NYC adventure

[Rapunzellover]

Going on NYC adventure in Dec. Anybody have suggestions/tips? Have been to NYC before but looking for any advice, especially from people who've taken the trip.

Specific questions for those who've taken the trip:

1. How early are the morning meet ups?
2. What's the dance workshop like?

ETA: there's apparently only 9 people signed up (including me) but it's apparently a guaranteed go. This is.....interesting.

 

[JenaRuns]

Hi, Rapunzellover! We did the NYC trip last fall. It was a lot of fun, although I thought the itinerary had room for improvement. Maybe they have stepped it up by now.

Although it's billed as a four-day trip, there are really only two days of touring. The first day is dinner and one evening activity, "The Ride," which wasn't a favorite of mine. The last day is just transportation to the airport or cruise terminal. So...two days of activities.

1. The first morning meet-up was at 7:00. This was because of the visit to the Good Morning America studios. I don't remember what time we met on the second day, but it was later. No breakfasts were included, and on that second day we had time to walk down to Amy's Bread (don't miss it!) for tea and a pastry before we met the group. On the GMA day, our guides provided doughnuts and coffee and juice.

2. The dance workshop: Two very nice instructors tried to teach us a bit of choreography from Frozen. A few of the group members (there were about 30 of us) could follow along, but most (including me) were total klutzes. Some of the more shy or elderly folks sat on the sidelines. There was no pressure at all to participate. That part took no more than 30 minutes. The rest of our time in the studio was taken up by playing a trivia game and learning a little about the order in which events happen in a Broadway show (like lights down; overture; cast taking their places; etc.)

We loved seeing Frozen and getting a meet-and-greet with some cast members, including the ones who played Hans and Olaf. Touring the New Amsterdam Theater was fun. For me, the visit Harlem was a real eye-opener, and it was nice to visit the Apollo Theater up there. That day (the second full day of touring) was rushed and exhausting--13 hours from start to finish. Traffic made getting around the city extremely slow, as you can imagine. That meant spending a lot of time on the bus, trying to get from Harlem down to Ground Zero.

Our guides Chris from Brooklyn and Laurie from Dallas did an excellent job. I'll be glad to try to answer any more questions you might have.

 

[Rapunzellover]

JenaRuns- the first day is now a full day, and it says breakfast included every morning. So I think the Itinerary has improved. I'm excited. It's pretty much all new stuff for me, except the 9-11 memorial and museum. And I'm excited about 1 World Trade. It opened right after my last visit to NYC.

This is a 40th b-day present to myself, and I'm really happy about it, though it might deplete the funds and make a 2020 ABD out of the question.

 

[JenaRuns]

I'm glad they upped the itinerary. One thing I noticed that has changed for the better is dinner at Sardi's. We had the welcome dinner at the hotel, and it was so bad that looking around at the other tables, I could see that hardly anybody ate it. And our "farewell dinner" was at the Tenement Museum. That museum is a fantastic experience and the way they did the meal was interesting, but it wasn't exactly "dinner." We were split up into three different rooms and the food was minimal. It was samples from various local ethnic shops and restaurants--very informative--but it involved several courses of, for example, "from this plate, you may take one cheese cube and two olives." Fun, but it was late at night and after a long day of touring we were exhausted and couldn't really enjoy it properly. I'm happy to see that this experience is at lunchtime now.

Have a very happy 40th birthday! I know you'll love the trip.

 

[sayhello]

JenaRuns- the first day is now a full day, and it says breakfast included every morning. So I think the Itinerary has improved. I'm excited. It's pretty much all new stuff for me, except the 9-11 memorial and museum. And I'm excited about 1 World Trade. It opened right after my last visit to NYC.

This is a 40th b-day present to myself, and I'm really happy about it, though it might deplete the funds and make a 2020 ABD out of the question.

Thanks for this. I kind of was ignoring this escape because it was only 2 days, didn't include breakfast, etc, but I think I may give this another look now!

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

Ugh...adventure canceled by ABD. Not cool. I thought I had been told it was a guaranteed adventure. Apparently I misheard.

 

[JenaRuns]

Not cool at all to cancel your adventure! Was it due to lack of participation? We had a big group--28-30, I think.

 

[sayhello]

Ugh...adventure canceled by ABD. Not cool. I thought I had been told it was a guaranteed adventure. Apparently I misheard.

That really sucks. Did they say why?

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

It was low enrollment. 9 people only. They had already canceled the other Dec. NYC adventure which I originally signed up for and I had moved to this one. I'm super bummed as this was a 40th b-day celebration thing.

 

[sayhello]

It was low enrollment. 9 people only. They had already canceled the other Dec. NYC adventure which I originally signed up for and I had moved to this one. I'm super bummed as this was a 40th b-day celebration thing.

OK, they REALLY should not have moved you to another departure that was in danger of being cancelled, and they should NOT have cancelled it after you moved! I understand trips get cancelled, but doing it to you twice in succession is really unacceptable!! I'd be seriously pissed if that happened to me. I'd want to talk to management about that sort of procedure/decision!!

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

OK, they REALLY should not have moved you to another departure that was in danger of being cancelled, and they should NOT have cancelled it after you moved! I understand trips get cancelled, but doing it to you twice in succession is really unacceptable!! I'd be seriously pissed if that happened to me. I'd want to talk to management about that sort of procedure/decision!!

Sayhello

The move was a long time ago, right after the original date I booked got canceled. I've been booked for this date since November/December last year. So they did not know how in danger my new date was when I switched. But still sucks... I wanted to go back to NYC for my 40th. And I wanted it to be a special ABD.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

So sorry @Rapunzellover that really sucks. I'd be really PO'd to have two cancelled. I wonder if these weekend trips are in danger of going away. Looks like they killed the SF one for next year.

 

[Rapunzellover]

So sorry @Rapunzellover that really sucks. I'd be really PO'd to have two cancelled. I wonder if these weekend trips are in danger of going away. Looks like they killed the SF one for next year.

I think the domestic short escapes will disappear except the Disneyland and Winter Wyoming ones. I'm thinking I'll just go one my own... it'll be probably half/third the cost. Even with the same hotels/activities and dinners.

 

[Donalyn]

The NYC one had some cool things in it. And the Disneyland one makes sense to me. But the rest? I don't get it. So expensive!

 

[Rapunzellover]

The NYC one had some cool things in it. And the Disneyland one makes sense to me. But the rest? I don't get it. So expensive!

I agree. The NYC escape was the only domestic escape I was considering. It's sad I can't seem to make it happen.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I think the domestic short escapes will disappear except the Disneyland and Winter Wyoming ones. I'm thinking I'll just go one my own... it'll be probably half/third the cost. Even with the same hotels/activities and dinners.

I think you are right. I hope you can do it on your own, save some money, and use the money you saved to buy something nice for your birthday.

 

[sayhello]

The NYC one had some cool things in it. And the Disneyland one makes sense to me. But the rest? I don't get it. So expensive!

Yep, I was looking at the Boston one, and I just couldn't justify it. Only one included breakfast, and TWO afternoons and a morning on your own, on a basically 3 day trip!

I mean, the last morning doesn't even include breakfast!! Just the transfer to the airport.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Yep, I was looking at the Boston one, and I just couldn't justify it. Only one include breakfast, and TWO afternoons and a morning on your own, on a basically 3 day trip!

I mean, the last morning doesn't even include breakfast!! Just the transfer to the airport.

Sayhello

That is just crazy. What the heck are they thinking?

 

[Rapunzellover]

Yep, I was looking at the Boston one, and I just couldn't justify it. Only one include breakfast, and TWO afternoons and a morning on your own, on a basically 3 day trip!

I mean, the last morning doesn't even include breakfast!! Just the transfer to the airport.

Sayhello

This is why I booked it and then backed out. I couldn't justify. I thought the VIP access for the theater, and GMA made NYC possibly worth it but I was on the fence. This was, imo, probably meant to be.

 

[RebelHawk]

We've had one trip canceled by ABD due to low bookings so I feel your disappointment in having a planned tripped pulled out from under you.

We did this back in 2017 and really enjoyed it. Certainly room to improve and some items I'm surprised they didn't do even if means expanding the trip. We ended up adding on a couple of pre days that fleshed out some of the missing parts ABD should include.

Trip report linked here.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/nyc-adult-only-25-28-2017-trip-report.3606573/