San Francisco & Disneyland

spb825

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 1, 2006
My wife and I are celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss next year and are in the process of planning a vacation to celebrate this milestone. We love Disney but also want to visit San Francisco. That is why we were thinking of a half and half trip: 5 days in SF and 5 days in DL. Has anyone done this or have any feedback? Thanks.
 
Well, I live in SF... :p

There's so much to do in the SF Bay Area, in case you get tired of the city. Marin/Napa is only an hour or so away, Santa Cruz is 1 1/2 hours, Redwoods a few more, Monterey 2 hours or so, etc. It sounds like a good idea to me. If you're thinking of driving, it's about a 6-7 drive between the two, or a 1-1 1/2 hour flight.
 
We did the two with a drive down the coast stopping off en route over 3 weeks in 2003. Then just last year we spent 5 nights in SF before heading off towards Las Vegas via otehr places in California.

What would you like to know? SF is our favorite city :)

Claire ;)
 
My wife and I are celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss next year and are in the process of planning a vacation to celebrate this milestone. We love Disney but also want to visit San Francisco. That is why we were thinking of a half and half trip: 5 days in SF and 5 days in DL. Has anyone done this or have any feedback? Thanks.

I live in SF Bay area and if I were you, I would fly in between SF and DL. You can get some pretty good deals on SWA if you fly out of SJ to Anaheim.

As previous posters have mentioned there are so many things to do in San Francisco or the surrounding cities.

Fisherman's Wharf with Pier 39, trip to see Alcatraz, Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Park (with the de Young Museum and Conservatory).

Here is a guide to help in planning:

http://www.sanfranciscoonline.com/

If you have a car, you could drive to Napa for some wine tasting. Here is a link for all of the wineries.
http://www.napavintners.com/maps/map_of_napa_wineries.asp

San Jose is about 40 miles south, an easy and scenic drive down 280 though shorter if you take route 101. The cheapest fares on SWA I have seen if you book far enough in advance and get a DING fare are $29.

Hope this helps.


:surfweb:
 


Thanks for the advice, Birkner. I would definitely fly if I was going to do both SF & DL in one trip. From what I read, driving between the two can take quite a bit of time out of your vacation whereas flying between the two only takes about a hour and a half. I have two further questions: 1) I know 5 days would be plenty of time for DL but does anyone think I would need more time for SF? The SF part would just be seeing & doing things in the SF area not venturing into Napa Valley & surrounding areas. My 2nd question which I will start a new thread for is when I go to DL, I would like to stay at one of the resorts but do not know which one would be the best value for my money.
 
If you're hanging out just in SF, I'd say two-three days would allow you to see most of what you'd want. (Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Cable Cars, etc.)
 
I know I am going to complicate things a bit but I am a big baseball fan & would like to try to see all 5 California MLB teams play in their home field. Seeing the SF Giants & Oakland Athletics play would not be a problem since SF & Oakland are within close driving distance but seeing the LA Dodgers, SD Padres, & the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play would be more of a challenge since from what I read, LA, SD, & Anaheim are not that close to one another. If I am wrong, please tell me. If I am trying to do too much in one trip or need more time to encompass all 3 things I mentioned doing in this trip, please also let me know that as well.
 


Now that's my kind of vacation!:thumbsup2 Here's the question: How big a baseball fan is your wife, and how would she feel about spending multiple days (nights?) at the ballpark? (Especially on your 10 year anniversary.)

I think it can be done; however, Petco in SD is about 90 miles from DLR (per Mapquest). Dodger Stadium is about 30 miles away (again, per mapquest). In my opinion, you're trying to squeeze too much into 5 days. Guess it depends on how much time you want to spend at DLR. I'd still try to see at least 1, and maybe 2 games in SoCal. Another thing to consider is whether those teams would be at home during your stay.

FWIW, I love the idea of see all 5 parks. I grew up in LA and saw the Dodgers many times.
 
If there are two stadiums you should see, it's ATT Park in SF and Petco in SD. Great, great stadiums. The Oakland Colussium isn't anything to write home about...
 
I know I am going to complicate things a bit but I am a big baseball fan & would like to try to see all 5 California MLB teams play in their home field. Seeing the SF Giants & Oakland Athletics play would not be a problem since SF & Oakland are within close driving distance but seeing the LA Dodgers, SD Padres, & the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play would be more of a challenge since from what I read, LA, SD, & Anaheim are not that close to one another. If I am wrong, please tell me. If I am trying to do too much in one trip or need more time to encompass all 3 things I mentioned doing in this trip, please also let me know that as well.


The SoCal parks aren't that far away from each other, and the Bay Area parks aren't that far away from each other either. First thing I'd do is see if all these team are actually playing at home during the same week! That might be your first process of elimination.

As another poster wrote, the Giants' ballpark is quite nice and the As' park is a big stadium without soul (but much cheaper for a seat!!).

As for your first question about going between LA and SF, on a 10 day trip, and for a romantic anniversary, I would want to drive the PCH between the two, enjoy the phenomenal scenery of the coast, and hang out in Big Sur and savor the beauty.
 
Good point disneylandkids, but keep in mind when you're driving Big Sur, there are large stretches that don't have hotels/gas stations, so plan accordingly..
 
I have a few more questions:1) would it be better to take day trips with a tour company to see SF and the surrounding area or 2) plan ahead and do the sightseeing on our own? Also, can anyone recommend any tour companies? Even though the title of this thread mentions Disneyland, I think I have given up on DL for next year's trip but am definitely still thinking SF and the surrounding areas.
 
We tend to do our own thing and hire a car for further afield destinations or use the cable cars to get around SF.

Claire ;)
 
SF has a fabulous mass transit system - not just the cable cars, but Bart and the Muni system, particularly the Metro and F Trolley. Note that the Metro N and T lines get you from Market Street (under which Bart runs) to AT&T Park, where the Giants play. This will save you a walk of a few blocks. The Oakland A's stadium, on the other hand, is adjacent to a Bart station via a pedestrian bridge. The F Trolley is an alternative to cable cars to get from Fisherman's Wharf to Market Street.
 
This is an older thread, but has much relavance to me. I was wondering if anyone has done this recently, had a map and how many miles it was. Thanks!
 

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