Beyond Mickey: Rethinking the California Family Road Trip
A Kiwi family's California road trip reveals there is more to the Golden State than Disney's sensory overload. From Ventura's unhurried surf culture to Palm Springs' desert conservation efforts, travelling with young children demands a slower, more intentional pace, one that ultimately offers a richer experience of place and community.
Ventura: Where surf culture meets slow living
Five days after landing at LAX, our bright red Wrangler Jeep rolled into Ventura, 290km west of Hollywood's legendary playground. The drive up the coast from Los Angeles is a study in contrasts. LA's six lane freeways feel like a Wacky Races rally, but things mellow after Malibu. By the time you reach the Crowne Plaza Hotel fronting Ventura Beach, you have entered the realm of low key surf culture.
The boardwalk outside our window was peppered with wetsuit clad cyclists, riding the prom with clip on brackets for their surfboards. In the distance, the 490m long Ventura pier, built in 1872, juts out from a shoreline marked with wooden lifeguard towers. It is about as iconic as you could wish for.
But aesthetics alone do not impress a 4 year old and a 1 year old. Over the coming days, we headed to Ventura Harbour for child approved activities: pedal boating giant ducks and Coastal Cone ice creams for bright blue 'Unicorn Poop', plus their signature fish cones, a doughnut style fish tail pumped to its gills with custard. Within the sleepy harbour, small boutiques and bars hide arcade games throbbing with neon lights. In The Loose Cannon, my oldest son pocketed numerous arcade winnings, including three toy soldiers, slime, a toy car and a miniature slinky.
Most shops in Ventura do not open until 10am or later. This is a town that values ease over hustle. Main Street embodies that laid back lifestyle, with whimsical bookshops like Calico Cat and Brooklyn Charm, a mecca of trinkets and metal charms. This is where I disappeared while my husband and his prodigies fought virtual reality spiders at Moby's on Main, another family friendly arcade cum bar.
Anaheim and Disneyland: Navigating the magic machine
Soon enough, a small boy was repeatedly asking if we were seeing Mickey Mouse today, so we packed up the Jeep for the 160km onward journey to Anaheim.
Checking into the Anaheim Hotel is probably the best piece of advice I can give parents embarking on a Disneyland trip. Location is key. Guests can practically roll out of bed and through the Disney turnstiles in under seven minutes. Invest in a Park Hopper Ticket and you gain entry to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, with the hotel allowing for an easy nap in the middle.
Geared to holiday makers needing respite after a day of Disneymania, the hotel boasts an outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, garden games and poolside cabana service. It is not obligatory for adults to snooze too. Get the cocktail. It is what Minnie would want.
As parents and Disney park newcomers, we approached with trepidation. How to find enjoyment amidst the magnitude of must dos, the crowds, the countless gift shops? In reality, a game plan is futile. You are better off going with the flow and seeing where the day, or your children, takes you.
The hordes are simply part of the sensory overload, arguably a major component of the experience. And the gift shops? I came home with a completely impractical Toy Story hairbrush. When it comes to gift shop brainwashing, do not try and fight it. You won't win.
Big warning to the wise: I only just snagged the last dining slot across both parks via the Disneyland app. Download it and book early.
And unless you are a sadist, do little or nothing in Anaheim the next day. As one spritely yet elderly woman at our hotel remarked after three days of back to back Disneyland, 'Nanna needs a nap.' She was not wrong. You would be insane to mix anything but downtime with Disneyland.
Palm Springs: Desert ecology and mid century dreaming
Within 48 hours, we were heading to Palm Springs for downtime Frank Sinatra style. With Elvis Presley, Katharine Hepburn, Dean Martin and the rest of the LA elite who have been absconding to the desert since the 30s.
Personally, I went for the skinny palm trees and retro, mid century facades. I had promised my camera roll the quintessential California package. By the time we drove into Palm Canyon Drive, a David Hockney style montage flooded our collective retinas. The San Jacinto Mountains playing such a pivotal role in the backdrop, they looked more faux than the cosmetic enhancements on display.
A bright pink billboard captured the mood perfectly. 'Filler is my second favourite F word,' it read, complete with an ageing but fun looking glamour puss. Palm Springs is unapologetically itself, a place that embraces artifice and authenticity in equal measure.
The Living Desert: Conservation in action
At the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, we hand fed blue tongued giraffes and learned several animal facts from zoo workers adept at delivering child friendly information. The weather was apparently cool for the time of year, a frigid 100F, which translates to 37C for those of us who think in metric.
The zoo is mercifully equipped with a splashpad and wooden rocking chairs under cool misting fans. The cafe is built into a mountain of granite scrub, up until a band of mountain goats skedaddle across it, delighting both children. As for me, I was rather taken with the naked mole rat. He looked like a bit of fun.
Places like The Living Desert matter. They introduce young visitors to desert ecosystems and the fragile balance of arid environments, a lesson that feels increasingly urgent as climate pressures mount. Conservation education, delivered this engagingly, is something worth travelling for.
Finding space for unstructured play
Squeezing everything we possibly could into our remaining days, the last afternoon afforded two hours of mum and son fun in the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert. Comprising three interactive buildings with various hands on exhibits, my eldest spent 90 minutes of the 120 we had left before closing time in one section alone.
I resisted ushering him to the next station. He was too busy and too happy to rush. He made me tacos at the pretend taco stand before moving on to the Lego, his brows furrowed and tongue half hanging out in concentration. I was content because he was. Plus, there was air conditioning.
There is a lesson here about travel and about parenting. The best moments are rarely the ones you schedule. They are the ones you allow to unfold.
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway: A communal high
Before we knew it, our departure for LAX rudely imposed and we bid Palm Springs a fond farewell via the region's premier attraction. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, touted as the world's largest rotating tram car, lurches upwards for more than 4km to an elevation of 2596m over a 10 minute ascent.
Mountain Station is so lofty it is actually cold at the top. It is also oddly quiet, in a disarming but not unpleasant way. Aside from a few distant birds and a scurrying lizard, the world is on mute.
This turned out to be quite the contradiction to our return journey on the tramcar, where without warning, loud music blared out of the speakers and a short, somewhat surreal party unfolded. Neil Diamond crooned Sweet Caroline to a gondola load of strangers, all of whom were now singing, some dancing, together. I felt, for the umpteenth time this holiday, a wave of complete joy.
Travel at its best does this. It places you in moments of unexpected connection with strangers, with landscape, with your own family. California delivers those moments readily, if you let it.
Is California family friendly for Kiwi travellers?
Yes, with the right expectations. Ventura offers an accessible entry point with its relaxed coastal pace. Disneyland is intense but manageable with a Park Hopper Ticket and a nearby hotel. Palm Springs provides the necessary recovery. The key is building in downtime and not overscheduling young children.
How do you balance Disney with downtime?
Stay at the Anaheim Hotel for proximity, use the Park Hopper to allow midday naps, and plan a rest day afterwards. Do not attempt back to back park days with small children unless you enjoy suffering.
What is the environmental cost of a US road trip?
It is significant. A return flight from Auckland to LAX and a 600km road trip generate considerable emissions. Offsetting through certified programmes is a start, but travellers should also consider supporting local conservation efforts like The Living Desert, which actively works to protect desert ecosystems.
Practical guide: Getting there and getting around
- Flights: Fly from Auckland to LAX non stop with Air NZ in about 12 hours. The night flight is a good one to take with young children who will hopefully sleep.
- Car rental: Book early and be prepared for upsell attempts at the desk. We paid an extra US$9.90 per day to upgrade from a Mazda to a Wrangler Jeep.
- Ventura: E
Ella Thompson
Ella Thompson is a Wellington-based journalist covering politics, climate policy, and digital freedoms in the Pacific. With a background in law and international relations, she brings sharp analysis and a passion for civic accountability.
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