Traveling with Family USA 2009 - starting at Florida

coming for a 4 to 5 week family holiday in either June 2009 or Sept 2009 with wife and 2 girls 7 and 10

starting in florida with Disney main point of interest

will travel car and or amtrak up east coast taking in Washington/ new york /Boston and then on to chicago ( poss fly)

would like opinions /options on the following

- staying at disney hotels or not in orlando

- internal american flight deals / passes for multi flights?

- accommodation in New york/washington - are apartments an option ?

- amtrak deals ?

- things not to miss

Coming from Australia - would love your feedback

Traveling with Family USA 2009 - starting at Florida

AS for the Disney portion of your trip, if you choose September, you may be able to take part in the ';free dining plan'; offer Disney has at that time of year. This will allow you to eat at Disney for free during your stay at no charge.

Also, staying at a Dinsey resort is much cheaper in September than in June.

Here%26#39;s a website where you can research all kinds of Disney resorts, so you can decide what budget you want to go for:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_hot.htm

Traveling with Family USA 2009 - starting at Florida

For apts in DC, don%26#39;t know of any, but we used priceline last time and got the Residence Inn near the white house. Bedroom plus living area with sofabed and full kitchen. Excellent breakfast included.

New York is harder. Post on the NYC fourm maybe.

There used to be flight deals like you speak of but no longer. One way tics between major cities using the discount airlines like Air Tran will serve you well.

For Orlando,

If you are just doing disney parks and staying there for a week, then I would stay onsite. If you are going to want to do other things like Universal, shopping beach etc I would at least rent a car if not relocate to a condo in LBV.

And as Kat said, Sept will be cheaper, and the weather on the east coast and Chicago will still be nice so I%26#39;d think of then.

Amtrak would be more then flying up the coast, so a car is a better route. If you are driving you should stop along the shore on the way up.

If you just want to see parts of the U.S you can get a good deal on flying from Orlando to NYC - then you can do a flight from NYC to Long Beach CA, back to NYC then back to Orlando. This way you still have roundtrip which is cheaper then one way flights. Jetblue has some great prices on flights. Airtran is another one but I have never used them.

While in NYC, you could venture out from there to Boston, Cape Cod, Jersey Shore, Atlantic City, etc.

While in CA you could go to Disneyworld, AZ (Grand Canyon), Las Vegas and of course the west coast shore.

OOPs....getting messed up planing our next trip.

Disneyland is in CA, Disneyworld is Orlando.

Marriotts Residence Inns are usually good for a apartment feel hotel.

Niagra Falls is great if you get a chance to see it. It%26#39;s right at the Canadian Border %26amp; is best viewed from the Canadian side but you can view if from either side.

I agree Air Tran %26amp; Jet Blue have good rates for flights between Orlando %26amp; NYC. Check them on Tues %26amp; Thurs for best deals.

Amtrak will take you longer to get to NY. If renting a car there are lots of places to see along the way depending on which route you take to go north.

Atlanta, Ga has the worlds largest aquarium, North Carolina has beautiful mountain scenery and if far enough west there are places to stop %26amp; mine for gems, white water rafting %26amp; tubing, Biltmore House in Ashville is great altho may not be exciting for the kids. The Smokey Mountains are beautiful, Gatlinburg %26amp; Pigeon Forge Tennesse are fun for the kids %26amp; adults.

If you drive up the coast instead, there is Savannah, Ga %26amp; Charleston SC both historical places with lots to do. Many great beach stops along the way too. Have a great vacation whichever route you decide on traveling!

thanks for your feedback - its getting my mind started on planning

it looks like we may drive orlando - washington-new york- poss boston so hints on stops accom on the way would be appreciated

our 2 major flights internally will be LA or san fran to Miami/orlando then later 4- 5 weeks later Chicago - La /San fran

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS SO FAR

bebo