My oldest (17 now and a junior in H.S.) will be in College soon and my wife and I want to help her as much as possible with all the expenses. I have twins who will start High School next year as well. Most of our extra income will now be helping them. I will still try to sneak away (hope they wife isn't reading this
) to places like Yellowstone or something much less inexpensive. I will miss California in a big way. We wanted to do a "greatest hits" of CAlifornia this time around with San Diego and the Hotel Del, Yosemite, Disneyland of course and something new like Catalina. Looks like Yosemite won't make the list which makes me sad. I've always wanted to see the Redwood Forest above San Francisco but with it being 4-6 hrs or something like that away it probably won't happen either. Is there anything else I should research or not miss in California that I haven't done?
Have you ever stayed at the GRand Floridian? It is awesome I have to say. We were wondering if it was worth the money because we had always been moderate hotel stayers with places like PO Riverside and we all fell in love with the GF.
So glad to hear that all is well! I've been to Yosemite and it's just beautiful. That's on our list for a future trip, but given the location, it might not happen for us soon, either. As for the Redwoods, we're seriously considering a Portland to San Francisco trip in the next few years - we'll see how our three boys do on the San Francisco to Newport drive in February and then decide!
Given the circumstances you've described, I think the highlights are already on your list! San Diego, DL and Catalina are definitely some of the "greatest hits!" Of course, I'd add Laguna and Newport, but that's based largely on my own nostalgia.
I really do hope you are able to make it to Catalina and I do think the overnight would be ideal for your family. It would really increase your opportunities to enjoy a few tours, rent boats or kayaks, etc. And it's beautiful at night - perfect for practicing your night photography. And if you're buying Catalina Flyer or Express tickets for 5, it always seems like a better value with an overnight stay. (And on a selfish note, I'd LOVE to see the photos you would take!)
Funny about GF. We've never stayed there before. Of the monorail resorts, I've always been attached to the Poly (again, sentimental value.) As you know, of the Epcot area resorts, we've stayed at BC quite a bit (although we are
really loving BWI after a recent stay there.) As you can see from my signature, we branch out here and there. We had APs (mine was a Premier!) and visit my parents' condo in SW Florida, so we've had even more opportunity lately. Then, out of the blue, GF just came up. How can we
not try GF? We've visited GF several times, but the main building didn't call to us. Then I started reading about SL, and I think that may be a great fit! I love the GF thread and it's great to see so many familiar "faces" over there - I need to jump in soon!
P.S. Trying POFQ with our youngest when he and I are on the way to the airport from SW Florida in April - any experience with POFQ?