The Stiteses Take Manhattan, Part Two

Day Two was to be book ended by scheduled events. We had tickets for the One World Observatory, the top of Freedom Tower which replaced the World Trade Center, at 9 am, the first group to ascend. We also had tickets for an 8:00 pm show of Phantom of the Opera. These were two things that were on our "must-do" list and we were happy to sacrifice spontaneity to be sure we had tickets.

I picked the earliest tickets for One World that I could thinking it would be cool to see the city from way up there before we delved into exploring it. Also, I hoped it wouldn't be too crowded. Both were correct. My one fear was hitting rush hour on our first attempt at using the subway, but that turned out not to be a problem. I'm not sure why, but the train was nearly empty and neither station was particularly crowded.

I'm really happy with our subway experience. I downloaded a map of the system into my phone and referenced that quite a bit both during our visit and for weeks leading up to it. It is complicated and there are multiple colors and shapes and letters and numbers used to designate a ton of lines, but we managed it well and made great use of the subways during our trip.

Those spiky things are the Occulus, the surface entrance to an underground mall of sorts

For our first trip this particular morning we rode the "E" train to it's last stop at the World Trade Center, which let us off between a very old church and one of the most modern buildings I've ever seen. That was cool, and a bit weird. Between us and the tower was a funky thing called the Occulus, which is, best as we could tell, an underground shopping mall. The above ground portion is very striking, though, architecturally. On the advice of a security guard, we didn't travel below ground but instead crossed the plaza to the 9/11 Memorial.

The 9/11 Memorial

The memorial is really impactful in a bit of an understated way, if that makes sense. The One World Tower sits right next to the memorial and takes the job of soaring into the heavens (and, I guess, metaphorically the future) onto itself. It's huge and shiny and reflective and majestic. The memorial, on the other hand, is a pair of holes where the old Twin Towers once stood. Water fills the hole disappearing into a well that has no bottom we can see. It's the opposite of the tower. Names of those killed are etched into the walls surrounding the pits. It's a somber sight, to be sure. But what made me most sad, and most reminded of how the world has changed, were the police armed with shotguns and assault rifles and the police with the Anti-Terrorism patches on their uniforms. It struck me that John found none of that odd, and that's sad.

The new World Trade Center, Freedom Tower, rises up next to the memorial

On a happier note, the One World Observatory was terrific! It's an attraction well worth the admission price. We were blessed with a clear day and we could see all over. I loved how even this high up, even where big ferry boats looked like Matchbox toys, Manhattan still looked huge. It's a magnificent city, really, and this vantage point drove that home.

The Brooklyn Bridge from the One World Observatory

Back on street level, it was time to set off and explore the city. We walked east to the Federal Hall building and then the New York Stock Exchange and the Wall Street Bull statue. This is a very different part of the city from the Times Square area we had come from. It looked to us like "classic" New York should look. Lisa at one point joked that it reminded her of the Streets of America section of facades in Hollywood Studios at Disney World. She wasn't far off.

We took the obligatory statue of the bull, of course. I found it funny that despite all the hullabaloo about the Fearless Girl statue, there were a total of four people looking at her, while at the same time there was a huge crowd waiting to get a photo with the bull's raging face and at least a few dozen taking turns posing with the bull's testicles. Media reality is not the same as real reality. Ever.

Waiting to get a photo with the bull's balls

We were all getting a bit peckish at this point and headed off to Chinatown and Little Italy on the subway. I was only able to get us in the very general vicinity of Chinatown, so we had a bit of a walk to lunch. We ended up walking through what looked like the civic heart of the city; city hall was here as well as courthouses and a ton of municipal office buildings.  It was yet another face of New York.

We cut across a park that left us off in Chinatown. This is one of my favorite parts of New York because it seems so exotic. John found it to be a bit on the sketchy side for his tastes. We had lunch in a restaurant with a huge menu of stuff we'd never seen before. I had ramen with squid and oyster sauce, John got the duck and some steamed buns and Lisa played it safe with veggie fried rice. We got silverware and noticed that Asian patrons were provided with chop sticks. No one ever asked for a preference, which was cute. While we were eating, a pair of older Italian gentlemen entered who looked like they were lifted straight out of a film, fedoras and all. Not odd, since as immersed in Asia as we were, we were only a block outside of Little Italy, our next stop.

Ramen with squid stuffed with oyster sauce

The intersection of Chinatown and Little Italy

We had a tip on a fine little restaurant to try, and found it with no problem. We sat down to a second lunch (we had literally just left our first lunch about 30 minutes before) of raviolis, spaghetti carbonara and chicken pesto fusili. It was all delicious and we scarfed it down along with wine and a fine bread service. This would turn out to be a mistake on my part, as I felt like a person who had gorged himself on ramen and pasta for the rest of the afternoon. Funny thing, remember the old Italian dudes we saw in Chinatown? Well, the tables behind and next to us at the Italian place were occupied by a few dozen late high school or even college-age Asian kids accompanied by what appeared to be a mom and grandmother. We felt that rather encapsulated New York's role as a melting pot.

As we were all stuffed and a bit exhausted we decided to head back to the hotel for a Siesta. We rode the subway to Grand Central Station and walked back from there. Grand Central is truly grand. They've done a wonderful job restoring the place. All the subway riding and multiple stairs and escalators had wreaked havoc with my sense of direction, but after asking a security guard which way was east and west, we made it to our home away from home and rested up for our night at the theatre.

Kind of a lousy photo of the Phantom of the Opera set, pre-show.

Our show, Phantom of the Opera was at 8 pm in the Majestic Theatre, just a few blocks away. We skipped dinner as we were still pretty stuffed from our two lunches, and walked up to the show. The Majestic Theatre is just that, majestic, inside. It fills all the hopes one might have for a Broadway venue and Phantom is just a classic Broadway show. We all were completely wowed by the performance and walked back with show tunes in our heads, completely fat and happy and ready for a good night's sleep.

The Stiteses Take Manhattan, Part One

We promised John that if we didn't get him there before he graduated high school, we'd take him to New York City as a grad gift. John graduated, with honors, about a month ago, so grad gift it was.

We planned this thing like a Disney trip, and I really think our experience with Disney and our mindset when going there actaully helped us in a big way while planning this trip. I really took on the Disney mindset and tried to nail down the important things, the things we needed (like lodging and transportation) and the things we REALLY wanted (like show tickets and a trip to the One World Observatory) as far in advance as we could. That helped not only in peace of mind but in budgeting, as some of the highest-budget items were long paid for by the time we arrived in New York.

I'll stop right here and point out that the lovely and talented Lisa did her share of planning (booking the hotel and Phantom of the Opera tickets) and takinq quite a few of the photos I'll use in this blog. I can't remember who shot what and they are all mixed up on Amazon Prime Photo (do you use that? You should!), so I'm assigning dual credit to all of them off the bat.

We paired our trip with a visit to my parents' house both because we wanted to see them and my sister's family and some of Lisa's nearby family and because it made NYC an easy Amtrak ride away. New York is like Disney in another way in that it's silly to drive a car around there. The public transportation is great, we used the subway a bunch, and the stress of driving a car along with the expense of parking it would have been too much for me. As it turns out, there is a commuter Amtrak train running several times a day from Harrisburg, PA to New York City and it stops at the Downingtown station a few minutes from my parents' house.

Amtrak was great! From what I've heard, people shy away from it due to the cost, but I think the further in advance you purchase tickets the cheaper they are. I can't confirm that, but it makes sense. Our tickets were only about $220 round trip for all three of us together. Granted, that was non-rush hour times, but why would you travel then if you didn't have to anyhow? We went up on the 10:04 am train out of Downingtown and arrived at Penn Station by 12:30 pm. It was easy and hassle-free and actually kind of fun.

We emerged from Penn Station into the thick of things and seeing John's face as he took it all in was priceless. We only had a few blocks to walk to get to our hotel, but it was a great introduction to a crowded city, especially with our suitcases rolling along with us.

We stayed in a Comfort Inn near the intersection of 39th Street and 8th Avenue, technically the Garment District (there was a shop selling buttons and grommets across the street. Nothing else, just

The view from our room

buttons and grommets), but close enough to Times Square that we really felt in the thick of things. The hotel building was funny as it only had four rooms per floor, but 80 rooms total as it was 20 stories high. We were a few hours early for check-in (and they are very specific about check-in time), so we dropped our bags with a very friendly front desk staff and set off for Times Square.

We stopped for lunch in a brew pub connected to the huge bus terminal around the corner and then we were off! On the way up to Times Square I let a friend, the wonderful Alison from the awesome Disphilharpodcast, know we were in town and she arranged to sneak out of the office and meet up with us, as luck would have it, in the Times Square two-story Disney Store. We chatted, introduced all around and got some good advice about places to see and Alison's offer to be a phone-a-friend if we got lost in the big city.

My Main Man George

We made our way back to the Comfort Inn, checked into a room on the 8th floor that was JUST big enough to fit all thee of us inside, and set off again up Fifth Avenue towards the Rockefeller Center. On the way, we saw more of the Garment District, which, as it turns out, is more of a pre-garment district. This is the place to buy fabric and ribbons and such, not a place to buy actual, finished garments. We passed the beautiful New York Public Library and began checking out some of the high-end shops until we came upon Saks Fifth Avenue and took a look inside. Lisa was in heaven, as she proclaimed, as she was among "shiny things and purses." We only looked around the first floor, feeling like gypsies in the palace, before hitting the road again and visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral.

New York City Public Library

St. Patrick's is absolutely, mind-blowingly, ornately beautiful. The stone arches holding up the ceiling far above, the saints in the alcoves, the massive altar, the biggest pipe organ I've ever seen......it all blew me away. I told John he'd not see a church anything like this outside of Europe. We were all humbled by this place, and all a bit saddened by the security check on the way in. But New York post-9/11 is a different place. We'd seen police with assault rifles and shotguns in Times Square and would see the NYPD Counter-Terrorism team the next day at Ground Zero. We felt safe the entire time we were in the city, but we were very aware of the efforts to make that happen.

We Love Public Art. This is possibly the largest Inflatable Woman ever.

Rockefeller Center was the next stop and we thought about grabbing a drink in the little outside cafe in the square, but after being seated directly under some equipment blowing hot air we wandered off. We looked around the inside of the Center but didn't even try heading up top as we were getting to be in a dinner-thinking kinda way.

Night Time Times Square

I might have loved looking out the window.

We headed back towards the hotel by way of Times Square and spotted a Scottish restaurant and pub that looked promising until we discovered it was closed up. Luckily, there was a Cuban place across the street that turned out to be spectacular. We had a delicious meal, walked though Times Square as the last of the light left the sky and the electric lights took over, and tucked ourselves into our cozy quarters to rest up for an exciting first full day in The Big Apple.

My Chewbacca Experience

Everyone has their favorite things about visiting the Disney parks. I'd never poo poo another's obsession, but I never got the character meet-n-greet fanatics. I'm happy to jump in a line that looks really short to have a photo with a character, don't get me wrong. And one of our most magical moments ever involved Cinderella's interaction with John when he was a tyke. But I've always been a spontaneous character meeter, not one to work a meet into my day's plans. That changed on this trip, and I think I now completely understand the meet-n-greet thing.

On our Hollywood Studios day, which we made the first day of our visit, I actually had as my number one priority meeting Chewbacca at the Star Wars Launch Bay. The family was fully in support. They weren't nearly as interested in Chewbacca face time as I was, but they knew how much I wanted to experience this and so happily agreed to make it happen. It wasn't a hassle at all, as it turns out. The queue featured displays of lightsabers, which was cool, and the wait was posted at 30 minutes. Lisa pointed out that the line appeared to full of dads more excited than their children to see Chewie, so I wasn't alone and didn't feel a bit odd or out of place. I was excited. But I had no idea what would happen when it was our turn.

We were ushered into the meet area and there he was. Chewbacca. Sure, somewhere in my mind I

knew it was a tall dude in a hairy costume, but that tidbit suddenly ran far to the depths of my consciousness leaving the rest of m brain convinced I was in the presence of my childhood hero, Chewbacca.

I was five going on six when Star Wars came out. I loved it and all my friends agreed. We played Star Wars all the time, and I was always Chewbacca. He was my favorite to the extent I wouldn't even think about pretending to be anyone else in the movie. He's just so cool.

So there I was, looking at Chewbacca, and that 6 year old came right back. I couldn't talk. We spent probably 5 minutes in there getting photos and I never said one word. I just looked up at him and grinned. I was star-struck. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I could meet any human actor or rock star or politician or any other famous person out there and this wouldn't happen. That tiny part far away in my brain that knew it was a dude in a costume was saying I was being silly. But it was so quiet and far away I paid no mind. I enjoyed being 6 and starstruck.

Chewbacca knew. I'm sure he did. I'm kind of an open book anyhow and when I revert to childhood even more so. He hugged me. Lots. We mime-joked about Lisa being so much shorter. We made the Wookie cheers for the camera. When our photo shoot was done, he walked us to the door and in his silent, non-verbal way he made me know he understood how much that had meant and that he got it. I didn't leave feeling silly. I left feeling 100% happy and content. I walked on air grinning like a fool for probably an hour afterwards. I still get warm and fuzzy remembering it.

I'm glad it was our first day, because I was on the look-out for easy character meets the rest of the trip. We popped in to see Baymax on the way to The Land first thing at Epcot and caught Mexican Donald with a really short line later that day in World Showcase. Both experiences were great and the photos that came from them are treasures.

I'm not sure I'm ready to wait an hour or more for a meet, or use a FastPass+ on one, but I completely get those who do now. For my part, I'll be much  more likely to seek them out on future trips.

Not a meet per se, but it was super cool seeing these guys

12 Days: The "Almost Teen" Is About Grown Up

So I wrote this about sharing Walt Disney World with John as he was about to turn 13. I loved that he was as interested in the Imagineering as  I am and I was impressed with the examples of "show" he found all on his own and how much he appreciated the thought that went into them. In re-reading that, I had a tar in my eye. Not because those days are gone, but because all the hopes I had for him then are being realized.

John is in his senior year now and we are beginning to see the "lasts" coming. We got the mail about ordering cap and gown. This Friday is his last home football game night and Senior Night for the band (we get to walk him out onto the field to be recognized). The night we leave for Disney is his last marching band competition. And this will likely be the last Disney trip we make as a family all living here in the same house. I mean, I can't imagine we won't be going to Disney with John anymore, but it will be different. He'll be his own person traveling with us. And he is already knocking on that door.

But it's a good thing. He has really become what I was hoping in that blog four years ago. His inquisitive nature has blossomed and is now informed by knowledge and experience I don't have. We have begun seeing things from different perspectives, and enjoy sharing them with each other. That's what I'm looking forward to this trip.

Going to Disney and and getting to see it through your child's eyes is always magical. Even if that child is almost a grown man now. I am so very lucky.

25 Days: Disney and USO Open Welcome Center in Orlando International

I've written before about the Disney Hires Heroes Program here (which is reportedly 6500 vet employees strong now) and why it touched my heart so much. Well, they've done it again with the opening of a new USO Welcome Center in the Orlando International Airport. Disney donated $100,000 and helped design the space that will be used by military members and their families traveling through the airport. The first people staffing the Welcome Center are Disney Cast Members volunteers. It's not about the money, $100,000 is a drop in the bucket to the Walt Disney Company, but it's about the heart involved.

We've been at war almost as long as my high school senior son has been alive. It's not the most intense conflict we've ever been engaged in, in terms of number of military personnel involved, but that doesn't make it any less difficult on military members and their families. And the nature of the conflict has led to a huge number of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cases, with suicide rates among today's vets at historic highs. And we, as a society, have largely forgotten this war is even happening. We've forgotten those fighting it. And that's dangerous and sad.

I know from my father's experience returning from Vietnam how difficult it can be to transition to civilian life. I know how difficult PTSD can be for a family. I can only imagine the stress on a family of having a father and husband or wife and mother fighting overseas. Disney isn't curing any of those problems, but they are helping. Simply building this space lets our service members know they haven't been forgotten, and that they are being recognized and thanked by one of the largest and most iconic American corporations.

These heroes aren't getting the ticker tape parades they deserve. But they are getting smiles from VoluntEARS and a dose of Disney Magic. And that makes me happy.

26 Days: Mo Muppets, Mo Muppets, MO MUPPETS

So as if getting to eat in Rizzo's pizzaria and go potty in Gonzo's Water Works wasn't enough, Disney added Sam the Eagle, Kermit, Piggy and friends to Liberty Square with two live shows. That has the Stites fam all kinds of excited. But imagine when I spot this on Twitter!

Photo by Jenny Burke

It's Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker! On their Muppet Mobile Lab! In Epcot! I mean, what if we get to see Muppets in THREE parks?!?!? How cool is that?

Word is the Mobile Muppet LAb was appearing throughout the day today behind Spaceship Earth in Future World. I'm really hoping this is a new thing that lasts through our visit in just 26 days!

43 Days: Carousel of Progress

The Carousel of Progress at the New York World's Fair in 1964

This is maybe the most "Disney" attraction in Florida. It's one that you'd never see the likes of in Universal or Sea World or Busch Gardens, and that fans of those parks would never in a million years WANT there. The technology is fairly outdated, there's not thrill aspect or tie-in to a franchise, there's a song you'll not get out of your head unless it's replaced by "It's A Small World" later in the day, it breaks down with some frequency, the "modern" family segment is from the 1980s, but I love it.

First off, it's a tangible piece of Walt in a park he never lived to see or even supervise much of the construction of. The Carousel of Progress wasn't built for Walt Disney World, or even Disneyland, it was built for the 1964 World's Fair. The attraction we can ride today is the same one that was built in New York, disassembled and taken to Disneyland and then disassembled again and installed in its Tomorrowland home in Florida. For a guy who loves him some Walt and who hasn't been able to swing a visit to California (yet), it's pretty special to sit in an attraction the The Man himself had a real hand in creating.

But I also have a ore personal reason to find Carousel of Progress special. My parents actually rode it while on a date in high school at the New York World's Fair. They rode the train from Philadelphia to New York City and spent the day at the World's Fair as young teens. And today, I and an my family can experience one of the attractions they saw then in much the same form (with a few small updates). That is a piece of real Magic.

The Carousel of Progress has received a new paint job and is in the process of getting some new signage to match. Here's a link to some recent photos. I like that this classic piece of Disney History is being treated well but not really changed. The fact that Disney spent a few bucks to gussy her up tells me the Carousel won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and that makes me happy.

66 Days: Wordless Wednesday, Asheville Vacation Photos

67 Days: To Plan or Not To Plan

I read this morning someone saying that planning out each part of a vacation is bad as it makes the entire experience seem like it goes by too fast. It makes even something you've not done before too predictable and robs you of potentially great spontaneous experiences. As someone on Twitter pointed out, that's about the opposite of what Disney pushes us to do. We are asked to plan dining reservations six months out and even schedule rides 60 days in advance. Is that a bad thing?

I'm in general a big fan of spontaneity in travel. I've decided upon waking up that I'd rather be in Charleston and off we went. We've gone on day trips and decided not to come home at the end of the day. It's not unusual for us to just want to GO and leave the driveway without any clear destination in mind. You'd think the planning and scheduling required for a Disney trip would drive me nuts. But it doesn't.

In reality, I am a huge fan of Disney planning. I even go on the Disney website and plan imaginary trips. Just for fun. For a real trip, I am online the minute I'm able scheduling ADRs or FastPasses. I know what we'll be doing and where we'll be doing it most every hour of our trips. Jeez, as I write that, it doesn't even sound fun to ME. But it is.

Done well, proper and thorough Disney trip planning can lead to a truly stress-free vacation. I'm lucky. I know my way around,between and through Walt Disney World's resorts and parks intimately and I plan accordingly. I know my family and what we like and thankfully we're a very mellow bunch, so scheduling to make sure we see everything in the least time isn't required. As odd as it sounds, I manically schedule us into relaxation.

70 Days: Adding To The List, Pisgah Inn Edition

This trip was in reality a business trip for the lovely and talented Lisa. The North Carolina Association of Municipal Clerks held its summer conference in Asheville, and since Lisa had a room anyhow, she wanted John and me to tag along. This was great for John and me as we got a vacation in Asheville, but we didn't get to see as much of Lisa as we'd have liked. Nor did Lisa get as much time to tour around as she's have liked. But Saturday afternoon afforded us time between lunch and a dinner reception to go adventuring as a family, so off we went.

Finally together on an adventure

Since John and I drove north on the Parkway on Thursday, we decided to take mom south, somewhere none of had yet been. It was raining as we left, but we were undaunted, because, I mean, why worry about something you can't change? We found a very nice visitor center, which everyone enjoyed despite my family mocking me on the way in over my love of informational signage and maps. Oh, and speaking of maps, I was woefully unprepared for this trip as I felt miserable the night before and didn't study my books or maps before we left. We survived.

Not only did we survive, we made a new discovery, the Pisgah Inn, the Peak of the Parkway. Well, it wasn't completely a surprise. I may have a little bit of a fascination with maps and my have (as John predicted on the way in) found one I didn't have in the visitor center. I saw on that map, while the boy drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway (how cool is THAT!!??!!) and I was in the back seat, the little dude-in-a-bed symbol on the Parkway and hoped we'd make it that far before having to turn around.

The clouds made it even more beautiful

The ride up was awesome. The rain stopped, or we drove above it, and we were treated to cloud-covered mountain views to the east and clear as a bell mountain views to the west. It was a pretty package and quite a treat to get such different views on one short trip. And there were tunnels, which are always fun.

Lisa took a few tunnel photos....

We finally did make it all the way to the Pisgah Inn, which sits plop on the side of the mountain at nearly 5,000 feet. All the rooms have porches or balconies looking out over the Pisgah National Forest, there's a restaurant and a general store. Rooms are not cheap, but nothing in Asheville or the vicinity is and at $155/night, it is really pretty reasonable considering the view.

So now we have unspecific yet very real plans to go stay there for at least a long weekend. Turns out the drive to the Asheville area isn't as long as we thought. We could leave here in the morning and be in Asheville by early afternoon. It's a totally do-able long weekend.

So, one more destination added to the list :-)