shops. Well worth a stop for lunch or dinner.

For a sunday brunch try the Cliff House. Beautiful views in a historic building with great food.
 
Food in SF: In Union Square we love Sears Fine Foods. Out in the Sunset (where I grew up) is a golden neighborhood gem, Marcello's on Taravel. If you are into seafood, you have to check out Nick's Lighthouse.
 

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