The One Where Brett Turns 40- Team Bricki's Mission To Margs- Nov 2022

[princessnicki]

Hi everyone and welcome to my second attempt at a Trip Report

My name is Nicki, I am 35 and live in West Yorkshire with my amazing husband and best friend Brett, who is 38. We work together at a local bath manufacturing company- I buy the raw materials to make the baths and he is part of the manufacturing team that makes them! This will be our first holiday since we got married and had our honeymoon at Disney in secret in May 2019.

Like the rest of the world, the dreaded C Virus has completely changed the original plan for this holiday several times over so the title is vague because we don’t actually know when, where or if we are going. Brett is South African and his passport is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard so we are very limited on where we can travel visa free (he has a 10 year visa from our wedding trip for America). After ruling out Barbados and Antigua, we have basically decided to go all in for America this year and see where we can go whenever the borders open. If Biden doesn’t open this year then we will have a long December at home using up all of our annual leave.

PLAN A BOSTON AND ORLANDO

We currently have September booked with the balance due 31st August- if this fails we will move to October. I am already considering just going with October given the new mask update.

With everything so up in the air we didn’t like the idea of committing to Disney tickets and making reservations for the parks when we don’t know if we could definitely go on the holiday. So the full Disney experience will hopefully form part of Brett’s 40th in 2022.

This will be a much more chilled experience than our previous trip in that we won’t have ADRs every night so the plan is more flexible and we don’t have to eat at certain times. If anyone follows us on Instagram then you will know that we love our dining out and cocktails, but I actually think this will be more relaxed than our usual days out. We have had a few weekend breaks in lockdown and eating out twice a day got a bit much so you will see some lighter meals and takeout on this trip!

We were booked for August in Premium Economy with Virgin but are now flying Economy for the same price! So far all of the flight seat plans are in rows of 2 and we are paying for an extra suitcase, so that covers all we needed from PE. We fly Manchester to Boston via JFK, Boston-Orlando with Delta, Orlando direct to Manchester

None of this luxury this year

And definitely no afternoon tea, champagne and sliders in Upper Class

We are staying at Radisson Blu at Manchester Airport again before we fly- we were given a Superior Room Runway view upgrade last time so we have booked this again as Brett loved watching the planes take off, and of course we will book that delicious breakfast again (praying that Mimosas are still included).

We have Pre Travel Day off work so the plan is to go over in the afternoon again to drop the bags off at the hotel and head into Manchester City Centre on the train for a bite to eat at the South African bar Chakalaka. We may have another couple of cocktails somewhere but will play this by ear- last time we were sensible and went back to the room after dinner!

Our last visit to Chakalaka, don’t let the picture put you off- Biltong is the best snack there is, it is like a superior Beef Jerky, and is best enjoyed “wet and fatty”

So the plans…….

BOSTON
We are staying at Revere Hotel in the City Centre.

We will try and do the main sites USS boat, Freedom Trail, Quincy Market etc. We have a day trip booked to Martha’s Vineyard which has been on my bucket list forever so am praying for a lovely day with no rain!

We have planned to head over to Salem to see the Witch Museum.

And most importantly, the Red Sox are at home so we are watching a game at Fenway! This is also another major bucket list tick, not only to see an MLB game but my favourite team against the Yankees! We also plan to do the Stadium tour in the morning. This was looking like a nightmare trying to secure tickets as when the season started, the matchday capacity was only 12.5%, which meant games were sold out instantly or silly ticket prices. It seems more settled now but Red Sox vs Yankees might be a pricey buy last minute!

If we move to October then we will have to settle on watching Patriots at home instead as the baseball season finishes at the end of September. This is the main thing putting me off giving up on September as I am desperate to see the baseball. I do love NFL though and Brett has never been so it will be a fab experience. I hope it isn’t anywhere near as cold as when I saw them play down in New Jersey!

UNIVERSAL

We are staying at Sapphire Falls so will of course do Universal, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay. We are hoping to ride Hagrids above anything else. We decided that this trip would be our best opportunity to try off-site eats and when I can bring myself to make a proper plan, I will add all the foodie ideas!

Also if you read my Trip Report or Food Report from our honeymoon you may remember our friend bartender Jorge from NBC Bar and Grill, he now works at a new little brunch and cocktail bar near Universal so we will be heading over there.

DISNEY AREA

We were originally booked to stay at Pop Century then Margaritaville but prices are just going up and up as we move dates. So we settled on a deluxe condo at Mystic Dunes. This was much cheaper and is close to all the off-site eats we wanted to try.

We want to see the Halloween campers at Fort Wilderness and maybe head into Celebration. We are going to Epcot for Food and Wine, Disney Springs and the resorts

Got my fingers crossed that we can get into Trader Sams again!

If we can snag the ADRs, we are aiming to eat at Boathouse Captain’s Singalong Brunch

Sanaa

Homecomin

PLAN B- ?
If the borders open mid- October we will combine Boston with New York- I have just booked Doubletree at Hells Kitchen just in case as the price wasn’t bad
If the borders open in Nov or Dec then this plan will completely change as Boston is too cold for my African princess in winter and we are doing a Disney Xmas for his 40th next year. We plan to spend Thanksgiving 2022 in Nashville as part of his birthday trip so we may do that this year instead. We may do Vegas and Disneyland. I really haven’t thought this far ahead yet. I think I may need to book some free cancellation/ pay on arrival hotels soon though as prices seem crazy for most of the year! Any ideas welcome!

I will update the plans as and when they change and do a proper timeline when we know what’s going on

Hope you all enjoy following along (wherever we end up, if we get there!)

[Custancia]

The uncertainty makes it so hard to plan, but sounds like you’ve some great options! I’ll keep my fingers crossed you get to see your Red Sox game.

[P&S]

Really hope you get to do either of your trips this year

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by Custancia

The uncertainty makes it so hard to plan, but sounds like you’ve some great options! I’ll keep my fingers crossed you get to see your Red Sox game.

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thank you I am clinging on by a thread but I love the Pats too so hopefully we can make it to that game at least

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by P&S

Really hope you get to do either of your trips this year

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thank you, we have our fingers crossed

[KarenG]

Following along of course!

[Sparksy72]

You have an amazing trip planned and your back up plan is fantastic too! We did Boston and Upstate New York (with a side trip to Niagara) in 2017 and also stayed at The Revere. It was beautiful and the rooftop bar was amazing (DS loved the indoor pool!). DH is a lifelong Red Sox fan and we got amazing seats at Fenway and watched them play against New York Yankees and the Red Sox won! It was brilliant and the atmosphere was incredible. We got our tickets about 6 months in advance and they were about $130 USD per seat.

I have everything crossed that your trip goes ahead and I look forward to seeing all your delicious food and cocktails! 🍹🍸🥂🥃

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Following along of course!

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Thank you, i hope we get there, wherever we end up

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

You have an amazing trip planned and your back up plan is fantastic too! We did Boston and Upstate New York (with a side trip to Niagara) in 2017 and also stayed at The Revere. It was beautiful and the rooftop bar was amazing (DS loved the indoor pool!). DH is a lifelong Red Sox fan and we got amazing seats at Fenway and watched them play against New York Yankees and the Red Sox won! It was brilliant and the atmosphere was incredible. We got our tickets about 6 months in advance and they were about $130 USD per seat.

I have everything crossed that your trip goes ahead and I look forward to seeing all your delicious food and cocktails! 🍹🍸🥂🥃

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Ahh thank you, that sounds like a wonderful trip! Revere looks gorgeous! I did the Fenway tour last time but would love to see a game as i went out of season!

I think were only 2 weeks away from that dream not happening but im a Pats fan too so cant complain, Pats Vs Jets is an amazing atmosphere

[Sparksy72]

Originally Posted by princessnicki

Ahh thank you, that sounds like a wonderful trip! Revere looks gorgeous! I did the Fenway tour last time but would love to see a game as i went out of season!

I think were only 2 weeks away from that dream not happening but im a Pats fan too so cant complain, Pats Vs Jets is an amazing atmosphere

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What an amazing pic! We love watching any American sport live. I know you will have a wonderful time wherever you end up going. I have everything crossed for you. 💖 xx