China June 28 - July 10, 2009

[2GirlsMama]

This is my first time posting. We just booked the China trip beginning June 28, 2009. This will be our third trip to China, but our first ABD trip. I am hoping to connect with other travelers.

[BriarRose59]

Hi 2GirlsMama, my DD18 and I will be on the trip just prior to yours. Our trip is from June 14-26. We are very excited! If you search the threads you will find a couple of trip reports from families that went last summer.

[2GirlsMama]

Hi Briar Rose!
I might have some good news for you, we tried to book the June 14 trip, and our travel agent said there was no availability for our family of four, so your trip must be either full, or mostly full. Our girls are excited about the pandas and the Mulan type of stick fighting.

We have been to China twice, but never to Guilin, Chengdu or Shanghai. My DH said he is so excited about the trip and constantly reading about China that he fears "postpardum depression" after our trip. It is a frequent topic of discussion at our house!

Thank you for your response. After all the discussion of cancellations, I am glad it sounds like your trip is a GO!! :cool1:

[BriarRose59]

We are looking forward to the pandas too. This will be our first trip to China. I had promised my DD a trip to TDL and HKDL for her graduation. I was not comfortable touring China on our own, so when we found the tour ABD offered it seemed perfect for us. I looked into other tour companies, but the ABD itinerary fit us the best, plus the dates worked out great. She graduates on June 5 and we have to be back for a wedding on June 27. We are going to TDL for 5 days prior to our China tour.

Right now I am studying DLP because we are going there for 1 DAY next month with my DD's French class. I don't know how we are going to do all the things I want to do there in 1 day!

I have purchased tour guides for China and TDL so I will be studying those as soon as our trip to Paris is over. I'll probably take them and begin marking pages on the way back from the March trip.

I guess since you have been before, you know what immunizations to get. I talked with my doctor a couple of weeks ago and he said an updated tetanus and Hep B series should be all I need. My DD is up-to-date on both of those.

I am taking a computer with me on the trip and hope to do reports while we are in Japan and China. I'll let you know if I'm able to do it.

[2GirlsMama]

We haven't been in China since July of 2002, but one thing I remember is how completely tired I was, and how completely HARD the beds were. I read some of the trip reviews, but didn't see any mention of the really hard beds. Can someone who has recently been to China comment?

It could be that we weren't staying in first class hotels, but I remember almost crying when we went to bed because I was so uncomfortable. I really enjoy a comfortable bed.:cloud9:

[2GirlsMama]

I hope you have a fantastic time in Paris! I got to go on a trip with my high school class (MANY years ago) and it was fantastic.

I hope you and your daughter share a great trip! I can't wait to read anything you post from China. We got to go to Japan a few years ago, but we only sat on the run way! ENJOY!

[WeLoveABD]

We went to China last summer--great time to be there, with the last minute prep for the Olympics etc. Our guides (Dusty and Daisy) were absolutely great and everyday went out of their way to accommodate everyone. (Our trip was changed due to the earthquakes--more time in Bejing). Every hotel was very western in accommodations--beds soft, bathrooms etc. When we would venture out, the guides would alert us to western bathrooms to use (instead of the norm--essentially holes in the floor), and would advise re food and water. This is why we keep coming back--everything has been reviewed, tested--traveling with the Disney touch is very comfortable, and while it seems pricey is actually a pretty good deal when you look at what it provided (top hotels, most meal, two guides, lots of extras and surprises--and local guides for all of the major sites, with head of line privileges etc). Have a great time!!!

[2GirlsMama]

Thanks, We love ABD!
I have been dreading those really hard beds since we booked the trip! We keep looking at panda videos on "Youtube". I am so excited about being so close to them. The first trip to China the panda exibit at the Zoo was closed. The second trip I only got to see the panda's hind end! (And I was still excited about that!) Funny when you return home from China people aren't that interested in seeing photos of a panda's rear end....:rotfl:

[BriarRose59]

My DD and I watched a Samantha Brown special last Sunday on China. There were 4 episodes I think and one was on Chengdu. Samantha went to visit the pandas and for an extra price you get to go behind the scenes and actually hold one of the bears! I hope we have this option.

[2GirlsMama]

Briar Rose,
We decided to learn a little Chinese before our trip. I just got a book called Chinese in 10 Minutes A Day. It is a workbook and a CD. It is fun because it has stickers to label things and sheets for us to complete. Our oldest daughter is interested, but our younger daughter could care less! I thought you and your daughter might want to check it out.

I am really getting excited about the trip!

[BriarRose59]

That sounds like a great idea! I wish we had the time, but we wouldn't even be able to start until about a week before the trip. My DD is a senior in high school and very involved. Between exams, competitions, and trips (we leave for Paris, London and Edinburgh tomorrow with her French class), we just won't be able to fit it in. I am learning a few key phrases and we already have a card with the sentence "I am allergic to fish." printed in several languages.

I can't believe how quickly the time is going by! It will be June before I know it!

[2GirlsMama]

I hope you enjoy your trip to Europe! But even more, I hope you enjoy spending time with your daughter and her friends. This is a special time in her life. It says a lot that she wants to share it with you! Have a fantastic time!

[BriarRose59]

We are back and what a wonderful trip! We brought sunshine everywhere we went! The day at DLP was fabulous. We knew we were limited on what we could do so we hit the big rides. I can't wait to go back again. We are discussing May of 2010 because both of my girls will be in college and they will be out my mid-May.

I had planned on reading up on China on my way back from the trip, but I was just too tired! Our final trip payment has been made and I decided to purchase trip insurance since this is such a huge expense. I chose a different insurance company, one that I had used before. I was pleased with the way they handled my claim so decided to go back with them.

I am going to go get our visas in person the first part of April. How are you handling getting yours?

[2GirlsMama]

I am so glad you had a great trip! Spending quality time with your daughter is the best way to spend vacation.

We are going to use the service recommended by ABD for our visas. We are paid in full, too! I hope that means our trips are a go. I haven't heard anyone saying their vacation was cancelled.

Three months....HOORAY!!

[LisaTex]

Hey you guys - so I'm confused. I thought someone on the dis was with us on the July 12-24 china trip?????

great info on the visa service - if you did go to get them in houston - can one person pick up everyones?? the service sounds like a really good idea.

any plans for our "time on our own"?

so glad you enjoyed DLP.

[BriarRose59]

Hi Lisa, I don't remember anyone else being on the July trip. Everyone who posts seems to be on a different date.

I looked at a service here in Dallas that will get the Visas for us, but it was going to cost $90 per Visa in addition to the regular Visa fees. Since my DD21 lives in College Station, I decided to go down to her place and spend the night. I will get up early and be at the Chinese Consulate when they open which I believe is 9am. If we can get our applications in early in the day, I can pay a small expedite fee and they will be ready in the early afternoon of the same day. That's the plan anyway. Hopefully everything will work out. Yes, I can pick them up for both me and my daughter. The paperwork just has to be in order.

I haven't planned our "on our own" time yet. I seem to have too many trips scheduled between now and then! I am headed out to Corpus Christi with the high school band and then Reno with my bowling team, both trips are in April. We would definitely like to visit the barbecue place in Beijing owned by the Texan. The restaurant was featured during the Olympics. I need to try to find out the exact location. I think our guides can probably direct us to some interesting stuff also. I have a book on China. I need to sit down and read it!

We are still planning on visiting TDL. We are booked at the Mira Costa. I have been working a little on TDL since we want to see everything and make sure we eat at all of the restaurants we want to try. I think I can call 60 days out to make the ressies. I haven't been able to get back to trip planning since our return from Europe last week. It has taken me a week to catch up on household stuff!

[LisaTex]

I think I will give the visa task to my mother!
Once I decided to finally do the trip, i bought the China Eyewitness travel guide - it's more on the sites and history and not so much on hotels and restaurants.
Am about to call DVC - want to use points for TDL - availability will be the decision maker on whether we add it on or not. spent most of the day yesterday looking at flights - actually not as bad as i thought.
my plan at this point is getting to Beijing a day before, staying in Hongkong that last day - then to Tokyo for 3 days and then home.
Sounds like you have a ton of fun planned this month!

[WeLoveABD]

We went to China last June with ABD--and it was great! (Dusty and Daisy were the guides). Because of the earthquake, and because we also flew in early, we had a nice long stay in Bejing--pre-Olympics, so the place was abuzz! We found the air quality to be so-so (not as bad as we feared--we even brought masks), but reminded me of LA on a bad day. We used the subways a couple of times--English has been added, so it was pretty easy to get around--but the taxi cabs are very inexpensive. Just have your guides or hotel write where you want to go on a hotel card so there won't be any misunderstandings. If you are at the same hotel in Bejing (Penninsula), you are a short walk to the night market, to a subway station and to a very large and nice indoor shopping mall (very swank--and you walk down a large outdoor shopping mall to get there). Not a lot of peddlers on the street (at least, pre-Olympics)--but the shop-keepers are very persisitent; as are people wanting to take your photo if you have blonde hair--but they are nice about it. As for water--Disney gives you lots of bottled water, and we got extra from them to use to brush our teeth etc. Bottled water served in restaurants, too--and the guides will let you know of any food items to watch out for (there was, for example, a chicken scare while we were there, so we avoided it). I like traveling with Disney as it provides a comfort zone--still plenty of adventure, but reliable guides too! Have a great time! (Oh--and the guides do their best to locate western toilets--never pass one up!)

[2GirlsMama]

Thanks We Love ABD! I think I remember the mall you are describing from our last trip. There was a musical instrument store and our guide was trying to get DH to buy a GONG!:eek: Just what we need at our house, two kids, two dogs and a GONG!

I remember the same thing about the blonde hair. I am really looking forward to going with ABD and having details handled for me so I can just enjoy my family and the other people on the trip.

The other vivid detail I remember is how many people there were and how they get much closer into personal space than Americans tend to stand. If you remember anything else about the trip, I sure would love to hear about it. I really appreciate you taking the time to share. I love to think about our trip.

[BriarRose59]

I have been considering riding the Metro while we are in Beijing. It seems like it is an easy and quick way to get from one place to another. There are a couple of sights we would like to go see on our free time. Have any of those that have been to Beijing ridden the subway?

[2GirlsMama]

We didn't try the subway either trip. We rode in a cab and got completely lost because we couldn't converse with the cab driver. We ended up getting out and walking around before we found our destination...McDonalds! When we left McDonalds we found someone to tell the cab driver that we wanted to back to our hotel. Next time we will take the advice of getting someone at the hotel to write a card for us! Being completely lost was exciting and a little scary at the same time.

[BriarRose59]

I would definitely not want to get lost in a strange city where I don't speak the language! I will make cards for each of the hotels before we leave just to make sure we have them.

Also, I found out today from a past ABD China veteran, that it is a good idea to register your trip with the State Department at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/. That way you can be contacted if there is anything out of the ordinary going on. The U.S. embassies in the cities we visit are aware that we are there and on what days so if we need them, they already have our info. This goes for whatever foreign country you visit, not just China.

[pandafan]

All the hotels had stacks of cards on the front desk with the hotel name in Chinese and English. Each member of my family had one on them in case they ever were separated. Regarding the visas, we went with the visa service and were happy that we did. We had to twice provide additional information before the visa was granted. The Chinese wanted a detailed listing of all the hotels that we were staying in as well as a statement that my children were there for tourism and not as students. Maybe this was pre-olympics jitters but just be prepared for second or third trips.

[Siliobear]

I just replied to 2GirlsMama on another thread, but we'll be on the same tour. Looking forward to meeting others in our tour group. BTW, we tried to book the June 14 trip but was told it was sold out (or at least to our group, as we're a party of five).

[2GirlsMama]

Hi Silobear and family!
We are thrilled to "meet" someone else on our trip. We (DH & I) have two daughters who love adventures. They are finishing up fourth and second grades. We have been to China twice, but this will be our first ABD trip. Do you have kids?

How exciting to extend in Hong Kong. We added a day at the beginning in Beijing.

I am so glad you joined the boards, and are going to China with us!

Leah

[Siliobear]

I'm a newbie to these boards and still learning the lingo. I'll be traveling with my husband, two sons (21 and 15) and my mother. We're of Chinese heritage but only my husband and mom have been to China before (actually, she was originally born there but immigrated to the USA 60 years ago). We all went to Hong Kong 2 years ago. This will be our first ABD trip, so we're double excited.

I still need to submit our visa apps. Can you think of any other loose ends we need to finalize?

[2GirlsMama]

The lingo is easy to learn. The D stands for either "Dear" or "Disney" depending on who you ask. I always thought it meant dear. The second letter is the relationship. So, DH = Dear Husband, DD = Dear Daughter, DS = Dear Son.

We have made two trips to China, once in 2000 and again in 2002. There was one compelling reason for both trips: our daughters were born in China. So both trips were centered around bringing a new baby into our family. I am really looking forward to this trip because I will be much more relaxed and able to really enjoy vacation. The other trips were enjoyable, but learning to be a mom in a country far away from your home is a stressful thing. We made life-long friends on both trips. In fact, one family we met on a China trip became some of our best friends and we go on vacation with them every year.

We filed for our visas a while ago and still do not have them back from the visa company. We used the company recommended by ABD. We keep checking the website. The paperwork is back from the consolate, but still in their quality control section.