Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[Dugette]

We continued our journey towards France:



Once we arrived, we came across another Photopass photographer:



Izzy was sleeping through her trip around the World:



I think I may have made a quick run over to Morocco to see if Spice Road Table was open yet. Nope, still in progress.

Back in France, we admired the holiday decorations:







I’m thinking these must be new, as we don’t recall seeing them back in 2010.

We peeked into the new ice cream shop:



We didn’t get anything, though. I didn’t find out until we got back (thanks to another TR) that they have an option of serving your ice cream in a martini glass with a shot of liquor on it. That sounds a whole lot more interesting! Oh, well, something for next time, I guess. Besides, we were on our way here for our snack/lunch:



We made a very slow loop around inside, admiring all the beautiful goodies:







We ended up sharing this one and Dug got a cappuccino:



We sat down in the seating area and enjoyed our snack. Or started to, at least. Because Izzy was stirring and was not happy about it. Of course. Impeccable timing. I remember this time being somewhat unpleasant, but neither of us really remembers the details anymore. We think we were switching off walking the stroller around/eating/using the restroom. I know I downed my part of that dessert in a rush without getting to savor it. Oh, well. I think it was good.

We did some quick shopping in the attached gift shop afterwards. We were still trying to get Izzy back to sleep, due to her too-short nap and only partial awakeness, so I was walking her around the streets of France in the stroller, dodging the wandering tourists. The movement was helping to lull her back to sleep. I’d do that, then make a couple laps inside the gift shop to consult with Dug, then go back out again. We got a few gifts for his family (his parents both are retired French teachers – we got a glass for his dad, coasters for his mom, and a snow globe for his sister who collects Disney snow globes).

After that purchase, we made our way to the International Gateway. I believe the walk knocked Izzy back out, thankfully.

Up next: Exploring the Beach Club and Yacht Club.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Great update!! Loved those desserts. I hope Spice Road Table is good and I get to eat there next January. Waiting to hear more.

 

[dtr_angel]

great update! Sounds like a relaxing afternoon in World Showcase. That dessert looks good, I think that is one of the ones we got but didn't eat because it spilled in the box.

 

[Dugette]

Great update!! Loved those desserts. I hope Spice Road Table is good and I get to eat there next January. Waiting to hear more.

Yeah, I haven't heard much about it yet - I like having a tapas option in Epcot, though!

great update! Sounds like a relaxing afternoon in World Showcase. That dessert looks good, I think that is one of the ones we got but didn't eat because it spilled in the box.

Yes, I think it was - I remember it in your TR! Even though I ate it, I'm not sure I really got to taste it, since it was tiny and I had to wolf down my half to walk the stroller around, since she was crabby. Oh, well, an excuse to go back there again, I guess.

 

[Denovagirl]

Shame you didn't get to savor your treat! But such is so with the littles! It looked great! I am hoping to eat there this trip if I'm not too full form all the food & wine offerings, lol...

 

[Leshaface]

Those decorations definitely look new to me! Didn't see them in 2012. Dang, they're really cool though!

Ice cream with liquor over it!? Sign me up!

The display of pastries and desserts in there is incredible! Everything looks so scrumptious and is set up in a way that makes you want every single one. Too bad you had to scarf yours down.

 

[Dugette]

Shame you didn't get to savor your treat! But such is so with the littles! It looked great! I am hoping to eat there this trip if I'm not too full form all the food & wine offerings, lol...

Yeah, I've gotten used to not savoring much (at least not until after bedtime...mmm, dessert!) I don't know if you'll have much appetite left after Food & Wine. We always end up stuffed. But, then again, this thing was pretty small, so maybe you can handle it.

Those decorations definitely look new to me! Didn't see them in 2012. Dang, they're really cool though!

It's nice to see Disney adding some new holiday touches!

Ice cream with liquor over it!? Sign me up!

I know - I'm so sad I missed out on that!

The display of pastries and desserts in there is incredible! Everything looks so scrumptious and is set up in a way that makes you want every single one. Too bad you had to scarf yours down.

Yes, they really do make everything look so amazing!

 

[amazingact21]

That is such an adorable outfit on Izzy! It's a shame she had to sleep through France and you couldn't get any pictures of her standing in the pavilion wearing it. (Or you haven't yet, who knows what happens later.)


Oh my gosh, losing your ID had to cause a momentary panic attack. That's the last thing you need while touring Disney with a baby. I'm really glad to hear a CM had it and it was returned to you.



Ahhh, gotta love baby's timing. Waking up right as you were about to enjoy a dessert. You know if you had just kept walking through the pavilions she would have stayed asleep. It's like they can sense when you really need 5 minutes of peace.



Those were pretty cool little decorations in France. I never made it to that pavilion so I didn't see them. Pretty neat.

 

[khertz]

Thank goodness you were able to get your ID back quickly & painlessly! I can imagine that would be quite the headache flying home without it.

Stroller naps can be so tricky. I'm glad you were able to get her back to sleep pretty easily and enjoy a little adult time wandering the World Showcase!

 

[Dugette]

That is such an adorable outfit on Izzy! It's a shame she had to sleep through France and you couldn't get any pictures of her standing in the pavilion wearing it. (Or you haven't yet, who knows what happens later.)

Thanks. You are right - pictures in France would have been cute! I didn't even think of that. Just so happy to have her napping on schedule that it didn't occur to me, I guess. However, my MIL did buy Izzy that same skirt in a much bigger size also, so maybe we can do that on a future trip (with a different shirt, I suppose).

Oh my gosh, losing your ID had to cause a momentary panic attack. That's the last thing you need while touring Disney with a baby. I'm really glad to hear a CM had it and it was returned to you.

Yes, definitely a momentary panic attack. I couldn't believe that I did that! Thank goodness there was a CM that was on top of things. Although, I did find it odd that it seemed like he was waiting for me/expecting me...why didn't he just come find me right away? Maybe wanted to see how panicked I got? Oh, well, I got it back and that's all that matters.

Ahhh, gotta love baby's timing. Waking up right as you were about to enjoy a dessert. You know if you had just kept walking through the pavilions she would have stayed asleep. It's like they can sense when you really need 5 minutes of peace.

Exactly. Our dog has that special talent too. Pretty much every time I sit down and JUST get comfy, she desperately wants out...even if she was just outside.

Those were pretty cool little decorations in France. I never made it to that pavilion so I didn't see them. Pretty neat.

Yeah, it was nice to see some unexpected holiday decor. I like the little surprise things they do to "plus" the parks. No need to do it, but makes things even better.

Thank goodness you were able to get your ID back quickly & painlessly! I can imagine that would be quite the headache flying home without it.

I don't even want to think about trying to get home without it and getting a new one. Ugh, that would be a pain. Like it's not already hard enough getting through airport and security with a baby and all the stuff that comes with one. So glad that it was found promptly and I got it back.

Stroller naps can be so tricky. I'm glad you were able to get her back to sleep pretty easily and enjoy a little adult time wandering the World Showcase!

In general, she did really good with stroller naps on this trip. We really didn't know what to expect, since we didn't have much experience with them at home (just a couple brief ones), so we planned to go back to the room most days for naps. This day we just couldn't work that in and were a bit nervous, but it all went fine, minus the brief wake-up. Luckily, the movement seems to lull her back down pretty quickly. But trying to move swiftly though the crowds of aimless wanderers in France without running into anyone was kind-of tricky. So worth it to have some off-duty time in World Showcase, though.

 

[Dugette]

Hi, all! I'll get back to the WDW updates soon, but I'm jumping off-topic for this post. We are going to New York City in under a month and I feel completely unprepared vs. our WDW trips. I need to do a little pre-trip planning to ease my mind and I figured some of you out there might have feedback, so feel free to chime in with advice on any of this. I apologize in advance for all the detail and rambling....too much on my mind!

The background is that Dug's brother is getting married to an East Coast girl and they are getting married at a B&B up near Woodstock (and Izzy is the flower girl ). Because I've never been to NYC, we decided to come a bit early and leave a bit late in order to see the city. I'm super excited, but everything is so new to me and doing something new for the first time with a toddler is really making me nervous. WDW was easier because it was already so familiar.

So, let's walk through the plans as they sit right now, shall we?

We fly out on a Wednesday morning (April 9th). We have a non-stop flight to JFK and will arrive early afternoon. Naptime should fall during the flight, so we are hoping that goes well (she slept for most of both of our WDW flights, so hoping for that again).

We were planning on bringing her carseat (a Britax Marathon), because we'll need it for the car while in New York. We did not purchase Izzy an airplane seat, since she's still under 2 and can fly as a lap baby. However, we're planning to bring the carseat to the gate and, if there are still available seats (which there are right now), we'll see if we can take it on the plane for her to ride/nap in. If not, we'll gate check it. Do we need to bring our own bag to gate check or do airlines provide anything?

So, the other part of this is that I decided last week to order a different carseat to bring along, rather than removing one of ours from a car. It took me forever to get that seat installed correctly and I really don't want to mess with it! Plus, I thought it would be nice to have something lighter and easier to carry around. I was able to get an Evenflo Tribute convertible seat for about $40 total while Target had it on sale and it should be delivered tomorrow. Seems to have good reviews for a cheaper seat and also is a good bet for airline travel. Plus, it's half the weight of our other seat. I'll have to test it out beforehand and make sure I can install it (both LATCH in the car and belt for the airplane...and rear-facing for the car and possibly forward-facing for the plane if it won't fit rear-facing...I pretty much have to know how to install it every way quickly). I also need to make sure Izzy's comfortable in it and can nap decently. Hoping this will work well for us. If so, we can also use it for our Hawaii trip (Izzy has her own seat...in First Class! ) And it will be nice to have a spare seat if a grandparent needs to take her somewhere sometime.

So, other packing things. We will be bringing our stroller (the one we used at WDW, the Britax B-Agile). It's great for travel, light, folds easily and compactly, and we have a travel bag to gate check it. The Ergo carrier also fits in the back pocket, so we'll have that too. I'll bring that on the flight again. Hoping to fit the rest of our stuff in two checked bags and carry on a diaper bag and maybe one or two rolling carry-ons, if we need them (want to keep things minimal, but we will be there for a week with a toddler, so we'll see what we can do). Oh, and I'm guessing Dug will have a backpack with laptop, books, etc. As far as things for Izzy, I'll try to pack a bag of little new-to-her toys and some snacks and such. I'll probably do the cooler with milk again, like I did for WDW. I'm thinking we should make sure we have some good toddler-oriented apps for our phones, in case Izzy gets restless. Again, hoping she sleeps most of the time, but I'd like to have some back-ups. I know people often recommend bringing an iPad with a toddler, but she's really not interested in ours. She does, however, love our phones. Also, she doesn't watch TV, so having her watch shows probably wouldn't work so well (she's not really interested in watching things for long).

When we arrive, we're planning to get a town car to our hotel in the Seaport/Financial District area. It looks like Quick Ride Corp is very highly rated on Yelp and only around $45 or so, I think (comparable to a taxi), so I think we'll probably go with that unless anyone has any experience/advice on this. We have not arranged anything yet, but will before our trip. Oh, also, I'm assuming these vehicles would have LATCH connectors to secure our carseat, right?

We are booked at the Best Western Plus Seaport Inn for our first two nights (Weds/Thurs). It was pretty highly rated on Trip Advisor, so hoping it's okay.

We don't have the order of events planned out, but things we're hoping to do during this part of our trip include:

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Wall Street
9/11 Memorial
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
Possibly Little Italy and Chinatown, if time

All of these should be relatively close to where we're staying. I guess we don't have any dining plans yet (other than free breakfast at the hotel). Any suggestions there are welcome. I think we saw in a guidebook to get pizza at a place across the Brooklyn Bridge, but I don't remember details right now.

Any suggestions on when to do things or how to handle any logistics with Izzy and strollers vs. carriers, etc. is welcome.

Sometime on Friday, we need to make our way up to the wedding venue. We have a car rental from the Enterprise that is in the Financial District and should be a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Or they may be able to pick us up, so that would be good. I believe we have a full-size car, so we should be able to fit everything.

I think it will take us a few hours to get up to the B&B. I checked and there is a Target (at least one) on the way, in case we need to pick up any supplies.

So, one thing I've been thinking about today is the sleeping arrangements for Izzy at the B&B. Believe it or not, they do not provide any cribs, pack 'n' plays, etc. Seems really strange to me that they wouldn't at least keep a PnP on hand...they're pretty cheap and they could even charge per night for it and make money pretty easily. But, it is what it is and they don't have anything (our other hotels in NYC do). So, the possibilities are:

1.) Dug's brother knows a couple with a baby where the mom and baby are staying home, but the rest of the family is coming and they could maybe bring their PnP for us to use. This is a nice idea, but I hate to inconvenience strangers. And there's no guarantee that their PnP is going to be in good shape, I suppose.

2.) I was thinking maybe I'd order a cheap PnP from Target before the trip and have it delivered (for free) to the B&B. It would be about $60. Then I'd just donate it to the B&B, since I wouldn't want to lug it around NYC (which is why we don't want to bring ours with).

3.) I'm seriously thinking about buying a Kidco Peapod. It's basically a travel tent for toddlers. Seems to have really good reviews for what we'd want to use it for. And it's like 2.5 pounds and fits in a carry-on bag. They did have a big recall back in 2012 and re-designed it after that, so I feel good about the safety of it. We could also use it back at home when we visit relatives during nap time, so that would be handy vs. lugging around a PnP or something. I know that I've seen one of these mentioned in a TR - I think it was Imagineer5 - so if you have any feedback on it, let me know. Otherwise, I'm leaning towards this option. I can pick one up from Buy Buy Baby for about $60 total if I use a 20% off coupon.

We'll be at the B&B all weekend. All meals are provided, as well as various entertainment/activities. We'll spend time with family and take it easy. The wedding is on Saturday.

On Sunday, we'll hop back in our rental car and head to our hotel in the city. I'm a bit nervous about driving into Midtown, but it looks like the car rental return (Enterprise Chelsea location) is very near the hotel and they are both easy to get to (just driving straight down one road, pretty much). Hoping I can handle that. The hotel is the Hyatt Place. Dug's sister/BIL and his parents are all going to be staying there too (but renting separate cars, so we'll all have to drive in). I'm thinking the hotel must have a place to park and let people out, right? They do have those, even in NYC? Hoping so. Then we can unload Izzy/luggage/one parent and the other (probably me) can return the car and walk the 13 minutes back to the hotel. For anyone familiar with the area, does this all sound do-able? Or am I going to hate myself and wish I'd returned the car to JFK and taken a town car to the hotel instead? Because that is an option too

This next few days will be spent partially with Dug's family and partially on our own. Nothing is really set in stone. Our hotel is well-located for lots of things. Here are things on our to-do list (I should mention, Dug spent one day in NYC once and saw many of these things, but wants to see them again):

Empire State Building
Grand Central Station (Apple Store for Dug)
Times Square (Dug has a note about a singing diner?)
Rockefeller Center and maybe the Top of the Rock
5th Avenue and FAO Schwartz
The UN Building
Intrepid: Space Shuttle
Central Park - exploring in general and maybe the zoo
American Museum of Natural History
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Guggenheim

I know Dug's mom has a very similar list to this. I'm thinking we wouldn't spend a lot of time in the Museums, but just hit some highlights. Any advice on any of these things (or anything we're missing) is welcome. I feel like it's probably too much, based on our slow pace at WDW.

Also, any dining suggestions are welcome. Again, we will have free breakfast at the hotel, but other meals are up in the air.

On Weds. (April 16th), we'll take a town car back to JFK for our evening flight home. Again, hoping Izzy will sleep, since bedtime is during the flight. There are still open seats, so hoping we might be able to bring on the carseat. Otherwise, I'll probably put her into the Ergo when she gets sleepy. Dug's family is on the same flight, by the way.

Okay, so if anyone has anything to say about any of this, please fire away! If nothing else, this helps me to think things through and write down where we're at. Hoping we have a great time! (We better - NYC isn't cheap - this will probably rival our Poly trip in price! )

 

[Denovagirl]

Never been to NYC so I'll be no help there, sorry! But how fun and exciting!! I love all the things you'll get to do, the only thing I'd add is a broadway show if you can arrange a family member to watch Izzy for an evening and have a date

 

[AprilRenee]

I have lots to say, been to NYC 3 times (2x with my mom and then our honeymoon) plus I olanned my mom and brothers trip there last year. But I'm on my phone so I'll write more when I'm on my computer.

The singing diner is Ellen's stardust diner. It's awesome. Go!

Yes you are going to hate yourself for driving into midtown and I would drop it off somewhere near a subway station and take the subway. Or do the towncar from the airport. Midtown is terrifying just riding in the car/taxi. I would NEVER EVER want to drive in it!!

 

[Leshaface]

I've only been to NYC once and I was 12 so can't really help on anything.

For the carseat, we took the carseat (in our own red bag that you can buy at Babies R US or anywhere else) all the way to the gate to see if there were any seats available because there were some seats available the day before our flight. But unfortunately, with all the stand bys, all the seats got taken. I've heard that they have bags but figured it would be easier for all of us, if we'd have our carseat already in a bag ready to go.

Also, when we drove to the airport, we took an additional car seat in the trunk so that we wouldn't have to unhook DS's regular car seat (it's a pain in the butt to take in and out) so it was nice to just pull it out of the trunk and go. And when we returned to our car after our trip, it was nice knowing that we could just take off and go.

I'm shocked that they don't provide a PnP, even though it's a B&B. I'd say ask for a PnP from family members, if not, i'd go with the travel tent that way you can take it home too versus purchasing a PnP.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hi - I live/work near NYC and have my entire life so hopefully I can help a little bit

As for flying with the car seat, we have always used our own bags - though I have seen people check car seats without bags, but I don't think the airlines provide anything

As far as apps for your phone, if you don't have it yet I suggest Toddler Lock. It is a fun little activity for young kids and it locks all the other buttons on your phone so they can't do anything else

I haven't used that town car provider (I usually just use the company we use for my work) but we have always found them to be new cars that have LATCH so I would imagine you should be fine, but might be worth calling the company to check

All the items on your "to-do" list should be pretty close to where you are staying. Depending on exactly where you hotel is situated will dictate how easy to walk to everything (i.e., do you have to get to the other side of the FDR highway or not).

I would suggest trying to get to things like the Statue of Liberty as early in the morning as you can as they tend to get crowded later in the day. Also, for the 9/11 memorial, I suggest you reserve passes as there are limited spots per time per day and the day-of passes are first come first serve. You can use this site to reserve them: http://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes

There are a ton of places to eat in the city - I can come up with lots of suggestions but are you looking to stay just in that area? What type of food do you like? One easy thing to do is use Open Table and go to a specific part of the city you will be at and see what is available. If you do go into Brooklyn there are lots of family friendly local places in the Park Slope area.

Generally having a stroller should be no issue. Only problem we have found is if using the subway finding the elevators isn't always easy (and they aren't always super clean) so we sometimes wind up carrying them down the stairs which isn't that much fun.

It will take you definitely take you a few hours to get to Woodstock - it's actually up a little further north than you might think and it always just takes longer than one would think to get out of the City. I would plan for 3 hours.

Not totally surprised the BnB doesn't have any pack-n-plays. At least our experience with them has been they are geared towards adults and don't have much for kids (speaking in generalities not about the one you are staying in specifically).

For when you are back in NYC, the hotel definitely should have an area to unload - though might just be the curb of the street. But they are so used to having cabs and cars stop there it won't be an issue. Probably should have a doorman there to help unload and stuff too so you should be fine.

That sounds like a lot of things to do on your list (all great things, but a lot). Also, it might look close on a map but they really aren't all that close. For example, probably will take you 20-20 mins to get form your hotel to the Museums (of natural history and art) and then they would be 30-40 mins to the Intrepid museum.

The empire state building is very cool, but it does get crowded and is pretty expensive to get to the top. Same with top of the rock, but they do have a bar/restaurant there. Just walking around rockafeller center is great and there is a cool lego store and other things there.

Up from there you can hit up like F.A.O. Schwartz which is always fun and there is a giant Apple store right next to that. Up further past that is the Central Park Zoo which is pretty cool, then further up si the Metropolitan Museum of Art - so doing that one day would be good. The Natural History museum is on the other side of the park and you can check out Lincoln Center there as well.

As far as places to eat, there are things like Alice's Tea Cup which we like or Serendipity which is kinda close to FAO Schwarts to get Frozen Hot Chocolate (though it is very crowded). A fun (if touristy) place is the Jekyll and Hyde Club. Again, you can do the same thing of look in Open Table for different places to eat. But happy to provide penty of options if you let me know what type of place/style of food/cost that is ok/etc.

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[Dugette]

Never been to NYC so I'll be no help there, sorry! But how fun and exciting!! I love all the things you'll get to do, the only thing I'd add is a broadway show if you can arrange a family member to watch Izzy for an evening and have a date

Thanks for reminding me of that idea. I know we had tossed it around briefly early on in our planning, but I'd forgotten. I think it's a possibility. I don't want to force anyone (probably Dug's parents) to stay in when they want to go out, but I think they might be willing to do this and spend a night in. We'll have to chat with them about it, maybe. I wonder if Broadway tickets are available on short notice? That would be really fun to have a night out. We really have not had that - Dug's parents have watched her for a few matinee movies/meals out for us, but that's about it.

I have lots to say, been to NYC 3 times (2x with my mom and then our honeymoon) plus I olanned my mom and brothers trip there last year. But I'm on my phone so I'll write more when I'm on my computer.

Awesome, would you like to plan my trip for me? Can't wait to hear what else you have to say!

The singing diner is Ellen's stardust diner. It's awesome. Go!

That's right, I didn't have the name in front of me. I know Dug mentioned it to his family and they were all interested. Sounds fun and I bet it would keep Izzy occupied. I think it's fairly close to our hotel, too.

Yes you are going to hate yourself for driving into midtown and I would drop it off somewhere near a subway station and take the subway. Or do the towncar from the airport. Midtown is terrifying just riding in the car/taxi. I would NEVER EVER want to drive in it!!

That bad, huh? I'm hesitant to do the subway, because we'd have to lug all of our bags and the carseat and stroller with us. Sounds complicated. If Dug's sister/BIL and/or his parents are going to drive in, though, I suppose we could have them take our bags and then maybe do this. Otherwise, the airport would add some extra expense, but maybe it's worth it?

I've only been to NYC once and I was 12 so can't really help on anything.

For the carseat, we took the carseat (in our own red bag that you can buy at Babies R US or anywhere else) all the way to the gate to see if there were any seats available because there were some seats available the day before our flight. But unfortunately, with all the stand bys, all the seats got taken. I've heard that they have bags but figured it would be easier for all of us, if we'd have our carseat already in a bag ready to go.

Good idea, I'll plan to pick up one of those bags. They're fairly cheap and I could even keep it in the package in case we don't need it and want to return it. Good point that the currently open seats may disappear at the last minute. There are not a lot of them, so we'll see. I think she'll be fine as a lap baby too. Disney was not that long ago and she did fine with it then. We just figured, since we're bringing the car seat, might as well take advantage of having it, if possible.

Also, when we drove to the airport, we took an additional car seat in the trunk so that we wouldn't have to unhook DS's regular car seat (it's a pain in the butt to take in and out) so it was nice to just pull it out of the trunk and go. And when we returned to our car after our trip, it was nice knowing that we could just take off and go.

That is a good point and some extra reasons for why buying this new seat was a good idea. My $40 seat just got delivered today and it actually seems pretty nice for what we want to use it for. I'll have to play around with installing it in all the different ways, but it seems pretty good. And we can leave our existing seats in our cars.

I'm shocked that they don't provide a PnP, even though it's a B&B. I'd say ask for a PnP from family members, if not, i'd go with the travel tent that way you can take it home too versus purchasing a PnP.

Yeah, I was surprised. We asked a few times, just to be sure. The place hosts weddings frequently - we can't be the first people to bring a toddler to a wedding? Oh, well - at least we've now been switched to a room big enough for a PnP - apparently our original one was not! Yeah, one of those two options makes more sense than ordering a new PnP, I think. I have to admit I do kinda like the idea of having the little travel tent thing on hand, in general.

Hi - I live/work near NYC and have my entire life so hopefully I can help a little bit

Yay, thank you!

As for flying with the car seat, we have always used our own bags - though I have seen people check car seats without bags, but I don't think the airlines provide anything

Sounds good, I'll plan to pick up a gate check bag for it.

As far as apps for your phone, if you don't have it yet I suggest Toddler Lock. It is a fun little activity for young kids and it locks all the other buttons on your phone so they can't do anything else

That sounds awesome! She LOVES to press the home button and exits out of the apps we do have. I'll let Dug know to load this one up!

I haven't used that town car provider (I usually just use the company we use for my work) but we have always found them to be new cars that have LATCH so I would imagine you should be fine, but might be worth calling the company to check

Okay, that sounds good. I'd be surprised if they were older cars (since LATCH has been a thing since 2002, I believe), but wasn't sure if towncars/limos were different. We can ask when we set it up. Worst case scenario, I can always install with a seatbelt, I guess.

All the items on your "to-do" list should be pretty close to where you are staying. Depending on exactly where you hotel is situated will dictate how easy to walk to everything (i.e., do you have to get to the other side of the FDR highway or not).

I'll have to look at a map and check that out. I feel so lost.

I would suggest trying to get to things like the Statue of Liberty as early in the morning as you can as they tend to get crowded later in the day. Also, for the 9/11 memorial, I suggest you reserve passes as there are limited spots per time per day and the day-of passes are first come first serve. You can use this site to reserve them: http://www.911memorial.org/visitor-passes

Sounds like a plan. We'll be up early with Izzy anyway, so might as well get our day started. Thank you for the reminder about reserving 9/11 passes. We need to get on top of these things.

There are a ton of places to eat in the city - I can come up with lots of suggestions but are you looking to stay just in that area? What type of food do you like? One easy thing to do is use Open Table and go to a specific part of the city you will be at and see what is available. If you do go into Brooklyn there are lots of family friendly local places in the Park Slope area.

I'm thinking we'll probably mostly want to stay near our hotel areas and the sights we're seeing. Thanks for the suggestions!

Generally having a stroller should be no issue. Only problem we have found is if using the subway finding the elevators isn't always easy (and they aren't always super clean) so we sometimes wind up carrying them down the stairs which isn't that much fun.

Yeah, I've heard that about the subway. I wasn't even sure if there were elevators, to be honest. I'm thinking that, if we plan to use the subway, I might plan to wear her in the Ergo for that outing. Also, at places like the museums, is it okay to bring strollers in or would we have to park it? Anywhere we're going that wouldn't allow a stroller? I like how, in WDW, you can feel fairly safe leaving your stroller alone, but probably not in NYC.

It will take you definitely take you a few hours to get to Woodstock - it's actually up a little further north than you might think and it always just takes longer than one would think to get out of the City. I would plan for 3 hours.

Yeah, we'll try to leave plenty of time for travel. And car rental.

Not totally surprised the BnB doesn't have any pack-n-plays. At least our experience with them has been they are geared towards adults and don't have much for kids (speaking in generalities not about the one you are staying in specifically).

Good to know. I'm so used to places having them - I'm glad we asked in advance. That would be disappointing to get there and not have anywhere for Izzy to sleep. And, of course, MIL keeps saying things like, "Can't you just put her on a bed with pillows around her? That's what we did when you were kids." Well, considering Izzy considers beds playgrounds and is perfectly capable of removing the pillows, climbing out, and exploring the non-childproofed room while we try to sleep, um, no thanks.

For when you are back in NYC, the hotel definitely should have an area to unload - though might just be the curb of the street. But they are so used to having cabs and cars stop there it won't be an issue. Probably should have a doorman there to help unload and stuff too so you should be fine.

Okay, great. Maybe I'll have to do that Google street view of it.

That sounds like a lot of things to do on your list (all great things, but a lot). Also, it might look close on a map but they really aren't all that close. For example, probably will take you 20-20 mins to get form your hotel to the Museums (of natural history and art) and then they would be 30-40 mins to the Intrepid museum.

The empire state building is very cool, but it does get crowded and is pretty expensive to get to the top. Same with top of the rock, but they do have a bar/restaurant there. Just walking around rockafeller center is great and there is a cool lego store and other things there.

Up from there you can hit up like F.A.O. Schwartz which is always fun and there is a giant Apple store right next to that. Up further past that is the Central Park Zoo which is pretty cool, then further up si the Metropolitan Museum of Art - so doing that one day would be good. The Natural History museum is on the other side of the park and you can check out Lincoln Center there as well.

Thank you for all of this. I really feel like I need a WDW-like Touring Plan. (Anyone can feel free to make one for me )

As far as places to eat, there are things like Alice's Tea Cup which we like or Serendipity which is kinda close to FAO Schwarts to get Frozen Hot Chocolate (though it is very crowded). A fun (if touristy) place is the Jekyll and Hyde Club. Again, you can do the same thing of look in Open Table for different places to eat. But happy to provide penty of options if you let me know what type of place/style of food/cost that is ok/etc.

Mmmmm, frozen hot chocolate. I've heard that place is good. I'll see if Dug has any input on this and maybe make some requests of you.

Great update!

Hi, wiigirl!

I've seen you pop up on almost every single thread I look at on the DIS, but I really don't know much of anything about you. Please tell me about yourself!

How many times have you been to WDW?
What's your favorite ride?
Favorite WDW snack?
Favorite park?
Feel free to throw in anything else!

 

[dtr_angel]

I'm afraid I cannot be of any help on the NYC planning. I've only been once and it was pre-baby. I can't wait to read all about it though!

 

[amazingact21]

Can't help on the NYC part of the planning, I've never been. But it's good that you have some basic plans formed and a general outline of what you want to do.

A 3rd carseat is pretty convenient. We got one for my mom's car and it's handy to just jump in her car when we want.

No PNP at the B&B??? Huh, that's sort of nuts. If you think you'll get your money's worth out of the tent, I'd go with Option Number 3.

 

[Dugette]

I'm afraid I cannot be of any help on the NYC planning. I've only been once and it was pre-baby. I can't wait to read all about it though!

Hey, that's one more time than I've been. I'll see if I can do a mini-TR or something for it.

Can't help on the NYC part of the planning, I've never been. But it's good that you have some basic plans formed and a general outline of what you want to do.

Yeah, I'm feeling better than I was about our plans, but still feel like we need to work out more details.

A 3rd carseat is pretty convenient. We got one for my mom's car and it's handy to just jump in her car when we want.

Good to hear. I think it could come in handy, especially for Dug's parents, since they babysit occasionally.

No PNP at the B&B??? Huh, that's sort of nuts. If you think you'll get your money's worth out of the tent, I'd go with Option Number 3.

Yeah, it seems odd that they wouldn't have one. I understand B&Bs tend to attract adults, but this one focuses on hosting weddings. I would have to think other people bring their toddlers to weddings. I do think we'd probably get our money's worth out of the tent, as long as Izzy likes it okay. I'll probably pick one up soon, as long as I can find a 20% off coupon (which I probably have).


Hey, everybody! I'm going to move on to another WDW update, but PLEASE feel free to add more NYC advice...I surely need it! Thanks!