Vacation/Travel Thread.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I've been to Disney 25+ times but can't help you much with a toddler. All my recent trips have been doing all 4 parks in 1 day and you're definitely not going to go for that experience. Magic Kingdom is great. Fantasy Land is all new. Lines used to be brutal there but with some of the newer rides Disney seems to have worried about higher capacity levels a lot more so it should be a lot better now. Hit up the classics: Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Small World, Peter Pan. He'd also love Buzz Lightyear and the new Mine train looks cool. Figure out the fast pass system before you go. It's confused a lot of people

 

 

I don't like Animal Kingdom at all. Just not a lot there imo. Personally I'd go to the Universal Parks over any of the Disney Parks these days.

[LittleHurt05]

Thanks Mike. Unfortunately, even though we were prepared, polite and concise, they profiled us and decided to search our car. In their search they found a broken cigarette in my buddy's backpack which got him a pretty good ear beating. I guess they needed something to validate wasting 45 minutes of our lives and treating us like criminals.

 

Canadian border patrol, on the other hand, was "What are you doing?" "Do you have any weapons?" "Have a nice trip boys."

 

First time I went up there as 18-year old college freshman, we were just cocky and ignorant to the seriousness of an international border crossing. Drank and smoked on the drive up, thinking it would be no big deal. They stopped us, searched the entire car, luckily finding no contraband other than a few 19+ IDs we had hoped to use. Nothing came of it, but that sure put a good scare in us that we probably needed.

 

A few years ago we went for a bachelor party. They found out the bachelor himself had gotten a DUI like 7 or 8 years prior and they did want to let him in. He begged and pleaded, especially since it was his party, finally they "let" him pay like $150 for a 24-hour guest tourist visa.

[Jenksismyhero]

I've been to Disney 25+ times but can't help you much with a toddler. All my recent trips have been doing all 4 parks in 1 day and you're definitely not going to go for that experience. Magic Kingdom is great. Fantasy Land is all new. Lines used to be brutal there but with some of the newer rides Disney seems to have worried about higher capacity levels a lot more so it should be a lot better now. Hit up the classics: Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Small World, Peter Pan. He'd also love Buzz Lightyear and the new Mine train looks cool. Figure out the fast pass system before you go. It's confused a lot of people

 

 

I don't like Animal Kingdom at all. Just not a lot there imo. Personally I'd go to the Universal Parks over any of the Disney Parks these days.

 

Yeah we've heard Animal Kingdom is basically a half-day park, but one of the character dining meals is there so we're sorta stuck.

 

I used to go like every 2 years as a kid, but it's been about 15 years now since I was there last. So it should be a trip. People are telling me that we're nuts, but I think he'll get a kick out of some of the rides and definitely meeting Mickey, Donald, Goofy, etc. Although there is a strong 30-40% chance he's going to freak the f*** out when he sees them.

[southsider2k5]

My wife and I are taking our 2 year old to Disney next month. Anyone do that trip with a toddler before? Any advise/tips/tricks? It's only for a few days and we're only doing 2 parks (Magic Kingdom over two days and Animal Kingdom for one). Staying in a Disney resort before heading over to St. Pete for a week.

 

It's either going to be awesome watching him freak out with excitement, or it's going to be an absolute nightmare for 3 days.

 

Can I ask why? We talked about it at that age, and we decided that for the money you spend, it isn't worth it, as the kid isn't going to remember it anyway.

[Jenksismyhero]

Can I ask why? We talked about it at that age, and we decided that for the money you spend, it isn't worth it, as the kid isn't going to remember it anyway.

 

We'll be an hour and a half away, so we figured why not drop by for a couple of days. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite thing in the world, and he really enjoys a lot of the Disney movies. It's totally for us, more than him, but we know that going in.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

We'll be an hour and a half away, so we figured why not drop by for a couple of days. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite thing in the world, and he really enjoys a lot of the Disney movies. It's totally for us, more than him, but we know that going in.

 

That works.

[Chisoxfn]

We'll be an hour and a half away, so we figured why not drop by for a couple of days. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite thing in the world, and he really enjoys a lot of the Disney movies. It's totally for us, more than him, but we know that going in.

I'm sure you'll get some cool pictures too and obviously you all will hopefully get some great memories and laughs out of it (whether it is him smiling and happy or laughing down the road about how scared he was and remind him about it, haha).

[Jenksismyhero]

Another big consideration was that being 2 he's free right now. In the future we'd have to get a ticket for him at each park (like $90 per park, per day), pay the upcharge in the room for him, and at sit-down places buy a meal for him (they supposedly require you to pay for any kid 3-9, although i'm not sure how they could possibly enforce that).

Edited August 12, 2014 by Jenksismybitch

[farmteam]

A friend and I are strongly considering taking a road trip to Colorado last week of September/first week of October (probably like leave on a Sunday, be back in Minnesota the following Sunday). I've never planned a road trip like this before. It's about 13-13.5 hours from Minneapolis to Denver, so I figure we'll split up the drive into two days each way. Neither of us have ever been to Colorado before. Not sure if we want to just stick in Denver for five days and do day trips from there, or travel somewhere else. Open to ideas.

 

So, to sum up:

 

1. Any general road trip planning advice?

 

2. Any tips for things to do in Colorado? I think we'd do the general vacation experience. Ie, maybe go to some breweries or something one day, do a day trip for some hiking (not crazy strenuous or anything, the kinda thing where we could drive out from Denver in the morning and come back at night).

[cabiness42]

A friend and I are strongly considering taking a road trip to Colorado last week of September/first week of October (probably like leave on a Sunday, be back in Minnesota the following Sunday). I've never planned a road trip like this before. It's about 13-13.5 hours from Minneapolis to Denver, so I figure we'll split up the drive into two days each way. Neither of us have ever been to Colorado before. Not sure if we want to just stick in Denver for five days and do day trips from there, or travel somewhere else. Open to ideas.

 

So, to sum up:

 

1. Any general road trip planning advice?

 

2. Any tips for things to do in Colorado? I think we'd do the general vacation experience. Ie, maybe go to some breweries or something one day, do a day trip for some hiking (not crazy strenuous or anything, the kinda thing where we could drive out from Denver in the morning and come back at night).

 

If you're going to split the 13 hour trip into two days anyway, then either on the way out or the way back take the long way through S Dakota/Montana/Wyoming. There is much more to see on the way. Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Little Bighorn, Rocky Mountain National Park. Unless of course, you've seen all that stuff already. Driving the length of Nebraska twice in a week can really challenge your sanity.

 

Oh, and I love Denver. If I had to live more than 300 miles away from Chicago, I'd choose Denver. I highly recommend Wynkoop Brewing Co. for food/drink. US Mint in Denver is pretty cool, Coors brewery out in Golden, and of course tons of mountain scenery.

[iamshack]

A friend and I are strongly considering taking a road trip to Colorado last week of September/first week of October (probably like leave on a Sunday, be back in Minnesota the following Sunday). I've never planned a road trip like this before. It's about 13-13.5 hours from Minneapolis to Denver, so I figure we'll split up the drive into two days each way. Neither of us have ever been to Colorado before. Not sure if we want to just stick in Denver for five days and do day trips from there, or travel somewhere else. Open to ideas.

 

So, to sum up:

 

1. Any general road trip planning advice?

 

2. Any tips for things to do in Colorado? I think we'd do the general vacation experience. Ie, maybe go to some breweries or something one day, do a day trip for some hiking (not crazy strenuous or anything, the kinda thing where we could drive out from Denver in the morning and come back at night).

C'mon...you can do it in one day...wimps

[farmteam]

C'mon...you can do it in one day...wimps

Definitely possible if we decide we'd rather have more time out in Colorado

[Jenksismyhero]

Head up to Fort Collins. Cool college town with a bunch of good breweries to try. New Belgium, O'Dells, and some smaller ones.

[Jerksticks]

Dude I've done this a million times and it's always the most fun when you leave around midnight and get there in the afternoon. Especially where you are heading, there is literally nothing to look at before sunrise.

[bmags]

For wife's bday thinking of heading to Tulum Mexico. Great beaches, Mayan ruins. But there is no electric grid, most only offer electricity from 7pm-midnight. Anyone ever been in a place like this? Is the breeze enough to be comfortable at night?

[nitetrain8601]

For wife's bday thinking of heading to Tulum Mexico. Great beaches, Mayan ruins. But there is no electric grid, most only offer electricity from 7pm-midnight. Anyone ever been in a place like this? Is the breeze enough to be comfortable at night?

 

Depends on the person. Me? I get irritated pretty quickly when I sense my self warming up. Usually though, as long as you're in shade, you'll be fine. Sleeping at night, should be fine too. I was just in MX a few weeks ago, and the sun kills ya if you're out all day, but once you get to shade or sunset, it's smooth sailing.

[DBAHO]

I only ever seem to pop up in this thread or the NBA Thread nowadays, but I'm heading to Japan for 10 days in early November.

 

Looking for recommendations just in terms of places to see, restaurants to eat etc. if anyone has ever been.

 

So far the itinerary planned is Tokyo, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka.

[bigruss]

Me and 13 friends rented a log cabin on a small lake in northern Wisconsin this past weekend (around Wenabo). Absolute blast and loved being up there with zero cell signal, what a great way to shut down and really hang out with friends and enjoy life. Really can't wait to do that again.

[kevo880]

I am getting married in about 6 weeks and will be honeymooning in Maui for a week. We will be renting a Wrangler for the duration of our stay. We know that is unnecessary, but we registered to allow people to pay for us to do certain things on our honeymoon and pitching in towards renting a vehicle is one of them. Getting to the point, we will have pretty easy access to the whole island and we are staying in Kahana on the NW side of the island. Any suggestions on things that we should do that might not be listed on every tourist website? Any recommendations are appreciated!

[daa84]

I am getting married in about 6 weeks and will be honeymooning in Maui for a week. We will be renting a Wrangler for the duration of our stay. We know that is unnecessary, but we registered to allow people to pay for us to do certain things on our honeymoon and pitching in towards renting a vehicle is one of them. Getting to the point, we will have pretty easy access to the whole island and we are staying in Kahana on the NW side of the island. Any suggestions on things that we should do that might not be listed on every tourist website? Any recommendations are appreciated!

http://www.amazon.com/Maui-Revealed-The-Ul...k/dp/0983888736

 

This book has boatloads of information that I really liked. It's pretty well known and ppl refer to it as the blue book. Went to Maui/Kauai for our honeymoon last year. To be honest, we did much of the tourist stuff, but it was by far the most amazing trip I could imagine. Given the jet lag I figured we would do Haleakala sunrise the first morning. It was neat, sort of, but it takes way too much time and is crowded. I wouldn't do it again if I went back. Did the road to Hana clockwise. Worth doing, but again it takes the entire day, not sure I'd do it again, but if I did I would consider counterclockwise (back country first) to hike early at the 7 pools before it's crowded. The above book mentions tons of great falls and hikes that are very secluded along the road to Hana. I'd highly recommend checking them out. I also played golf at Wailea gold, which was amazing. Wanted to play plantation but it was closed for maintenance. Nicks fishmarket in the fairmont kea lani was one the greatest meals I've ever had. Mamas fish house is another tourist trap but is phenomenal atmosphere and food, and definitely worth going to. We also did a sunset booze cruise which was just ok quality food/drink and service, but you don't really care because it's so beautiful. Gotta go eat somewhere in Lahina as we'll.

 

The truth of the matter is you are going to a place with some of the greatest beaches and resorts in the world. There are dozens of day trips you can do there, but you have to ask yourself do you want to spend half your day in the car on road to Hana, Haleakala etc. instead of bumming at a nearby beach, or going on somewhere a bit closer.

[IlliniKrush]

I am getting married in about 6 weeks and will be honeymooning in Maui for a week. We will be renting a Wrangler for the duration of our stay. We know that is unnecessary, but we registered to allow people to pay for us to do certain things on our honeymoon and pitching in towards renting a vehicle is one of them. Getting to the point, we will have pretty easy access to the whole island and we are staying in Kahana on the NW side of the island. Any suggestions on things that we should do that might not be listed on every tourist website? Any recommendations are appreciated!

Daa covered a lot of good stuff, and yes, use that book.

 

The other thing you could throw in is renting scuba gear and going out on your own, you don't necessarily have to do it as part of a tour.

 

Also make sure to get some shave ice from the place in town (it's in the book).

 

I'll completely disagree that the car isn't necessary, we used ours almost every day. You'll be very thankful you have it.

[RockRaines]

For wife's bday thinking of heading to Tulum Mexico. Great beaches, Mayan ruins. But there is no electric grid, most only offer electricity from 7pm-midnight. Anyone ever been in a place like this? Is the breeze enough to be comfortable at night?

That place is pretty damn americanized so I have never heard of that.

[kevo880]

http://www.amazon.com/Maui-Revealed-The-Ul...k/dp/0983888736

 

This book has boatloads of information that I really liked. It's pretty well known and ppl refer to it as the blue book. Went to Maui/Kauai for our honeymoon last year. To be honest, we did much of the tourist stuff, but it was by far the most amazing trip I could imagine. Given the jet lag I figured we would do Haleakala sunrise the first morning. It was neat, sort of, but it takes way too much time and is crowded. I wouldn't do it again if I went back. Did the road to Hana clockwise. Worth doing, but again it takes the entire day, not sure I'd do it again, but if I did I would consider counterclockwise (back country first) to hike early at the 7 pools before it's crowded. The above book mentions tons of great falls and hikes that are very secluded along the road to Hana. I'd highly recommend checking them out. I also played golf at Wailea gold, which was amazing. Wanted to play plantation but it was closed for maintenance. Nicks fishmarket in the fairmont kea lani was one the greatest meals I've ever had. Mamas fish house is another tourist trap but is phenomenal atmosphere and food, and definitely worth going to. We also did a sunset booze cruise which was just ok quality food/drink and service, but you don't really care because it's so beautiful. Gotta go eat somewhere in Lahina as we'll.

 

The truth of the matter is you are going to a place with some of the greatest beaches and resorts in the world. There are dozens of day trips you can do there, but you have to ask yourself do you want to spend half your day in the car on road to Hana, Haleakala etc. instead of bumming at a nearby beach, or going on somewhere a bit closer.

 

Awesome, appreciate all of that info. I would love to go golfing there, but i think i would feel too guilty going on our honymoon unless i send her to a spa or something that morning. I will definitely have to grab that book in the near future. We have considered the road to Hana and Haleakala sunrise but haven't totally decided if we are going to do those yet.

 

I agree with you that I want to make sure we take time to just enjoy being in paradise instead of traveling a lot of the time.

 

Has anyone done a helicopter ride there? I've heard it's really cool, but not sure it is worth it.

[daa84]

Awesome, appreciate all of that info. I would love to go golfing there, but i think i would feel too guilty going on our honymoon unless i send her to a spa or something that morning. I will definitely have to grab that book in the near future. We have considered the road to Hana and Haleakala sunrise but haven't totally decided if we are going to do those yet.

 

I agree with you that I want to make sure we take time to just enjoy being in paradise instead of traveling a lot of the time.

 

Has anyone done a helicopter ride there? I've heard it's really cool, but not sure it is worth it.

We did one in Kauai, which was awesome, in large part because the Na Pali coast is otherwise difficult to get to. It's expensive and a bit nerve wracking, but where else in the world would you rather go on a helicopter ride? Really depends on your budget. Hawaii is extremely expensive and a 2 person hour long (give or take) helicopter ride is ~ 700 bucks, so certainly an easy way to eat into your budget. We didn't do the open air, door open tour, but I sort of wish we had.

[kevo880]

We did one in Kauai, which was awesome, in large part because the Na Pali coast is otherwise difficult to get to. It's expensive and a bit nerve wracking, but where else in the world would you rather go on a helicopter ride? Really depends on your budget. Hawaii is extremely expensive and a 2 person hour long (give or take) helicopter ride is ~ 700 bucks, so certainly an easy way to eat into your budget. We didn't do the open air, door open tour, but I sort of wish we had.

 

Yeah I plan on not worrying about money too much while we are there, but I don't think it would do enough for me to drop $700 on it.