So I posted a while back but wanted to confirm a final thing on arrival to London given our family size and best way to get to hotel., now that I think I have my bearings straight.
We are a family of 6 (2 adults/4 kids) arriving at Heathrow early Friday - 6am arrival time, so I assume we'll be "out" of the airport by 7:30 or so. Plan right now is to take Elizabeth Line (we have EuRail pass for the trip) to Whitechapel. Our hotel (Hyatt Place London City East) is about .4 miles south of Whitechapel station (just north of the Aldgate East tube station). We'll have likely 3 large suitcases and 6 backpacks. While I would prefer to take a private van just to drop us at the hotel (around $130), I am thinking traffic may be a nightmare that time of morning coming into London, and likely will be a 1.5-2 hour trip from what I have read.
So logistically, am I correct the most efficient (and certainly the most cost efficient) way to get there is just to take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow - and then either take the tube from Whitechapel back one stop to Aldgate East, or grab a taxi/uber at Whitechapel for the .4 mile trip down the road to the hotel? 4 kids and that much luggage on the train (and really the Tube given the time of day) is my real concern, which again would prompt me to prefer the private van if not for what i assume will be a very long drive (I think the train is about 45-50 minutes).
Thanks much in advance.
Plan will then be to go Tower of London first thing that Friday morning, then Tower Bridge, Borough Market, Tate Modern, and a walking tour of the City of London that afternoon. We have British Museum tickets that night if we can make it that long! And then plan for the Trouping the Colour the following Saturday with tours of Westminster Abbey, Parliament and National Gallery that day (London Eye that evening).