OC_stacylace
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2008
Hey everybody!
My two sons and I just got back from our Spirit of America trip. We were on the 8/7 to 8/14 trip, and met a fellow Dis board family there, too! I just wanted to share with you some of my thoughts of the trip, in hopes it may help you decide if this is the trip for your family.
On this trip, it included myself, 35, my two boys, 10 and 4, and my parents, both 70 years old. My husband had to stay at home due to not being able to get off of work.
Normally, I would have probably waited until the younger son was a bit older to take such a trip, but the trip was an incentive as we bought into DVC last year, and I felt our older son need not miss out on a trip just because the younger son was so much younger. But, I also really thought about which trip would be the easiest for the 4 year old, and I really feel confident that this trip was our only choice for the 4 year old.
First of all, the guides were really excellent. They bent over backwards to make anything you desired happen. I am a big water drinker, and I never had to buy a bottle of water as they always had it available for you. Snacks were also always available, which was a lifesaver for me with two hungry boys. Our guide Mike even took my 4 year old on a few water slides, as water slides are not my thing and usually fall to Dad's responsibility.
As far as the trip content, there was a lot of free time. This may appeal to a lot of you, and it was nice for me as it allowed time for rest, however my parents felt it was too much. Every day in DC, we were done around 2 p.m., and they would have preferred to have some sort of program like the scavenger hunt for kids in Philly. Or perhaps an interactive tour of a Smithsonian or maybe even a tour option of the Capitol building.
Having only 1 day in Williamsburg was really not enough for our family. On our tour, we were only able to see two trades and the Governer's house, and then we had lunch and left for our hotel. There was an option for a second shuttle, but only was an hour maybe two hours more time. Having two days in this amazing place really would have been better. I just felt rushed and not able to just sit and soak in the atmosphere better, to really "time travel" and get a real sense of what life was like in Colonial Williamsburg.
But for those two exceptions, we had such an amazing trip! The amount of history we covered in that short week was pretty extensive. The food was very good, the farewell dinner was such good fun.
As for tour travel, this was our first trip with a group. As you can imagine, with a 4 year old, I was a bit stressed in making sure he was on his best behavior, and he did really well. I think what I have realized is that not every parent is so concerned about what their own children may be doing, and you just have to let it go. I don't think I would do a tour again unless it was with Disney, as they just make it so much about the family and really were there to make your trip one of a lifetime.
If you have any specific questions about the trip, ask away!
My two sons and I just got back from our Spirit of America trip. We were on the 8/7 to 8/14 trip, and met a fellow Dis board family there, too! I just wanted to share with you some of my thoughts of the trip, in hopes it may help you decide if this is the trip for your family.
On this trip, it included myself, 35, my two boys, 10 and 4, and my parents, both 70 years old. My husband had to stay at home due to not being able to get off of work.
Normally, I would have probably waited until the younger son was a bit older to take such a trip, but the trip was an incentive as we bought into DVC last year, and I felt our older son need not miss out on a trip just because the younger son was so much younger. But, I also really thought about which trip would be the easiest for the 4 year old, and I really feel confident that this trip was our only choice for the 4 year old.
First of all, the guides were really excellent. They bent over backwards to make anything you desired happen. I am a big water drinker, and I never had to buy a bottle of water as they always had it available for you. Snacks were also always available, which was a lifesaver for me with two hungry boys. Our guide Mike even took my 4 year old on a few water slides, as water slides are not my thing and usually fall to Dad's responsibility.
As far as the trip content, there was a lot of free time. This may appeal to a lot of you, and it was nice for me as it allowed time for rest, however my parents felt it was too much. Every day in DC, we were done around 2 p.m., and they would have preferred to have some sort of program like the scavenger hunt for kids in Philly. Or perhaps an interactive tour of a Smithsonian or maybe even a tour option of the Capitol building.
Having only 1 day in Williamsburg was really not enough for our family. On our tour, we were only able to see two trades and the Governer's house, and then we had lunch and left for our hotel. There was an option for a second shuttle, but only was an hour maybe two hours more time. Having two days in this amazing place really would have been better. I just felt rushed and not able to just sit and soak in the atmosphere better, to really "time travel" and get a real sense of what life was like in Colonial Williamsburg.
But for those two exceptions, we had such an amazing trip! The amount of history we covered in that short week was pretty extensive. The food was very good, the farewell dinner was such good fun.
As for tour travel, this was our first trip with a group. As you can imagine, with a 4 year old, I was a bit stressed in making sure he was on his best behavior, and he did really well. I think what I have realized is that not every parent is so concerned about what their own children may be doing, and you just have to let it go. I don't think I would do a tour again unless it was with Disney, as they just make it so much about the family and really were there to make your trip one of a lifetime.
If you have any specific questions about the trip, ask away!
So glad you had a great time. Mike was our guide on the Southwest Splendors two years ago. Half of our tour was kids including a 5 year old and Mike was just great with them. He really is a great tour guide!
