Every time we went to WDW in the past (before we moved here), I had written trip reports for a Disney message board site. I no longer frequent that message board for a variety of personal reasons, but I still enjoy writing trip reports! Here is the start of my report on New York City, April of 2011!
Planning:
We decided to just take A on this trip to NYC. Little Am is just too young to really appreciate the City. I wanted to take him, but logistics really prevented me from taking him. Mom and Dad offered to watch Am for a long weekend if we were to visit without him. I didn't want to leave him behind, but I knew my parents would take really good care of him and make it an "Am Weekend." So, after making the decision to only take big brother, we let A know it was going to be a long weekend in NYC just for him. He was super excited about it!
We have several books at the house highlighting NYC and all it's glory. Our favorite "This is New York" by Maurice Sendak got A super pumped about the trip. He also read Fodor's NYC with Kids, Stuart Little and The Unofficial Guide to NYC with Kids. He's familiar with Home Alone 2, Elf, Stuart Little 1 and 2, and various other TV shows and movies that also got him super excited.
Next came picking the date and flights. We found an amazing rate out of Jetblue for a weekend in April, along with a great rate on a hotel just outside the city in Hoboken. We quickly booked both and waited for the big day. We did a lot of reading, lots of talking and dreaming up plans for a wonderful getaway. We were all set!
Day One. The Adventure Begins!
Our day started soooo early. 3am to be exact. We needed to be out the door by 3:30 to make it to the airport by 4:30 (in case of delays). Nobody really got any sleep. I think my husband got a few hours, Alex about 1 hour and I never did fall asleep. I was too excited. I was also very anxious about leaving my baby boy. While everyone else was sleeping, I wrote Am a long note just in case of an emergency. Yes, I'm paranoid. But if something should happen to me, at least he would have a detailed letter from myself telling him how much I love him and what I would want him to know. Call it morbid. Call it paranoid. But I call it being a Mom flying without one of her babies.
Anyway, 3am rolled around. Stephen and I got ourselves ready and packed up the car. I had to practically scream in A ears to get him up. Poor kid was wiped out. By the time we were in the car and headed for the airport though, he perked up and was ready for his flight!
Luckily we left very early in the morning, because Jetblue had the longest check in line I've ever seen. Skycab was not running so we were forced to stand in the line for well over an hour. This put us at about 5:15 with a flight at 6am. Finally, we were checked in and herded to security. Needless to say, it was also a very long line. It took us nearly 20 to 25 minutes to get through and by the time we reached the gate (after quickly stopping at Burger King for hashbrowns and drinks), they were already boarding.
A and I were seated together on the plane, with Stephen right in front of us. We had windows facing east, so we were able to watch the sun come up from the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I didn't take any pictures because I was enjoying the moment so much I couldn't look away. Even A was in awe. Our flight was pretty much uneventful. I love Jetblue for their TV sets at each chair. Amostly watched Nickelodeon and I watched the Today Show and Full House. LOL I believe Stephen mostly listened to music.
Our flight was on time and we landed at approx 8am. We retrieved our bags and I called Dial7 for a town car pickup to Hoboken. While I was making the call, A filmed some of the airport with his videocamera. There was an older lady sitting on the bench next to him, listening to everything he had to say. She called me over and whispered to me, "Your son is going to really love this city. He's so cute." She then told A to have a wonderful time on his vacation. So, as you can imagine, our touristy excitement was evident to bystanders and strangers.
Our driver picked us up at the curb (we waited only about 5 minutes for him to arrive) and we were off!!! As you might know, JFK is in Brooklyn. Hoboken is in NJ. They are on opposite sides of Manhattan. Traffic was pretty crazy in Brooklyn, a cinch in Manhattan (Alex got his first views of the city and actually gasped out loud upon seeing the Empire State Building in the distance). We arrived at our destination approx 1 hour and 30 minutes after leaving JFK. It didn't seem that long, as there was a lot to see out the windows! Our driver was fantastic and very friendly. I would highly recommend Dial7 if you ever need a town car or limo in the city.
Our driver dropped us off at the W Hoboken and we were able to check into one of our rooms. We had booked two rooms because my husband is a REALLY bad snorer. There was no way any of us would get any sleep if we had to share a room. Plus we were only able to book king beds with our discount. So, we booked 2 king rooms facing Hoboken (rate of $89...holla!! It's normally a $300 room!). Anyway, I had written the general manager, Anna, an email prior to our stay requesting 2 connecting rooms in a quiet area. Anna had written back that our room category did not have connecting rooms but she would do our best to keep us together in a quiet area. Upon check in, we were surprised to learn we had been upgraded to 2 connecting rooms WITH VIEWS OF MANHATTAN!!!!! And one of the rooms had 2 queen beds instead of a king, which meant we would all get our own bed! LOL Only of the rooms was ready (the king room) so we rushed up to the room to check it out and drop off our luggage.
WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE VIEW!!! NEXT INSTALLMENT! (With pictures)
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