New England Meets Thread: Kings of New England; Princes of Maine

[Mathmagicland]

For those on the fall foliage departures next year, thought I’d share some Foliage tracker websites I’ve found for the states we’ll be visiting. I plan to track things this fall & also to track next year as our departures get closer.

Vermont

https://www.vermontvacation.com/seasons/fall

https://www.vermontvacation.com/landing-pages/recreation/foliage/foliage-forecaster
New Hampshire

https://www.visitnh.gov/seasonal-trips/fall/foliage-tracker

https://www.visitnh.gov/seasonal-trips/fall/peak-foliage-map
Maine

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/projects/fall_foliage/index.shtml

 

[sayhello]

For those on the fall foliage departures next year, thought I’d share some Foliage tracker websites I’ve found for the states we’ll be visiting. I plan to track things this fall & also to track next year as our departures get closer.

Vermont

https://www.vermontvacation.com/seasons/fall

https://www.vermontvacation.com/landing-pages/recreation/foliage/foliage-forecaster
New Hampshire

https://www.visitnh.gov/seasonal-trips/fall/foliage-tracker

https://www.visitnh.gov/seasonal-trips/fall/peak-foliage-map
Maine

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/projects/fall_foliage/index.shtml

Thanks! That is fabulous and so useful. What a great idea!

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

Sharing since Vermont is thr starting point for this adventure & folks may have some pre-days there - Lonely Planet article on top FREE th7ngs to do in Vermont.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/top-free-things-to-do-in-vermont

 

[sayhello]

Sharing an observation - as part of my trip planning, i check out airfare for similar flying days this year to get an idea of pricing and flight times, for comparison when next year’s flights are released.

I’m on one of October 2022 Fall Foilage adventures, so have been scoping out flights for this October. Coming from California, I can’t get non-stop flights either way. What I’m seeing 2-3 months out this year is, while I have lots of options to get to Vermont, many of the connections out of Maine are either very few seats left, have only single seats available, or result in really long airport layovers. AbD Arrival/Departure info for this adventure says return flights should be no earlier than 9:00 a.m., I’m guessing because the airport is over an hour drive from our Maine hotel, so that seems to let out the 7:00 a.m. flights which have the most availability.

I don’t know what this looks like for summer 2022 departures, or if what I’m seeing for October is somewhat tied to fall foliage popularity. I will likely be booking my flights a bit sooner than I might otherwise do so, to ensure I can get the flights and seats I need to get for my return trip.

So what did you end up doing flight-wise for this trip? I finally decided to book a little over 2 weeks ago as it started to look like airfare was going to jump up in price, and the options out of Bangor, as you mentioned, weren't very good. In fact, the options were *so* bad on the last day of the trip that I ended up pushing my departure from Saturday to Sunday, when there were much better options available. Price-wise, I obviously have to pay for an extra night in Bar Harbor, but I'm hoping for a nice, relaxing last day, with a much more tolerable travel day. (Everything on Saturday was at *least* 3 legs, and took most of the day to get from Bangor to Ohio!)

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[Mathmagicland]

So what did you end up doing flight-wise for this trip? I finally decided to book a little over 2 weeks ago as it started to look like airfare was going to jump up in price, and the options out of Bangor, as you mentioned, weren't very good. In fact, the options were *so* bad on the last day of the trip that I ended up pushing my departure from Saturday to Sunday, when there were much better options available. Price-wise, I obviously have to pay for an extra night in Bar Harbor, but I'm hoping for a nice, relaxing last day, with a much more tolerable travel day. (Everything on Saturday was at *least* 3 legs, and took most of the day to get from Bangor to Ohio!)

Sayhello

Unfortunately I haven’t booked yet. I am waiting on some other rescheduled travel from 2020, which may or may not either be a conflict or may use my airfare credits. Sounds like I should just go ahead & get the air booked, and then sort it out later if I need to.

Three travel legs is not good! It will take me a full day each way from/to the west coast. I would not expect that with Ohio.

 

[sayhello]

Unfortunately I haven’t booked yet. I am waiting on some other rescheduled travel from 2020, which may or may not either be a conflict or may use my airfare credits. Sounds like I should just go ahead & get the air booked, and then sort it out later if I need to.

Three travel legs is not good! It will take me a full day each way from/to the west coast. I would not expect that with Ohio.

Yes, I didn't expect it, either. I was thinking "Yay! For once a hop, skip and a jump to get home!" I should have known better!

Maybe the airfare is better from the West Coast. I hope so for your sake!!

Sayhello

 

[kaylismom]

Sorry, I could not resist the John Irving Quote. So excited for this one. We are 5 folks on the 7/25 departure. Let's start discussing pre- and post-days!

I'm booked on the May adult exclusive trip. I was just looking at the itinerary on the website and the trip to Mount Washington has been replaced with a short hike in the White Mountains and the Horse-drawn Carriage Ride in Acadia is gone and replaced with nothing. I'm disappointed.

 

[sayhello]

I'm booked on the May adult exclusive trip. I was just looking at the itinerary on the website and the trip to Mount Washington has been replaced with a short hike in the White Mountains and the Horse-drawn Carriage Ride in Acadia is gone and replaced with nothing. I'm disappointed.

Please let us know if ABD sends you any communications about those changes. Usually if they have to change already booked departures, they let you know. That's very disappointing!

ETA: It's interesting that they forgot to remove it from the "Activities Highlights".

Activities Highlights:​

Acadia National Park Excursion with Local Guide, Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides, Lunch at Jordan Pond House, Bar Harbor Coastline Kayaking OR Local Museum Visit, Farewell Clam & Lobster Bake at Bar Harbor Inn Porcupine Room

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[kaylismom]

Please let us know if ABD sends you any communications about those changes. Usually if they have to change already booked departures, they let you know. That's very disappointing!

ETA: It's interesting that they forgot to remove it from the "Activities Highlights".

Activities Highlights:​

Acadia National Park Excursion with Local Guide, Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides, Lunch at Jordan Pond House, Bar Harbor Coastline Kayaking OR Local Museum Visit, Farewell Clam & Lobster Bake at Bar Harbor Inn Porcupine Room

Sayhello

I noticed they also left Mt Washington on the trip map. I just called and confirmed the changes. They said they replaced the carriage ride with a local guide. Not really equivalent. I feel like missing Mt Washington on a New England trip is pretty significant. I told them that I was really disappointed, IF they were interested in feedback.

 

[sayhello]

I noticed they also left Mt Washington on the trip map. I just called and confirmed the changes. They said they replaced the carriage ride with a local guide. Not really equivalent. I feel like missing Mt Washington on a New England trip is pretty significant. I told them that I was really disappointed, IF they were interested in feedback.

Did they say *why* they made the changes?

Sayhello

 

[kaylismom]

Did they say *why* they made the changes?

Sayhello

No, they just said them like they were enhancements. LOL

 

[sayhello]

No, they just said them like they were enhancements. LOL

Oi vey!

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

Yes, I didn't expect it, either. I was thinking "Yay! For once a hop, skip and a jump to get home!" I should have known better!

Maybe the airfare is better from the West Coast. I hope so for your sake!!

Sayhello

I am happy today - finally got word my potential conflict from another 2020 rescheduled non-ABD trip has been pushed back again, to 2023 (because it involves Japan), so I can finally book air for this trip! It is one-stop both ways for us, & we had a few options to choose from. I’m opting to stop in EWR because that gives us a longer cross-country leg & a shorter hop to/from New England area.

 

[acndis]

We ended up having to cancel our trip (which would have been last month). We are planning to do it on our own Summer 2023. I would love to hear favorite activities from this itinerary. We are starting in Boston then going to Maine then to NH, VT (kind of a backwards ABD). Love to know what everyone thought of the trip/itinerary.

 

[sayhello]

So, YAY!, I got the email with my Adventure Handbook today!! So looking forward to going through it! (Although I will always and forever miss the hard-copy Handbooks!)

I have an Android phone. I can get the Handbook open in Chrome, but I cannot get it added to the Home screen on my phone. The instructions ABD gives for Android phones is pretty useless: "Simply follow the link provided in the Adventures by Disney email and the app will be added to the home screen of your mobile device. If the app icon is not automatically loaded to your home screen, please select the “…” from the menu." They sent a document with screenshots - but it's only for iPhone. And of course ABD is closed today and tomorrow.

Can anyone help me who has gotten this to work on an Android phone?

Thanks!
Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

So, YAY!, I got the email with my Adventure Handbook today!! So looking forward to going through it! (Although I will always and forever miss the hard-copy Handbooks!)

I have an Android phone. I can get the Handbook open in Chrome, but I cannot get it added to the Home screen on my phone. The instructions ABD gives for Android phones is pretty useless: "Simply follow the link provided in the Adventures by Disney email and the app will be added to the home screen of your mobile device. If the app icon is not automatically loaded to your home screen, please select the “…” from the menu." They sent a document with screenshots - but it's only for iPhone. And of course ABD is closed today and tomorrow.

Can anyone help me who has gotten this to work on an Android phone?

Thanks!
Sayhello

Hi - not sure if you’ve gotten help for this yet. I sent my email to my son as he has an Android phone, and it seemed to work for him. Here’s his response to me -

It works fine for me following their directions. If I click that link, it opens in a pseudo-internet window and I can use the 3-dot menu to save it to my home screen or open it in chrome. If I explicitly open it in chrome, I can, as before, open the 3-dot menu and save it to my home screen.

 

[sayhello]

Hi - not sure if you’ve gotten help for this yet. I sent my email to my son as he has an Android phone, and it seemed to work for him. Here’s his response to me -

It works fine for me following their directions. If I click that link, it opens in a pseudo-internet window and I can use the 3-dot menu to save it to my home screen or open it in chrome. If I explicitly open it in chrome, I can, as before, open the 3-dot menu and save it to my home screen.

Thanks! I think the issue is that I still have the Rhone River Cruise Handbook on my phone - which is crazy, since the trip never happened - and I just can't seem to make myself delete it. It *seems* you can't have more than one Handbook on your Android phone at a time. I can open it in the "pseudo-internet window", but can't save it to my home screen to open it offline. I will just have to bite the bullet at some point and delete the Rhone River one. I *wish* they'd send us a pdf version if they insist on keeping it online.

Thanks again!
Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thanks! I think the issue is that I still have the Rhone River Cruise Handbook on my phone - which is crazy, since the trip never happened - and I just can't seem to make myself delete it. It *seems* you can't have more than one Handbook on your Android phone at a time. I can open it in the "pseudo-internet window", but can't save it to my home screen to open it offline. I will just have to bite the bullet at some point and delete the Rhone River one. I *wish* they'd send us a pdf version if they insist on keeping it online.

Thanks again!
Sayhello

Interesting. I too have a handbook from a cancelled & adventure on m6 iPhone. I just tried to open it and can still get to it, so I think you are on to something with it being unique to Android.

Can you print your Rhine handbook & then scan it in as a separate standalone PDF so you can keep it?

 

[sayhello]

Interesting. I too have a handbook from a cancelled & adventure on m6 iPhone. I just tried to open it and can still get to it, so I think you are on to something with it being unique to Android.

Can you print your Rhine handbook & then scan it in as a separate standalone PDF so you can keep it?

I haven't found a way to print it yet. I have software that's supposed to be able to convert any website into a pdf, and even that doesn't work.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Well, I am just back from my New England ABD! A very fun trip, full of beautiful sights and laughter and great friends and wonderful Adventure Guides (Tiffany and Mike T.) I'll do a trip report soon, but I'm heading out of town for a wedding in a few days, so I may not be posting it right away. But until then, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!!

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