Trip of a lifetime USA- CA or NYC?

Cross post with OP.
2 weeks in Florida, with plenty of breaks from the theme parks, relaxing in hotel pools, etc is better idea for that age group. 2 weeks will be fairly full on and they are still very young.

I still wouldn’t go to US at the moment. But each to their own.

If it really is a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ trip, wait until your children are older so they will remember it. If it is not truly a once only trip, and perhaps you might do again in 6 -10 years then that is different..

We did a fabulous 3 week trip to California when our children were 6&8. They only have a few memories from that trip. We did another 3 week fabulous trip when they were 13 & 15 and they have fabulous memories from it and still talk about it almost 10 years later.

Also unless your 6 year old is tall and a dare devil, they might not be able to do lots of the rides. Maybe do Disney in Paris until they are older. Or Effteling in Netherlands, or Phantasialand near Cologne.

Personally I wouldn’t want to visit US at the moment. Things could get nasty at short notice. It will also be very busy and expensive with World Cup there this summer.

I can't think of anything worse than OP's itinerary. So many crowds! So much noise!

If NYC and Boston are on the cards, think about a meander up the East Coast. There is so much to do from Virginia up to Maine, and the driving distances aren't far.

My favourite US holiday with kids was in a Vermont Ski resort in the summer. It was both relaxing and as busy as you liked.

I've also enjoyed the Smoky Mountain National Park (incl Gatlinburg for tat), and various state parks in Ohio and Kentucky (we used to live there).

If thrill seeking is what you want for a few days, there are numerous huge rollercoaster parks all over the place.

Plenty of National Parks on the East Coast eg Blue Ridge Mountsins/shenandoah Drive.

we did 10 days in Orlando doing the parks and discovery cove then drove to Miami spent a couple of nights there and then went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Children were aged 8 10 12, it was ambitious with the travelling but we loved it

Other thing to bare in mind - US National Parks now cost USD 250 per person so that will be a significant cost to your CA plans (if you are visiting more than one day the most cost effective way is to make a non-resident annual pass)

The America the Beautiful annual pass for non residents is now $250, and covers up to 4 adults (under 16s are generally free anyway). 11 NPs are now charging a surcharge of $100 per adult - Acadia, Bryce, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion - so visiting any of one those makes the annual pass a no brainer.

If I was going to do a trip of a lifetime, I’m not sure it would be to Disney and NYC/CA (and I say this as someone who has been to Disney probably 5 times and lived in both NYC and CA!)

If you want to do it though, I’d personally shorten Disney and go for 3-4 days in the Keys. Then CA, road trip up Rt 1, Yosemite/Sequoia. I don’t rate LA or SF personally, but I do like the coast and little towns and national parks. I’d actually be more inclined to do the Southwest and Rockies than CA.

I agree with waiting for a few years. My youngest was the age of your kids when we went on two big holidays and now as an older teen he can’t remember them at all.

If genuinely a trip of a lifetime I'd wait until they were a bit older which would coincide with hopefully a less authoritarian government in place and less armed goons on the streets operating with no oversight.

Other than that id go Florida, NYC and Washington

I can't believe anyone would consider going to the US at the moment.

Do Orlando then go to the Everglades for an airboat ride to see alligators.Go sll the way down to Flamingo where you’ll see crocodiles too and manatees if you’re lucky. After that drive down to the Keys and stay at Key Largo. Visit Robbies and feed the huge tarpons. You’ll also see more manatees in the Keys. Eat key lime pie. Worth a visit to Hemingway’s house at Key West. Kids will like the 6 toed cats!
You could then fly home from Miami which is great for a couple of days. Visit Wynward Walls for entertaining wall art. Kids will love the clever 3d scenes. Great ice cream in surrounding shops. Ocean Drive is great for the beach and spotting retro cars and luxury sports cars if you’re interested. The Miami police were also very sweet with our grand kids posing for photos. You can see quite a lot over a relatively short distance once you’ve left Orlando.

I think the New York option and then to Salem too if you like Halloween! If you opt for beach vibes I’d recommend Anna Maria Island in Florida as that is beautiful!

Adding to my post... I do think you are trying to pack too much into 2 weeks.. I hadn't appreciated you only had time for 15 days. I would stick to either Florida or out west for the entire trip, and given the age of the kids I would go for Florida.

OP it seem you may be a little naive about the distances involved and the time needed to visit these places on the same trip / it’s not really realistic .
It sounds like you want to fit it all in - but you can’t .
California is huge - the whole state could be a holiday in itself . You simply can’t do the national parks any justice in two days - that’s ridiculous.

stick to Orlando , take a few days beach time afterwards at a Florida beach and save the rest for when you actually have time to do it .

I would either stay in Florida for the whole time, do the whole holiday in California with the Disney park there, or spend only 7 days in Florida before going to NYC or Boston for a bit longer.

I think the NYC and California plans sound much too rushed as they are. Would your kids actually enjoy the museums and things in NYC?

I would forget Salem, I can’t imagine what you would do there for two days with small children. It’s a pleasant enough New England town with a million places to get your palm read or buy a crystal. It has a fantastic museum (boring for young children) and some interesting historical sites (again not aimed at children particularly). There is a pirate museum, I’ve never been to that. A day trip is enough, it is heaving with people in summer too. I find it quite tacky that there is so much witch themed stuff in Salem when the whole point of the Salem witch trials was that there were no witches.

Do you read the news OP??

I'm lucky enough to have been to all of the places on your list multiple times. I think you would have a great time with whatever decision you make.

You haven't said when you are planning to go, but I would wait until 2027 at least to do this - a) so that the kids are a little older, and b) because the USA is genuinely so unstable at the moment. Every day Trump does something else crazy and I do think at some point there's a danger of either internal clashes but also some kind of retribution should he carry out his threats to Greenland in terms of visa cancellations etc. It would be unprecedented, but so his is behaviour. I would avoid the USA this year if possible, especially close to the midterms in November. I am never saying don't go to the USA at all (I'm going at Easter, prebooked before the insanity!) but do consider these things if it's a once in a lifetime trip, this is a particularly bad time to go.

It's worth considering that the things you want to do in Florida would easily take more than 10 days, so you could keep it a Florida only trip if you wanted. And there are other amazing things to do in Florida - my favourite beach in the world is Bahai Honda State Park, down in the Keys.

Other thing to bare in mind - US National Parks now cost USD 250 per person so that will be a significant cost to your CA plans (if you are visiting more than one day the most cost effective way is to make a non-resident annual pass). However, if this really is your once in a lifetime trip I would probably choose the national park options over New York. The geography in that area of the world is stunning. New York can always be done relatively cheaply from the UK if you did want to go back there another time.

Rather than CA you may want to look at Arizona/Nevada/Utah, they have some pretty amazing places e.g. the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Canyonlands. If you do want to keep costs down, also consider looking at State Parks rather than National Parks - they aren't as famous but are often very impressive.

They are a good age for Legoland, or Disneyland Paris. I don't think it's fair to have a "once in a lifetime" holiday at such a young age - they will come home and want to do it again straight away!

Florida to California coast for a few days and then Yosemite for two, then back to a major airport to get home is far too much travel. You won't enjoy the second half if your trip, you'll be tired.

The kids are very young so another who says leave it at least 3 years if you really are doing it once in a lifetime. Then I would do universal - Disney- possibly chill out time for a few days on clearwater beach (there's a gorgeous hotel there I have my eye on).

The NY/CA trips can wait. They really are separate trips and it's too much travel on top of a packed schedule.

There are 6 parks in disney and 4 in universal plus did you say everglades and Kennedy space centre. That's 12 days plus you need chill out days in between. Allow an extra day because epcot is 2 parks in 1. That's 13 days.

I do full days in the parks (8-11 in epcot and DHS but would be finished with dinner at the others then maybe a wander back to buy something or get a drink or ice-cream, you can be out for a very full on day and you will need to sit by a pool in between).

The other option is to do a park over 2 days and spend some time chilling out in the hotel each day but they are huge so once I'm in I'm going for it. With young dc and AuDHD you might need the daily chill out time.

Which is my way of saying even if you skip universal, but assuming both disney waterparks are open, 10 days won't be enough for florida. 2.5 to 3 weeks is my preference.

To add that you really need to be doing all the parks to get your moneys worth out of the ticket. They are really expensive but you can't really pay for one or 2 parks. Look at attraction tickets direct.

I can post advice about NY boston loop or a Southern Californian loop with dc as I've done these but separate holidays. California is amazing but neither of these destinations are as good for kids as just doing florida properly.

Personally I'd do euro disney when they are very young and then the full Orlando experience in 3 or 4 years. There are definitely 2 trips to be had: one when they are you to do characters and princesses, and one when they are big enough to enjoy the rides.

I wouldn't go to California with the purpose of being relaxed - there is so much to see if you want to do it properly. It needs 2 weeks. Road trip from LA up the pacific coast highway with stops including Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Pismo Beach, Carmel by the Sea, Big Sur and Monterey Bay. Then to San Francisco and then Yosemite - its a long drive to Yosemite so you will want more than a couple of days. New York sounds a better idea if you can give it at least several days.

Anybody travelling to the US for a holiday is supporting trump with their purse whether that is intentional or not.
Everybody who does not agree with his actions should stay away.
Money talks and all most of us can do is take our business elsewhere.
I also think it is not safe and would definitely not be taking children there now.

I would be very very cautious about booking a trip to the US right now. Does your travel insurance cover war breaking out? If you’re going in the autumn, it’s the run-up to their midterm elections (the second Tuesday in November) and many commentators are suggesting that Trump is manoeuvring to be able to cancel them or to call in the national guard to suppress their free and fair execution, so I would seriously consider factoring civil unrest into your decision-making.

ICE also seem very cavalier about who they arrest, how they arrest them, and how detainees are processed. As you are planning to travel with children (and additional needs at that) I would, again, think long and hard about going there at all.