We had a Disney December, Bahamian Xmas, NYC NYE and then some!! COMPLETED!

[lffam]

Top of The Rock

After this we had a bit of time to wait before our allotted time for our visit to the Top of The Rock. We had a couple of photos taken by the on-site photographers, but to be honest they were really pretty poor considering they are supposed to be professional photographers. That said, the view truly is spectacular. By going to the Top of the Rock, rather than the Empire State Building you get to see the Empire State Building in the city view.

 

[lffam]

After this we went to See St Patrick's Cathedral and then we took a last look at Time Square before heading back to our hotel.

The Brooklyn Diner (where we had NYE)

 

[Travel Mum]

Great to read more about your trip and your DS did a fantastic job as host

 

[Travel Mum]

Oh what a stunning day you had for your time at the Top of the Rock! I'm sure it was freezing cold but it looks so clear and cloudless. Did you pre-book your timed entry before you left OZ or did you wait until you were in NYC and had checked the weather to book it? We are staying nearby at Doubletree Times Square so I have it for us to to Top of the Rock on our first full day.

 

[lffam]

Great to read more about your trip and your DS did a fantastic job as host

Thanks, he loved it. The tour was really good, gave some great insight into what happens behind the scenes and bringing a show together.

Oh what a stunning day you had for your time at the Top of the Rock! I'm sure it was freezing cold but it looks so clear and cloudless. Did you pre-book your timed entry before you left OZ or did you wait until you were in NYC and had checked the weather to book it? We are staying nearby at Doubletree Times Square so I have it for us to to Top of the Rock on our first full day.

It was a great day. yes very cold, but as you can see it was so clear. We booked both the Studio tour and the Top of the Rock visit when we were over there. Studio tour we booked the first full day we were in NYC when we had a better idea of what were were going to be doing and ToTR we booked the day before we went, which was a little unusual for me to leave it till then, not sure why that happened like that, but it all worked out!

 

[darrenf67]

That studio tour was just added to my list haha - looks very interesting. We have top of the rock tickets so that looks like it will be worth it great views!

 

[lffam]

That studio tour was just added to my list haha - looks very interesting. We have top of the rock tickets so that looks like it will be worth it great views!

We have done the VIP Warner Bros Tour in LA , this one is quite different to that as it is all TV based, but it is certainly worthwhile. I hope you enjoy it, lets us know how you go, I'd love to know.

 

[darrenf67]

I did the Warner Bros. one in January - how fun is it!! Loved sitting on the "Friends" couch, trying out the green screens and holding the oscar. Sounds like we have done many of the same things haha

 

[lffam]

I did the Warner Bros. one in January - how fun is it!! Loved sitting on the "Friends" couch, trying out the green screens and holding the oscar. Sounds like we have done many of the same things haha

We have all those photos also !

 

[lffam]

Today was a travel day back to LA. We had used space bags coming over and while we had extra room because we had bought a new suitcase, we didn’t have that much extra room, as we had purged one suitcase which had split. We asked housekeeping if we could borrow their vacuum cleaner and they were happy to let us so we could shrink our space bags down again.

Goodbye New York - We will be back (though at the time I didn't think it would be so soon!)

Check out was 12 and our flight was at 3:45pm. It was scheduled to be a 6hr40m flight.. Check in was painless using their Sky Priority dedicated check in. I did mess up when we got to security by not having the boarding passes matched with each passport, so TSA man got a bit cranky at me. I apologised and sorted them and we were let through. The Delta lounge in JFK is really large and had lots of food and drink options.

Boarding was a bit of a shemozzle but we got to our seats and got settled. Someone had done a bit of running repairs or redistribution of the aircon which it thought was amusing.

Flight was pretty uneventful, but one good thing was it ended up being less than 5 and half hours. When we were standing up to get off the plane we noticed the couple in front of us actually had a dog with them. We hadn’t heard a peep out of him the whole flight and had no idea that he was there. We were all really shocked. I knew they could bring dogs on board but not even know there was one in front of us was quite surprising.

We arrived about an hour early but our car was waiting for us and took us to our hotel in LA. We chose to stay somewhere different this time. We stayed in the LA Live precinct at the Marriott Residence Inn. There wasn’t any on-site restaurant but there are quite a few restaurants around the area. There was a basketball (I think) game on at The Staple Center. We were quite tired so opted not to go. We just had some dinner and then went back to our room to relax and get to sleep. We had lost 2 hours coming back to LA so was closer to 9:30 Eastern when we were eating. We crashed when we got back to the hotel.

 

[lffam]

Breakfast was included in our rate and it was really nice breakfast. Hot and cold buffet and also waffle makers, really yummy! We didn’t have anything planned today. To be honest, we were tired and a little homesick by now. While we had enjoyed a trip of a lifetime, we were keen to get home.

We went out for a walk around the LA Live area. We ended up going to the Grammy Museum which was really interesting. No photos were allowed unfortunately, but there were a lot of great displays and also interactive attractions. Certainly worth a visit. There are some statues of some LA sporting greats around the Staples Centre which we saw also.

We had dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant. I make note of this because DS discovered some new foods he liked and he tried some new foods which is good progress for him being the fussy eater he can be!

 

[lffam]

Our next morning, we woke to a miserable rainy day. We enjoyed our included breakfast again and then back to our room and watched some TV, and generally chilled out. The weather broke for a bit so we took a walk down to some local shops, but while we were there it started to bucket down again. We waited a while and then decided we would walk back in the drizzling rain. We got back and then started to get everything packed for our flight later than evening. We had our car booked for 7:30pm. We were planning to have an early dinner and then head to the airport. We decided to go back to the Chinese restaurant we went to last night and DS was happy about that. After all said and done we checked out and were packed into the car right on time and off to LAX for the last time.


Check-in was easy as was security, though I wasn’t going to miss the TSA at all. While no one was ever really rude to us, they are just not engaging or pleasant, at least that was our experience. Virgin Australia use the Star Alliance Lounge at Tom Bradley International Airport. It was quite crowded, so we were walking around for a little while but then a flight was called and a number of people left so we were able to get a nice spot. We just relaxed in the lounge. No one was really hungry as we had eaten not long ago. I think a little later I didn’t get something to eat. The flight was at 11:05pm so I think we left the lounge around just after 10pm and made our way to the gate. There was some confusion with the Duty Free that people had bought that was being sorted out before we could board, but not long after we were boarding and settled into the same seats we had on the way over!

Row 1 again for our return trip

We got looked after really well again, great food great service. We all got some rest had a really good breakfast before landing and then touched down.

Customs was quick, we used the machines for immigration, as was our baggage and we were soon on our way home.

We were glad to be home. We had all missed our pets and DS was really pleased to see them and spend some time with them

And that was it, a trip of a lifetime for sure, but now I’m thinking it’s just waiting to be outdone !

I’ll come back and post some more, final thoughts, but hope you all enjoyed our journey, we sure liked sharing it with you all.

 

[sailorsour]

Great report! I only started reading it on the weekend since I'd love to cruise over Christmas. Then I checked the prices LOL! Hopefully in a couple of years they still have the shorter cruise out of Miami or the Wonder out of Galveston since they're a little less expensive.

You're very brace hitting New York in the winter, there's no way you'll get me anywhere near the cold. If we cruise over Christmas it will be straight to Aulani afterwards

 

[Travel Mum]

Oh Lffam, thanks so much for this wonderful trip report. I've loved following along on this journey with you and I really appreciate the time that you took to share your fantastic holiday with us.

That's great that, by the time that the end of it came, you were all feeling ready to go home. That certainly softens the blow of your big holiday finishing. And we too miss our dog and cat when we are away so I totally understand the pleasure in seeing them again.

 

[lffam]

Oh Lffam, thanks so much for this wonderful trip report. I've loved following along on this journey with you and I really appreciate the time that you took to share your fantastic holiday with us.

That's great that, by the time that the end of it came, you were all feeling ready to go home. That certainly softens the blow of your big holiday finishing. And we too miss our dog and cat when we are away so I totally understand the pleasure in seeing them again.

thanks for following along. I've really enjoy d sharing and reliving the experiences and it was great that DS chipped in with his two cents worth also!

Look forward to hearing about your trip now !

 

[lffam]

Great report! I only started reading it on the weekend since I'd love to cruise over Christmas. Then I checked the prices LOL! Hopefully in a couple of years they still have the shorter cruise out of Miami or the Wonder out of Galveston since they're a little less expensive.

You're very brace hitting New York in the winter, there's no way you'll get me anywhere near the cold. If we cruise over Christmas it will be straight to Aulani afterwards

Thanks! I'm glad your found the trip report then. For sure the prices for the Christmas cruise went up, but everything goes up around that time, so we found it was a good option for us and everything was taken care of which is a bonus in our book.

It certainly was cold, but we dressed for it. There was one night that I went out to the local pharmacy and I just had a shirt jeans and light jacket on. I Was freezing then, but normally when rugged up it was ok.

 

[sailorsour]

Thanks! I'm glad your found the trip report then. For sure the prices for the Christmas cruise went up, but everything goes up around that time, so we found it was a good option for us and everything was taken care of which is a bonus in our book.

It certainly was cold, but we dressed for it. There was one night that I went out to the local pharmacy and I just had a shirt jeans and light jacket on. I Was freezing then, but normally when rugged up it was ok.

I know I could flick back to re-read but did your cruise double dip at Castaway Cay? I'm wondering if that is increasing prices for next year as well being a more popular itinerary? I know the Dream cruise for next year with the CC double dip is priced ridiculously in comparison to cruises around it (and was from release date).

 

[lffam]

I know I could flick back to re-read but did your cruise double dip at Castaway Cay? I'm wondering if that is increasing prices for next year as well being a more popular itinerary? I know the Dream cruise for next year with the CC double dip is priced ridiculously in comparison to cruises around it (and was from release date).

No double dip, just once on Christmas Day.

 

[darrenf67]

Wow! What a great TR - thanks for all your effort I enjoyed it immensely and got a few good ideas as well!
When/where is your next trip?

 

[lffam]

Wow! What a great TR - thanks for all your effort I enjoyed it immensely and got a few good ideas as well!
When/where is your next trip?

I am so glad you did , thanks for the great comments.

Next trip is June/July 2017. NYC, DC, Boston, Niagara Falls, LA (DLR) - nothing booked other than flights so far, so any contributions are welcome, especially for Boston & Niagara as we have never been there.