courtneydisney
Finding my way "Home"
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2008
My husband and I are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, and we're TTC, so I thought another trip would be in order before we get locked down for a while. I booked this pretty short notice, but usually I plan at least one road trip a year, I love the planning aspect of a trip, using Google Sheets and Tripit to keep organized. My normal M.O. is to research everything, meticulously plan for every eventuality, and then kind of let it go and try to go with the flow, like my husband - he just carries the bags and asks us where we are now!
We've now been to Disneyland probably a dozen times together, got engaged on the bow of the Dream, and went to WDW right after that. We spent a month traveling around Southeast Asia for our honeymoon, including hitting up both Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland - I've now been to every Disney park in the world!
My husband is a special needs teacher and I'm a nanny of a teacher (who is also my twin sister), so our summers are pretty flexible for travel. It started with just the cruise, flying in and out the same days of embarkation and disembarkation, but it grew...and grew! It's now 15 days, we leave the day after school lets out.
Ok, so here we go:
May 28th-30th, Vancouver - we arrive from SFO on Air Canada ($265 total for 2, Priceline), with only carry-ons - other than bulky cold-weather gear (travel vacuum bags for the win!) and SLR camera gear, we can pack really streamlined. I also didn't pay extra to pick seats - it's only a 2 hour flight. I know, I'm a weird mix of cheap and spendy when I travel.
We pick up an Alamo car ($58 total on Hotwire for 3 days) at the Vancouver airport and drive out to Harrison Hot Springs ($135/night, Hotels.com) for a few days of relaxation before our relaxation. My style of vacation (especially Disney) is usually non-stop - I don't want to miss anything, and it can be exhausting. I've heard the hot springs are nice, and with the US dollar strong in Canada right now, I wanted to take advantage of it. I was originally going to check out Victoria before the cruise, but with the ferry being $100 to take the car there and back, we figured it might be easier to do it afterwards on foot. We're hoping to get onboard as soon as possible - I've not yet experienced a character buffet on DCL, or ticketed meet and greets, so I'd like to get those squared away.
May 30 - drive the 2 hours back from the hot springs, drop the car off at the airport, and take the Skytrain to Canada Place for the cruise! We got an inside cabin for this trip - I know, the verandahs are to die for, but I couldn't justify the $3,000 upgrade cost for it. We can camp out on the open decks for views - I'm bringing a lot of cozy cold weather clothes.
June 1, Tracy Arm - Nothing planned but some photography on the decks, and maybe a Palo brunch to take advantage of the view from there.
June 2, Skagsway - While I would love to do the bus up/train down excursion with Chilkoot, it's hard to justify the cost. I have a side business of making pendants, magnets and keychains online, so if I can make the extra money to cover the cost of excursions by the trip, I might end up booking some before the trip. I've made enough to pay for the cruise beforehand, taking advantage of the Ebates/Raise/Target cards and the Disney Rewards card, so it's a possibility. If not, we can check out the Gold Rush Park and the museum, wander around the town, etc. My husband is very laid back, so he's fine with whatever.
June 3, Juneau - Again, if I can make it happen, I'd love to do the Harv & Marv whale watching excursion, but with the Mendenhall glacier and the Roberts Tram easily accessible on our own, I'd be fine with no excursion here. We're member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, so we've got amazing sea creatures right here anytime we want! We've kayaked among the whales and sea otters outside the aquarium, though I'd love to see some orcas and humpbacks up there! I'm really excited to check out the glacier on our own, and maybe eat at Tracy's Crab Shack or the Red Dog Saloon.
June 4, Ketchikan - Money being no object, I'd love to check out the crab boat and the sea kayaking, but if not, I'm eager to check out the Totem Bight Park, Potlatch Park and Creek Street.
June 5 - Nada, nothing but almost-post-disney-depression!
June 6th, Vancouver - disembarking (noooooooo!), and indulging in one of my favorites that won't really be feasible after having and traveling with kids: dive hotels. I love to check out hotels that might look like William S. Burroughs or Hunter Thompson could have walked into them. Vancouver has a perfect one, in the Patricia Hotel ($200 for 3 nights, Hotels.com), it looks like it could have been used as a set in Drugstore Cowboy! As long as there's no bedbugs and a reasonably comfy bed, I'm all set. It's location is great, too.
June 6-9, Vancouver - we're not really making any plans, other than maybe the Hop-on bus to check out the sights, the Granville market, Victoria, Stanley Park, and of course, Tim Hortons!
June 9-11, Seattle - We are taking the early Amtrak to Seattle ($64 total for 2), leaving at 6:30am and getting into Seattle around 10:30. Wow, Seattle is way more expensive than when we were here a few years ago - even dive hotels are $100+ a night! I booked the Moore Hotel (found it on Google Maps, booked direct, $290 total for 2 nights), which is in walking distance to the Pike Place Market, one of my favorite Seattle places. Again, not too planned - just going to enjoy Seattle.
June 11 - Fly home, using Southwest so we can take advantage of the free checked bags ($189 total for 2). I plan on stocking up on Disney stuff, plus I love collecting papers and stuff for scrapbooking (and then promptly forgetting about it), so I know we'll be traveling heavier on the way home.
Whew - that got wordy! This is my first pre-trip report, I hope I did it right! I included the prices and links 'cause that info is always really helpful for me when I'm planning.
We've now been to Disneyland probably a dozen times together, got engaged on the bow of the Dream, and went to WDW right after that. We spent a month traveling around Southeast Asia for our honeymoon, including hitting up both Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland - I've now been to every Disney park in the world!
My husband is a special needs teacher and I'm a nanny of a teacher (who is also my twin sister), so our summers are pretty flexible for travel. It started with just the cruise, flying in and out the same days of embarkation and disembarkation, but it grew...and grew! It's now 15 days, we leave the day after school lets out.
Ok, so here we go:
May 28th-30th, Vancouver - we arrive from SFO on Air Canada ($265 total for 2, Priceline), with only carry-ons - other than bulky cold-weather gear (travel vacuum bags for the win!) and SLR camera gear, we can pack really streamlined. I also didn't pay extra to pick seats - it's only a 2 hour flight. I know, I'm a weird mix of cheap and spendy when I travel.
We pick up an Alamo car ($58 total on Hotwire for 3 days) at the Vancouver airport and drive out to Harrison Hot Springs ($135/night, Hotels.com) for a few days of relaxation before our relaxation. My style of vacation (especially Disney) is usually non-stop - I don't want to miss anything, and it can be exhausting. I've heard the hot springs are nice, and with the US dollar strong in Canada right now, I wanted to take advantage of it. I was originally going to check out Victoria before the cruise, but with the ferry being $100 to take the car there and back, we figured it might be easier to do it afterwards on foot. We're hoping to get onboard as soon as possible - I've not yet experienced a character buffet on DCL, or ticketed meet and greets, so I'd like to get those squared away.
May 30 - drive the 2 hours back from the hot springs, drop the car off at the airport, and take the Skytrain to Canada Place for the cruise! We got an inside cabin for this trip - I know, the verandahs are to die for, but I couldn't justify the $3,000 upgrade cost for it. We can camp out on the open decks for views - I'm bringing a lot of cozy cold weather clothes.
June 1, Tracy Arm - Nothing planned but some photography on the decks, and maybe a Palo brunch to take advantage of the view from there.
June 2, Skagsway - While I would love to do the bus up/train down excursion with Chilkoot, it's hard to justify the cost. I have a side business of making pendants, magnets and keychains online, so if I can make the extra money to cover the cost of excursions by the trip, I might end up booking some before the trip. I've made enough to pay for the cruise beforehand, taking advantage of the Ebates/Raise/Target cards and the Disney Rewards card, so it's a possibility. If not, we can check out the Gold Rush Park and the museum, wander around the town, etc. My husband is very laid back, so he's fine with whatever.
June 3, Juneau - Again, if I can make it happen, I'd love to do the Harv & Marv whale watching excursion, but with the Mendenhall glacier and the Roberts Tram easily accessible on our own, I'd be fine with no excursion here. We're member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, so we've got amazing sea creatures right here anytime we want! We've kayaked among the whales and sea otters outside the aquarium, though I'd love to see some orcas and humpbacks up there! I'm really excited to check out the glacier on our own, and maybe eat at Tracy's Crab Shack or the Red Dog Saloon.
June 4, Ketchikan - Money being no object, I'd love to check out the crab boat and the sea kayaking, but if not, I'm eager to check out the Totem Bight Park, Potlatch Park and Creek Street.
June 5 - Nada, nothing but almost-post-disney-depression!
June 6th, Vancouver - disembarking (noooooooo!), and indulging in one of my favorites that won't really be feasible after having and traveling with kids: dive hotels. I love to check out hotels that might look like William S. Burroughs or Hunter Thompson could have walked into them. Vancouver has a perfect one, in the Patricia Hotel ($200 for 3 nights, Hotels.com), it looks like it could have been used as a set in Drugstore Cowboy! As long as there's no bedbugs and a reasonably comfy bed, I'm all set. It's location is great, too.
June 6-9, Vancouver - we're not really making any plans, other than maybe the Hop-on bus to check out the sights, the Granville market, Victoria, Stanley Park, and of course, Tim Hortons!
June 9-11, Seattle - We are taking the early Amtrak to Seattle ($64 total for 2), leaving at 6:30am and getting into Seattle around 10:30. Wow, Seattle is way more expensive than when we were here a few years ago - even dive hotels are $100+ a night! I booked the Moore Hotel (found it on Google Maps, booked direct, $290 total for 2 nights), which is in walking distance to the Pike Place Market, one of my favorite Seattle places. Again, not too planned - just going to enjoy Seattle.
June 11 - Fly home, using Southwest so we can take advantage of the free checked bags ($189 total for 2). I plan on stocking up on Disney stuff, plus I love collecting papers and stuff for scrapbooking (and then promptly forgetting about it), so I know we'll be traveling heavier on the way home.
Whew - that got wordy! This is my first pre-trip report, I hope I did it right! I included the prices and links 'cause that info is always really helpful for me when I'm planning.