Kendra and Joe Duggar 6: Sitting in a tree...M.A.R.R.I.E.D!

[victoriasponge]

@VineHeart137 I’ve never been to Disney Florida. I grew up almost entirely absent of Disney films (I know, terrible 90s baby) so it’s never really connected with me and is really expensive. 

Would go to NYC again for a honeymoon though and I’d like to go to San Fran and New Orleans. Did Vegas before and it was too hot for me. Might be worth trying to get to Universal for Harry Potter then. Just money, and I am terrified of flying, and jet lag sucks for short trips so i’d want a long one. Basically I’m jealous of your honeymoon!

[nvmbr02]

3 hours ago, Kangaroo said:

All this Disneyland/Disney World conversation is making me jealous. I want to go!

I've been to Tokyo Disneyland. I was travelling alone but it wasn't too bad because I got to go in all the single rider lines. Mickey was extra dramatic about how tall I was, and I got a cool mouse ear headband I wear around the house when I'm bored.

I'd totally go to Disneyland/world on a honeymoon. Being stuck on a beach/on some small island somewhere is not my idea of fun. Need to be out doing exciting things!

We are going to Tokyo Disneyland next year as part of our Japan trip and I can not wait! We will be spending 3 days at Tokyo Disneyland/ DisneySea and 4 days in the Tokyo area (along with 8-10 days in Kyoto/Osaka). We will also be spending on day at Universal Japan in Osaka, mostly for the Harry Potter stuff. We spent one day at Hong Kong Disneyland last January and we loved it. I have actually never been to Disney World, but it is high on my list. I did one day at Disneyland Paris many years ago (it was still called Euro Disney then). I love Disney, both with my kids and as an adult trip. We did a split honeymoon with 5 days at Disneyland and a 7 night cruise. 

 

[Cheetah]

3 minutes ago, nvmbr02 said:

We are going to Tokyo Disneyland next year as part of our Japan trip and I can not wait! We will be spending 3 days at Tokyo Disneyland/ DisneySea and 4 days in the Tokyo area (along with 8-10 days in Kyoto/Osaka). We will also be spending on day at Universal Japan in Osaka, mostly for the Harry Potter stuff. 

 

Fun!  We went to Japan 3 years ago (Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama/ Shirakawa, and Hiroshima) and loved it.  Didn't make it to the Disney park, though.   Kyoto is gorgeous... so many temples to visit.

I got to go to Universal Studios in CA as a chaperone for my son's choir trip.  Loved the HP world (and I'd been several years before so didn't need to spend much time on anything else there).  Apparently the Florida one has at least one more ride, though.  Not sure if the CA site is building the same ride... there was still some construction going on in the park when I was there in March.  Although as a chaperone, I spent a couple of hours of my time there dealing with teen drama ;-).  

[nvmbr02]

12 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

Fun!  We went to Japan 3 years ago (Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama/ Shirakawa, and Hiroshima) and loved it.  Didn't make it to the Disney park, though.   Kyoto is gorgeous... so many temples to visit.

 

We will be in Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nara for sure. Not sure if we are going to add in anywhere else. We will be traveling with our 2 teens and a 9 year old so we try to add in plenty of fun, family friendly stuff while we take in the sights and local culture. Since Japan has a few big theme parks we figured we would add them in. Next week we are headed to Thailand and we wont have any theme parks that we are visiting but have a lot of other fun days planned.

I seriously love vacation. Any kind. I will camp out by the lake, visit theme parks or travel internationally and stay at 5 star hotels. I love it all. 

[MayMay1123]

On September 23, 2017 at 11:51 PM, AnnEggBlandHer? said:

(No snark on loving little local places, I know nothing about Silver Dollar but please tell me someone else here loves Knoebels in Pennsylvania as much as I do...)

Knoebels is one of my favorite places! It's been a very long time since we've gone though...we've been vacationing at Lake Wallenpaupack and Knoebels is too far for a day trip from there. Spellcheck is not my friend for this post! 

[SapphireSlytherin]

8 minutes ago, nvmbr02 said:

I seriously love vacation. Any kind. I will camp out by the lake, visit theme parks or travel internationally and stay at 5 star hotels. I love it all. 

I've always said if travel didn't cost anything, you'd never see me again. I only work to fund my travels.

[nvmbr02]

6 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

I've always said if travel didn't cost anything, you'd never see me again. I only work to fund my travels.

Me too! So thankful that my husband feels the same way. We seriously spend all our extra money on travel. Our house is Ikea mixed with Target and garage sale finds. Our cars aren't fancy, we don't have the newest electronic gadgets and our house is nothing to write home about. But we take 1 big vacation every year (and 2-3 small ones). I feel very lucky. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

13 minutes ago, nvmbr02 said:

Me too! So thankful that my husband feels the same way. We seriously spend all our extra money on travel. Our house is Ikea mixed with Target and garage sale finds. Our cars aren't fancy, we don't have the newest electronic gadgets and our house is nothing to write home about. But we take 1 big vacation every year (and 2-3 small ones). I feel very lucky. 

Same. DH and I go everywhere. In the past 12 months, we've been so fortunate to have made four big trips:  two "long weekends" in London, a five-day road trip to Yellowstone/Badlands/Grand Tetons, and a two-week trip to the UK (Scotland/England) for the Harry Potter play, the Jacobite Express, and all the Harry Potter stuff imaginable. We're good travel companions, and frequently drive 24 hours non-stop on adventure rallies with a car club.

We don't eat out much. My wardrobe is 90% from Goodwill. We see maybe one or two movies/year. We do have quality furniture pieces, but we save up for them much as we do for our next vacation. We always have at least three trips on our "upcoming year" calendar. Planning our travels is one of my favorite things. We were sad leaving London last week that we didn't have our "next London trip" on our itinerary yet.

However, we're going to Paris in November, the Grand Canyon in December, and the Air Force Museum in May. We might hit Orlando in January or February for a one-day Harry Potter/Universal Studios thing when the horrid Midwest winter is getting us down. $79 r/t flights are a big draw.

Passport full of stamps > things in my house.

[Berty K]

4 hours ago, Kangaroo said:

I've been to Tokyo Disneyland.

We're *trying* to go to Tokyo this April and Disneyland is actually something I brought up to SO. Would you recommend? Any other tips, etc? TIA!

[Hokey Pokey]

I went to Tokyo Disneyland a few years ago, had a really great time. The weirdest thing though was how familiar everything was. I'd been to California Disneyland when I was about 10, so 15 odd years before, and here I was in Tokyo (they obviously have similar layouts) being able to walk right in wander around and find everything where I expected it to be. I had no idea but apparently 10 year old me had LOCKED. DOWN. every detail of that trip into my memory

[SapphireSlytherin]

Following the Tokyo discussion. We're thinking of going there in 2018... 

 

[nvmbr02]

@SapphireSlytherin Your trips sound wonderful! Especially London and Paris. I miss Europe so much. We lived in Italy for 3 years and traveled quite a bit while we were there. Germany was our favorite country and we made it there 5 times. We are hoping to get our oldest back there before she graduates high school in 2022.  Loosely planning a summer 2021 trip right now.  We currently live on a small island so all travel is international travel.

Right now our schedule looks like this. 10 days in Thailand starting next week, 8 days in South Korea in Feb. 2018 for the Olympics (provided N. Korea settles down a bit), 4 nights in Singapore summer 2018, Japan for 14-16 days in October 2018, Shanghai for 4 nights in December 2018 (just the kids and I for Disney Christmas decorations) , 16 days in Australia/New Zealand Feb. 2019 (10 nights is on a cruise) then move back to the US mainland summer 2019. After that our plans loosen up a lot, since it is so far in the future but we hope to visit Alaska summer 2020 and do a Disney cruise with my side of the family at some point that same year. The 2021 will be the Europe trip that will be 2-3 weeks, depending on budget and how much time we can get off of work.

@Berty K In April Tokyo Disney will be starting their 35 year celebration. It should be a good time. I know that March can be very busy, I think April is less busy.

[Galbin]

7 hours ago, metheglyn said:

One of the videos with Jana interviewing (talking to) Joe & Kendra said that Jana and Kendra met on a missions trip to CA (as usual) when Kendra was 14. She appears in some of the photos from Lily and Ellie's blog from January 2013. She looks super fresh-faced, and as she noted in the blog, wasn't then wearing makeup. She and Joy definitely look about the same age there, which is reasonable, sine they're just a year apart. Found her dad, too.     http://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/2013/02/duggars-central-america-2013-part-2.html 

  Hide contents

 

 

Gosh, her actual face shape has changed a lot since these were taken. It makes her look quite different. She is pretty either way  though.

[SapphireSlytherin]

@nvmbr02 - Alaska and NZ/Australia are both on our shortlist for 2018, along with Tokyo and (of course) London. I'm really pushing for two weeks on the Continent - fly into Madrid or Barcelona or Rome, then train through Austria, Germany, France, possibly Poland and the Czech Republic. I lived in Germany for 18 months, and love it so much. I want to show DH where I lived, and EAT at my favorite restaurant in Nurnberg (it's still there!!!). We're thinking we'll just get the Eurail Pass from wherever we land and go from there, likely ending up back in London, where we have a pied-à-terre. That's why we're in London so much - because staying there is practically free. I just wish we both had more vacation time!

I also want to go back to Scotland - man-oh-man, that is a beautiful place! Plus, Glasgow's airport is quick for immigration/customs. lol

[OldFadedStar]

1 hour ago, nvmbr02 said:

We are going to Tokyo Disneyland next year as part of our Japan trip and I can not wait! We will be spending 3 days at Tokyo Disneyland/ DisneySea and 4 days in the Tokyo area (along with 8-10 days in Kyoto/Osaka). We will also be spending on day at Universal Japan in Osaka, mostly for the Harry Potter stuff. We spent one day at Hong Kong Disneyland last January and we loved it. I have actually never been to Disney World, but it is high on my list. I did one day at Disneyland Paris many years ago (it was still called Euro Disney then). I love Disney, both with my kids and as an adult trip. We did a split honeymoon with 5 days at Disneyland and a 7 night cruise. 

 

You're gonna love DisneySea... there isn't a disney park like it elsewhere in the world! Eat all the popcorn while at Disney! Also go to the Disney Store in Tokyo if you're a big disney fan... it's more adult than they are in the states. Not in a perverted way, but they have like phone cases and stationary. There's a crowd calendar out there somewhere to let you know how the crowds will be...

Asakusa is a good old feel touristy area in Tokyo. Harajuku and Shibuya are lots of fun too. 

Kyoto has a lot of interesting temples, so I'd probably try to see the more urban type stuff in Tokyo since you'll get the old japan feel in Kyoto. Kyoto has my favorite ramen place ever. 

I saw in another one of your posts that you are going to Hiroshima. The peace museum they have there is very humbling. Also, Miyajima island is a must see and about 30 minutes outside of Hiroshima. 

if you have any questions, feel free to PM me! I lived in Japan for 4 years. Same with you @SapphireSlytherin. @Berty K I would recommend Tokyo Disneyland/Sea. I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat... I miss it everyday. 

[coexist]

The "HOT!" tag had me nervous for a second. Well, not nervous, but, well, something.

Back to the honeymoon talk, sorry!

[nvmbr02]

@SapphireSlytherin Sounds amazing! I have only spent one day in London, mostly by accident since a flight was cancelled and I ended up having to spend the night there so it was a very rushed trip. I have always wanted to go back and visit Scotland and Ireland as well. It probably wont be for a few more years though. We *may* try to do a couple of days in London on our Europe trip, but it just depends on how it works out. The Eurorail pass can be a great deal, we used it when we first got to Italy. We pretty much just hopped on the train with no plans and explored. I love it! Not brave enough to do that with kids in tow though. Our next Europe trip will probably start in Rome then we will travel to Venice and visit the small town where dd was born. After that it gets fuzzy but we have Prague, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and London on our list of possibilities. We will have to see what makes the most sense when we have a better idea of budget and how much time we will have. 

The Australia/New Zealand trip is a total bucket list trip for me. I am very excited. We actually booked a cruise to somewhere else for Feb. 2018 and had it paid for but then decided to do the Olympics and the AU/NZ cruise was a great deal so it really worked out. My husband and older two kids scuba dive so we will do a few days diving in AU before the cruise and a few days exploring Auckland post cruise. I do wish we could spend at least another week in Australia. Hopefully we will get a chance to visit again someday.

@OldFadedStar Asakusa is on our Tokyo list already! We have a few friends that have lived in Tokyo so they have given us a ton a good tips too. I am sure there will be plenty of stocking up on Kit Kats, Pokemon goodies and the fun cafes (my youngest has her eye on the Hello Kitty cafe place). The Tokyo part of our trip will likely be with a largish group of friends with kids from 18 months to almost 15 so we will have to be a bit flexible. I am coming up with a few backup plans for us in case the big group plan goes south though.

[Lizzybet]

On 9/24/2017 at 0:29 PM, 728011 said:

Nothing wrong with going to DIsney World for your honeymoon!

My (now) husband of seventeen years whisked me off to Disney World, where he proposed to me along the banks of some fake New Orleans? river. It was his idea we go. I was fine with it, but it wouldn't have been my first choice since it was also my sixth vacation there. Previously I was there on my first honeymoon, then four more trips with kids in tow. It was 'nice' but I wasnt a big Disney fan.

I bet I'd enjoy it a LOT more today.

[BlondeIdol]

Despite not being a huge theme park/ride type person, I love Disney World. I've taken three separate trips there with my family growing up. However the last one wound up being the family vacation from HELL. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. That trip was almost 10 years ago and my parents only agreed to travel with each other again this year. So I am also somewhat traumatized by Disney World and I'd never go with anyone in my immediate family again.

Now that I am grown adult I'd love to take a trip with just my fiance if we ever get the opportunity. More for adults to do there then he realizes. Many other places we'd like to visit first. Definitely going to go with my future child/children though! I was a 90s baby and I still love the movies. Timeless stuff.

[ItsMeY'all]

@Sapphireslytherin Great minds think alike! Our list for 2018 is down to Alaska, NZ/Australia, and Scotland (maybe toss in a Danube River cruise to round out that one). And I am a Disney freak so we always do at least a few days a year either in CA or FL with the mouse (family working at both places so between their guest rooms and discounts it is totally reasonable). Our families both have some big birthdays and anniversaries coming up and have expressed interest in trips to celebrate but we only have so much vacation time and $$$ so it could get tricky. Luckily my parents have Alaska at the top of their list. My mil wants her go-to, Paris, but my hubby and I, as well as his brother and sister in law, are pushing for Scotland which is pretty much the one place on the planet my inlaws haven't been to. I'm not still using nothing but garage sale and hand me down furniture to just keep going back to the same places. 

[neurogirl]

I was very happy to see that Kendra did not say "obey" in her vows like the Bontrager/Bowers brides did. I know, horrible beliefs, but their wedding made me smile because they both seemed so gosh darn happy. Even though I hate the song Butterfly Kisses. 

I loved Knoebels and used to camp near there every year as a child! Fiancé and I now live near Disneyland and have annual passes, and are saving for a honeymoon to London and Wales! We both love scenery, old churches, and castles, and are up to our eyeballs in the Great British Baking Show, so it seems like a good fit. 

(Also, my fiancé has been to all 7 continents...yes all 7...and I wanted us to honeymoon someplace where he actually hasn't been yet so we could explore together.)

[Bethella]

32 minutes ago, BlondeIdol said:

Despite not being a huge theme park/ride type person, I love Disney World. I've taken three separate trips there with my family growing up. However the last one wound up being the family vacation from HELL. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. That trip was almost 10 years ago and my parents only agreed to travel with each other again this year. So I am also somewhat traumatized by Disney World and I'd never go with anyone in my immediate family again.

I was also traumatized by my last trip to Disney World. We went for my 5th birthday. When we finally got there I was hyper after sitting in the plane all day, so instead of going to check in to the hotel with my dad, my mom let me run around a grassy area next to the parking lot. When I was done I sat down on a little hill. Which turned out to be a fire ant nest. I got ice baths, benadryl and some kind of anti-itch cream twice a day the entire trip. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

[cptbailey]

Echoing the sentiment: Tokyo Disneyland is amazing but Tokyo DisneySea is hands-down my favorite park ever (and I am obsessed with Disney World). It was truly a magical place! Even more magical than regular Disney! Characters just roam the park and you  can take pics without long lines. Everyone was so friendly, no pushing in lines. Get a cute popcorn bucket and try all the different flavors!! Strawberry, black pepper, honey, etc etc. And definitely ride 20,000 leagues under the sea!! UGH I WANT TO GO BACK

[Cheetah]

For  those of you thinking of going to Tokyo, if you are fans of the Studio Ghibli movies like My Neighbor Totoro or Howl's Moving Castle, look into going to the Ghibli museum.  You have to book your tix way in advance, but it's a fun outing, especially if you have kids who are into those movies.  There's a catbus for younger kids to play on.

[Kangaroo]

6 hours ago, Berty K said:

We're *trying* to go to Tokyo this April and Disneyland is actually something I brought up to SO. Would you recommend? Any other tips, etc? TIA!

I've realised re reading everyone's replies I actually went to the Disney sea park, not Disneyland.

It's definitely very cool. The parade goes along a river into this big Central lake in the middle of the park. So the floats are all very unique and cool.

I can't really give too much advice (it was a few years ago now and I can't give you comparisons to any other Disney parks)... But here it goes:

-Getting there is super easy. There is a train station (Stations in Japan each have a unique song that plays, Disney was It's a Small World Afterall and it's adorable) and dedicated monorail from the station to the parks.

-I pre purchased my ticket online and printed it out before I left. Worked perfectly on the day.

-Food and drink had a very good variety around the park. Bottled water was difficult to find.

-All the safety instructions are in Japanese and staff speak Japanese. Obviously try and follow the crowd for what is and isn't acceptable and use your instinct for safety. Everyone is super polite so as long as you smile and are polite in return you should have no issues.