PTR Newberrys go Disney

[JessNewbs]

We are headed to USA and the world on our first overseas holiday! It has been a long time in the making but my husband and I have always told our kids that oneday we will go to Disneyland.....well that was before we did some research and found out there was also Disneyworld! With no nostalgic value for us at the land we decided to go all out and so became our trip to the World! With our baby off to kindy this year we decided it was time so we planned our butt off and here we are 4 months outside of our departure date

So here is our lineup.........

Me - I am 26 years old and plan our Disney trip full time, oh and if I find time to study I am a full time student via distance trying to become a primary school teacher! I am a bit of a control freak and tend to like to get my own way! I have promised myself this trip I am going to relax and stop worrying about what strangers might think if my kids aren't behaving appropriately! I plan to try to take everything as it comes and not sweat the small stuff My goal before the trip was to get down a size in clothing and look good in swimwear but at this point I figure I only want to be a size 8 and have read that my size 10-12 is around a 6 in US sizing anyway My must do is meet Ariel my favourite princess, visit ground zero and take a horse and carriage ride around central park.

DH - Is 31 years old and is a train driver who is generally cool and calm......generally. Weighing in at 164kg and at 6 foot 4 he is keen to find out if the legends are true about the American theme parks accommodating the bigger frame. When we go to Aussie theme parks DH always ends up the pack horse even though he is the only one brave enough to attempt the thrill rides! DHs must dos are to dine onboard a paddle boat on the mighty Mississippi, become an honorary swamp person on the bayou, ride summit plummit and catch a glimpse of someone famous! DH is a bigger Disney nut than me and possibly even the kids with the overall goal of the trip to meet the mouse!

DS - is 7 years old and will be celebrating his 8th birthday on the holiday in Hawaii. He is a quite and well behaved little man and is usually the voice of reason and responsibility attempting to be the parent at every turn! He is years ahead of himself and his job on the trip is to just be a kid! DSs must dos on the trip are to meet lady liberty, ride Khali river rapids ( and any other water related ride), meet phineas and ferb and lock light sabers with Darth Vader himself at DHS!

DD - is 5 years old and is a Roman gladiator hiding behind the smile of a 5 year old princess! DDI loves to push everyone's buttons but most of all wants what she wants when she wants it (believe me). She loves dancing and singing so hopefully she will feel at home with the performers at Disneyworld! DDI must dos are meeting Belle, going to the bibbidi bobbidi boutique for a makeover, riding Ariels adventure and shopping, man that little girl can shop!!

Bear (our puppy) - Bear is our 8 month old 40kg Newfoundland who unfortunately is unable to join us on our trip. While we are away he will be celebrating his 1st birthday and his Mama and Pop will be babysitting him at home.

Due to all our goals and must dos for the month ahead, 8 flights are required to make it all happen. We are not really sure what we are in for as we have only flown once for an hour from Sydney to the gold coast and it was the worst experience of our lives!

Now for the plan........

Day 0 - Preparations for the trip should be complete as we are attending my Dad's surprise 60th birthday!

Day 1 - Depart Sydney on route to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines with a 3 hour stop over and onto L.A. for a brief overnight visit.

Day 2 - Fly from L.A. to New Orleans.

Day 3 - Sightseeing and Natchez cruise on the Mississippi.

Day 4 - Alligator swamp tour and more sightseeing.

Day 5 - Leave New Orleans and fly to NYC!

Day 6 - Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.

Day 7 - Central Park and Times Square.

Day 8 - Sightseeing (to be planned).

Day 9 - Fly to Orlando, straight to AOA Little Mermaid room.

Days 10 - 18 - Disneyworld !!!

Day19 - Rent a car and leave our bags at the new hotel on route to Universal Studios.

Day 20 - Universal Studios day 2.

Day 21 -Shopping.

Day 22- Shopping and dinner at Pirates.

Day 23 - Legoland.

Day 24 - Fly from Orlando to L.A. staying in Santa Monica.

Day 25 - L.A. sightseeing graumans Chinese theatre, Hollywood sign, walk of fame.

Day 26 - Shopping and Medieval Times.

Day 27 - Freetime ??

Day 28 - Fly from L.A. to Honolulu staying in Waikiki.

Day 29 - Pearl Harbour.

Day 30- Luau and ha breath of life for DSs birthday.

Day 31 - Dolphin encounter at sea life aquarium for DSs birthday.

Day 32 - Leave Hawaii on route to home.

So that is our plan, hopefully in the next 4 months we can keep it all together and get there in one piece......l.watch this space!!

[WAMUMOF4]

sounds great

[BecBennett]

Wow! What a trip!

So when is D Day?

[WanderlustNZ]

It sounds wonderful. You will love your first overseas trip. Watch out though. The travelbug bites and it bites hard. :-)

[Marlea98]

Originally Posted by WanderlustNZ

It sounds wonderful. You will love your first overseas trip. Watch out though. The travelbug bites and it bites hard. :-)

I agree. Our 'trip of a lifetime' has become a 'let's do it all again' one

[dabecs]

My only tip so far would be the day in NY you have 9/11, Liberty and the bridge - to me this sounds a bit too ambitious (especially with young kids). The security to get into 9/11 and the statue (if she is open by then) is similar to at the airport so it is quite time consuming.

I don't think you would want to rush any of them - maybe move the bridge walk to your free day?

Sounds like a great holiday, we loved NYC and WDW

[Andona]

What a wonderful trip! Look forward to readimg your trip report

Andona

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

[aussie shaz]

Wow! What a fantastic trip. We leave in just over 4 months, but have only 2 flights and 2 hotels!

[PrincessInOz]

Great looking trip!

[battymum]

I agree with dabecs, we did those three things on one day - we climbed to the crown of liberty (lots of stairs) , then memorial, then subway to Brooklyn for walk back -
We were exhausted, yes, but more felt that we had covered a lot of ground but not seen anything, I would have liked to spend more time in Brooklyn, eating at grimaldis, walking the promenade.

[Minniemum]

Looks like all the reading you've been doing has paid off. Great planning! Your trip looks fantastic.

[JessNewbs]

Thanks everyone! We are leaving on May 5th so just under 4 months! Re bridge, Statue of Liberty and 9/11 day we are no longer planning to go into the Statue of Liberty and we are thinking only a ferry around will do the trick so we may fit it all into one day you think? DS watched he crown tour on youtube and was a little turned off. Otherwise we do have a "free time" day where we were going to go to Coney Island but I don't think we will now due to the damage it has recently sustained.

[Luisa]

If you are going to walk the bridge, try and make some time for Janes Carousel. It's so pretty and you get a great view of both the Brooklyn and Manhatten bridges and across the East river.

[JessNewbs]

Thanks Luisa, I have never heard of it before is it easy to find?

[Luisa]

http://janescarousel.com/plan_your_visit.php

Very easy to get to, there's directions on the website and you can see it from the bridge on the left as you get nearer the Brooklyn end.