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mrandmrs12
LIF Adult
Member since 1/07 1687 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
We've wanted to go to both of these places for a while - we're thinking we'll do one of them this summer. DC are ages 10 and 7.
Has anyone been to either of these places?
Coconut Bay in St. Lucia would be easy. I just get nervous taking kids out of the country-I have a vivid imagination about terrible things that could happen. (I know things can happen anywhere, but it makes me more nervous to not be in my own country...like if DC has an allergic reaction or something).
Disneyland seems like it would be wonderful!! But we're not sure where else to go while we're out there - L.A.? San Diego? Grand Canyon (this is what DH wants to do)? Not sure where all of these things are in relation to disneyland, so not sure what's really doable.
TIA for any advice!
Message edited 4/6/2018 12:48:57 AM.
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Posted 4/5/18 11:35 PM  |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7272 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
I haven't been to Coconut Bay, but I've been to St. Lucia and it's definitely my least favorite island. I don't know if it was actually dangerous, but it felt completely unsafe to me. I felt safer in Mexico. People love it, but there was just something off about it and I am not a nervous traveler at all.
I would do the Grand Canyon!!!
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| Posted 4/6/18 12:23 AM |
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by LuckyStar
I haven't been to Coconut Bay, but I've been to St. Lucia and it's definitely my least favorite island. I don't know if it was actually dangerous, but it felt completely unsafe to me. I felt safer in Mexico. People love it, but there was just something off about it and I am not a nervous traveler at all.
I would do the Grand Canyon!!!
When were in you St Lucia? It's actually one of the safer islands (or at least was, it's been few years). One of the few islands that you can actually leave the resort not on a guided tour - though with kids I probably wouldn't just because it's more work lol. It's not like Jamaica or DR where the resorts won't let you leave.
I love St Lucia - so many cool things to see and do, a lot of historic stuff if you're into that, rainforests, sulfur springs, waterfalls, way more than just a beach. I don't think I pick St Lucia for just a beach trip though. Though Coconut Bay looks awesome, and warm weather and a nice resort is always a good time!
I don't like multiple stop trips so Disney to the Grand Canyon wouldn't be my thing, but I'm sure many people do it! And both are obviously going to to be a good stop.
Message edited 4/6/2018 9:56:04 AM.
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| Posted 4/6/18 9:52 AM |
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Loveme
LIF Adult
Member since 6/11 3170 total posts
Name:
Me
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
We did San Diego and Disneyland in one trip. There’s tons to do in SD, gasslamp district, the zoo, La Jolla, Old Town San Diego. We then drove to Anaheim and went to Disney. It was a short drive, I don’t remember exactly how long but it was doable because we had our 2 year old with us.
LA is about an hour away from SD so you can technically go there also for the day.
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| Posted 4/6/18 10:17 AM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7272 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
We stayed at Sandals which was a nightmare in its own right. They let you leave the resort but probably shouldn’t. The locals are pushy, the tour guides drive like maniacs, everywhere we went offsite was filthy. I would never leave the resort with children, just the driving alone would terrify me. Maybe it was just our particular experience, but we didn’t enjoy it at all.
OP, tbh, if you’re concerned about potential medical issues with your children (and I don’t blame you, I worry about things like that, too) I would steer clear off any third world countries and stay in the US or any other developed country.
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| Posted 4/6/18 10:23 AM |
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CookiePuss
Cake from Outer Space!
Member since 5/05 14007 total posts
Name:
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by Loveme
We did San Diego and Disneyland in one trip. There’s tons to do in SD, gasslamp district, the zoo, La Jolla, Old Town San Diego. We then drove to Anaheim and went to Disney. It was a short drive, I don’t remember exactly how long but it was doable because we had our 2 year old with us.
LA is about an hour away from SD so you can technically go there also for the day.
Depending on traffic, it's anywhere between 2-3 hours from Disneyland to San Diego.
There is a ton to do around San Diego. The zoo is great but there is also the safari park. There is the marina with the Midway. Belmont Park if you want to visit one of those amusement parks on the seaside. Mission Bay, Balboa Park, Corrando Beach ( the best beach I have ever been to), La Jolla has a lot to do too.
ETA...There is also things to do around LA. There is whale watching tours, all the studio tours. Etc.
I am not so sure that the Grand Canyon is close enough for a day trip but you could probably do a helicopter tour to it.
Message edited 4/6/2018 1:19:01 PM.
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| Posted 4/6/18 1:16 PM |
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pnbplus1
Family
Member since 5/09 5751 total posts
Name:
Mommy
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by LiveForMoments
Posted by LuckyStar
I haven't been to Coconut Bay, but I've been to St. Lucia and it's definitely my least favorite island. I don't know if it was actually dangerous, but it felt completely unsafe to me. I felt safer in Mexico. People love it, but there was just something off about it and I am not a nervous traveler at all.
I would do the Grand Canyon!!!
When were in you St Lucia? It's actually one of the safer islands (or at least was, it's been few years). One of the few islands that you can actually leave the resort not on a guided tour - though with kids I probably wouldn't just because it's more work lol. It's not like Jamaica or DR where the resorts won't let you leave.
I love St Lucia - so many cool things to see and do, a lot of historic stuff if you're into that, rainforests, sulfur springs, waterfalls, way more than just a beach. I don't think I pick St Lucia for just a beach trip though. Though Coconut Bay looks awesome, and warm weather and a nice resort is always a good time!
I don't like multiple stop trips so Disney to the Grand Canyon wouldn't be my thing, but I'm sure many people do it! And both are obviously going to to be a good stop.
This. We went to St. Lucia a long time ago (I can only imagine it's gotten better) and without kids but we loved it and have always said we'll go back with our kids. There is so much to see and do - I'm not a fan of all beach vacations so St. Lucia was perfect for us. We never felt unsafe.
I'm all about traveling to different countries but it's how I grew up. But everyone is different and comfortable with diff things. I love, love, love the Riviera Maya area in Mexico. Have been several times and always imagined us going repeatedly with our kids. However, I will not go there at this time. It would fit so many of our wants and needs yet I don't feel comfortable going there even though I can speak the language. But lots of people still go. Do what you are comfortable doing. If you'll worry the whole time, it's not worth it.
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| Posted 4/6/18 1:26 PM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
We went to Disneyland last Summer for the first time. We loved it! We stayed at an awesome hotel across the street with a small waterpark. We walked to Disneyland...took about 5 minutes. We could see Space Mountain and the monorail from our balcony. It was great! It was a surprise trip for my son's high school graduation. He had been asking to go for YEARS since we always go to WDW. The hotel is the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Hotel. Highly recommend it! Split bath, huge rooms, and they have bunk beds. It's new, and nice. We actually did 5 days in the parks! Both of their parks have more rides than all of the Disney World parks together in FL. We loved it so much, we are going again this June for 7 nights. They are opening the "Pixar Pier" soon, which used to be "Paradise Pier", so it will be cute to see all the Pixar attractions. Disneyland Daily on Facebook is a great resource!! I know quite a bit about the park now after my extensive research on her site, and because we've been there. So if you have any questions, let me know!
We are going to try to hit Laguna (Crescent Bay Beach) or Santa Monica for a night, and maybe Hollywood for the day. I'm not into driving a bunch of places to be honest, and I hear the traffic around there is brutal. We would love to do Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc. but I feel like that needs to be a separate trip than Disneyland because that is quite a drive.
Message edited 4/6/2018 3:50:16 PM.
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| Posted 4/6/18 3:33 PM |
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kgs11
LIF Adult
Member since 2/07 1424 total posts
Name:
Kim
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
We did Disneyland for a few days then drove to Seqouia Natl park for a few days. It was a fantastic vacation. We have done WDW 5 times previously and prefer DL.
Edit to say: we did the Grand Canyon as a day trip when we were in Sedona a few years ago and were underwhelmed. Seqouia blew us away
Message edited 4/8/2018 4:47:45 PM.
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| Posted 4/8/18 4:45 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
I went to COconut Bay. We got a crazy cheap deal and that’s the only reason we went. Unless they have redone the place it wasn’t that nice. And not amazing for kids. They had a few water slide but not much else. Again it might have changed.
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| Posted 4/8/18 6:48 PM |
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by alli3131
I went to COconut Bay. We got a crazy cheap deal and that’s the only reason we went. Unless they have redone the place it wasn’t that nice. And not amazing for kids. They had a few water slide but not much else. Again it might have changed.
When was this? I am interested in this place.
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| Posted 4/9/18 11:08 PM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
I just looked up Coconut Bay on Tripadvisor and it gets great reviews! It actually looks really nice!
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| Posted 4/10/18 8:37 AM |
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lazybug
LIF Adult
Member since 3/12 1013 total posts
Name:
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trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
I went to Coconut Bay with my family two years ago. My kids were 5 and 7. They still talk about it! They loved it. Their kids club had a sprinkler club and they loved the water slides and lazy river. The beach wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be, but still beautiful. The seaweed was bad at the time, but it affected the whole Caribbean. I would highly recommend it.
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| Posted 4/10/18 9:36 PM |
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by lazybug
I went to Coconut Bay with my family two years ago. My kids were 5 and 7. They still talk about it! They loved it. Their kids club had a sprinkler club and they loved the water slides and lazy river. The beach wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be, but still beautiful. The seaweed was bad at the time, but it affected the whole Caribbean. I would highly recommend it.
Thanks. How were the rooms?
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| Posted 4/11/18 1:41 AM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
Posted by Kerie-is-so-very
Posted by alli3131
I went to COconut Bay. We got a crazy cheap deal and that’s the only reason we went. Unless they have redone the place it wasn’t that nice. And not amazing for kids. They had a few water slide but not much else. Again it might have changed.
When was this? I am interested in this place.
It was a while ago. I just looked at their website and looks like the rooms got a paint job and the kids stuff they added a lazy river since I was there but the slides are the same.
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| Posted 4/12/18 8:25 AM |
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nycgirl
Angels!
Member since 3/09 7721 total posts
Name:
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
It’s two very different types of trips.
We’ve done lots of Carribean. Never coconut bay. I find them relaxing (even with 3 kids). We’ve done Aruba, Bahamas, Grand Cayman and lots of Florida. It’s swimming and sun. I like Grand Cayman the best but it is $$$, so we often go to Florida.
Disneyland was great... but we only did it as a side trip for California and San Diego (which was great and we did a lot). It’s FAR to Grand Canyon (it would be a good split trip meaning spend a few days at each place and road trip in between). I think you need to book GC very early (especially to get down into the canyon)... but it is spectacular to see. I thought Bryce Canyon was also amazing and may be more doable with kids. It was less popular and easy to get horseback riding through trails, etc. Mt Zion is also close by (which was pretty, but I liked Bryce best).
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| Posted 4/12/18 10:21 AM |
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lazybug
LIF Adult
Member since 3/12 1013 total posts
Name:
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Re: trip advice - considering disneyland or coconut bay, st lucia
They were nice. We had a balcony and ocean view. I believe all rooms were ocean view but I can't remember.
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| Posted 4/15/18 10:52 PM |
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