EF College Break: New Years's/Spring Break Trips

As much as I want to go all out on a trip to Europe, I just don't know how realistic that is. I need to save money for when I graduate college and am in the real world. A New Year's or Spring Break trip may be my best option if I want to go to Europe, but want to save some money. Or this money could go towards a bigger trip when I am older. This post is to weight the options and see about how much these trips would cost.

New Year's Trips:
You can see my post on the London,Paris, Rome trip here. This trip can also be taken over New Years which is why I included it here.

Now on to other New Year's Trip options (note: most of these trips can also be taken in the summer)

London/Paris

Length: 8 days

Cities Visited: London, Paris

Countries Visited: England, France

Excursions I would go on: Versailles, New Year's at Ministry of Sound

Starting Price: $2,440

Price with excursions ect...: $2,810

Thoughts: Add $50 for food ect... This trip is short, so I would prefer to go ahead a few days early to spend more time in London, this would interfere with Christmas potentially then....I would also want to spend more time then 3 days in Paris as well. But at least I can say I went there? But is it worth rushing a trip just to say I was there? Also do I really want to go on a trip over New Year's? I will be missing New Year's at home, plus there will be people getting out of control at clubs ect.. in the group, which is bound to happen, but especially since it would be New Year's. Also there is no trip to Stonehenge on this tour.

Total Price: ~$3,160

                                     

Germany/Italy/Switzerland

Length:10 days

Cities Visited: Munich, Innsbruck, Venice, Verona, Mt. Pilatus, Lucerne Region, Rhine Falls, Heidelberg, Frankfurt

Countries Visited: Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland

Excursions I would go on: Mount Pilatus

Starting Price: $2,575

Price with excursions ect...: $2,870

Thoughts: Same thing with the partying as above. $50/day for food ect... I would get to see other countries. Not my top choices, but would still be VERY interesting to see. I would get to see more countries then the other tours.

Total Price: ~$3,320

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Amsterdam/Paris/London

Length: 11 days

Cities Visited: Amsterdam, Paris, London

Countries Visited: Netherlands, France, England

Excursions I would go on: Versailles, Stonehenge/Bath

Starting Price: $2,900

Price with excursions ect...: $3308

Thoughts: I would want more time in London, I like how I can still go to Versailles and Stonehenge/Bath. This trip is more expensive, but there are 3 cities.

Total Price: ~$3,808
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I was going to consider a longer New Year's trip, but between the price, weather and the time I would be away, I decided I would rather do a bigger trip in the summer. I would not want to spend most of my winter break on a trip to Europe and I would rather go to Europe in the summer.

I also was going to include an Ireland trip over Spring Break for St. Patrick's Day, but decided it did not line up with my Spring Break, plus it would get 'crazy' what with all the drinking people would be doing so I would prefer to go in a calmer atmosphere. I will just enjoy my spring break with my friends and family. 

Places I have been: Gettysburg

I have been to Gettysburg on multiple occasions. Here are some pictures/videos I have taken here.

Here is a collection of the videos I took for the 50th anniversary reenactment!

Places I have Been: Washington,D.C

We parked outside of D.C and took the subway into the city. We then took the subway to go to Georgetown Cupcakes as well.

The White House

I have been to Washington, D.C twice. There are many museums and places to visit in this area so I have still not been to them all. Here are some highlights of my most recent trip (that I have pictures of)

Georgetown Cupcake (from the TV show!)

After waiting around 45 minutes in line almost around the block, I decided I should get a half dozen cupcakes. I didn't wait in line for nothing right? I forget what flavors each were but they were all delicious! 

Cupcakes I got

Moving across the Country after College

Recently I have been thinking about moving across the country after I graduate from college. Is this a realistic goal? Maybe. I  graduate in about a year and half so I have time to think about what I want to do after college. Moving across the country would be an adventure! I would get to explore a new city and all of the cities and states around it that I have never been to! I have not done any research yet but some cities/areas I have been thinking about are:

-Seattle (close to Vancouver, Oregon and other states I have never been to)
-Northern/Central California (San Francisco,close to California cities I have never been to, giant Redwood trees)
-Southern California (near the beach, LA, San Diego, National Parks, lots of things to do,closer to Las Vegas, Arizona,Utah, ect...)
-Florida (Miami?, beaches)

As an Oceanography and Meteorology major I would love to be near the beach and be able to go snorkeling and see the sea life that Florida has to offer! But moving to the West Coast would give me the opportunity to explore SO many new places!

Moving across the country would be a lot of work, and of course I would most likely need to find a job before I consider moving that far away from home... but a girl can dream! I want to go on adventures while I am young. If I end up not being able to go on my dream trip to Europe when I graduate, I can go on an adventure on the West Coast somewhere. Maybe I will get a job on a cruise ship and be gone for a few months! Who knows?! I guess I will see what jobs are available where and what job I end up landing and that is where I will go!

Where I have been (USA/Canada/Bermuda)

USA
Alaska
    -Juneau
    -Ketchikan
    -Skagway
    -Anchorage
    -Denali National Park
    -Wasilla
    -Seward
Arizona
     -Phoenix
     -Tuscan
     -Sedona
     -Grand Canyon
Colorado
     -Denver
     -Vail
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
    -Orlando
    -Cocoa Beach
    -Clearwater
    -Miami
    -Florida Keys
Georgia
    -Atlanta
Maryland
Massachusetts
    -Salem
    -Boston
New Jersey
New York
    -NYC
North Carolina
    -Outer Banks
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas
    -Houston (Airport only)
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
    -Seattle (Airport only)
Washington, D.C
West Virginia

Canada
    -Ontario (Niagara Falls)
    -British Columbia (Vancouver)
    -Yukon (Carcross)

Bermuda
    -Hamilton
    -Horseshoe Bay


If you want me to talk about any of these places let me know (-:

Places I have been: Disney World

I have been to Disney World on multiple occasions. Each time there has always been something new to see. I still do not think I have seen everything there is to see. Some of my favorite places in Disney World are as follows:

Magic Kingdom:

 Magic Kingdom is my favorite park of all of the Disney Parks. I love it because of the castle, the rides, the princesses and all the other characters. I have also been to Magic Kingdom the most out of any of the parks. When I think of Disney World I think of Magic Kingdom. My first trip to Disney World was with my family and we ate breakfast with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle. It was really cool to be able to go into the castle! Space Mountain is a classic ride that I love, so if the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride where you shoot stuff with lasers. The Pirates of the Caribbean Ride is great too. I was on it before the Pirates of the Caribbean movies came out and I have been on the updated version too. I like both of them! Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Haunted Mansion, and It's a Small World are more of my favorites. On my most recent trip to Disney back in March, I got to go on the new Ariel ride. That was fun too. I just love how they theme all of the entrances so while you wait in line you have something to do besides stand there and wait. On my next trip I would LOVE to eat at the new Be Our Guest Restaurant, that seems really cool! I have seen pictures and there are different rooms themed for different scenes from Beauty and the Beast!

Hollywood Studios:

No trip to Hollywood Studios is complete without riding The Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster! Multiple rides maximize the experience! Some of my favorite shows are the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show (a show involving cars jumping over stuff, fights and all kinds of awesome stunts) and The Studio Backlot tour where you get a behind the scenes tour at how movies are filmed and get to see real props up close. I also like the Indiana Jones show. I just think it is so cool seeing how they film movies! Some things I have never done here but want to are go to the Pizza Planet Resturant, go to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid Show, and see the Beauty and the Beast Show.

Epcot:
Epcot is a fun park just because you get to experience so many countries! There are not many rides here, but it is still fun to explore! I like the Ellen Ride with the Dinosaurs, Soarin' of course, Living the Land (the nature ride), and Test Track. I can't get over how hidden some of the things were. I didn't know there were rides in some of the 'lands' until I stumbled upon them! I did not know about the Maelstrom Ride in Norway until I just happened to be looking around. I definitely recommend looking around all of the Countries to get a feel for what there is to see there. Now I just need to go to the REAL countries to compare (-;

Animal Kingdom:
I have been to Animal Kingdom the least out of all the parks. But some of my favorite things here are definitely the Kilimanjaro Safari, The "It's a Bugs Life" show inside the tree and Expedition Everest. From what I remember I also liked the Dinosaur Land. My first year going to Disney we stayed in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and had a view of giraffes and zebras out our window every morning! It was really cool!


***Can I just add a quick Fastpass story in here. So on my last trip to Disney my friends and I had all bought tickets to Magic Kingdom online. We had to wait in line and when it was my turn to redeem my ticket, everything went fine. Then it was my friends turn. Something happened to the computer so me and my other friend had to wait for the friend held up. The workers saw us waiting so they gave all three of us a COMPLIMENTARY Fastpass! This was awesome because we could now have two Fastpasses at once! This allowed us to not have to wait in almost any lines our whole day at Magic Kingdom! It really was no trouble to wait five minutes because of a computer issue, but it was very nice to get a free Fastpass out of it!

Typhoon Lagoon:
I have only been here once. But I remember I really liked snorkeling with the fish! I remember I swam really fast across because I was scared, but then did it again later slower and had fun with it!

Blizzard Beach:
I was here twice I think? All I remember is the really big water slide with the huge drop! Summit Plummet I think it is called? haha good times....

Downtown Disney:
I have been here on one trip. It was a nice place to go to shop after a long day at the parks! Lots of Disney related stores and places to eat!

*not my picture

What are your favorite places in Disney World? Did I leave anything out?

An update on my money saving

I have reworked my savings goal to be the total amount I want to have saved when I graduate college. From this money, I hopefully will be able to go on a trip to Europe as well as have some money saved to move out into the 'real world'. Right now I have saved 15% of my goal according to the App called "Saving Made Easy". This app has been very helpful. You put in how much money you want to save by a certain date and it tells you how much you would need to save each day,week, every 2 weeks and every month to meet this goal. You can then add and subtract money as you save and spend in order to keep track of your spending and reinforce your saving. It has given me motivation not to spend money so I can see the percent of my savings continue to rise. I may need to rework how much money I want to save based on my saving, but we will see how it goes!

With Christmas coming up, I hope my savings are not affected too much. I am going to try and keep track of my spending over the holidays and hopefully I will not go overboard this year.

Places I have been: Harry Potter World

Earlier this year I went to Harry Potter World in Universal Studios, Florida over spring break with some friends. Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with Harry Potter. I was freaking out the whole time.It was amazing getting to see how realistic everything is!! I was in heaven. I got to drink butterbeer, walk around Hogsmeade, go into Hogwarts, see a wand sorting and SO much more!!!! It was a dream come true!!! I hope I get to go back and see the addition they are adding to the parks. They are building a Hogwarts Express to take people between the 2 Universal parks and building Diagon Alley!!! I also went on all of the rides. My favorite was the castle ride! I cried on it because it was so amazing for Harry Potter to have a theme park and it was so emotional. Even though I felt a little sick after, it was worth it. I went on it twice. If you get motion sickness I would NOT recommend this ride.

I bought so many souvenirs in Harry Potter world alone! Including:
-3 chocolate frogs
-1 Slytherin Tank Top
-1 Hogwarts Crest Keychain
-1 Butterbeer in the souvenir mug
-1 pumpkin juice
-1 sugar quill
-1 exploding bon bon
-1 glass Hogwarts Crest Mug

It was all worth it and I can't wait to go back!



Check out a video I made where I show all the souvenirs I bought in HP world:

*Please excuse my awkwardness*

here is a compilation of all the clips I took while in the park: