The Big One with A Twist (Pre Trip Report ) *Continuous Updates *

[mrsbigbeak]

Thought I'd write a pre-trippy so I can get my thoughts and plans down maybe get some advice on the way ,as well as being able to look back on this when the dreaded time comes and the holiday is over . It's a nice little reminder .

Let me introduce myself and family
Me- Sarah /wife and mam 50% planner loves everything to do with food .

Husband- Mark / husband and dad and the other 50% planner really interested in history and memorabilia

Daughter- Samara who is 14 , loves anime , food , Harry potter and is very keen on history

Daughter- Anya who is 5, loves anything disney , food and is a very easy going little girl

Well the big one with a twist is very exciting for us all and though myself and mark have been planning since April 2014 Samara and Anya only found out 17th February 2015 when we went out for a meal and revealed the holiday through a poem . Samara had thought she was reading it to her dad to surprise him about the trip but the poem revealed to her that she was coming with us 😉

Here's the link to the reveal ,
http://youtu.be/evLEguIEdAg

it's is a little long but it just didn't sink in

Anyway we plan to travel up to Manchester on the 24th of July , stay a night in a nearby hotel with parking ( this still needs to be booked ) 😁 and go to the airport the next day 😜

We will be flying with thomas Cook airlines , this is a first for us , but to be honest it was whoever was the cheapest , we also had a little unsuspected bonus of £71 refunded for children's air passenger duty tax . We depart 10.10 am and we land in Jfk around 12.30 ish New York time .

Oops did I forget to mention we're going to NEW YORK CITY YAY

Anyway when we get into New York we will be staying at the Wyndham New Yorker, this will be our home for the next 7 days

Madison square garden
This could potentially be one of the views we get from the many rooms there , also while we are there U2 will be playing

These are the rooms

The lobby

Also they got this place 😜 lots of good food 24 hours a day , so looks like we'll be eating here a few times x

We have loads planned and still planning as I write this . The tickets we have for New York is a 7 day New York pass which allows us to do most things at least once but I know we still have to book to do the extras like the Statue of Liberty s crown

We have also booked a big apple helicopter tour , we have always said about doing this when in florida but never found the time so this is going to be something else to tick off our to do list

So things we planning on doing is :-
Statue of liberty
Empire State Building
Top of the rock
911 memorial / museum
Brooklyn bridge
One world observatory
Time square
Central Park
USS intrepid

Also loads of other places our tickets will take us but these lot are musts

Eats we'd like to try , well me and Anya anyway :-

Cake boss, gonna buy 5/6 cake share them all and have a taster session 😛
Chessecake factory , didn't get to try this in Florida 😞
White Castle , only because me and Mark always jokes about it from the film
Five guys , although I will have to leave Mark and Samara outside sight seeing while me and Anya tries these due to samara being allergic to nuts big time !
New Yorks streets food carts
Some Buffett places and good pizza joints nothing to fancy just something that fills the gap x

We decided to get back and forth the airport via subway , we've done are homework and the subway stops just over the road from our hotel or if needs be a taxi x

So we're in New York for 7 days then on the 1st of AUGUST we will be flying with jetblue going to buffalo

We plan on having transfers from the airport to our hotel that we will be staying at for 2 nights ( transfers still need sorting out ) The hotel is is between 25/30 miles from the airport and is called Travelodge by the falls . Nothing much to look at but is good distance from the falls and from the tourist area, not that we'll have time after doing the falls as jetblue has changed our flight times and we basically loose a day

These are what the rooms look like , not that we be in them much x

So we get into niagara quite late so we plan to hit the sack pretty much straight away so that we can be on the go all day the next day .
Are plans are to :-
Journey behind the falls
The Horne blower cruise which is the same as maid of the mist but from Canada side instead
Niagara Falls night illuminations
If I can get these done then I'll be happy , more will be a bonus

I also try and plan a quick look around Clifton hill which is not far from our hotel so maybe a walk through to get to the falls or a bite out in the evening . Clifton hill is full or arcades , food places lots of wax figure places which have been given really bad reviews but famous for how bad they are 😁

On the 3rd of August we fly with jetblue , in fact all our flights while in the US are with jetblue as they were all booked as multi leg flights , anyway we will be flying from buffalo to IAD but with. 2 hour stop-over in Boston . Again we still have to arrange some sort of transfers to the hotel .

The hotel we will be staying at is the George Washington university inn , we will be spending 3 nights here

This is what the rooms should look like . And this hotel a a 1 mile from the Lincoln memorial and and not far from the metro station .

The things we plan to do and see while in DC are :-
Arlington cemetery
White House
Capitol building
Jefferson memorial
Lincoln memorial
Washington monument

And loads more , all I can say is our little legs are gonna be aching

Well at the beginning of writing this pre trip for anyone who's read the intro , you would of seen me write the big one with a twist , twist meaning that samara thought the trip was for myself and her dad . Now I can let our secret out to you all that we done another reveal for Samara and Anya at the Disney store . The lovely girl behind the checkout brought 2 goodie bags out with certificates saying congratulations your going on a disney holiday ! And gave them to the girls . Samara and Anya didn't really get what was going on and the girl said to Anya that there's a special invitation off Mickey Mouse for us to go visit him in Florida . Samara was blubbering at this point lol as you can see from past videos samaras does blubber quite allot ! It was lovely and the girl was really nice and went out of her way to help us tell them our secret . So as you can see we are also going to Disneyworld . We've kept this secret for so long I thought I was going to burst , we finally told them yesterday which was 2 days after easter , a late easter surprise .

Blubbering Samara

Anya showing us her certificate , even though at this point she didn't realise what was happening x

The lovely young lady who helped us spill the beans

Samara and Anya showing us there merchandise and excitement

And this was what was in their goodie bags , minus some stickers and a lanyard that they've put so safe I can't find it lol
Thank you disney store 😄

Today has been a very busy day , we have managed to get quite a few more things ticked off our to do list
Mark spent near enough and hour and half trying to book one world observatory tickets as the went on sale from 3pm today and managed to get us some for our upcoming trip . We booked our Manchester hotel and parking for the duration of our holiday . We've also booked our Statue of Liberty tickets and the Washington monument ones too .
The hotel that were staying in the night before is the holiday inn and the parking is with jet parks 1 , we had this for a very good price considering the duration of the parking situation plus we went through quidco . Our transfers and breakfast is also included

Anyway let's get back to the plans, when we're in DC I think Mark was on about using the hop on buses to get around as well as on foot 😓. Once we've seen all there's to see in the time that we have ,we will be taking a flight from Ronald Regan airport to MCO . We need to get transfers from DC to the Ronald Regan airport .

We land in MCO on the 6th of AUGUST around 11.30 am . I know florida is not a relaxed holiday but compared to what we have planned for New York , Niagara and DC I feel that even though all our days are planned out for florida we can take it at our own pace as we've been before and know what to expect x 😝

After landing MCO , the plan is to get through customs and go pick up the car from quick Que. . I will have the car for the 3 weeks as I find it easier and cheaper to have it longer rather than just here and there , we'll be needing it mainly for the first week as we will be staying on international drive. we also plan on using it on a few days out while staying at the disney resort . Anyway the car I've chosen is Toyota Corolla or similar .

After picking up the car we will drive , or should I say I will drive to the Rosen inn closest to universal . We will be staying here for 7 days . We've stayed here before and was not disappointed , fab location, cheap prices , very clean and comfortable .

Here's the rooms , these beds were super comfy 😃

Another fab thing about this hotel is that it puts on free shuttle buses to and from universal studios ( this can be a 20 minute walk if need be ) also one to seaworld too you do have to tell them the day before to book it but it is free , and tbh we all pretty much know what we are going to be doing . I also found the microwave , fridge and coffee maker very useful in the mornings .

Right so while we are on idrive we will be doing some of theses parks but will stagger some into the 2nd week
planned to do :-
Universal studios
Islands of adventure
Seaworld
Legoland
Gatorland
Wet and wild
Possible airboat ride
Busch gardens , even though I did say I'd never go back , I'm giving them another chance , so they the beta mind they've wished up since the last visit !

Things I'm really looking forward to is the new things at islands of adventure . Samara will see a big difference from the last time we was there .

I'm also looking forward to taking Anya on the rides that she wasn't able to do last time , she loves the rides and is my little partner in crime . Every time Anya has the hiccups she always makes me measure her and FairPlay she has had a massive growth spurt these are the rides myself and Anya is looking forward to.

The rides Samara says she's gonna come on , but il believe that when she's sat by the side of me lol . As for Mark he has said he's gonna venture a bit further afield with the rides , but now we're getting closer he's gone from saying he'll do it , to I don't know , we'll see . Mind you last time he did go on a few new ones , so no pressure Mark !

As always I always end up talking about food again , I just love it ! Especially food in orlando 😝
I plan on visiting these place while on idrive :-
Steak and shake
Cheesecake Factory
IHOP
Denny's
Ponderosa
Cinnabon ( is a must )
Golden coral
I need to find a good steak house to
Cici's
This is just off the top of my head , if anyone has any suggestions I'd be very grateful x were quite easy going ,not really bothered about posh table service meals .

After a week on idrive and living in and out of suitcases we will be making our way over to the house of the mouse 😷

Our home for the final two weeks will be Coronado springs. We've never stayed here before .on both previous occasions we stayed at the French quarter , which we all loved so much . I have heard very good reviews on this resort though and tbh it was a few hundred cheaper also we did say that we needed to try somewhere new .

It's a very large resort with many bus stops and a few pools it also has a convention centre. It's a good job we don't mind walking also any advice on where to request so that we are nearest to the food court and bus stop will be most grateful .

There are three buildings to stay in , which they all look very nice , but again if anyone could suggest the best one for location to the food court and bus stop , that would be fab x
Ranchos
Cabanas
Casitas
This is a very big resort with a few pools and a convention centre, good job we don't mind walking x

The rooms will look something like this

This is the mail pool area

Anyway as soon as we get to coronado springs first protocol is to check in and pick up a very special package

Our special package will be none other than , Magic bands woo hoo , we just missed out on trying these baby's out the last time and was gutted .
Myself - I've picked blue , it's my favourite colour
Mark- orange
Samara- green
Anya - pink for a princess
Well this is up to now anyway lol

We've also got quick service dining , and plan to have a few breakfasts and late dinners at the pepper market , again this has been given good reviews

So it's been a while since my last update , just been so tired since the kids have gone back to school and me being back at work , but since then we have booked idrive 360 tickets . Mark phoned attraction tickets direct and gave our reference number from our previous bookings and was able to get these tickets half price , thanks to another dibber putting this usefull information on the dibb

With these tickets we will be going on the orlando eye 😁
Visiting Madame Tussuads
And aquarium

I know this is nothing to do with the plans as such , but I'm hoping they'll help us achieve what we've got planned ☺️ if that makes sense , and hopefully be comfy 👏

Anyway I haven't really put down our plans of our to dos in disney
Because I plan to do pretty much everything ( even its a small world ) lol . I plan to do all 6 parks and as many rides as I can fit in

As for food , my list is getting bigger and bigger but the musts will be :-
Pecco bills
Flame tree bbq
Yak and yeti
Tangerine cafe
Sunshine seasons
Earl of sandwich
Wolfgang puck
Be our guest
These are just off the top of my head , there's loads more !
Also it would be a fab help if anyone has some quick service food musts that they'd like to share

As for must snacks :-
Dhole whip
Mickey ice cream sandwich
I'd like to try zebra domes
Carrot cake 😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛😛
Red velvet cake
Omg my mouth is watering 😋

Another thing I'd like to do is go to beaches and creams and order a mickeys kitchen sink in the mickey's pants , I'm sure if read you can do this as a walk up as long as you don't eat it there . I wanted to know if anyone has done this , and if it be a problem in shaping some of the toppings and that to suit our family , mainly samara with her nut allergy

So it's been a very long time since my last update . I've been feeling very anxious about our holidays thinking that we've not done something or that something's going to go wrong , hence the stressed out repunzel look lol


but I've done lots of bits and pieces since then ☺️ so we've got all our $$$ and have a fair fx card loaded
We've sorted out our transfers apart from one , but waiting on more detail about it that's the one in DC .
Our insurance is sorted
We've made our choices for our fast passes for Disney , that was so exciting 😬
We've brought loads of clothes but I'm sure during this last month we will be buying loads more u

Things left to do
Hotel in New York for 1 night near JFK airport
Sort out our helicopter flight time
Transfers for DC
Getting 2 more suitcases
Maybe get some Canadian $
I need to do lots more double digits going into single digit dances 😁

So we're nearly down to single digits and I thought it best to start on our hair so samaras first up and she's in desperate need of a spruce up 😁 anyway here's how it goes 👀 this is before we start !

This is the cooking process 🙀
I've given her blonde foils through the parting a few underneath and some pink and blue dipped dyed ends

And again

Finished result with blonde foils and multi coloured ends

The back

From the side

And some choppy layers

Some more news also for Anya , while we were eating out yesterday her tooth popes out , she was so excited and looks super cute lol also the other tooth next to the gap is super lose also , so I think that will be out before we go , can't wait to see what our Disney pics turn out like x

This was her going to bed putting her tooth under the pillow , she was so excited

[happytraveller]

Your trip sounds great

[Jake71]

Sounds like a really exciting trip, I'm looking forward to your trip report.

[Beaker's Fluff]

Your trip sounds fab. We are off to the The Big Apple in October for a week with our two sons 16 and 14 and can't wait. It will be our first visit so we are after lots of hints and tips. Our eats list looks a bit like yours, so I am off now to check out some of the other ones you have quoted.
Happy planning.

[ally1966]

Watching this with great interest! We are also off to New York for the 1st time this Summer.

We go on 24th August and are staying at The Sanctuary, Times Square. So hopefully your trippie will be complete in time to give me some tips! 😉

[wintersun]

If you go into Grand Central Station there is a part where if you
all go into different corners and whisper you can all hear each other. I think your daughters will like this.

[panicdiva]

Sounds fabulous! Have a fantastic time xx

[mrsbigbeak]

Originally Posted by Jake71

Sounds like a really exciting trip, I'm looking forward to your trip report.

See more...

Aww thank you very much

Originally Posted by happytraveller

Your trip sounds great

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Thanks

Originally Posted by Beaker's Fluff

Your trip sounds fab. We are off to the The Big Apple in October for a week with our two sons 16 and 14 and can't wait. It will be our first visit so we are after lots of hints and tips. Our eats list looks a bit like yours, so I am off now to check out some of the other ones you have quoted.
Happy planning.

See more...

Thanks if you find any interesting Eats also , don't forget to share

Originally Posted by ally1966

Watching this with great interest! We are also off to New York for the 1st time this Summer.
Its so exciting , when are you there ?

We go on 24th August and are staying at The Sanctuary, Times Square. So hopefully your trippie will be complete in time to give me some tips! 😉

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Time square looks awesome. , ummm 24th AUGUST , I don't think it will be finished by then as the title says The big one with a twist keep a look out you'll find out what I mean very very soon

Originally Posted by wintersun

If you go into Grand Central Station there is a part where if you
all go into different corners and whisper you can all hear each other. I think your daughters will like this.

See more...

Omg this is awesome , thanks for sharing , I will definatly be doing this , and yes samara loves things like that x

Originally Posted by panicdiva

Sounds fabulous! Have a fantastic time xx

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Thank you very much I'm sure I will , think we will all have sore necks from constantly looking up at the high buildings

[Jake71]

You'll love Niagra Falls. We did it from the Canada side and stayed over for the night. We also walked over the Rainbow Bridge and had a wander around the American side for a wee while.

[Disney Den]

I am still waiting for my DH to agree to a New York trip, it's number one in my wishlist. Your plans sound amazing.