Itinerary help for Sat-Mon July 23rd - 25th Please help!

We arrive at the YVR airport Sat July 23rd around 1:30 pm. Staying at the Waterfront Pacific Rim (got a decent deal - not that we can afford it ;) ) We - that would be my hubby and myself and our 14 yr old son - are planning on taking the Skytrain to the waterfront station and then walking to our hotel from there. We are going on an Alaskan cruise on Disney on Monday morning but here is what we think we want to see...I'm just not sure about what order would be best/most effective? We want to utilize the complimentary hotel bicycles and see Stanley Park and check out the Sea Wall. Also want to see the city i.e. Granville Island, Gastown, Chinatown, etc. I am thinking that perhaps doing the Hop on/Hop Off bus would be good for Sunday since we have the entire day? We are also interested in checking out the Capilano Bridge but not necessarily Grouse Mtn. We get back Monday morning Aug 1st and thought the Bridge might be less crowded then as opposed to the weekend before. After a few hours there, we thought we might go on a whale watching tour in the afternoon out of Steveston so we could check out Storybrooke as well and then head for the airport where we are staying Monday night for a 6:00 am flight on Tues. When I booked this vacay, I didn't realize that there were going to be fireworks Sat night so I know that is going to make downtown crowded. Is it feasible to walk to the Burrard bridge from our hotel to watch them? Maybe even our hotel's town car service would drop us off earlier in the night? Also, will Monday still be overly crowded due to the Pride Parade the day before or will it have cleared out a bit? Any suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks in advance! :)

Kathy

I do not live in Vancouver so hopefully somebody will weigh in and advise the best order to do things. However, I do know that Mon Aug 1 is a provincial holiday so I expect many venues will be busy with tourists and locals alike.

Walking to Burrard Bridge is certainly feasible - it may not be desirable though, after a pretty busy day with cycling etc! I assume you mean one of the Fairmonts - either Waterfront or Pacific Rim - for your hotel. They're very close to each other, so distance is pretty much identical (about 1.5miles each way). Hotel towncar will, I am sure, drop you somewhere nearby but due to road closures and many, many cops roaming the area stopping on the bridge is 100% not going to happen - I'd expect at least a few blocks walk from one end or the other. NB: take a radio, so you can hear the music which accompanies the fireworks show.

Sat afternoon in the park/Seawall is a good idea - stretch your legs after the plane travel, no worries about sites being open, sunlight until after 9pm. I'd do the Seawall loop first, maybe swing around Lost Lagoon and up to the Rose Garden. If you're all feeling energetic, then Beaver Lake, Prospect Point or both. The beavers likely won't show themselves until after sunset, when the mosquitos start coming out though...

HOHO is a good way to familiarise yourselves with downtown. Doing it early in your visit is the most sensible option. HOHO will take you to Granville Island (NB: take advantage of the included ferry ticket one way, then board the HOHO at GI to continue the loop). Chinatown, Gastown both also have HOHO stops - but the Trolley, unlike Westcoast, also adds some East Van stops at Science World and by the Urban Winery/Police Museum.

Mon Aug 1 for Cap may be as bad or worse than your first weekend though - stat holiday, so pretty much everyone is off work, although the Pride crowds will be on their way back home. Cap in the AM then whalewatching might still work - I'd call the WW company, see if they will keep your suitcases, as if they will do that then dropping you at an airport hotel instead of back downtown is going to work fine (it's closer for their bus).

I don't think you'll have much time to wander Storybrooke - the transfers for the whale watches are timed pretty tightly to the boats, so unless you want to make your own arrangements you'll only have a short time pre- and post-whalewatch. Steveston is pretty, but frankly not a high value proposition unless you are all big Oncers.