our trip to the U.S

Hi all,
we are a family of four - 2 adults and 2 teenage boys travelling to the states in December 06. We have 5 nights in LA- for a start. The dilemas are these...where do we stay that is reasonable and nice, do you have a local bus service to Disneyland and can we have some info about that.....my hubby wants to go and stay in Anaheim for the two nights we need to do disneyland...I think we are better off getting the bus there from LA and therefore have somewhere better to stay in LA...
We then have two nights to drive from LA to San Fran....where do we stay along the way to space out the nights...ie. want to leave LA on 9th December, arrive san fran on 11th December....two nights accomodation on the road is needed...do we visit the hearst manion.....we have been told to have a night in monterey????
can someone help with some ideas???
regards
Chris, Ray, Ryan and Bryce

[d360]

My recommendation rent a car, stay in Anaheim. Consider Magic Mountain rather than Disneyland. If you do stay in Anaheim find a hotel that has passes that allow you to and come go into Disneyland. You have a short amount of time don't waste it using local transportation. No one buses in LA anyway..

If you don't mind a bit of a detour go along the central coast through Big Sur along the 101 until you get to either Carmel or Monterey . The
Hearst Castle is also a treat to see. So many things so little time... You could make a quick detour into the castle which is on the 1 near San Simeon before heading up to Big Sur/Monterey.

Write back if you have more questions.

[VegasEd]

I second the staying in Anaheim idea (or third if you count Dan's above)..there is tons to do there for a family and you most certainly do NOT want to take transportation from LA if you are going to Disney or any attraction in/near Anaheim...minimizing commute time in LA is vital to enjoying the time there!

Garden Grove has a lot of hotels also and is juxtposed with Anaheim.