Adventures By Disney New York Dreams ~ Part Two ~ Ellis Island Review


We arrived a day prior to our Adventures By Disney New York Dreams trip to specifically visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Neither of these is done during the Adventure. They need to address this! A guide and I discussed this as many want that experience during  the Adventure. I know just how they could fix this and will share later.

Goal for the day…get to Battery Park and visit both attractions, then make it back in time to see our very first Broadway show.

I dithered a lot on how to get to the ferry area, should I take a hop on hop off tour bus thing? Take a cab or brave the subway? We braved the subway, armed with a little map handily supplied by the Concierge at The Manhattan Club, and after only momentary panic figured it all out and made it safely and quickly to the final stop, Battery Park.

I cannot stress this enough. Pre purchase your ferry ticket! Purchase at the official site: http://www.statuecruises.com/ where you can choose your time and if you want pedestal and/or crown access. Find your way to the line for those who pre purchased tickets (there are plenty of workers around to direct you), and be prepared for security checks.  The Ferry goes to the Statue of Liberty first, and then Ellis Island. Since I had relatives come through Ellis Island, I was more interested in visiting there and wanted to be sure I had plenty of time, so went there first. We simply skipped getting off on the Ferry until it reached Ellis Island.
Take your time to tour this wonderful, historical place. Much of the island is still under initial renovation and also sustained damage during Hurricane Sandy, so exhibits have items missing and construction is underway. This did not detract from the experience. Take advantage of the audio tour as you make your way, and hear experiences by actual immigrants who passed through the rooms and halls. There is much to explore, and even giving ourselves a good bit of time, we still missed a great deal.
There is a room for a bit of genealogy research, and if you have a family member listed on the Wall of Honor, which I do, you may find where your names are located on the Walls.  There is a fairly decent outside snack bar and the views in the eating area cannot be beat. You’ll also find a well done gift shop.

I found this a meaningful time of reflection and patriotism and think every American should make the effort to visit Ellis Island.

If you get back on the New York Ferry, you will go back to Battery Park, so since we skipped the Statue of Liberty and wanted to visit it second, we were directed to take the Ferry that originates in New Jersey. Since that Ferry visits Ellis Island first, and the Statue of Liberty second, this was the best way for us to go to the Statue of Liberty from Ellis Island. This worked great, and off we went for our second big attraction of the day.