As I've said in my previous posts, I want to document every little detail of my Disney experience! So here's the next, featuring what I'm doing after my Disney program ends (yes, it's horrible to think about that already!) where you get to stay in the USA for a further 30 days, which is when your visa will run out.



So since getting my visa approved at the Embassy in London, I have received my passport back. I had my appointment on the Tuesday and my passport was ready to be picked up from my local DX office on the Saturday! Not long at all! And there was me worrying I wouldn't get it back in time for my holiday at the end of April pa!!

Following that, I thought it was time to look into flights and what I could do in America after my program ends, since it was all official now. This was such a faff, as I'm so indecisive! Basically, I didn't know what to do about flights because I didn't know what I wanted to do after Disney, sooo... if I got a return from Orlando, would I still be in Orlando? And what date would I come back? What if I couldn't schedule it so that I arrived back in Orlando for my flight?! ARGH!


I know a number of people who I've got in contact with who are on the program with me are simply 'winging' it, as in...they'll just make it up as they go along/end up in where ever/get back to wherever somehow/sleeping god knows where etc etc etc.... Na, can't be dealing with that. I like organisation!

SO. I looked into Yummy Jobs Travel Tours. They are, as said on the tin, tours. Where the whole group gets to travel around the chosen destinations in a coach or something with a guide. And everything is sorted out and (almost) paid for in advance! Perfffff for little miss stressalot, me.


The tours are run by STA travel but if you book through Yummy, they get you discount. You can search the tours online or have a look in their PDF catalogue. There are so many to choose from, literally hundreds! I was literally spoilt for choice!

I thought the best way to start was deciding a budget. I'd got a cash award from my uni for some academic shizz so my budget was around £1000 + or - a few hundred. This way I could discard all the ones that were over budget. How about location? East or West!? Since they're so far apart, there wasn't a tour that did both (unless really expensive) so I decided on the East Coast as travelling even further across America to the West seemed a bit counter productive... (little weirdo, I know, I know). I also despise camping, so I said good-bye to those too.

OK, the East! Miami, Cocoa Beach, Orlando, New York, Niagara Falls, Washington, hmmm.... I was looking at a tour that visited LOADS of locations, including all of those which was about £1,500 (meh). I talked myself out of that one because I would have to fly to New Orleans to start the trip, then a few days later I'd be back in Orlando... (counter productive), then head down to Miami, then on the way up the coast, pass through Orlando again (seriously counter productive!!). That was the Eastern Discovery tour, if anyone is interested.

I then turned to another few tours which focused on New York and the surrounding states. I found two that were pretty much the same but one was one week long and the other was two weeks long, for the sake of a few hundred quid. So it seemed more worth it to go for the two week long tour.

This tour is called Eastern Escapade and begins in New York on the 14th August. I could be working in Disney up until the 13th (definitely not the 14th as we've got to leave the accommodation by noon that day) so I've arranged, with the help of a really lovely STA travel expert, to fly from Orlando at about 6am (waaaah) on the 14th to meet the group in Philadelphia. This is fine because, the group literally only meet in New York before moving straight on to Philadelphia, so it isn't as if I will miss out on anything. Then several days in Washington D.C (eek!), Pittsburgh, Niagara Falls (eek!),  up to Canada to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal (eeeeek!), then to Boston and ending up in New York - phew!!! Some meals and breakfasts are also included, so that's a bonus!

There seems to be loads of activities to do, I guess these are all extra in price but it's a once in a life time opportunity so I don't mind splashing out. I also chose to spend two extra nights in New York City! Because the trip ends there and you basically don't get a day there, so that sucks to arrive in New York only to fly home straight away, right!?

I'm staying in the Pennsylvania Hotel, which is opposite Madison Square Garden, I think? So really central! I'm going to be on my own for this bit, I assume, so I'm a little bit scared. Butt, I intend to do lots of things like visit the Empire State Building, the ground 0 memorial site, take river trip around the Statue of Liberty and do lots of shopppping!!!! It would also be amazing to go to a show but I expect that's big dollar. And I just wanna visit some of the famous places like Central Park!

I fly home on the 28th August, so the tour was about two weeks long plus the two extra days. I know I could have another two weeks in America if I want, but money (sigh) and I have dissertation prep to do (sighsighsigh) so that will give me about a month to do that and get back to normal before my final year begins (I hate thinking about it being all over!).

I like everything to be organised, I like to know who I'm going to see and where, I like to be around people I know, I like to know what the weather is going to be like to can outfit plan... I'm a creature of habit so this is going to be a maaasssiiiveee leap out of my comfort zone! I'm pretty nervous about the tour even though it's supposed to be a holiday, but I know I'm going to visit so many incredible places, probably make some amazing friends for life and have an amazing time being independent (which I'm really not lol!!). It's a chance of a life time so lounging on a beach in Miami for two or three weeks could have been an option, but I can lounge on a beach in Spain any year, right? (Which I am doing in April heh). A chance to explore America is much more special, even if a little scary! Turning those negatives into positives and creating that silver lining! (#rambling)

Just to mention the flights, I'm getting a flight out from Gatwick with loads of other CEP members (simply join the group on Facebook), then after Disney I fly to Philadelphia, stopping shortly in Chicago. After my tour ends and the two days in New York, I flight home from New York to Heathrow. This is classed as a return which was a cheaper way of doing it.

My next Disney update will probably be about travel insurance and packing!

Beth x

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