NY, Washington and NASA help with plans please..

[Michaella]

We have some plans in place but am after some recommendations for tours etc in NY and Washington. We plan on taking a one day trip to NASA from WDW.. My husband is leading towards a Viator dine with astronaut day trip.

We are a family of 4... kids are good travellers... so far! We have Yankees tickets booked for one night in NY and want to do a broadway show another night.

We are booked at Double Tree Suite NY Times Square and Embassy Suites Washington Convention Center.

Flight Sept 20 1.05pm Qantas out of Sydney.
Stay in LA two nights.. 21st Sept day at DCA... see Cars land that we missed last time.
Fly to NY - stay 4 nights... (wish it was longer)
Train to Washington - stay 2 nights
Fly to Orlando - stay 2 nights at Universal.. visit IOA and US.
Move to Art of Animation Nemo room for 10 nights... lots of park time and a one day NASA excursion.. we have ADRs @ Ohana Breakfast, HDDR, PrimeTime and Akershus
Fly back to LA - stay at Hojos in Anaheim 2 nights
Halloween Party DL 11th Oct.. close the park out!
Fly home 12th Oc 11.50PM


Any advice please

 

[Busy Busy]

Your holiday sounds fantastic! We have stayed at the Doubletree in Times Square - amazing location, the best bit is seeing the looks on your kids faces when they get out of the cab as you arrive - talk about dumb struck!! They have Starbucks coffee in the lobby, and cookies - parents and kids end up very happy!!

If you want to go to the 9/11 Memorial, make sure that you book online, a friend of mine was there last week and the lines were beyond crazy (and it was amazing - definitely worth it for us and our 15 year old to see, it went over the 8 year old's head a bit, but that's probably a good thing).

Just down the road (about 100 steps) from the Doubletree on West 47th Street is the fabulous Evergreen Diner, breakfast here is amazing and the service is too. Once you go there, you won't want breakfast anywhere else. Great prices and there is so much food to choose from - AND - very nice bathrooms too!!

Plan for a late night at the Yankees game, try to eat a little before you go (prices are MENTAL), and take the subway out there, it's safe and the absolute quickest way to get there. Just follow the people in Yankees tops and all of a sudden you'll be in the Bronx - then you just follow them back again. The subway station is right next to Yankee Stadium.

We did the Circle Line 2 hour 1/2 island tour - this was a great way to get up close to the Statue of Liberty, and see the skyline. The guide was great with lots of info too. If you don't want to do the cruise, just jumping onto the Staten Island Ferry is a great idea, it's free and you get some gorgeous views. It's also nice to sit down for a little while - NYC can be tough on your feet!

NASA is awesome, the Saturn V display is amazing - the new Angry Birds section is not (but your kids will make you go in there, and you will be pleased to get out of there and go and see the good stuff)! Lunch with an astronaut sounds like a great idea, unfortunately my family aren't into space enough to do it - I should have gone on my own and let them sit in the car and wait for me!!

We have never been to Prime Time, but I can absolutely tell you that you have GREAT choices in 'Ohana, Akershus and HDDR - all of these were big favourites for all of us. Food, atmosphere, service - everything at these 3 places was spot on. Also, the boat to the HDDR is lovely - Bay Lake is beautiful and you get to see the gorgeous Wilderness Lodge in the distance. Wow, so many adjectives!!!

I am very jealous - you have such a great trip ahead of you, and being able to relax in WDW is amazing, I think that time by the pool is an essential part of any holiday! The laundry is usually nearby too - so you throw on a couple of loads, grab a cocktail and relax - then you throw it all into the dryer and do it all again - housework with benefits!! Have fun planning!!

 

[Michaella]

Your holiday sounds fantastic! We have stayed at the Doubletree in Times Square - amazing location, the best bit is seeing the looks on your kids faces when they get out of the cab as you arrive - talk about dumb struck!! They have Starbucks coffee in the lobby, and cookies - parents and kids end up very happy!!

If you want to go to the 9/11 Memorial, make sure that you book online, a friend of mine was there last week and the lines were beyond crazy (and it was amazing - definitely worth it for us and our 15 year old to see, it went over the 8 year old's head a bit, but that's probably a good thing).

Just down the road (about 100 steps) from the Doubletree on West 47th Street is the fabulous Evergreen Diner, breakfast here is amazing and the service is too. Once you go there, you won't want breakfast anywhere else. Great prices and there is so much food to choose from - AND - very nice bathrooms too!!

Plan for a late night at the Yankees game, try to eat a little before you go (prices are MENTAL), and take the subway out there, it's safe and the absolute quickest way to get there. Just follow the people in Yankees tops and all of a sudden you'll be in the Bronx - then you just follow them back again. The subway station is right next to Yankee Stadium.

We did the Circle Line 2 hour 1/2 island tour - this was a great way to get up close to the Statue of Liberty, and see the skyline. The guide was great with lots of info too. If you don't want to do the cruise, just jumping onto the Staten Island Ferry is a great idea, it's free and you get some gorgeous views. It's also nice to sit down for a little while - NYC can be tough on your feet!

NASA is awesome, the Saturn V display is amazing - the new Angry Birds section is not (but your kids will make you go in there, and you will be pleased to get out of there and go and see the good stuff)! Lunch with an astronaut sounds like a great idea, unfortunately my family aren't into space enough to do it - I should have gone on my own and let them sit in the car and wait for me!!

We have never been to Prime Time, but I can absolutely tell you that you have GREAT choices in 'Ohana, Akershus and HDDR - all of these were big favourites for all of us. Food, atmosphere, service - everything at these 3 places was spot on. Also, the boat to the HDDR is lovely - Bay Lake is beautiful and you get to see the gorgeous Wilderness Lodge in the distance. Wow, so many adjectives!!!

I am very jealous - you have such a great trip ahead of you, and being able to relax in WDW is amazing, I think that time by the pool is an essential part of any holiday! The laundry is usually nearby too - so you throw on a couple of loads, grab a cocktail and relax - then you throw it all into the dryer and do it all again - housework with benefits!! Have fun planning!!

Thank you so much for your wonderful reply...We are all very excited and a little overwhelmed... We are trying to pack as much in as we can. My son (and DH) is a complete science nerd so NASA was one of the main reasons for this trip.. I hope it is everything he dreams of!

Thanks for the advice about the 9/11 memorial.. is there a better day/time to book to go do you think?

 

[Busy Busy]

We booked for midday, that way we had time for breakfast, then jumped onto the red bus and took the downtown loop. Then we got off at St Paul's church (right next to the WTC site), the fire fighters ate and slept here during the weeks after 9/11. We spent time there and then walked down to the site, we still got there early, but it was no problem getting in ahead of time.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like a great trip. I hope you enjoy the Double Tree. It certainly suited my family when we were there.

NASA is amazing. There is an astonishing amount of things to do there and we wished we had more time to spend there.

 

[coco392]

We have some plans in place but am after some recommendations for tours etc in NY and Washington. We plan on taking a one day trip to NASA from WDW.. My husband is leading towards a Viator dine with astronaut day trip.

We are a family of 4... kids are good travellers... so far! We have Yankees tickets booked for one night in NY and want to do a broadway show another night.

We are booked at Double Tree Suite NY Times Square and Embassy Suites Washington Convention Center.

Flight Sept 20 1.05pm Qantas out of Sydney.
Stay in LA two nights.. 21st Sept day at DCA... see Cars land that we missed last time.
Fly to NY - stay 4 nights... (wish it was longer)
Train to Washington - stay 2 nights
Fly to Orlando - stay 2 nights at Universal.. visit IOA and US.
Move to Art of Animation Nemo room for 10 nights... lots of park time and a one day NASA excursion.. we have ADRs @ Ohana Breakfast, HDDR, PrimeTime and Akershus
Fly back to LA - stay at Hojos in Anaheim 2 nights
Halloween Party DL 11th Oct.. close the park out!
Fly home 12th Oc 11.50PM

Any advice please

this is almost mirror image of our trip on sept.
cars land, NYC, yankees, wdw, back to la

have a great time

we found the 48-72 hour hop on hop off bus in NYC is excellent. gives you good bearings and time to see all the highlights

unless you want to go to Ellis island or liberty do statem island ferry

also if you do Empire State do it early morning no wait then

have fun

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Can't offer any advice, but just wanted to say that your trip sounds great.

 

[Michaella]

Thank you everyone

Sounds like a great trip. I hope you enjoy the Double Tree. It certainly suited my family when we were there.

NASA is amazing. There is an astonishing amount of things to do there and we wished we had more time to spend there.

We have planned the NASA day trip early in our 10 day Disney stay in case we decide we need another day there... is one day enough do you think?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thank you everyone



We have planned the NASA day trip early in our 10 day Disney stay in case we decide we need another day there... is one day enough do you think?

It will depend on how much you want to do and if you cover it all in the one day. The thing is....there is so much to do at WDW as well.

 

[Toy Story]

Hi

Your trip looks great - we love NY.

On our first trip we hired a car and did a day trip out to NASA. Not sure if you have thought doing that after you check of US.

We also stayed at Double Tree last year - and loved it. Plan an early morning trip to Toys R Us and be first in line for the ferris wheel.
We loved the Food Walking Tour of Grenwich Village - but our daughter was older.

We did the Central Park zoo on the first trip - that was great to tie in with exploring the park. Have you thought about taking you DD to the American Girl store?

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Your trip sounds amazing! Also Carsland is AMAZING - you will love that! So exciting

New York is amazing! I've been twice and my husband's been three times. He recently got back recently from a work trip (well when I say a work trip - it was a dealer reward trip that he got to go on where they didn't work, but work paid for it and he didn't actually have to take leave as he was still considered to be 'working' - even though he didn't!)

Anyway - I would suggest that if you only have 4 days to have specific plans about what you want to see the most as otherwise you'll probably be overwhelmed by how much there is to do and see...

If you haven't seen it, I would suggest the Lion King as your musical - it is AMAZING and truly great for the family - Wicked is also another great musical and I would suggest seeing both if possible but you are only there for a short time so it may not be)...My husband also LOVED going to Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem - it's a talent show of sorts with the audience participation deciding the winners and he said the talent is amazing and the house band and singers amazing too - a must if you love music since this is such a historic theater...

Central Park is amazing but its huge and you can get lost in it so a carriage tour is always great - they actually aren't that expensive as you pay for the whole carriage not per person and it's a beautiful way to see the park - you can also hire bikes to ride around the park which is a good way to see it if your family is active..

Depending on what time of year your going a trip out to Liberty Island and Ellis Island could be very cold - but I would suggest taking the boat past Liberty Island (great views of the statue) but not actually stopping on the island - if it's warmer you might like to stop at Ellis Island as it's much more interest with its immigration museum - theres not actually much on Liberty Island and climbing the statue is expensive, requires long waits and pre-purchased tickets! Another option to see the statue (though it may be at night) is to do a NYC dinner cruise which will give you great city views and views of the statue along with dinner Ours was amazing and highly recommended (i think it was just through Viator or one of those websites)

I would also look into buying the NYC City Pass card as it gives you access to a number of NYC Museums, The Empire State Building Observatory, the Statue of Liberty Ferry etc....and is worth it if your going to see a few of those attractions

http://www.citypass.com/new-york

If you go to the Empire State Building and can make it later in the evening (we stayed right around the corner so we went after the broadway shows we saw) the lines will be much much nicer plus the night views are stunning

Other than that my favorite place in New York was the Greenwich Village - it's just so beautiful and quaint and has amazing food places everywhere! If you organise a 2 day hop on hop off bus tour (uptown and downtown loops) you can pretty much see most of Manhatten and just prioritize where you want to get off and on - the subway is also really easy to use and fast - though of course you won't get to see New York this way which is why the open top bus tours are great (though very touristy!).

If shopping is your thing apparently there is a great outlet shop near wall street and the Trinity Church and Ground Zero though I can't remember it's name at the moment (I didn't go - my husband did and bought me some gorgeous bags for a fraction of the price they are here) - Ahh its Century 21, it just came to me!

Lastly my opinion on Museums in New York is that if you have kids - unless they are super smart and cultured, you could probably skips these - we did the Museum of Natural History and were a bit bored by it, though of course, it will depend on what your into

Hope this has been helpful - if you want to ask anything specific about NY please do - i'll try help - it's such a wonderful place your going to have a great time

 

[Michaella]

Your trip sounds amazing! Also Carsland is AMAZING - you will love that! So exciting

New York is amazing! I've been twice and my husband's been three times. He recently got back recently from a work trip (well when I say a work trip - it was a dealer reward trip that he got to go on where they didn't work, but work paid for it and he didn't actually have to take leave as he was still considered to be 'working' - even though he didn't!)

Anyway - I would suggest that if you only have 4 days to have specific plans about what you want to see the most as otherwise you'll probably be overwhelmed by how much there is to do and see...

If you haven't seen it, I would suggest the Lion King as your musical - it is AMAZING and truly great for the family - Wicked is also another great musical and I would suggest seeing both if possible but you are only there for a short time so it may not be)...My husband also LOVED going to Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem - it's a talent show of sorts with the audience participation deciding the winners and he said the talent is amazing and the house band and singers amazing too - a must if you love music since this is such a historic theater...

Central Park is amazing but its huge and you can get lost in it so a carriage tour is always great - they actually aren't that expensive as you pay for the whole carriage not per person and it's a beautiful way to see the park - you can also hire bikes to ride around the park which is a good way to see it if your family is active..

Depending on what time of year your going a trip out to Liberty Island and Ellis Island could be very cold - but I would suggest taking the boat past Liberty Island (great views of the statue) but not actually stopping on the island - if it's warmer you might like to stop at Ellis Island as it's much more interest with its immigration museum - theres not actually much on Liberty Island and climbing the statue is expensive, requires long waits and pre-purchased tickets! Another option to see the statue (though it may be at night) is to do a NYC dinner cruise which will give you great city views and views of the statue along with dinner Ours was amazing and highly recommended (i think it was just through Viator or one of those websites)

I would also look into buying the NYC City Pass card as it gives you access to a number of NYC Museums, The Empire State Building Observatory, the Statue of Liberty Ferry etc....and is worth it if your going to see a few of those attractions

http://www.citypass.com/new-york

If you go to the Empire State Building and can make it later in the evening (we stayed right around the corner so we went after the broadway shows we saw) the lines will be much much nicer plus the night views are stunning

Other than that my favorite place in New York was the Greenwich Village - it's just so beautiful and quaint and has amazing food places everywhere! If you organise a 2 day hop on hop off bus tour (uptown and downtown loops) you can pretty much see most of Manhatten and just prioritize where you want to get off and on - the subway is also really easy to use and fast - though of course you won't get to see New York this way which is why the open top bus tours are great (though very touristy!).

If shopping is your thing apparently there is a great outlet shop near wall street and the Trinity Church and Ground Zero though I can't remember it's name at the moment (I didn't go - my husband did and bought me some gorgeous bags for a fraction of the price they are here) - Ahh its Century 21, it just came to me!

Lastly my opinion on Museums in New York is that if you have kids - unless they are super smart and cultured, you could probably skips these - we did the Museum of Natural History and were a bit bored by it, though of course, it will depend on what your into

Hope this has been helpful - if you want to ask anything specific about NY please do - i'll try help - it's such a wonderful place your going to have a great time

Thank you so much for going into so much detail ... I will be back with questions for sure ... After we do some more family discussion

 

[LeanneDownUnder]

Hi Michaella,

We are off to NYC in 45 DAYS , just myself and DD16. Not sure when you are going but a few things to note;

Ellis Island is still currently closed after Sandy.

Statue of Liberty has just re-opened and you can book on-line. http://www.statuecruises.com/

Also book for the 9/11 memorial http://www.911memorial.org/ AND the Tribute center http://tributewtc.org/

We are going to see Matilda, Pippin and Once on Broadway and Peter and the Starcatcher (off Broadway) but all the shows mentioned here are popular (Lion king, Wicked) and you will need to book before you leave. For some of the less popular shows you can get discount tickets on http://www.broadwaybox.com/ or at TDF http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56 on the day of the show but you need to line up and apparently it's a bit of a lottery

I have found the trip advisor travel forum invaluable http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowForum-g60763-i5-New_York_City_New_York.html

HopStop is the NYC metro travel App for your phone and everyone seems to swear it's the best and the Metro card for the public transport system.

Also consider walking the Highline park http://www.thehighline.org/about/park-information

A lot of travellers say if you only have time to do one of the tall buildings do Top of the Rock rather than Empire State (at sunset) as you get great views of Central park and then the night views of the city.

Consider Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and the Free Staten Island ferry

I have purchased the NYPass but we are there for two weeks and I think we will get value out of it. It's worth checking out.

There is so much to do and see in NY .. Im getting breathless

When are you going??

 

[lffam]

We have some plans in place but am after some recommendations for tours etc in NY and Washington. We plan on taking a one day trip to NASA from WDW.. My husband is leading towards a Viator dine with astronaut day trip.

We are a family of 4... kids are good travellers... so far! We have Yankees tickets booked for one night in NY and want to do a broadway show another night.

We are booked at Double Tree Suite NY Times Square and Embassy Suites Washington Convention Center.

Flight Sept 20 1.05pm Qantas out of Sydney.
Stay in LA two nights.. 21st Sept day at DCA... see Cars land that we missed last time.
Fly to NY - stay 4 nights... (wish it was longer)
Train to Washington - stay 2 nights
Fly to Orlando - stay 2 nights at Universal.. visit IOA and US.
Move to Art of Animation Nemo room for 10 nights... lots of park time and a one day NASA excursion.. we have ADRs @ Ohana Breakfast, HDDR, PrimeTime and Akershus
Fly back to LA - stay at Hojos in Anaheim 2 nights
Halloween Party DL 11th Oct.. close the park out!
Fly home 12th Oc 11.50PM

Any advice please

Hi michaella

This sounds like a great trip and I'd love to hear some more details when you get them sorted or better still when you've been! We are just starting to plan a trip for next Apr /May and your itinerary is a lot like what we were thinking.

We did the west coast in 2010 and similar to you we didn't get to see Carsland as it wasn't competed yet. We thought we would skip it this time but now I read your itinerary we are seriously considering it. Love the idea of seeing aYankees game I bet that will be a great experience. Not sure of the baseball season so it may not be an option for us when we travel. Definable want to see The Whitehouse and do a tour. From what others say there is a lot to do in Washington, so ill have to do a bit more research.

Look forward to the updates.

 

[dabecs]

We did WDW (and NASA), Washington DC and NYC last November - if you are interested here is my trip report: http://oztoworld.blogspot.com.au

Also find Ms Shuttergirls trip reports on here, they are great

We are heading back to WDW and NYC next year - great places to visit. So much to see and do

 

[AussieCaribou]

If your family is really spacey, you could consider doing the ATX (Astronaut Training experience). Drove DH to participate in that then went back to Sea World for DD...spent the day there then got DH and drove back to WDW. The drive wasn't bad, and DH was over the moon!

 

[jhorstma]

ATX is a terrific experience (pricy, but terrific) - you get a morning's worth of all things Space Shuttle, starting with a briefing by an actual astronaut and culminating in a pretty realisticly scripted simulated mission in a full-scale mock-up of the shuttle's flight deck and mission control (I got to be the pilot and channel my inner Chuck Yeager over the intercom). You can then cross over to the Merritt Island launch facility (huge - populated with plenty of gators and other wildlife) and visitor center, where you'll have to hustle to take in Atlantis and then the bus tour that takes you to the Saturn V exhibit (do not miss Atlantis or Saturn V - skip Angry Birds if time is tight). If you can slam it all into 1 day then everything will be included in the ATX price. And it's only a little over an hour from WDW to the ATX building.