• Controversial Topics
    Several months ago, I added a private sub-forum to allow members to discuss these topics without fear of infractions or banning. It's opt-in, opt-out. Corey Click Here

We had a Disney December, Bahamian Xmas, NYC NYE and then some!! COMPLETED!

DC to NYC - Amtrak

We had breakfast at the hotel, it was really busy and we had to wait for a table. We were just about to leave when a table opened up for us. We had a 12:00 pm train so it was a rather leisurely morning. Train travel was not something we had done before in the US and I wasn’t 100% sure how we were going to go and if we would enjoy it. Many people on line recommended the train between DC & NYC. Flight at that time of years due to weather I read were delayed or cancelled a lot. And avoiding a US airport if at all possible can’t be a bad thing really. We chose to go on the Acela Express and the trip was 2hr 45mins. There is another train, The Northeast Regional which is a slightly longer trip at 3:30.


The tickets we had gave us access to the Acela Lounge at Union Station. He we stored our luggage and had a nice clean quiet place to wait for the train. There was actually an exit directly out from the lounge onto the platform. We had arranged a “Red Cap” with the lounge staff and they would take our luggage and store it in the carriage for us. The only thing I will mention is that the Red Cap put our luggage on first, along with some others who had used the service. Then when others came on they placed their luggage on top of ours. There are racks to place luggage and also some open alcove areas. Ours were mainly in this alcove. Because everyone else had put there on top and around ours, we couldn’t get to our luggage without moving all the others. It didn’t end up being problem as most people were getting off at NYC, but I was a little bit worried for a moment after the first few stops where they really only stopped for a short time so I thought we would have to be really quick in getting off., but it was worry for nothing. As I said earlier it was a 2hr 45min hour train trip. I had never been on a train this long in my life and I wasn’t really sure how I was going to like it, but I honestly loved it. We were in the First Class cabin which was really comfortable, though it certainly was a little dated. The ticket price included lunch and drinks as well as coffee/tea and snacks.


There were a number of stop in our 2hr45m our journey. The stops that were on our route were:
  • Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)
  • BWI Airport, MD - BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
  • Baltimore, MD - Penn Station (BAL)
  • Wilmington, DE (WIL)
  • Philadelphia, PA - 30th Street Station (PHL)
  • Trenton, NJ (TRE)
  • Iselin, NJ - Metropark (MET)
  • Newark, NJ - Penn Station (NWK)
  • New York, NY - Penn Station (NYP)
We got to see some countryside which we would never have seen, and even though it was just passing by it was nice to see. DS was kept noticing bridges which looked very similar to bridges we have back home, The Storey Bridge, The Harbour Bridge…


Here are some photos from both the Acela Lounge at Union Station and also during the train trip itself.

IMG_1757_zpsphwlazrx.jpg


IMG_1758_zpsdvslo068.jpg


IMG_1766_zpsxurjxqlo.jpg


IMG_1765_zpsyrduqwbv.jpg


IMG_1764_zps7slcvfsw.jpg



There were a variety of seat configurations, single, doubles and booth style for 4 (with foldable table in between) This is what where chose to sit.

IMG_1761_zps9ykpg1vd.jpg


IMG_1762_zpsuzezwcs1.jpg


IMG_1760_zpscdkcibbl.jpg


IMG_1759_zpscmi2opqm.jpg


IMG_1763_zpsliuzzjah.jpg


DSC_2848_zpshl2w1ddy.jpg


DSC_2849_zpsvvdc7ms4.jpg


DSC_2851_zpsadc0dqfl.jpg


DSC_2854_zpsu5qgppdu.jpg


The balloon it is for the Philadelphia Zoo and you can see a Kangaroo!
DSC_2856_zps1cfrycua.jpg


It was a miserable day weather wise
DSC_2857_zpsmnyqfcaq.jpg


DS had bought an earpiece like the secret service use from the Spy Museum which plugged into is headphone jack which he was using for the rest of the trip.

DSC_2858_zpsufwt13kk.jpg


DSC_2859_zpsc8khkmrv.jpg


DSC_2860_zpswqd7mvvb.jpg


DSC_2862_zpsvkfsn2tb.jpg


DSC_2863_zpsjoznkjat.jpg


The trip went really fast, before we knew it we were pulling into Penn St Station. We were lucky enough to have a Red Cap who was delivering other people’s bags, help us with our luggage. I’m glad we got him as it was up a few levels and he also arrange for our car service to pick us up at a more appropriate place than where they had originally told us. We got up out of the station and it sure was cold. We had a couple of mins to wait before our driver picked us up and then loaded us and took us to our hotel.

I thoroughly recommend the train between DC & NYC. It was really enjoyable journey, didn’t take that long and if you can avoid airports in the USA then that is real bonus in my eyes.
 
Oh yay thanks for posting another update. I'm still feeling quite amazed that we will be in Washington DC and then New York almost exactly a year after you!

I'm fairly sure that we don't have the same travel budget as you so we are just travelling on the Northeast Regional train service that departs Washington on 01 January at 11.25am. We arrive into New York at 2.46pm. But I presume we will be travelling down the same route as your train so it was interesting to see the views from your train. We love travelling by train and, when in Europe, we travel a lot by train and often over long distances. So I jumped at the chance to put this train journey into our itinerary. We'll be onboard with my sister and her family so the our girls will have their cousins which means they'll entertain themselves :)
 
Still loving this report! It makes me want to go back so much! But maybe not in the Winter, when we have been to the USA in the Winter we stayed in the deserts and CA...LOL...you were very brave.
The coldest I have ever been was in NYC in January, and I swore never again! But I love USA at Christmas and Halloween time. Such a great experience!
Looking forward to the NYC section.
Where are you going in July next year? we are debating where to go and we like to travel during that time to escape from the cold here for a month or so.
 


Oh dear Viaggiamo your comment about NYC in January is not good! We are going for our first time this Jan 1-7 (well for my family, I went many years ago). But it's the only time of the year that we can go so it's either go then or don't get to NY at all.
 
Oh dear Viaggiamo your comment about NYC in January is not good! We are going for our first time this Jan 1-7 (well for my family, I went many years ago). But it's the only time of the year that we can go so it's either go then or don't get to NY at all.

NYC in January is better than not at all though TravelMum! If we were togo back at that time I would be super prepared for freezing weather, in my youth I was perhaps a bit naive...
 
Still loving this report! It makes me want to go back so much! But maybe not in the Winter, when we have been to the USA in the Winter we stayed in the deserts and CA...LOL...you were very brave.
The coldest I have ever been was in NYC in January, and I swore never again! But I love USA at Christmas and Halloween time. Such a great experience!
Looking forward to the NYC section.
Where are you going in July next year? we are debating where to go and we like to travel during that time to escape from the cold here for a month or so.


Oh dear Viaggiamo your comment about NYC in January is not good! We are going for our first time this Jan 1-7 (well for my family, I went many years ago). But it's the only time of the year that we can go so it's either go then or don't get to NY at all.

I am glad you are still enjoying it! Winter was definitely different to the other times of year that we had been and of course we went to some of the colder parts also so that made it even more interesting! It was certainly the coldest temps I've ever experienced. That said, we were dressed for it and for the city they know how to manage with heating, double doors to stop cold air getting in and so forth. One night I thought I would just walk about 50m up from the hotel to the pharmacy to grab something. I just went out in my jeans , tshirt and on light jacket. Wow that was cold even for the short amount of time I was out for. So the key is making sure you are dressed for it, thats why we had so much luggage, our winter clothes & jackets etc took up so much space. You will see us in the NYC such a stark contrast to what we had been wearing for the rest of the trip, its quote amusing!

You will all love it @Travel Mum NYC is such a great city and the cold will be just part of the experience which you will all remember for a lifetime.
 
Last edited:


That's great to know that you both think we will still enjoy it. It's going to be interested to see if we find it colder than Europe was when we were there in December/January. Of course it was very cold up in the snowy villages of Austria but being up the top of the Eiffel Tower with the extreme wind chill in late December is the coldest I've ever felt in my life I think.
 
<snip>
Where are you going in July next year? we are debating where to go and we like to travel during that time to escape from the cold here for a month or so.

I forgot to answer your question about where we were going next year...

Our intention is to spend time in NYC & DC again. Also to visit for the first time Boston, go up to Niagara Falls, maybe a day or so in Toronto to see some family and then back to NYC. At this stage all we have booked are some flights in and out of NYC. We are going to be in the US for 4th of July so tossing up where to spend that. At this stage Boston or DC are the front runners. Maybe a baseball game at Fenway park on Independence day, a pretty iconic American experience "i recon cobber"!

Still lots of research and planning to go!...but I must finish this trip report first!
 
NYC 15 year Wedding Celebration and Coming of Age…

We had checked into our hotel the prior evening without any hitches. We stayed at the Hotel Beacon which was in the Upper West. We had been told by many that this was both a great hotel to stay at as well as a great neighbourhood. We were told that we would be staying where real New Yorkers live and go to work. It really was a great area and the hotel was fantastic. It was an apartment style hotel so we had a 2 bedroom apartment. We had only booked 1 bed but we got a 2 bed when we were there so that was a nice bonus which gave us a bit more space. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the room so have no pictures of it to share. Our room had a full kitchen, a lounge & Dining area, a king bed and two doubles in the second bedroom. There are a lot of reviews on this hotel and videos on youtube. There is a youtube video from the general manager of the hotel who states that the hotel is quite well known hotel among Australian and International travellers more so than in the US market.


Here is a short video that I referred to above about the hotel with room tour. The two bed that the show is exactly like what we had.


Ok our first full day in NYC. Well it went a little different to what you might think. 2015 was our 15-year wedding anniversary. DS and I had the idea of surprising DW with a surprise “wedding” while we were in USA. We had done a 10 year wedding renewal when we were in Las Vegas in 2010 (yes we did an Elvis wedding and we all loved it!) For this one DS & I tossed up if we should do it at Disney or in NYC. We decided DW would enjoy NYC the best so we contacted some celebrants and small wedding planners. After a bit of research we found a website which put us on to a celebrant who I communicated with for a little while telling him our ideas and he giving us his. We decided that we couldn’t really keep it a surprise so we told DW. We chose our day and the rest of the details we worked out closer to the day, even leaving some up to the last minute depending on what the weather was like. We had a bit of a surprise for DS as we made the ceremony include a coming of age celebration for him, signifying his growing into young adulthood and us celebrating how proud we were of him of the young man he has become.

I had contacted the celebrant when we were in Orlando and we arranged most of the final details. When we arrived in NYC we arranged where we would meet ,which at one of the entrances to Central Park. It was a really cold day, at least for us. The New Yorkers were saying it was unseasonably warm! But we were really cold. We were very rugged up as you will see in the photos. Stephen, the celebrant was also an actor and we had seen him in a few shows before. He was really easy to talk to and knew a lot about NYC and Central Park. From the time we met he was acting like our own personal guide. Stephen had also arranged a photographer to capture our day . Todd was great he took some great photos during the ceremony and he also took us to a few places in NYC after and got some really great photos, pictures we would never have gotten on our own. It really was a great way to record our renewal and coming of age ceremony.

At one of the many entrances of Central Park
IMG_7086_zpsotxwuyjn.jpg


IMG_7091_zpslmzpcpby.jpg


Bow Bridge
IMG_7079_zpshcimdwe4.jpg

As an aside If you look at my Universal Macy Day Parade photos you will see the NYC float which has a Bow Bridge Replica

Almost eerie looking
DSC_2868_zpswkcnohfy.jpg


DSC_2869_zps6vjbq4bl.jpg


IMG_7087_zpsovimriui.jpg


IMG_7090_zpskcwtv0y5.jpg


IMG_7093_zpsjxqyjfxe.jpg


With Stephen our celebrant
IMG_7098_zps7af7unqu.jpg


IMG_7105_zpsytph0ros.jpg


IMG_7103_zpscizuooi7.jpg


IMG_7112_zps9lsoovwy.jpg


DS was capturing it on video
IMG_7107_zpsdl84wlx8.jpg


IMG_7094_zpslvok7gj4.jpg


IMG_7118_zpswyez2a26.jpg


IMG_7256_zps7zwtizq0.jpg


DSC00082_zpsmi6ndceu.jpg


IMG_7232_zpsivv7ls9u.jpg


DSC00056_zpss5tbvnud.jpg


DSC00085_zpsts1jedax.jpg


DSC00034_zpsuimfqn0e.jpg


IMG_7184_zps8tqcxs0n.jpg


IMG_7279_zpsll40jjyd.jpg


IMG_7287_zps28xm4rez.jpg
 
NYC 15 year Wedding Celebration and Coming of Age cont...


And then we took a walk through Central park

IMG_7294_zpsyjondmgk.jpg


IMG_7292_zpsdkhzx6tq.jpg


IMG_7296_zps16jpe3pf.jpg


IMG_7304_zpsevf4z2e4.jpg


IMG_7305_zpsk2mz930j.jpg


IMG_7307_zpslpgjvnsu.jpg


IMG_7309_zpsaqqnph2o.jpg


IMG_7314_zpspylhi7z1.jpg


IMG_7311_zpssdwayfp7.jpg


DSC_2872_zpsvnsv4ezs.jpg


DSC_2881_zpssqvcv9wv.jpg


DSC_2878_zps4nkygs1i.jpg


Then we left Central Park and walked to some iconic spots to get some more photos

IMG_7318_zpstfftjo1e.jpg


This is probably my favourite photo of our entire trip. I was so glad that Todd snapped it while DS and I were walking in NYC having a chat. A moment captured in time that I can remember forever.
IMG_7321_zpsarnfhr7t.jpg


IMG_7315_zpsf74wl6z8.jpg


IMG_7316_zpsxtetkbov.jpg


IMG_7326_zpsvshkufxe.jpg


IMG_7322_zpsxdhajbda.jpg


Radio City Hall in the background
IMG_7332_zps10jcdn5a.jpg


IMG_7329_zpshx59ocd2.jpg


Stopping in the middle of the street!
IMG_7337_zpsueqjhzcm.jpg


IMG_7327_zpsvoh33ruk.jpg


At Rockerfeller Plaza
IMG_7346_zpsblngoo1g.jpg


IMG_7340_zpsgy6jybcm.jpg


DSC_2884_zpsohm9glw7.jpg


DSC_2900_zpssrr2c655.jpg


DSC_2888_zpsgqvborlp.jpg

 
Love the update and what beautiful photos!

Congratulations on your 15th Wedding anniversary :) It will be our 15th wedding anniversary this year while we are at Disneyworld (1st Dec) but not doing anything special except the Candlelight Processional dinner package with Neil Patrick Harris. It is also the anniversary of when we met on the 10th Dec and Dh's 40th birthday on the 21st, so we have lots of celebrating to do this year while at Disney.
I can't remember if I had posted before, but we also did the 10 year vow renewal in Vegas with Elvis which was really fun and I loved that our boys were able to walk me down the aisle. And just thinking out loud here...but I may end up planning a big 20th Anniversary vow renewal at Disneyworld in 2021!
 
Wow, I did not see that coming for your first day in NYC! How very special and congratulations on your anniversary :) Thanks for sharing that with us.
 
Love the update and what beautiful photos!

Congratulations on your 15th Wedding anniversary :) It will be our 15th wedding anniversary this year while we are at Disneyworld (1st Dec) but not doing anything special except the Candlelight Processional dinner package with Neil Patrick Harris. It is also the anniversary of when we met on the 10th Dec and Dh's 40th birthday on the 21st, so we have lots of celebrating to do this year while at Disney.
I can't remember if I had posted before, but we also did the 10 year vow renewal in Vegas with Elvis which was really fun and I loved that our boys were able to walk me down the aisle. And just thinking out loud here...but I may end up planning a big 20th Anniversary vow renewal at Disneyworld in 2021!

Thanks @Brisbanemum ! It was a really special experience and we all enjoyed, even with the cold ! The Elvis wedding at 10 years was a blast also. I must admit I was a little bit apprehensive but DW was really keen to do it and I am so glad she was it was so much fun!

Sounds like you have some of your own special celebrations coming up also. Did I just read on another thread you were at DLR for Mother's Day ? And you are back to WDW in December? That's fantastic !
 
Thanks @Brisbanemum ! It was a really special experience and we all enjoyed, even with the cold ! The Elvis wedding at 10 years was a blast also. I must admit I was a little bit apprehensive but DW was really keen to do it and I am so glad she was it was so much fun!

Sounds like you have some of your own special celebrations coming up also. Did I just read on another thread you were at DLR for Mother's Day ? And you are back to WDW in December? That's fantastic !

We were not quite prepared for how cold it turned out to be in New York either. Next time we visit there we will definitely be making a stop at the North Face outlet store at Harbour Town before we leave for some more suitable outerwear lol It seemed everyone was wearing black north face jackets while we were there, and we had 3-4 layers on and it still chilled us to the bone!

Yes that was me that posted that we went to DL for Mother's Day :D Hello my name is Brisbanemum and I am a Disney addict! We've been planning our big upcoming vacation in December to Disneyworld for the past couple of years (3 nights at DL, 12 nights at WDW, 4 nights US and another 14 nights at WDW) however as the exchange rate had been better than we budgeted for, we had a little extra US$. So obviously the best place to spend that, was to take a super spontaneous trip to Disneyland for Mother's Day for myself and our 2 boys!
 
We were not quite prepared for how cold it turned out to be in New York either. Next time we visit there we will definitely be making a stop at the North Face outlet store at Harbour Town before we leave for some more suitable outerwear lol It seemed everyone was wearing black north face jackets while we were there, and we had 3-4 layers on and it still chilled us to the bone!

Yes that was me that posted that we went to DL for Mother's Day :D Hello my name is Brisbanemum and I am a Disney addict! We've been planning our big upcoming vacation in December to Disneyworld for the past couple of years (3 nights at DL, 12 nights at WDW, 4 nights US and another 14 nights at WDW) however as the exchange rate had been better than we budgeted for, we had a little extra US$. So obviously the best place to spend that, was to take a super spontaneous trip to Disneyland for Mother's Day for myself and our 2 boys!

How fantastic! Great to be able to spontaneously go like that.

I actually remember some of your photos that you posted of your time in NYC and Benin rugged up. I seem to recall one with you all in a pedal cab and it starting to snow. Yours was one of the reports/ pictures that really made us look forward to NYC.
 
We were going to have a celebratory lunch at the United Nations Dining Hall, however this turned out to be closed, so we found somewhere else and had a quiet lunch. After this we made our way back to the hotel.

Here are a couple of photos from the bedroom looking across the road. Right across the road there was a Fairways Market, which sold groceries, fruit, vegetables meats and breads. We found ourselves buying croissants and bagels from here for breakfast that we had in the apartment on quite a few occasions.

DSC_2864_zps5vpldtxk.jpg


DSC_2867_zpsk5pwalit.jpg


DSC_2865_zpsjlg1cjeq.jpg


Here is some perspective of where the hotel was on the map. I have marked the hotel with the Red House shape in the upper left part of the map.
Screen%20Shot%202016-09-07%20at%206.16.20%20PM_zpsyze7ani8.png

You can see we were close to Central Park, which we walked to the first 3 days we loved it so much. We had a subway about 4min walk (72nd St Station) As I mentioned there was grocery store right opposite, there were restaurants, cafes , retail shops, even Marshals & Bloomingdales department stores all within walking. It really was a great area for us to stay in and we plan to stay here again next year.

That evening we had tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular ad Radio City Music Hall. DW & DS were a little unsure when I was booking this, but I had read a lot of reviews of it all which raved about it. It truly was a spectacular and I would totally recommend seeing it. It is so well choreographed with the Rockettes and a full cast of actors, singers & dancers. Really thoroughly enjoyable. I didn’t think you would be able to take photos during the performance so I didn’t take my camera, but they were more than happy for you to. I only took a few on my phone so they are not that great but they give you some idea. The guy next to us had his dSLR and zoom lens snapping off photos throughout.

The only negative was the lining up and getting into the performance wasn’t managed to well. We were there more than 30 mins before and we got seated just as the performance started.

IMG_1779_zps5gtizbvl.jpg


IMG_1780_zpsj1gjfbsg.jpg


IMG_1786_zpsuqmtalsw.jpg


IMG_1793_zpsjgzktpux.jpg


IMG_1791_zpssgvdmlyi.jpg


IMG_1795_zpssajjamlt.jpg


IMG_1799_zps0rdhmo0m.jpg
 
Another great update thanks. Hotel Beacon does look great and I've heard many good reviews of it before. Awesome that you went to Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
 
Hey there

I am very late to your trip report but an catching up slowly - just read up to your small world report from MK.

I am also from Australia and our next trip is fast approaching for Halloween - so this report is getting the excitement levels up!
You have great writing style and have some amazing pics - thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to reading all about the rest of there trip.

Sorry if this is a repeated question - are you planning any more trips?

Cheers Darren
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts







facebook twitter
Top