[News] USA Testing to be dropped

[Poojah]

Great news this. I was due to be at a work trip in March and caught Covid, virtually asymptotically about three days before. That was frustrating as hell. I’m due to be at a meeting in New York in a couple of weeks so that should save me some hassle.

The main thing though is that we, rather speculatively, booked a belated trip to Orlando for the kids for this August, all the way back in September when prices were vaguely less eye watering than they are now. Be great if that comes off with minimal hassle, we still haven’t told them yet, but even putting Covid to one side I’ve been bitten by hurricane season before so I’m not counting my chickens just yet.
[MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] I’ll be coming at you for some advice as the madness of trying organise a Disney holiday in 2022 is already stressing me out big time

 

[Norman Potting]

Guess who ordered and paid for a testing kit yesterday for youngest Pottings forthcoming trip to work in a US summer camp

 

[Bozza]

G [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] I’ll be coming at you for some advice as the madness of trying organise a Disney holiday in 2022 is already stressing me out big time

Always happy to help!

The only thing you should really be getting organised now is Disney park reservations. So, if you haven't bought (or paid up in full) for your WDW tickets, get that done and come up with some sort of rough plan of which parks you want to go to on which day. If nothing else, think of a rotation of the four main parks on four days, possibly starting with Magic Kingdom if you haven't been before, and book them in.

The worst case scenario is you have a change of heart and move things about a bit.

That's better than procrastinating and finding parks are completely booked up and you can't visit any. I'm aware of people this has happened to!

 

[clapham_gull]

Going to New York in July and this is amazing news. On that note, if anyone's got any tips for New York please do share. I've not been before. Spoke with a mate who was there a couple of weeks ago and described as like nothing he's seen before in years of going. Seems like they are in a no-mans-land where weed is decriminalised but as yet not licenced to be sold but is being sold everywhere anyway, and the levels of use are astronomical as years of prohibition come to an end. He's pretty open-minded about things but was still taken aback by what he said was a level of anti-social behaviour and lawlessness and aggression which was off the scale compared to previous years - not directly because of the weed, but the sense now that anything goes and there's not enough police to do anything about it. Hopefully it might calm down a bit over the next few weeks!

Yes, I was in New York for a couple of days as a stop over coming back from Costa Rica.

1) Do not book when all the hotels are booked up.

2) Do not stay in the Hells Kitchen area where all you can find is a "hotel" that resembles a crime scene from the Rockford Files.

3) Do not walk into a bar nearby that is playing 70s English Rock music.

4) Do not tell the owner you grew up in the village where Roger Daltrey lives as if he is the biggest Who fan in New York.

5) He will refuse to let you pay for another drink.

6) Do not get talking to a friend of the owner who runs a tour company who offers to drive you round New York the next day.

7) Do not leave at 3 in the morning.

8) Do not turn up the next morning to find the bloke hasn't turned up.

9) Do not walk past in the afternoon and find the owner (and friend) jump out and apologise for not turning up to take you on a tour.

10) Do not accept their apologies and allow 4) to happen again.


That's my memory of New York (except being hungover in Central Park). I was hammered for 2 days and never bought a drink.

 

[stewardxxx]

Always happy to help!

The only thing you should really be getting organised now is Disney park reservations. So, if you haven't bought (or paid up in full) for your WDW tickets, get that done and come up with some sort of rough plan of which parks you want to go to on which day. If nothing else, think of a rotation of the four main parks on four days, possibly starting with Magic Kingdom if you haven't been before, and book them in.

The worst case scenario is you have a change of heart and move things about a bit.

That's better than procrastinating and finding parks are completely booked up and you can't visit any. I'm aware of people this has happened to!

Very much this!

I got back from Orlando last week and every morning without fail you would see people getting turned away from the gates (after paying $25 for parking) because they hadn't made the park reservation. I think that after 2pm you can go in whatever park you want but obviously that means half the day has gone.

I couldn't get over the number of people that use the lightning lanes over there they cost extra on top of park admission (unless included in your ticket or if you have someone with a disability in your party) and without it you would likely only make it on a couple attractions a day there.

If people are planning to go to Universal my tips are to get there early and do things like hulk, velocicoaster etc which queue times are low but also, consider heading down after 6pm as parking is free and you can get a surprising amount done then. Its also slightly cooler...

 

[CHAPPERS]

Frankies Spuntino in Brooklyn for the cavatelli with spicy sausage and sage is my New York tip. Also Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

What is the deal with masks over there? I saw that Biden chat show interview and the audience were masked up.

 

[Poojah]

Always happy to help!

The only thing you should really be getting organised now is Disney park reservations. So, if you haven't bought (or paid up in full) for your WDW tickets, get that done and come up with some sort of rough plan of which parks you want to go to on which day. If nothing else, think of a rotation of the four main parks on four days, possibly starting with Magic Kingdom if you haven't been before, and book them in.

The worst case scenario is you have a change of heart and move things about a bit.

That's better than procrastinating and finding parks are completely booked up and you can't visit any. I'm aware of people this has happened to!

Park reservations all done, thanks mate. It’s having to pre-book every restaurant on the Disney site that’s winding me up.

We’re staying at the Waldorf which is a partner hotel so can book a little further in advance than some, but the online booking system isn’t working well, it’s nigh on impossible to get into all the good ones, you wait for ages to organise over the phone and the notion of paying the best part of £200 every time you want to sit down for a family meal wins me up a bit, especially as we’re going for 18 nights.

I’d set aside a good chunk of change for this as you know what you’re getting into, but the cost of food (and beer!!) did catch me out a little bit.

Any tips welcome, thanks!

 

[Springal]

We had 6 nights in NY last month. Agree on the weed thing, also loads of dispensary type vehicles parked up all over selling all sorts (weed, edibles etc) biggest change I had noticed as someone who has been many times.

Didn’t really feel unsafe, you have the usual nutters wandering around but pretty harmless.
Also heavy police presence on the major subway stops.

Walking the Highline js always a favourite. There is also a new viewing platform at Hudson Yards called ‘The Edge’ - I would say don’t go up the Empire State or Rockefeller - do the Edge. It has way more space, a bar selling drinks, and you can get good photos of the iconic buildings.

Food / drink is super expensive out there now, just straight up prices but also exchange rate slightly weak at the moment so be prepared for that.

Brooklyn worth a look - if the weather is nice around Domino Park at a weekend has a nice feel.

It’s such a big place I’d suggest mapping out a rough plan of what you want to each day and also walk as much as you can. The most interesting bits I’ve found just by wandering around.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

We had 6 nights in NY last month. Agree on the weed thing, also loads of dispensary type vehicles parked up all over selling all sorts (weed, edibles etc) biggest change I had noticed as someone who has been many times.

Didn’t really feel unsafe, you have the usual nutters wandering around but pretty harmless.
Also heavy police presence on the major subway stops.

Walking the Highline js always a favourite. There is also a new viewing platform at Hudson Yards called ‘The Edge’ - I would say don’t go up the Empire State or Rockefeller - do the Edge. It has way more space, a bar selling drinks, and you can get good photos of the iconic buildings.

Food / drink is super expensive out there now, just straight up prices but also exchange rate slightly weak at the moment so be prepared for that.

Brooklyn worth a look - if the weather is nice around Domino Park at a weekend has a nice feel.

It’s such a big place I’d suggest mapping out a rough plan of what you want to each day and also walk as much as you can. The most interesting bits I’ve found just by wandering around.

The High Line is excellent, and the varied history behind it fascinating. And I love American diners and one of my favorites is near the start. It ain’t fancy but it’s authentic.


Hector's Café & Diner
Cafe in West Village, Chelsea & Meatpacking District

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/ne...s/hectors-cafe-diner/a/poi-eat/1264206/362079

Also, further away, Cafe Cluney is a superb place to brunch, people watch and impress the missus. Reservations are a must. This is fancy in a NYC brunch kind of way.

 

[Bozza]

I think that after 2pm you can go in whatever park you want but obviously that means half the day has gone.

No, you can't unfortunately.

You can park hop after 2pm if your tickets have park-hopping rights (and the ones we buy in the UK do by default), but you still need to have a park reservation and you HAVE to have entered that park (even if you immediately exit again) in order to be able to visit any other park later in the day.

No park reservation really does mean no park entry for that entire day.

So, if there is only one park available it makes sense to book that whilst you can and then head over to your desired park at 2pm so you can enter it.

 

[Bozza]

Park reservations all done, thanks mate. It’s having to pre-book every restaurant on the Disney site that’s winding me up.

We’re staying at the Waldorf which is a partner hotel so can book a little further in advance than some, but the online booking system isn’t working well, it’s nigh on impossible to get into all the good ones, you wait for ages to organise over the phone and the notion of paying the best part of £200 every time you want to sit down for a family meal wins me up a bit, especially as we’re going for 18 nights.

I’d set aside a good chunk of change for this as you know what you’re getting into, but the cost of food (and beer!!) did catch me out a little bit.

Any tips welcome, thanks!

This might be all a bit too late, but just in case...

You're probably aware that as a Disney guest (including the Waldorf) you can book for checkin day + 10 days which is a massive advantage. The chances are the good spots will be booked up on your checkin day by people who are already within their +10 window, but towards the back end of your +10 window, very few people will have had the chance to book, more so because Americans rarely visit for more than 4 or 5 days at a time.

So when booking go to the very last day available to you and look for the in-demand places (Oga's, Space 220, Beaches & Cream, Sci-Fi etc) then and work backwards from there.

On our checkin day we were able to easily get what we wanted in our +10 window, and I noticed that some of the places remained available for a few days after that.

Happy to let you know if I think what you've booked is worth it or not, based on our past experiences as the prices are eye-watering now, particularly for character dining at the current exchange rate and factoring in a c20% tip. If kids are "Disney adults" (ie 10 or older) you're probably looking at c£250 all in for a family of four if the adults have a beer or cocktail with their meal.

 

[Bozza]

Oh, and Mouse Dining - https://mousedining.com - is a great site to get a multi-day view of availability in dining spots, and you can set up alerts if there is something you really want but have thus far missed out on.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

This might be all a bit too late, but just in case...

You're probably aware that as a Disney guest (including the Waldorf) you can book for checkin day + 10 days which is a massive advantage. The chances are the good spots will be booked up on your checkin day by people who are already within their +10 window, but towards the back end of your +10 window, very few people will have had the chance to book, more so because Americans rarely visit for more than 4 or 5 days at a time.

So when booking go to the very last day available to you and look for the in-demand places (Oga's, Space 220, Beaches & Cream, Sci-Fi etc) then and work backwards from there.

On our checkin day we were able to easily get what we wanted in our +10 window, and I noticed that some of the places remained available for a few days after that.

Happy to let you know if I think what you've booked is worth it or not, based on our past experiences as the prices are eye-watering now, particularly for character dining at the current exchange rate and factoring in a c20% tip. If kids are "Disney adults" (ie 10 or older) you're probably looking at c£250 all in for a family of four if the adults have a beer or cocktail with their meal.

I feel this summer is going to be carnage with people missing out.

By the looks of it they have changed the tickets twice in the past year or so.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

This might be all a bit too late, but just in case...

You're probably aware that as a Disney guest (including the Waldorf) you can book for checkin day + 10 days which is a massive advantage. The chances are the good spots will be booked up on your checkin day by people who are already within their +10 window, but towards the back end of your +10 window, very few people will have had the chance to book, more so because Americans rarely visit for more than 4 or 5 days at a time.

So when booking go to the very last day available to you and look for the in-demand places (Oga's, Space 220, Beaches & Cream, Sci-Fi etc) then and work backwards from there.

On our checkin day we were able to easily get what we wanted in our +10 window, and I noticed that some of the places remained available for a few days after that.

Happy to let you know if I think what you've booked is worth it or not, based on our past experiences as the prices are eye-watering now, particularly for character dining at the current exchange rate and factoring in a c20% tip. If kids are "Disney adults" (ie 10 or older) you're probably looking at c£250 all in for a family of four if the adults have a beer or cocktail with their meal.

Disney is so expensive now and I just don't think the dining there is worth the ridiculous markup these days. We're off in October and will do a few quick service bits but would rather eat off site.

 

[Poojah]

This might be all a bit too late, but just in case...

You're probably aware that as a Disney guest (including the Waldorf) you can book for checkin day + 10 days which is a massive advantage. The chances are the good spots will be booked up on your checkin day by people who are already within their +10 window, but towards the back end of your +10 window, very few people will have had the chance to book, more so because Americans rarely visit for more than 4 or 5 days at a time.

So when booking go to the very last day available to you and look for the in-demand places (Oga's, Space 220, Beaches & Cream, Sci-Fi etc) then and work backwards from there.

On our checkin day we were able to easily get what we wanted in our +10 window, and I noticed that some of the places remained available for a few days after that.

Happy to let you know if I think what you've booked is worth it or not, based on our past experiences as the prices are eye-watering now, particularly for character dining at the current exchange rate and factoring in a c20% tip. If kids are "Disney adults" (ie 10 or older) you're probably looking at c£250 all in for a family of four if the adults have a beer or cocktail with their meal.

Thanks Bozza. We’re aware of the 10+ thing so we’ve been able to get Oga’s Cantina and Toppolino’s character breakfast so far (which I understand is also quite popular), and also the Boathouse on Disney Springs. Would like to do Space 220 and one of the princess type character meals towards the back end of we can so we’ll keep trying. Any others you highly recommend?

Do Disney class kids over the age of 10 as adults? That’s scandalous if so, but what you come to expect I suppose. My kids are only 8 and 5 fortunately, so I’ve told them no more than 2 beers each per meal, especially at $13 a go!

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Thanks Bozza. We’re aware of the 10+ thing so we’ve been able to get Oga’s Cantina and Toppolino’s character breakfast so far (which I understand is also quite popular), and also the Boathouse on Disney Springs. Would like to do Space 220 and one of the princess type character meals towards the back end of we can so we’ll keep trying. Any others you highly recommend?

Do Disney class kids over the age of 10 as adults? That’s scandalous if so, but what you come to expect I suppose. My kids are only 8 and 5 fortunately, so I’ve told them no more than 2 beers each per meal, especially at $13 a go!

Not sure if it is back, but a few years ago we did a dinner at the Grand Floridian which had Cinderella, Prince Charming and the sisters. My daughter loved it and the sisters were very funny interacting with my son.

 

[Happy Exile]

Bouncing a bit of an old thread, but just back from New York. No COVID testing obviously but in other trips to the USA (admittedly not for a decade) I've never known anything like immigration at JFK. 2.5 hours from getting off the plane to getting through to get our bags, and we were the only flight in the queue when we arrived and there were still loads of people behind us. Every single person questioned relentlessly - Mrs Exile was asked about a holiday to Greece and how long she'd been there for, for example. We worked out afterwards that was 25 years ago and have no idea if it's stored on their system or was just them asking questions to see reactions. As a family of three I'd say it took us 15 -20 minutes to get through the questions, fingerprints, more questions and that was probably about average. Mini-Exile is 14 and was basically treated as an adult. Incredible levels of scrutiny in no aircon and over 30 degree heat.

Leaving was similarly intense - if arriving is incredibly unwelcoming when leaving it's like they can't wait to get rid of you. So many stressed and angry security staff shouting at passengers.

New York is amazing though and it was very worth it!

 

[sydney]

Bouncing a bit of an old thread, but just back from New York. No COVID testing obviously but in other trips to the USA (admittedly not for a decade) I've never known anything like immigration at JFK. 2.5 hours from getting off the plane to getting through to get our bags, and we were the only flight in the queue when we arrived and there were still loads of people behind us. Every single person questioned relentlessly - Mrs Exile was asked about a holiday to Greece and how long she'd been there for, for example. We worked out afterwards that was 25 years ago and have no idea if it's stored on their system or was just them asking questions to see reactions. As a family of three I'd say it took us 15 -20 minutes to get through the questions, fingerprints, more questions and that was probably about average. Mini-Exile is 14 and was basically treated as an adult. Incredible levels of scrutiny in no aircon and over 30 degree heat.

Leaving was similarly intense - if arriving is incredibly unwelcoming when leaving it's like they can't wait to get rid of you. So many stressed and angry security staff shouting at passengers.

New York is amazing though and it was very worth it!

yep , New York is amazing alright but America on the whole is a basket case , glad you enjoyed NY , had some amazing times there and some pretty strange and edgy ones too.

 

[Happy Exile]

yep , New York is amazing alright but America on the whole is a basket case , glad you enjoyed NY , had some amazing times there and some pretty strange and edgy ones too.

Thanks. Yep - I get the strange and edgy. I'm not sure I've been anywhere before where so many people have just seemed so angry with each other so often either. It's like a lot of people go from calm to full rage in < 0.00000031 seconds with the smallest of imagined provocation. Definitely a city of contrasts too. I'd recommend anyone who feels safe to do so going for a walk early or late and seeing an alternative side to places like Times Square or the area around Macys or Central Park - I saw a different world at 4am than I did at 8am. It's an interesting place and a lot of great times in a week. I think if I go back I'd like to see it in winter and the snow.