Finally Shuttergirl has another trip to plan...WDW accom booked

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Travel mum - I have always wanted to do that Alaskan cruise. I look forward to watching you plan that because I think it would be an amazing experience.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Ms Shuttergirl your trips sound awesome. How wonderful to have so much to plan for and look forward to. We live in a very modest/old home ( albeit on 10acres), but I prefer to spend money on trips rather than upgrading the house at the moment. We are hoping to travel to the USA(West Coast) in Sep/Oct 2013, and then to the UK less than a year later in July 2014. So I will be reading your posts avidly. You sound so happy and full of excitement

 

[Mum from oz]

I am so happy for you!!

How exciting. I want to do so much on the house but I am always factoring travel plans and where else I could be spending the money. I'm glad you made the right decision for you.

I think planning is half the fun. Can't wait to follow your plans.

 

[shushh]

We must be only one dumb ones. We are building a new home, hopefully at the beginning of the year and budget has blown out already! So no Lapland or Scandinavia for us me thinkst...

Anywho back to you! I like the sound of your plans, but I do agree with PIO that it might better to not waste precious time commuting back and forth from NY to DC? Are you big NYE people? If not, DC is actually a good place to be because everything stays open on New Years day! If you like museums, you will need more than 3 days. I quite enjoyed DC I must say! So how about NY for Christmas, train to DC and then fly out from there. Flying out from DCA for us was great. Very close to city centre, and we got through everything (check in, security, etc) very quickly as it seemed to be quiet?!??!

WHen in NY don't forget to see the Rockettes at Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I LOVED it!!! Google it to see if it is your thing. The theater was absolutely beautiful!

 

[dabecs]

First thing you need to do is come over and join us on the Nov/Dec 2012 thread - it has been a bit quiet lately.

House vs travel is always a hard one - if only we could all afford both! We would love to build one day but we like our house and the area we live in so travel wins at the moment

They sound like great travel plans - and you won't have the post Disney slump because you will be furiously planning Europe

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Ms Shuttergirl your trips sound awesome. How wonderful to have so much to plan for and look forward to. We live in a very modest/old home ( albeit on 10acres), but I prefer to spend money on trips rather than upgrading the house at the moment. We are hoping to travel to the USA(West Coast) in Sep/Oct 2013, and then to the UK less than a year later in July 2014. So I will be reading your posts avidly. You sound so happy and full of excitement

Thanks Caroline, I am full of excitement about the upcoming trips.

I am so happy for you!!

How exciting. I want to do so much on the house but I am always factoring travel plans and where else I could be spending the money. I'm glad you made the right decision for you.

I think planning is half the fun. Can't wait to follow your plans.

Mum from Oz - I think I almost like the planning more than going on the trip

We must be only one dumb ones. We are building a new home, hopefully at the beginning of the year and budget has blown out already! So no Lapland or Scandinavia for us me thinkst...

Anywho back to you! I like the sound of your plans, but I do agree with PIO that it might better to not waste precious time commuting back and forth from NY to DC? Are you big NYE people? If not, DC is actually a good place to be because everything stays open on New Years day! If you like museums, you will need more than 3 days. I quite enjoyed DC I must say! So how about NY for Christmas, train to DC and then fly out from there. Flying out from DCA for us was great. Very close to city centre, and we got through everything (check in, security, etc) very quickly as it seemed to be quiet?!??!

WHen in NY don't forget to see the Rockettes at Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I LOVED it!!! Google it to see if it is your thing. The theater was absolutely beautiful!

Rockets at RCMH - check!!!! Don't you worry Shushh, that is first on my list.

I hope you didn't think that I was criticising people who are building B? You know I don't think that. I just meant it wasn't possible for us to do both and still be really comfortable financially and in the end we made a choice. Your family is in a rather different situation and having seen your house plans, I am so excited to follow along with your build. It is going to be magnificent for you and your whole family.

Sorry to hear the budget is getting a little hairy but you guys will make it work and I doubt whether in the long run it will affect too many of your travel plans. You will find a way I'm sure.

First thing you need to do is come over and join us on the Nov/Dec 2012 thread - it has been a bit quiet lately.

House vs travel is always a hard one - if only we could all afford both! We would love to build one day but we like our house and the area we live in so travel wins at the moment

They sound like great travel plans - and you won't have the post Disney slump because you will be furiously planning Europe

I will jump on over the Dabecs and join in. And great point about no post Disney blues with Europe to think of. But what do I do after that? .

I know, I'll start planning another trip

 

[shushh]

I hope you didn't think that I was criticising people who are building B? You know I don't think that. I just meant it wasn't possible for us to do both and still be really comfortable financially and in the end we made a choice. Your family is in a rather different situation and having seen your house plans, I am so excited to follow along with your build. It is going to be magnificent for you and your whole family.

Sorry to hear the budget is getting a little hairy but you guys will make it work and I doubt whether in the long run it will affect too many of your travel plans. You will find a way I'm sure.

Not at all!!! I wrote I wrote with tongue in cheek. I can't help thinking about how many Disney holidays this house could have funded....

But you're right, it will be an awesome house if I say so myself and I am very excited about it

 

[alicia1506]

this sounds amazing!! i'm subbing in to follow along with your pre-trip planning.

we also are renters at the moment, and we're planning our current nov 2012 trip to cruise + dlr stay, then a star wars weekend/wdw/nyc trip in may 2013 then uk, france & italy trip in 2013/2014...

yes, we've had the talk that these funds could be used to build our dream home, or put to interest-earning potential in our bank accounts or used for various other things like the latest technology or new furniture etc, but to be honest... we want to travel and we want to indulge that want while we can. who knows what kind of curve ball life will throw at us? at least this way, we get to have these experiences while we can...

can't wait to see how your planning goes

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

We head off for Christmas down in Ballarat first thing tomorrow so I will be missing in action until next week. We hope to have a lovely time enjoying our last Christmas with FIL and have no doubt there will be much food, drink and laughter and the occasional tears.

I hope you all have a magnificent Christmas with your own families. I myself cannot wait to see my children's faces on Christmas morning. It really is such a wonderful thing.

I look forward to lots of planning in 2012 and of course lots of "picking of my Disboarder's brains" to get these holidays up and running.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

 

[Lulu83]

Rough Trip Details so far:-

US and Canada Trip - December 2012

Fly out either on or a day or 2 before 9 Dec to take advantage of cheaper flights

Fly to Orlando - spend around 10 days doing WDW, KSC and WWOHP and outlet malls

Fly to NYC around 19 or 20 Dec to take advantage of all of the Christmas cheer and festivities in the lead up to Christmas

Train down to Washington on either 26 or 27 Dec for a few days. Not sure whether 3 days would be enough but that's what I'm thinking.

Train back to NYC on 30th Dec to spend a few more days and enjoy NYE - woohoo.

Either train or fly to Boston for 2 days then fly on to Canada

We plan to spend 1 night in Toronto, 1 night at Niagara Falls, 2 days in Montreal and then on to Quebec for at least 3 days.

Not sure whether it makes more sense to fly from Boston to Quebec and then train it down to Montreal and Toronto or whether to start in Toronto and work our way up. I would welcome some advice on that.

So that is the Dec 2012 trip in a nutshell.

Firstly, congratulations on your trip!! Less than a year to go now

We did a very similar trip around the east coast last year (in January though not December). Firstly I just want to warn you that Boston and Montreal were absolutely freezing when we were there; as in so cold we didn't really enjoy them. We both love the cold too. I'm not trying to put you off going, just a heads up! You'll probably have lovely weather now I've said this but make sure you pack extra thermals just in case you have a similar experience to us!

We travelled from Montreal to Niagara Falls by train, with a one night stopover in Toronto and this worked really well for us. Depending on what direction you want to see Canada you could either fly to Quebec from Boston and work your way south on the train like we did. Otherwise you could work north after Boston - make your way to Niagara Falls from there (possibly fly to Buffalo which is close to Niagara) and then travel north on the train (Toronto, Montreal, Quebec)

We also caught the train from Boston from NYC (not a flight) and found this pretty quick and easy to do, it only took a few hours from memory and saved mucking around at an airport! It was an early morning train and we pretty much had a whole day in Boston after we arrived.

 

[Lulu83]

We head off for Christmas down in Ballarat first thing tomorrow so I will be missing in action until next week. We hope to have a lovely time enjoying our last Christmas with FIL and have no doubt there will be much food, drink and laughter and the occasional tears.

I hope you all have a magnificent Christmas with your own families. I myself cannot wait to see my children's faces on Christmas morning. It really is such a wonderful thing.

I look forward to lots of planning in 2012 and of course lots of "picking of my Disboarder's brains" to get these holidays up and running.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

Oops, I completely missed this post before my last reply. Merry Christmas to you and your family too!

 

[aussietravellers]

Merry Christmas to you Ms.Shuttergirl and to your family.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hi all, well I've been working on a tentative itinerary and wanted to get some of your thoughts if I may:-

Fly out Sunday 9 December (I would prefer to leave on the Sat but kids have sport and since they will miss the following week and their coaches will be annoyed I thought we'd just go on the Sunday)

Arrive Orlando 9 December - stay 10 days
Fly to NYC 19 December - stay 9 days
Train to Washington 28 December - stay 3 days
Fly to Boston 31 December - stay 3 days
Fly or train to Quebec 3 January - stay for 3 days
Train to Montreal 6 January - stay for 2 days
Fly or train to Toronto 8 January, catch bus to Niagara this day if poss, stay 2 nights
Bus back to Toronto 10 January and fly home

Here are my questions:-

WDW
How many days should we spend at WDW do you think? Last time we spent 11 days here and that was perfect. I'm wondering if we could do it in less this time since we have been before? Here are some of the must dos:-

* 1 day Kennedy Space Centre
* 1 day dedicated to shopping, but obviously it wouldn't be a whole day so there would be some park time in here somewhere
*1 day at WWoHP - although DH says we aren't going there again, DD13 and I say we are
* 2 days MK
* 2 days Epcot - at least, we love Epcot
* 2 days AK
* 1 day HS

So that is looking like around 10 days. Of course we will be wanting to take in all of the Christmas decorations at lots of the resorts as well as Osborn Lights, perhaps the MVMCP.

WASHINGTON
Since we will travel down by train, that will take 1/2 a day leaving us really only 2 1/2 days to explore. Is that enough or would we be better to add another day here?

BOSTON
Is 2 days too much or not enough do you think? We aren't exactly sure what we even want to see here . DD13 would love to visit Harvard, I'd like to check out the Freedom Trail, Boston Common and Beacon Hill and perhaps visit the Fanheuil Hall Markets oh and a beer at Cheers Bar would be fun. I'd love to do a day trip to Salem but my DH isn't interested. Bummer.

CANADA
Where should we head to after Boston? Is Quebec the best choice or Toronto? And if we go to Quebec first, would be be better to fly or would train be just as quick when you consider all of check in and waiting time that flying adds?

Then train to Montreal? Then from Montreal to Toronto, is it best to train it or would flying be best?

We are really excited about Quebec and are wondering whether we should spend 4 days here and perhaps skip Montreal altogether. Not sure what I would even want to see in Montreal to be honest. I would welcome some ideas.

From what I understand Toronto is just another city so we plan not to spend any real time here, just to pass through.

Because we will essentially be travelling alot of the day to get to Niagara Falls, do you think it makes sense to spend the 2 nights there?

Okay, I know I know. So many questions for you all. I'm hoping you can help me get things straight in my mind and start making some decisions about dates so that then I can start focusing on accommodation which is a whole other story if we are perhaps travelling with 5 people now.

 

[OziJo]

Congratulations on your decision! As wonderful as it would be to have your "Dream Home" there is a great big world out there and with the marvelous trips you are planning it sounds like you are going to see a lot of it.

We have a modest yet comfortable home and with me not working we choose carefully how we spend our money. Our kitchen is in need of a renovation but we put our WDW trip first mainly because the kids are growing up so fast we felt this may be the last time we could have a true family trip. Travel will always be a priority for us as we get older. Our Dream Home is comfortable and affordable and one we would be happy to lock up and leave as we take off to see the rest of the world.

Any way I will be following along with these trip plans and taking notes for future plans of our own

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shuttergirl - Merry Christmas! Nice looking plans. Looks like you've been spending the Holiday season well!

Nice as Montreal was, I'm not sure I would rush back there in a hurry. Not unless the Jazz festival was on. For me, it was a little bit of a letdown after Quebec...but that's just my opinion.

You'll be travelling in winter; so having the longer stays in some towns would be better. If you hit a snow storm, you might have to rearrange travel arrangements.

Queenie will be better placed to advise about Niagara in winter. In summer, there was HEAPS to do and the weather was really nice when we were there. Not so sure in winter as I believe the Maid of the Mist doesn't run during this time.

Looking forward to more plans!

 

[Lulu83]

Hi all, well I've been working on a tentative itinerary and wanted to get some of your thoughts if I may:-

Fly out Sunday 9 December (I would prefer to leave on the Sat but kids have sport and since they will miss the following week and their coaches will be annoyed I thought we'd just go on the Sunday)

Arrive Orlando 9 December - stay 10 days
Fly to NYC 19 December - stay 9 days
Train to Washington 28 December - stay 3 days
Fly to Boston 31 December - stay 3 days
Fly or train to Quebec 3 January - stay for 3 days
Train to Montreal 6 January - stay for 2 days
Fly or train to Toronto 8 January, catch bus to Niagara this day if poss, stay 2 nights
Bus back to Toronto 10 January and fly home

Here are my questions:-

WDW
How many days should we spend at WDW do you think? Last time we spent 11 days here and that was perfect. I'm wondering if we could do it in less this time since we have been before? Here are some of the must dos:-

* 1 day Kennedy Space Centre
* 1 day dedicated to shopping, but obviously it wouldn't be a whole day so there would be some park time in here somewhere
*1 day at WWoHP - although DH says we aren't going there again, DD13 and I say we are
* 2 days MK
* 2 days Epcot - at least, we love Epcot
* 2 days AK
* 1 day HS

So that is looking like around 10 days. Of course we will be wanting to take in all of the Christmas decorations at lots of the resorts as well as Osborn Lights, perhaps the MVMCP.

WASHINGTON
Since we will travel down by train, that will take 1/2 a day leaving us really only 2 1/2 days to explore. Is that enough or would we be better to add another day here?

BOSTON
Is 2 days too much or not enough do you think? We aren't exactly sure what we even want to see here . DD13 would love to visit Harvard, I'd like to check out the Freedom Trail, Boston Common and Beacon Hill and perhaps visit the Fanheuil Hall Markets oh and a beer at Cheers Bar would be fun. I'd love to do a day trip to Salem but my DH isn't interested. Bummer.

CANADA
Where should we head to after Boston? Is Quebec the best choice or Toronto? And if we go to Quebec first, would be be better to fly or would train be just as quick when you consider all of check in and waiting time that flying adds?

Then train to Montreal? Then from Montreal to Toronto, is it best to train it or would flying be best?

We are really excited about Quebec and are wondering whether we should spend 4 days here and perhaps skip Montreal altogether. Not sure what I would even want to see in Montreal to be honest. I would welcome some ideas.

From what I understand Toronto is just another city so we plan not to spend any real time here, just to pass through.

Because we will essentially be travelling alot of the day to get to Niagara Falls, do you think it makes sense to spend the 2 nights there?

Okay, I know I know. So many questions for you all. I'm hoping you can help me get things straight in my mind and start making some decisions about dates so that then I can start focusing on accommodation which is a whole other story if we are perhaps travelling with 5 people now.

Your itinerary looks great, how exciting!

2 and a half days is a reasonable time to spend in Washington, but I think you could find enough to fill another day if you wanted to. I guess it depends on how long you think you'll spend in the Smithsonian musems etc? I could have easily spent a half to full day in each of them, but we squeezed in five in one and a half days or something ridiculous like that!

The advantage of 2 days in Boston is that if you encouter a freezing one like us, hopefully the next day will be a bit warmer for you! I think this is the maximum amount of time I would want to spend there in winter though.. and I think you could get through your Boston wish list in this time.

I think it would make sense for you to head to Quebec after Boston (I would perhaps do a price comparison for flying and train?) and then head south, so you avoid doubling back anywhere (e.g. if you flew to Toronto then Quebec, you'd be doubling back past Toronto on your way to Niagara Falls)

We felt the same way about Toronto and really just used it as a stopover. We enjoyed looking around but didn't regret not having more time there.

I'm going to talk about Niagara Falls and Montreal after Princess's post:

Shuttergirl - Merry Christmas! Nice looking plans. Looks like you've been spending the Holiday season well!

Nice as Montreal was, I'm not sure I would rush back there in a hurry. Not unless the Jazz festival was on. For me, it was a little bit of a letdown after Quebec...but that's just my opinion.

You'll be travelling in winter; so having the longer stays in some towns would be better. If you hit a snow storm, you might have to rearrange travel arrangements.

Queenie will be better placed to advise about Niagara in winter. In summer, there was HEAPS to do and the weather was really nice when we were there. Not so sure in winter as I believe the Maid of the Mist doesn't run during this time.

Looking forward to more plans!

I agree about Montreal. Not that I got to go to Quebec, but I wouldn't rush back to Montreal unless it was for an event (e.g. the Grand Prix). I particularly didn't think there would be much for kids to enjoy when we were there. Nothing really stands out to me about Montreal, and it was absolutely freezing. I wish we'd just bypassed the city and travelled to the ice hotel instead..

We love love loved Niagara Falls in winter! I think you could easily spend 2 nights here. The Maid of the Mist is shut (because the boat can't get through the ice ) but we still felt there was heaps to do. You can still go behind the falls, walk over the rainbow bridge to the USA, there is an IMAX movie you can watch, there is the winter festival of lights, fireworks each evening, your kids would probably love the Clifton Hills amusement area, there is a casino, a bird park etc. etc. We had great service everywhere we went because everything was pretty quiet too (e.g. we were the sole patrons in Tony Romas for lunch!)

You've probably already seen it, but I wrote a post about our experience at Niagara Falls in my TR: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42467933&postcount=70

Sorry if I've babbled on a bit, I get very excited about trip planning

 

[Toy Story]

Your plans look great. I spent a week in Montreal for work and really liked the little bit of it I got to see. I would have liked to have visited the old town. I did get to go to an ice-hockey game, which was great, especially as everything was said in French first. I woul love to go back and go to Quebec, my daughter really wants to go to Nova Scotia for Anne of Green Gables.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Congratulations on your decision! As wonderful as it would be to have your "Dream Home" there is a great big world out there and with the marvelous trips you are planning it sounds like you are going to see a lot of it.

We have a modest yet comfortable home and with me not working we choose carefully how we spend our money. Our kitchen is in need of a renovation but we put our WDW trip first mainly because the kids are growing up so fast we felt this may be the last time we could have a true family trip. Travel will always be a priority for us as we get older. Our Dream Home is comfortable and affordable and one we would be happy to lock up and leave as we take off to see the rest of the world.

Any way I will be following along with these trip plans and taking notes for future plans of our own

Thank you for the moral support. It's been a big decision, and not always received well by the people in our lives but I for one am thrilled with our choices. We have a very lovely spacious home that we have always liked so I know this was not a hard decision in the end. We just needed to go through this process to get here. Unfortunately the penalities for changing our mind are fairly massive but to me it is still worth the change. And with a wonderful trip or two to look forward to, how could I be anything but happy

Shuttergirl - Merry Christmas! Nice looking plans. Looks like you've been spending the Holiday season well!

Nice as Montreal was, I'm not sure I would rush back there in a hurry. Not unless the Jazz festival was on. For me, it was a little bit of a letdown after Quebec...but that's just my opinion.

You'll be travelling in winter; so having the longer stays in some towns would be better. If you hit a snow storm, you might have to rearrange travel arrangements.

Queenie will be better placed to advise about Niagara in winter. In summer, there was HEAPS to do and the weather was really nice when we were there. Not so sure in winter as I believe the Maid of the Mist doesn't run during this time.

Looking forward to more plans!

It was your TR that made me question my Montreal thoughts actually. You know how I value your opinion PIO and I definitely feel like you are in tune with where my head is at with trips. Quebec just sounds so enchanting and I think Montreal was on my list purely because I've heard of it and it seemed like the right thing to do . I agree that spending more time in one place when we are dealing with that sort of weather may definitely be the way to go.

Yes, it would be good to hear from Queenie. Where is my sweet Q when I need her ?

Thoughts on Boston though PIO?????

Your itinerary looks great, how exciting!

2 and a half days is a reasonable time to spend in Washington, but I think you could find enough to fill another day if you wanted to. I guess it depends on how long you think you'll spend in the Smithsonian musems etc? I could have easily spent a half to full day in each of them, but we squeezed in five in one and a half days or something ridiculous like that!

The advantage of 2 days in Boston is that if you encouter a freezing one like us, hopefully the next day will be a bit warmer for you! I think this is the maximum amount of time I would want to spend there in winter though.. and I think you could get through your Boston wish list in this time.

I think it would make sense for you to head to Quebec after Boston (I would perhaps do a price comparison for flying and train?) and then head south, so you avoid doubling back anywhere (e.g. if you flew to Toronto then Quebec, you'd be doubling back past Toronto on your way to Niagara Falls)

We felt the same way about Toronto and really just used it as a stopover. We enjoyed looking around but didn't regret not having more time there.

I'm going to talk about Niagara Falls and Montreal after Princess's post:



I agree about Montreal. Not that I got to go to Quebec, but I wouldn't rush back to Montreal unless it was for an event (e.g. the Grand Prix). I particularly didn't think there would be much for kids to enjoy when we were there. Nothing really stands out to me about Montreal, and it was absolutely freezing. I wish we'd just bypassed the city and travelled to the ice hotel instead..

We love love loved Niagara Falls in winter! I think you could easily spend 2 nights here. The Maid of the Mist is shut (because the boat can't get through the ice ) but we still felt there was heaps to do. You can still go behind the falls, walk over the rainbow bridge to the USA, there is an IMAX movie you can watch, there is the winter festival of lights, fireworks each evening, your kids would probably love the Clifton Hills amusement area, there is a casino, a bird park etc. etc. We had great service everywhere we went because everything was pretty quiet too (e.g. we were the sole patrons in Tony Romas for lunch!)

You've probably already seen it, but I wrote a post about our experience at Niagara Falls in my TR: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42467933&postcount=70

Sorry if I've babbled on a bit, I get very excited about trip planning

Thanks for all of the amazing feedback. With regard to Washington, I really think we should consider adding a day. I think Washington will really appeal to our whole family. We definitely plan on going to the Air and Space Museum, along with the American History Museum. That will probably be it for museums. We did the Natural History Museum in NYC last year and whilst we enjoyed it, don't need to go again on this trip.

Thank you for confirming what I was thinking about heading to Quebec straight from Boston. It makes me feel better if I think I am on the right track.

I'm not fussed about the Maid of the Mist, I'm sure we can find lots to do in Niagara.

I want to see if from either Toronto or Quebec there is an option to do a Husky sledding thing or a snow shoeing experience. I'm sure there must be something.

Your plans look great. I spent a week in Montreal for work and really liked the little bit of it I got to see. I would have liked to have visited the old town. I did get to go to an ice-hockey game, which was great, especially as everything was said in French first. I woul love to go back and go to Quebec, my daughter really wants to go to Nova Scotia for Anne of Green Gables.

We definitely plan on seeing Ice Hockey somewhere on the trip. Either in Washington or in Canada, will just depend on when the games are to fit in with our itinerary.

Nova Scotia and anything Anne of Green Gables appeals to myself and my DD immensely.

 

[alicia1506]

i have absolutely no experience in any of the cities you wish to visit, other than NYC, but i'm following along your trip planning, and am subbing in for your pre-TR. sorry i can't be more helpful

I love hearing about all the plans, and where you will be going as boston is also on our next-trip to-do list

 

[Mum from oz]

Your itinerary looks awesome, but that's coming from someone with zero experience in nearly all those places.

For Disney I think you'll be able to fit it all in the 10 days you're there. You have a whole day dedicated to shopping but you might not need it, I mean you are going to NY afterwards! Plus the malls are all open late (10:00pm?) so you could stop there after Kennedy or after a half day in the parks. With the bonus of having been to WDW before you will know what you like in each park and have an idea on what you want to hit and in what order.

Looking forward to hearing more planning.