California travel 2024: 10 hot new hotels, attractions and theme park rides in the Golden State
From a Palm Springs Surf Club – with 7-foot waves – to new rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Legoland California, here’s what lies ahead for California travelers in 2024.
A new year brings all kinds of novelties, including new travel experiences, theme park attractions and hotels. Here are 10 fab things unfolding on the California travel scene in 2024.
A Palm Springs surf spot
We’re not talking virtual reality, either. The new Palm Springs Surf Club, which opens New Year’s Day, offers a wave pool that generates two- to seven-foot high waves for up to a dozen surfers at a time.
A surf spot in the middle of a desert isn’t quite as insane as it sounds. Surf wave pools have become a thing in Florida, Texas, New Jersey and beyond. Up until now, California had just one wave pool designed for surfers — Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, just south of Fresno, which offers World Surf League-certified competitive waves to a very select clientele. (You’ll need “a personal invite,” according to Surfer.com, or “a big wallet.”)
The Palm Springs Surf Club is for the rest of us mortals who enjoy water sports — and also fun bites and craft cocktails in chic surroundings. Built on a former water park property, the new 21-acre PSSC complex includes a lazy river, lounging pools, two restaurants — Amala and the more casual, poolside Drifters — and an Island bar. January reservations for intermediate and advanced surfing sessions ($150-$200, plus the $20 club admission fee) sold out swiftly, but February and March dates should be coming online soon. Also coming soon: water slides and surf lessons for beginners. Find more details at https://palmspringssurfclub.com.
An uncrowded Yosemite
Or at least, a less crowded Yosemite. After a summer of traffic jams and crowd chaos, Yosemite National Park is bringing back the pandemic-era reservation system it dropped in 2023. The good news: You can see those giant sequoias, rushing waterfalls and lush valleys without a 4-hour wait at the park entrance. The caveat: You’ll have to plan ahead to snag a reservation.
If you’re driving into Yosemite, you’ll need reservations for weekends this spring (April 13 to June 30) and late summer/autumn (Aug. 16-Oct. 27) and daily from July 1 to Aug. 15. Ditto for anyone headed to the park to see February’s “firefall,” the El Capitan waterfall that glows in the wintry sunset. Reservations will be required the weekends of Feb. 10-12, Feb. 17-19 and Feb. 24-26. Details: www.nps.gov/yose/
Hoping to dine at the Ahwahnee? The historic hotel restaurant closed last January for 11 months of seismic upgrades. It reopened on Dec. 14 offering a self-serve buffet, much to the consternation of social media followers who thought a buffet, even one serving prime rib, was much too déclassé for such an iconic institution. Don’t worry, it’s just temporary. Table service will resume this spring or summer, as soon as kitchen repairs are completed. Details: www.travelyosemite.com
Looking for lodging outside the park? The new Wildhaven Yosemite Glamping in Mariposa has begun taking reservations for spring 2024 for its canvas glamping tents ($149 and up) and rustic-chic cabins ($229), which offer comfortable beds, heating, electricity and Wi-Fi. Wildhaven has a camp store and communal lounging spaces too — and it’s 45 minutes from the national park. Details: www.wildhavenyosemite.com
New Tahoe digs
We don’t usually equate tequila and tropical surf breaks with the Sierra Nevada, but if you’re still looking for that lost shaker of salt, may we suggest South Lake Tahoe?
Margaritaville Resorts, the hospitality chain inspired by Jimmy Buffett’s music and lifestyle, opened its first ski destination resort — Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe — in mid-December, just in time for prime ski season at Heavenly. It’s a $70 million relaunch of the former Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel near the state line. Despite winter’s chill, the resort aims to channel island vibes with its 399 suites decorated in beachy hues and snippets of songs — from “Stayed here all season” to “Changes in latitude” — adorning artwork and pillows. The hotel’s five dining options include a License to Chill bar and a LandShark Bar & Grill, where you can order a cheeseburger (in paradise, of course), as well as seafood, salads and tacos.
It’s walking distance from the Heavenly gondola and from the games and shows at the also-new Tahoe Blue Event Center, which opened just across the Nevada state line in September. The Margaritaville resort is offering room discounts, resort fee credits, complimentary cocktails and such on stays through May. Details: www.margaritavilleresorts.com
New Beach Boardwalk rides
The Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will celebrate its big 1-0-0 this year with plenty of hoopla. A National Historic Landmark, the giant wooden roller coaster was built in 1924 by Arthur Looff, who dreamed of a ride that was a “combination earthquake, balloon ascension and aeroplane drop.” Some 66 million guests have taken that swooping, plunging, shaking ride since, shrieking joyfully all the way.
But this summer, there will be two more reasons to visit.
The Boardwalk will unveil two new rides, including the 65-foot Dream Wheel. It’s a new wave take on a boardwalk classic, a Ferris wheel with 15 gondolas that each hold four adults or six children, offering spectacular views and family friendly fun.
If you prefer your fun in higher octane fashion, the Surge thrill ride should arrive in late spring or early summer. Its description — “360 degrees of adrenaline-packed excitement” — and rough rendering make us think it’s a spinning, up-and-down ride for people with stronger stomachs than ours. (We’ll be happy to stand on the sidelines with our funnel cake and watch, though.) Details: https://beachboardwalk.com/
Sequoia AutoCamp
AutoCamp, the stylish Airstream-style glampground that got its start in Santa Barbara a decade ago, has since expanded to nine locations across the country, each clustered near a popular destination. With its chic trailers, clubby common areas, wine tastings and special event spaces, AutoCamp is a cross between trailer camping and a boutique hotel. The location lineup includes the Russian River, Yosemite and Joshua Tree — and this summer, AutoCamp Sequoia, just outside Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. Details: https://autocamp.com
Disneyland’s new bayou ride
Buh-bye, Splash Mountain. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disneyland’s newest attraction, is expected to open in late 2024, complete with log flume ride, jazzy music and Mardi Gras vibes, and a new chapter in the “Princess and the Frog” tale. Look for Princess Tiana-themed eateries including Tiana’s Palace, which opened in September with a New Orleans-themed menu of gumbos, po-boys and beignets.
And several new restaurants are headed for the theme park’s Downtown Disney area this year, including Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaytán’s Mexican-inspired Paseo and Céntrico and soup-dumpling cult fave Din Tai Fung.
All things Pixar
Meanwhile, over in Disney California Adventure Park, the 15-story Paradise Pier Hotel will reopen Jan. 30 as the new Pixar Place Hotel. Expect Pixar movie and character shout outs, right down to a gigantic version of Pixar’s signature anthropomorphic desk lamp. There’s a rooftop pool and snack bar, dubbed Small Bytes. And the hotel’s Great Maple restaurant is already open.
The popular SoCal eatery, which has locations in San Diego, Pasadena and Newport Beach, is known for its modern American comfort food — think Fried Chicken and Maple-Bacon Doughnuts, Pancake “Pops” and BLTs in classic and vegan forms. Those Pancake “Pops” ($21), by the way, are billed as Great Maple’s take on Pigs in a Blanket — we think they’re more like petite corn dogs but whatever — with the pigs played by breakfast sausages, wrapped in pancake batter blankets and served on sticks with maple syrup and salted caramel for dipping.
Adding to the Ember, Nemo and Jack-Jack action: a reimagined Pixar Fest will be back in April with a new “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!” parade at Disney California Adventure Park, and an updated “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” at Disneyland Park. Details: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/hotels/
Dino-land
If you’ve got tots, you know they may not be able to tie their own shoes, but they can deliver a dissertation on the differences between a pterosaur and an allosaurus. So you may want to take that pint-size paleontologist to Dino Valley, Legoland California’s new dinosaur-themed area when it opens this spring. Dino Valley will offer an Explorer River Quest boat ride that sails past a T-Rex and other Lego-saurs, and a Duplo Little Dino Trail ride, as well as a Dino Dig sandbox and a build-and-play center where they can expound on large carnosaurian theropods of the late Jurassic with other, like-minded kids.
And this summer, the Carlsbad theme park will welcome North America’s first Lego World Parade with spectacular floats — think pirate ships and Lego City-style firetruck — and creatures inspired by Ninjago and other Lego lines. Details: www.legoland.com/california/