GoldieSaysMeep
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 7, 2008
- Messages
- 1,225
In lieu of Christmas gifts this year, my parents are giving each of their children (there are two of us) $4K which we must use towards a vacation (my mother wants to book everything
just getting cash to use for bills/savings is just not going to fly with my folks
).
My DB & his wife and kids are going on their first WDW trip in March. I am excited for them. My parents assumed that DH & I (just the two of us) would also pick WDW later in the year but told us we can take the $4K and travel anywhere we want in the continental US (my mom has a fear of international travel so no visits to London or Paris etc.)
I appreciate their generous gift but DH & I are having a very hard time deciding what to do and where to go. This is probably the most money we have ever had to put towards a trip and we just don't know what to do. Usually we decide on a trip and then save up for it. This is totally different. And my mom really wants us to pick by Christmas...
I figured with the DIS being very travel centric, maybe people could give some input because I am just not comfortable talking to my friends about this due to the cash gift involved and the fact that most of my friends never travel (or if they do, they camp or something which is so not a fun idea to me, no offense campers).
About us: We're in our mid/late 30's. We got married on Halloween-- I am pretty much goth to the core and he is in a metal band we're definitely not into conventional things in our daily lives We both love video games (he makes music based on old video game songs), music (metal & goth/industrial mostly, but are open to anything we're both very open minded there), unique/goth/classical art, "steampunk" stuff, haunted places, Japan, anime, zoos & cute animals in general, trying new food, wine, relaxing (spa treatments etc.) and checking out new quirky places.
About us & Disney: We love Disney (we've been twice in 2010 just got back from our honeymoon there a few weeks ago ). I have been to Disney 36 times over the span of my life. Staying at all of the WDW resorts is a silly bucket list goal of mine the only non-DVC hotels I have left to check off my list are GF & BC, FW Cabins and the All Stars. I've been to all the major annual events and during every season, but there are still attractions and rides I have not done. I could go back and enjoy it, for sure. DH says he would enjoy it also and always has a great time there. He loves the boardwalk and wants to get another spa treatment at GF like we did on our honeymoon so he'd be all for a split stay between BC & GF sometime in the spring. He missed Club Cool last time which is like his favorite part of Epcot and I know he really wanted to do that.
Our preferences for travel We love road trips. We'd planned on driving down the east coast (Boston to FL) to go back to WDW later in 2011. We hate flying due to airport hassles, but aren't opposed to it. We fly out of Manchester NH. Being heavily into steampunk, we love the idea (in theory) of rail travel. Not sure how we'd handle actually doing it though might get bored. We're more "doers" than "lookers" We will not camp/stay in tents etc. We aren't really outdoorsy people. It is really important to me that if I am staying in a hotel that it be on the quiet side because I am really sensitive to noise, more than the average person.
If my parents had just said "merry xmas, we're sending you to WDW" and chose WDW for us, we'd have been perfectly happy.
But then they said "or anywhere else in the country that costs around $4K "
So, I started thinking DH has never really traveled anywhere. He grew up in a very different type of home than I did, and travel was almost non-existent. With me, he's been the white mountains in NH, Williamsburg, VA and WDW. Prior to meeting me, his only other flight on a plane was to visit a friend who lived in Indiana and his only other real vacations were road trips to Ren Faires in NYC. However, he also says he has no where in mind that he really wants to travel, aside from maybe a few gaming conventions in other states and that he'd love to go to WDW again but he'd be happy anywhere (which I think he really would be).
We started looking into some non-WDW trips We'd like to be gone for no more than 7 days.
~Fly to Chicago and then overnight railroad trip to Seattle. Then maybe rent a car and drive around the area for a few days. This is a guided tour though, and I'm not sure how we'll handle being on someone elses schedule. Or if we'd get bored just looking at pretty scenery all day. But the idea of sleeper cars on a train (albeit not a vintage train) appeals to the steampunks in us. Due to our time constraints, most of the rail tours were too long for us.
~Fly to DisneyLAND in CA never been and want to. From there, drive to Vegas and spend a few nights in Vegas. I think Disneyland would be fun for like maybe 3 days, and I'm not sure about Vegas. Last time I was in Vegas was over 12 years ago. I am concerned about the noise levels in those hotels and also, we don't gamble or have much interest in shows. But it certainly looks like it would be neat for a few days and I think DH would love all the themes at the hotels.
~Fly to CA and just drive up and down the state for the week and check out different things as day trips ending with a flight in that airship they have
~Super nice trip to New Orleans and the surrounding areas stay in some creepy (but high end) old B&Bs and just take it all in my only concern with this is the noise levels. I have heard that if you are anywhere near Bourbon St, it's very loud. Maybe even do this as a road trip.
~Napa Valley we are wine people but I know we'd want to buy some which would mean packing it in our luggage or not buying it at all. We live in MA and are not legally allowed to ship wine home. We always planned on doing this as part of a road trip cross country. We really do love road trips.
~OR stick with plan A fly to Orlando, 2 nights at GF and 3 or 4 nights at BC, knock 2 more hotels off my list and be pretty much certain we'll have a great time and get our moneys worth
We have to let my parents know by Christmas because my mom wants to book our choices and have it set by then. I never thought it would be this hard to figure out where to go on a vacation but I'm really not used to having so many options.
So help me out what would you do and why?
Oh, we opted against going to any sort of convention (no comic cons, wizard cons, dragoncons etc.) because we can easily afford to just do that on our own. This is kind of a once in a lifetime chance to take a nicer vacation than we could afford on our own. My parents are pretty adamant that we use the entire 4K too, because my DB did.
My DB & his wife and kids are going on their first WDW trip in March. I am excited for them. My parents assumed that DH & I (just the two of us) would also pick WDW later in the year but told us we can take the $4K and travel anywhere we want in the continental US (my mom has a fear of international travel so no visits to London or Paris etc.)
I appreciate their generous gift but DH & I are having a very hard time deciding what to do and where to go. This is probably the most money we have ever had to put towards a trip and we just don't know what to do. Usually we decide on a trip and then save up for it. This is totally different. And my mom really wants us to pick by Christmas...
I figured with the DIS being very travel centric, maybe people could give some input because I am just not comfortable talking to my friends about this due to the cash gift involved and the fact that most of my friends never travel (or if they do, they camp or something which is so not a fun idea to me, no offense campers).
About us: We're in our mid/late 30's. We got married on Halloween-- I am pretty much goth to the core and he is in a metal band we're definitely not into conventional things in our daily lives We both love video games (he makes music based on old video game songs), music (metal & goth/industrial mostly, but are open to anything we're both very open minded there), unique/goth/classical art, "steampunk" stuff, haunted places, Japan, anime, zoos & cute animals in general, trying new food, wine, relaxing (spa treatments etc.) and checking out new quirky places.
About us & Disney: We love Disney (we've been twice in 2010 just got back from our honeymoon there a few weeks ago ). I have been to Disney 36 times over the span of my life. Staying at all of the WDW resorts is a silly bucket list goal of mine the only non-DVC hotels I have left to check off my list are GF & BC, FW Cabins and the All Stars. I've been to all the major annual events and during every season, but there are still attractions and rides I have not done. I could go back and enjoy it, for sure. DH says he would enjoy it also and always has a great time there. He loves the boardwalk and wants to get another spa treatment at GF like we did on our honeymoon so he'd be all for a split stay between BC & GF sometime in the spring. He missed Club Cool last time which is like his favorite part of Epcot and I know he really wanted to do that.
Our preferences for travel We love road trips. We'd planned on driving down the east coast (Boston to FL) to go back to WDW later in 2011. We hate flying due to airport hassles, but aren't opposed to it. We fly out of Manchester NH. Being heavily into steampunk, we love the idea (in theory) of rail travel. Not sure how we'd handle actually doing it though might get bored. We're more "doers" than "lookers" We will not camp/stay in tents etc. We aren't really outdoorsy people. It is really important to me that if I am staying in a hotel that it be on the quiet side because I am really sensitive to noise, more than the average person.
If my parents had just said "merry xmas, we're sending you to WDW" and chose WDW for us, we'd have been perfectly happy.
But then they said "or anywhere else in the country that costs around $4K "
So, I started thinking DH has never really traveled anywhere. He grew up in a very different type of home than I did, and travel was almost non-existent. With me, he's been the white mountains in NH, Williamsburg, VA and WDW. Prior to meeting me, his only other flight on a plane was to visit a friend who lived in Indiana and his only other real vacations were road trips to Ren Faires in NYC. However, he also says he has no where in mind that he really wants to travel, aside from maybe a few gaming conventions in other states and that he'd love to go to WDW again but he'd be happy anywhere (which I think he really would be).
We started looking into some non-WDW trips We'd like to be gone for no more than 7 days.
~Fly to Chicago and then overnight railroad trip to Seattle. Then maybe rent a car and drive around the area for a few days. This is a guided tour though, and I'm not sure how we'll handle being on someone elses schedule. Or if we'd get bored just looking at pretty scenery all day. But the idea of sleeper cars on a train (albeit not a vintage train) appeals to the steampunks in us. Due to our time constraints, most of the rail tours were too long for us.
~Fly to DisneyLAND in CA never been and want to. From there, drive to Vegas and spend a few nights in Vegas. I think Disneyland would be fun for like maybe 3 days, and I'm not sure about Vegas. Last time I was in Vegas was over 12 years ago. I am concerned about the noise levels in those hotels and also, we don't gamble or have much interest in shows. But it certainly looks like it would be neat for a few days and I think DH would love all the themes at the hotels.
~Fly to CA and just drive up and down the state for the week and check out different things as day trips ending with a flight in that airship they have
~Super nice trip to New Orleans and the surrounding areas stay in some creepy (but high end) old B&Bs and just take it all in my only concern with this is the noise levels. I have heard that if you are anywhere near Bourbon St, it's very loud. Maybe even do this as a road trip.
~Napa Valley we are wine people but I know we'd want to buy some which would mean packing it in our luggage or not buying it at all. We live in MA and are not legally allowed to ship wine home. We always planned on doing this as part of a road trip cross country. We really do love road trips.
~OR stick with plan A fly to Orlando, 2 nights at GF and 3 or 4 nights at BC, knock 2 more hotels off my list and be pretty much certain we'll have a great time and get our moneys worth
We have to let my parents know by Christmas because my mom wants to book our choices and have it set by then. I never thought it would be this hard to figure out where to go on a vacation but I'm really not used to having so many options.
So help me out what would you do and why?
Oh, we opted against going to any sort of convention (no comic cons, wizard cons, dragoncons etc.) because we can easily afford to just do that on our own. This is kind of a once in a lifetime chance to take a nicer vacation than we could afford on our own. My parents are pretty adamant that we use the entire 4K too, because my DB did.
) and the idea of a cruise kind of horrifies him. Which is too bad, because I love the idea of a cruise... might have to be a girls trip sometime with my friends.
Things you haven't done before--and things that are totally your favorite, like your DH's love of Club Cool and of course I'm sure you love Haunted Mansion! 
(It's my favorite haunt of all!)
