Disneyland & San Fran Questions?

I am contributing to the Hijacking but I want to say how much I miss Marcello's and their carbonara. We had some good stuff in Rome, but frankly it was good enough there on Taraval to get my wife and I dreaming of coming back. We lived on 30th and Taraval nearly a decade ago.
 
I would recommend Dylan's tour of San Francisco, as well as the sites of the city it took you to Muir woods too. We thought it was a great day all round
 
If you have time the Disney Family Museum in SF is really good.

Last year my mom and I did the repo cruise and we had two days in SF before DL. Mice Chat had a tour of the city after the museum.
 
Just a note to the OP, native San Franciscans don't really like the term "San Fran", though it is at least far far more preferable than "Frisco".
 


When we have out of town visitors, we do the 49 mile drive in San Francisco as an easy to follow way to hit all the tourist spots. It's a marked tour and you can follow the signs around the city or get a brochure from the visitor's center, but there is a handy guide book that is nice to have for a little more information on the various sights. We can easily do a quick overview of the city in a day, or more depth in 2 days. This isn't going through museums, but we do generally get out and explore a little in various places like Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park, etc.

I also would suggest the Bay Area Discovery Museum for the kids, right across the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito. The view is magnificent, it's lots of fun for their ages, and it's in an old fort so the architecture is interesting, too.

The Jelly Belly factory is in Fairfield, about an hour outside of San Francisco without traffic. It's about 20 minutes from Napa, though, so if you wanted to add it to that day, it could work. There isn't much else out there for kids and having done the tour, I wouldn't go out of my way for it if you're not already in that area. Take I-80 out to Fairfield and then HWY 12 up to Napa.

If you are driving up, take the Pacific Coast Highway. The scenery is lovely and it's a far more interesting drive than the 5.
 
Maybe too much is already on the plate, but a trip to the Jelly Belly factory could be combined with a trip to Old Sacramento and the California State Railroad Museum. My kid absolutely loves the museum.
 


Sacramento is another 45 minutes to an hour from Fairfield. It could certainly be done on the same day, but on such a limited schedule, it might not be worth it.
 
Have you booked a trip to Napa that includes transportation? If not, you will need to rent a car for that. Otherwise, public transportation in the city is plentiful and convenient. Driving in the city is very frustrating, and parking costs are outrageous. If you are flying into SF, you are already in the city. If you haven't booked your flight, I would recommend flying into Sacramento, and working your way down 80. We always take the ferry from Vallejo. It is a pleasant ride, and I get to avoid the stress of driving and parking at the city. You can depart at Market street where taxis are frequent, and busses and cable cars are a couple of blocks away. Or, you can depart right at Pier 39/ Fisherman's Wharf, and be about 2 blocks away from cable cars. China Town ( which has several restaurants we enjoy) and Union Square are all accessible from the cable car.
We have even taken our luggage on the ferry. We usually stay at the Chancellor Hotel in Union Square. It is an older hotel with no frills, but we love it there. It is clean, comfortable and conveniently located on the cable car line. We often have a view of Macy's from our hotel room. The restaurant is nice as well. They often have package deals available on their website: www.chancellorhotel.com
Have fun!
 
We are going to San Francisco and Disneyland this spring break! :woohoo: We are driving from Oregon, and have done the drive to the Bay Area/So-Cal many times. I am quite surprised people are recommending that you fly from LA to San Fran. It's like six hours. We would never fly that short of a distance. Even if we had the money, it seems like a waste. Yes, it's a fairly boring drive, but aren't most freeways boring? Brings some books and activities for the kids, they'll be fine.

I personally would not recommend Pier 39. The only thing I liked there was Hard Rock Cafe (which is very cool!). The area just seemed really touristy, and not in a good way.

My number one recommendation would be Alcatraz. Not sure if you said how old your kids are, but I went when I was in the 7th grade and my sister was in the 5th. We both loved it! They have audio tours you can take with you while you explore that are interesting. It's a very cool place, especially on a sunny day.

We also enjoy Coit Tower. The views at the top are great, although the elevator up is a little bit frightening and claustrophobic :crazy2: There is parking, but we found the hike up there to be a fun way to get in some exercise.

I highly suggest you get a guide book and see what is interesting to your family. There is so much to do in San Fran; it's my favorite city! :goodvibes
 
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 it is a nice day and you don't mind taking some extra time the drive up highway 1 beside the beach until you get into the LA area. But it is a curvey back and fourth drive but the ocean is right there on your right almost the whole way. If your in a hurry or its a bad weather day then stick to the interstates.
 
Hilton at Union Square is really nice. If money isn't a big issue, then I would go with the Four Seasons in SF. Beautiful. I've stayed at both, and you can' go wrong with either of these hotels. I live only an hour from SF. I would definitely fly to SF from Lax. The drive feels long and is very boring.
 
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 always drove when we lived in northern California (Redding), it was a long drive, but not horrible and there are some cool landmarks and stuff along the way.


To the OP: please do not refer to San Francisco as "San Fran" or "Frisco". It is either San Francisco or SF. The other two tend to grate on the nerves of native NorCal folks.
 
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.

Exactly. There are a lot of amazing restaurants in San Francisco depending on what kind of food you like (there is something for everyone). Just ate in a new one last week that was delicious called Chow. Yum! I would try checking out Yelp and searching by the type of food you like. Have great time!
 
CamoMama said:
To the OP: please do not refer to San Francisco as "San Fran" or "Frisco". It is either San Francisco or SF. The other two tend to grate on the nerves of native NorCal folks.

I don't say it when I'm talking, but I can be a lazy typist :rotfl Also, my mom is from the area and doesn't mind, so maybe it's more on a person-to-person basis?
 
theworldneedscolor said:
I don't say it when I'm talking, but I can be a lazy typist :rotfl Also, my mom is from the area and doesn't mind, so maybe it's more on a person-to-person basis?

Yes, it is. Funny, the PP said don't call it Frisco, but a lot of my friends growing up call it just that, and they are born and raised there, some for generations. Truth is, if you live/d there, you can call it anything you want, lol. Oh, and San Fran is WAY more unacceptable than Frisco.
 
We are doing a similar trip and flying is the way for us. We are flying into SF then SF to LAX then flying out of LAX. For the cost on SW I couldn't possible rented and drove from SF. Total for 4 was $225(from SF to LAX). That was less then the one way car rental. Plus 6 hours in a car is more then I want to do. Not a distance car driver.
 

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