West - Travel with young kids in December - Suggestions?

Hi,
I'd love some thoughts on where would be good to go with our 2 young girls (almost 5 and 2) in December. We'll be heading back to Sydney from London where we will be based for 7-8months.
a few days in NYC to get the pre-Xmas atmosphere. 2-3 days in San Fran as I love it there. We need to fly back from LAX - I wasn't a big fan of LA when I was there many years ago but maybe could give Venice Beach a look? And possibly Disneyland, though we also have the opportunity to go to the Tokyo or Paris ones earlier in the year and I am wondering if we should wait till both kids can stay awake all day to get best value out of something like that?
I have friends in both Portland and San Diego but couldn't get to both and at that time of year am thinking San Diego might be better?
Ii'd love to see a couple of the National parks one day but wonder if this should wait a few years? And is December a bad time to go anyway?
How to choose between Grand Canyon vs Yosemite vs Yellowstone etc? Can't do too much driving at the moment but also need the 'sights' to be easily accessible and ideally can drive almost right up to them in case someone is asleep in car/doesn't want to walk much etc..
Thanks for any tips

Hi,
I'd love some thoughts on where would be good to go with our 2 young girls (almost 5 and 2) in December. We'll be heading back to Sydney from London where we will be based for 7-8months.
a few days in NYC to get the pre-Xmas atmosphere. 2-3 days in San Fran as I love it there. We need to fly back from LAX - I wasn't a big fan of LA when I was there many years ago but maybe could give Venice Beach a look? And possibly Disneyland, though we also have the opportunity to go to the Tokyo or Paris ones earlier in the year and I am wondering if we should wait till both kids can stay awake all day to get best value out of something like that?
I have friends in both Portland and San Diego but couldn't get to both and at that time of year am thinking San Diego might be better?
Ii'd love to see a couple of the National parks one day but wonder if this should wait a few years? And is December a bad time to go anyway?
How to choose between Grand Canyon vs Yosemite vs Yellowstone etc? Can't do too much driving at the moment but also need the 'sights' to be easily accessible and ideally can drive almost right up to them in case someone is asleep in car/doesn't want to walk much etc..
Thanks for any tipsYikes!

My first thought is that you need to spend a little time with google maps and look at distances. I'm not sure where you would be starting from, but Yosemite is between 4 and 8 hours driving from either SF or LA, and in December you run the risk of weather related road closures. If you're not used to driving step, curvy and narrow mountain roads, I wouldn't start in snow. Nor would the kids be likely to enjoy the drive. Yosemite and Yellowstone are spectacular, but wait until the kids are big enough not to be "bear bait" and then take the time to spend a least a few days in the parks because they deserve a good chunk of time.

If LA is one of your stopping points, with kids age 2 and 5 where I would go is Legoland, 90 minutes south of LAX, 40 minutes north of San Diego's airport.

The Disney parks are wonderful, but not for toddlers. The first time we took my son there, he was just turned 6, and I'd consider that the minimum age for enjoying the park without a crisis. We did see lots of younger kids there; crying kids, screaming kids, exhausted kids, overwhelmed kids, etc. accompanied by stressed, tired parents. For the price of those parks, you want optimum conditions to enjoy a full day, and with a very young child who needs a nap or two (and what about jet lag on this trip?) and can't do many of the rides and may be rather scared off the cartoon characters all of you might be less than happy.

Legoland is a much gentler, calmer enviroment, with quite a few things specifically meant for the 2 year old crowd - get the booklet "What to do When You're 2" at the entrance. My favorite memory of taking my 2 year old there was his absolute delight at the mini villages - he, and numerous other kids his age, just stood and stared the the pint sized building for ages. The little ones loved seeing things scaled to them. The 5 year old already likely knows what Legos are, and will have loads of rides and building activities to try. Carlsbad area also has many family type hotels, or you could stay in San Diego and go to the zoo while you're in the area.

But back to my starting point: check distances before making further plans, as your list of options are far apart and if you try to combine some of them you'll spend all your time in transit and with none left to actually enjoy what you traveled to see.

My first thought is ... that's too many time zone and city changes in a small period of time, and way too much driving/activity.

You will just be starting to adapt to New York time when you leave for the West Coast, and then again for Sydney. I'd do one or the other, and stay for a week. So you'll get at least a few days to adjust to the time and enjoy the sites. Thats going to be rough on the little ones who will in turn make it more rough on you.

With kids that age, I would skip NY and head straight for So Cal. Also skip the National Parks...way too much driving involved.

I disagree with CD travelers assessment about Disney vs Legoland. My youngest was just about to turn 4 when we went to Disney, and it was a wonderful experience.

You'll want multi-day tickets, so you can take it at a reasonable pace for the kids (and yourselves... don't discount the toll that jetlag will take on you) Staying in one of the resort properties makes it much easier to take time out for naps and such, and also give you access to extended park hours. Trying to do a marathon day with kids that age is going to be miserable for all of you. Naps also make it easier for them (and you) to stay awake for the evening light shows and fireworks.

We didnt stay IN the park, but at a nearby hotel, and found that we managed well by taking 2 days for the park with afternoon nap breaks. (you'll want more time if you plan to visit California Adventure as well).


Disneyland is less than 2 hours drive from San Diego so you can see your friends, and possibly SeaWorld.

I think of Legoland as "boy heaven" both my boys loved Legos and were enthralled with the place. If your girls enjoy playing with legos then they will enjoy legoland... otherwise, not so much. As an adult, I found Legoland to be boring, but I was never really into Legos ... the miniature cityscapes made out of legos were quite cool, but the experience pales in comparison to Disney. Your husband may enjoy it more than anyone else.

I'm not the hugest fan of Los Angeles either, but I really enjoy the Huntington Beach area (I recommend Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach)

If I were planning the trip ...

Fly in and spend 2 nights at Hyatt Huntington Beach. Chill out, explore the area, and recover from Jet Lag. I was there in December and the weather was quite nice.

Move to the Anaheim Hyatt or a Disney property (40 minutes from Huntington Beach) for 2 nights, and get 3-Day Park Passes to Disneyland/California Adventure

Then use remaining time to head down to San Diego (2hours from Disney) and visit your friends and possibly hit Legoland (40 minutes from San Diego), Seaworld (in San Diego), and/or the San Diego Zoo while you're there.

A short add to what has already been written:
All roads in Yellowstone but one are usually closed to cars, etc. by December. NYC-ORD-JAC-LAX is possible, but you would really 5 days on the ground in WY to coordinate with the Sno-Cats into and out of Yellowstone. Also, that would probably be much heavier winter weather than anywhere else you mentioned, adding to what you need to pack with you. Seeing Jackson and Grand Teton are possible in 2 days or so in the winter, but much would be outside activities.

San Diego has lots of great choices with kids.

Another question is have had time in the past to explore day trips outside of SFO? For example, Monterey and the Aquarium + Youth Museum would be a great visit, perhaps even spending a night there. And while winery tours in Napa may not be the most child-friendly activity, the Napa wine train might be fun enough for them. If you did that, you could just fly SFO-LAX and connect to your flight.

Or another option would be getting a rental car and making a stop in Monterey, then driving down to LA, perhaps with a stop in Santa Barbara too? Was just in SB this weekend - weather was amazing - lots of families with kids your age biking in double surreys along the water. Looked like fun.