Let The Memories Begin! – Day 19
We checked out from our hotel at 6am as we had to catch our flight to New York at 9.30am. The procedure was prompt and we still had some snack credits remaining, Jarod redeemed some pastries from the food court so we could eat at the airport. Ashley was enjoying herself, sitting on a child sized armchair at the lobby watching cartoon. All good things must come to an end, we bade goodbye to Walt Disney World.
We arrived at the airport and returned our car at the Hertz counter and proceeded to check in at Jet Blue for our flight. Although 2 of our luggages exceeded the weight requirement (by 1 to 1.5 lbs) they were checked in without problem. We had our cinnamon rolls and apple danish and proceeded to clear security and arrived at the gate. Soon, we boarded the plane and were on our way to New York. We are really satisfied with Jet Blue. Despite being a budget airline, it has exceeded our expectation. The seats were comfortable, the legroom was good (although we suspect that our row 7 has extra legroom), we were given complimentary drinks and snacks, and most importantly, the flight departed and arrived on time. We will definitely choose Jet Blue again for domestic flights within USA. (ZA : Jetblue has their ‘own’ terminal, Terminal 5 in JFK. It’s like a mini airport by itself)
We managed to get a car that could fit in 4 of us and our 3 luggages and stroller. The drive into New York City was scenic at first but as we approached Manhattan, we could only move in slow speed. We finally arrived at Distrikt Hotel. Our room was not ready yet, so we left our luggages at the hotel and walked towards Times Square. As we were hungry, we stopped at TGI Fridays for lunch. Ashley was happy to find Macaroni and Cheese, Jarod had Western Cheeseburger and ZA and I had the Cheeseburger. Although the food was not bad, we missed the service we received at Orlando. (ZA : to be fair, the service in Orlando esp in WDW restaurants is really good)
After lunch, we walked towards Toys r Us in Times Square. Ashley has been looking forward to visiting this largest Toys r Us in the world. It even has a working Ferris wheel in the store. However, the street was so crowded that we could barely move in inches. I hanged on to Ashley tightly and as we walked in single file. When we reached the store, it was not much different from outside. It was not the shopping experience that Ashley was looking forward to. There is a Disney store down the street and we went there. Although crowded, it was not as bad and we managed to shop a bit. We left after she picked something.
The walk back to our hotel was also jam packed with people. We finally returned safely after jostling with the crowd and did not want to go out. We began to miss Orlando, missed using our Magic Bands and missed redeeming meals and snacks with our dining credits. Perhaps it’s the wrong time of the year, I did not like New York, which is very different from Orlando. If I could choose again, I’ll stay on in Orlando.
We checked in to Distrikt Hotel and was pleasantly surprised to get a room on the 31st floor, the second highest floor. This is a small and cosy hotel. The room is comfortable with 2 double beds and were given complimentary brownies and good night chocolates. We did not go out for dinner. ZA and Jarod ordered take-out. We had hot dog bun for Ashley, pizza and fried chicken to share. It’s the first time we dined in room since arriving in USA. It is also the first time we’d rather stay in our hotel than going out and get our much needed rest. We hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
