TR Oct/Nov 2012- Cowboys, casinos and pixie dust OH MY!

[frangipanisam]

I thought that I'd put up the current itinerary that we've (I've lol) put together for our trip, with the hotels that have been suggested to us and if anyone has any suggestions to make (ie splitting days up more, a different hotel to look at ect) I'd love to know

Background
We have DSam 1 (ME!) , DSam 2 , DSam 3 and DBec So yep three of us share the same first name, what are the chances in a class of 30?

This trip is a big end of uni/tafe/high school trip for us We all completed our HSC's and met at Tafe doing our Diploma in Children's Services. After that we decided to upgrade our qualifications to Teachers and went off to Uni We're all doing a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) but I'm at ACU with other friends and the other 3 are at UWS

So the point of all that is that after 18 1/2 years straight of full time, formal study and then going back into primary schools to teach for the rest of our careers WE NEED A BIG TRIP!!! Esp. me because my course is longer, I crammed 18 months of Uni work into last year JUST to go to DL at Halloween/Xmas, who wouldn't

[frangipanisam]

Current Itinerary
Thur 18th of Oct: Fly out of SYD to LAX onto Dallas
Fri 19th Oct: Meeting DSam 2's penpal Macee, State Fair of Texas, out country dancing with Macee
Sat 20th Oct: Shopping (Grapevine outlets plus ??) I get to buy beautiful leather cowboy boots
Sun 21st Oct: Breakfast, pack up, fly to Las Vegas in the morning, explore The Strip, see a show

Mon 22nd Oct: Vegas?
Tue 23rd Oct: Outlet shopping
Wed 24th Oct: Vegas?
Thur 25th Oct: Vegas? Fly to San Francisco in the arvo

Fri 26th Oct: Have a picnic at the park opposite the Painted Lady house (to relive Full House memories) and a Starlines tours with pick up to the Winchester House in San Jose
Sat 27th Oct: Fisherman's wharf, Alcatraz tour, possibly Golden Gate tour?
Sun 28th Oct: Chinatown, Union Square basically a shopping day

Mon 29th Oct: Fly to LA, straight to Anaheim bit of local shopping and then fingers crossed that Mickey's Trick or Treat party is on at DL this night
Tues 30th Oct: DL day #1 using Magic Morning, see DL done up for Halloween and switching to DCA when MTTP starts to catch World of Colour

Wed 31st Oct: Switch to Hollywood hotel, do a half day at Universal Studios, find something to do at night?
Thur 1st Nov: Full day around Hollywood using GO LA pass (Warner bros VIP tour, homes tour, Hollywood museum, Madame Tussades, walk of fame, Chinese theatre)
Fri 2nd Nov: Full day at Universal Studios having dinner at Hard Rock at City Walk
Sat 3rd Nov: Full day of shopping at the Beverly Center, also hitting Rodeo Dr and a shop called It's a Wrap
Sun 4th Nov: Daylight savings is due to end, switch back to Anaheim

Mon 5th Nov: Sea World tour with pick up for DSam 1 & DBac (DSam 2 & 3 are going to NYC for 5 days, 5th to 9th of Nov)
Tue 6th Nov: Relax day after commute to San Diego, bit of shopping, hotel pool ect
Wed 7th Nov: DL/DCA #2 full day
Thur 8th Nov: Knott's Berry Farm
Fri 9th Nov: LA Shopping extravaganza tour with hotel pick up (DSam 2 & 3 fly back to LA)

Sat 10th Nov: DCA #3 starting in DL to Mickey's Toontown madness, then off to DCA includes doing Princess Lunch in DCA and then back into DL to watch fireworks and fantasmic
Sun 11th Nov: DSam 1 & DBec going to Surf's up with Mickey breakfast, then pack up day and last minute shopping
Mon 12th Nov: DL/DCA #4 to see DL done up for Christmas, hopefully with enough time to catch the xmas parade if its started. Then back to the hotel room to get changed and refreshed for a late night flight from LA to Syd

Tue 13th Nov: Lose this day flying
Wed 14th Nov: Arrive Syd Am, go home and sleep
Thur 15th Nov: Just in time to see midnight screening of Breaking Dawn Part 2 with bestie whose not coming on trip the whole point of needing to come home late on the 12th Nov. Just so I get to see DL at Xmas and still see the last Twilight movie BEFORE the American's in saying that I was a fan of the books almost a year BEFORE the first movie came out, so I'm not a crazy teenage fan

[Caroline NZ]

Wow - you have a great trip planned. How fantastic that you can all go together

[mickeyd78]

Looks like a fantastic trip!

[alicia1506]

that looks like a fabulous trip. truly you've opted to pack in a lot during your time there.

we did something similar (packing in a lot) and it can be great, but also quite full on. my only recommendation... make sure you leave yourself a day or two to just sit in a hotel and veg out or something similar.

we organised our whole trip (well, i did) with no TA or other assistance and we tried to get as much bang for our buck as possible. and we did and it was amazing and the memories will always be with us, but those little time out days can sometimes be awesome for just recharging your batteries and making sure that you can all still stand each other's company

[aussietravellers]

Looks like an fabulous trip and how fun going with your friends.

I have to say I had a moment. When I was reading DSam 1 DSam 2 then DSam 3 (I didn't read any further and i was wracking my brain trying to work out what the DSam meant. I kept going back and rereading, thinking ok, DS is dear son/darling son, what on earth is the am for ). If I had just continued to read I would have worked out sooner that the am actually stood for Sam. Oh I'm getting old

Anyway you will have such an amazing time on your trip. Thanks for sharing

[frangipanisam]

Thanks everyone I've been working this out since Oct 2010 when my cousins came back from seeing DL at Halloween time and gave me the idea, so it's been changed alot, went from 16 days in California to 28 across three states four states for the 2 doing NYC (I'd prefer more Disney and do NYC another time for 2 weeks instead of 5 days)

We're still looking at doing flights with a TA and then booking everything else online ourselves, with deals like HOJO's retro rates why not? I'd pay $30 for an entertainment card to get $400 off accommodation!

Originally Posted by alicia1506

we did something similar (packing in a lot) and it can be great, but also quite full on. my only recommendation... make sure you leave yourself a day or two to just sit in a hotel and veg out or something similar.

I'm trying to make sure we do that aswell as trying not to do theme parks two days in a row so we don't get too exhasted. I'm not fussed on Vegas other then outlet shopping and seeing a show so hopefully most of that part will be more relaxed, to just veg out at the pool.

What do people think of Knott's Berry Farm? Main reason I put it in is because Bec is a BIG rollercoaster fan, but I'm not lol maybe this would be a shorter day then if its mainly coasters?

Originally Posted by aussietravellers

I have to say I had a moment. When I was reading DSam 1 DSam 2 then DSam 3 (I didn't read any further and i was wracking my brain trying to work out what the DSam meant. I kept going back and rereading, thinking ok, DS is dear son/darling son, what on earth is the am for ). If I had just continued to read I would have worked out sooner that the am actually stood for Sam. Oh I'm getting old

Sorry! I figured it would make it easier to explain it there because of the split trip they can all be darling Sam but I'll be Disney Sam It's always funny to be out together at a party and introduce ourselves and poor Bec always gets has people say 'look I'll just call you Sam too ok?' lol

[Minniemum]

Looks like you girls are going to have a blast! Oh to be young and carefree again.

[frangipanisam]

Originally Posted by Minniemum

Looks like you girls are going to have a blast! Oh to be young and carefree again.

I hope so! I don't reckon I'll be disappointed with Disney I already want to start organising a WDW trip too But I'll do that after they have finished the Fantasyland upgrade

I've decided to do my PRT here, in the inital thread I started because I only ever go onto the Australian board anyway lol

Updated Itinerary
Thursday 18th of Oct: Fly out of SYD to LAX at 2.40pm with VA, then onto Dallas
Friday 19th Oct: Meeting Sam #2's penpal Macy, State Fair of Texas and country dancing with Macy
Saturday 20th Oct: Shopping (Grapevine outlets and downtown Dallas) where I get to buy beautiful leather cowboy boots
Sunday 21st Oct: Breakfast, pack up, fly to Las Vegas at midday, explore The Strip and see a show

Monday 22nd Oct: Vegas, relax day with nothing planned
Tuesday 23rd Oct: Outlet shopping, attempt to do both outlets lol
Wednesday 24th Oct: Vegas, day trip to the Grand Canyon (plane)
Thursday 25th Oct: Vegas, last minute shopping and fly to San Francisco in the afternoon

Friday 26th Oct: Ultimate city tour and Winchester House tour with Starlines
Saturday 27th Oct: Fisherman's wharf, Alcatraz tour and picnic opposite the Painted Ladies
Sunday 28th Oct: Shopping: Chinatown, Union Square and Golden Gate Bridge

Monday 29th Oct: Fly to LA, straight to Anaheim to check into Paradise Pier, relax a bit and then into DL for Mickey's Trick or Treat party, which worked perfectly with my planning
Tuesday 30th Oct: DL day #1 using Magic Morning from staying at a Disney hotel, see DL done up for Halloween in all its glory during the day and switching to DCA to watch World of Colour

Wednesday 31st Oct: Off to Hollywood (walk of fame, Chinese theater) need find something to do at night for Halloween
Thursday 1st Nov: Full day around Hollywood using GO LA pass (Warner bros VIP tour, homes tour, Hollywood museum, Madame Tussades)
Friday 2nd Nov: Full day at Universal Studios, having dinner at Hard Rock at City Walk
Saturday 3rd Nov: Full day of shopping at the Beverly Center, also hitting Rodeo Dr and a shop called It's a Wrap
Sunday 4th Nov: Daylight savings is due to end, back to Anaheim to stay at Howard Johnsons, bit of shopping close to the hotel, possibly The Block at Orange

Monday 5th Nov: Sea World tour with pick up for Sam #1 & Bec (Sam 2 & 3 are going to NYC for 5 days, 5th to 9th of Nov)
Tuesday 6th Nov: Relax day after commute to San Diego, bit of shopping, hotel pool ect
Wednesday 7th Nov: DL/DCA #2 full day using Magic Morning on Hopper pass
Thursday 8th Nov: Knott's Berry Farm??? Not sure if we should do Knotts...
Friday 9th Nov: LA Shopping extravaganza tour with hotel pick up (Sam 2 & 3 fly back to LA) again not sure about this.....

Saturday 10th Nov: DCA #3 starting in DL to Mickey's Toontown madness, then off to DCA includes doing Princess Lunch in DCA and then back into DL to watch fireworks and fantasmic
Sunday 11th Nov: Sam 1 & Bec going to Surf's up with Mickey breakfast, then pack up day and last minute shopping in Downtown Disney & Garden walk
Monday 12th Nov: DL/DCA #4 to see DL done up for Christmas, hopefully with enough time to catch the Xmas parade if its started. Then back to the hotel room to get changed and refreshed for a 10.20pm flight from LA to Syd

Tuesday 13th Nov: Technically loose this day flying
Wednesday 14th Nov: Arrive Syd Am, go home and sleep all day/night
Thursday 15th Nov: Just in time to see midnight screening of Breaking Dawn Part 2 with bestie whose not coming on trip, the whole point of needing to come home late on the 12th Nov. Just so I get to see DL at Xmas and still see the last Twilight movie BEFORE the American's in saying that I was a fan of the books almost a year BEFORE the first movie came out, so I'm not a crazy teenage fan just need to see it as soon as humanly possible


Hotels we've booked into
Dallas- Mariott Quorum, 3 nights
Las Vegas- Aria, 4 nights
San Francisco- Hotel Mark Twain, 4 nights
Anaheim #1- Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, 2 nights
Hollywood- Beverly Garland Holiday Inn, 4 nights
Anaheim #2- Howard Johnson’s, 9 nights
(NYC Sam 2 & 3- Holiday Inn Midtown, 5 nights)

I would love peoples opinions of Knott's Berry Farm and of Citadel Outlets, are they worth it or not???

I'm thinking of scrapping Knott's and replacing with a fifth Disney day but Bec who is with me at that time is a coaster freak so I'm not sure HELP! lol

Down to double digits!!! 95 sleeps

[alicia1506]

your itinerary sounds amazing.

on first read through, i thought we were going to be at disneyland at the same time and on the same flight home, and i thought how cool is that??!?! then i realised you're coming back in nov. we're coming back in december.

silly leesha.

it sounds like you have a lot of your plans already sorted. we're at that horrible stage where we've prepaid for a lot of it and it's really just the spending/food money to save, plus money for tours/tips/extras and one lot of accom that we still have to pay for so it's despair time. our savings account is at $0 as we've just shelled out all our money, and we now have to save up even more!!!! lol.

wishing you all the best with the plans sounds like an awesome trip and sounds like a pretty full on trip !!!

[frangipanisam]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

your itinerary sounds amazing.

on first read through, i thought we were going to be at disneyland at the same time and on the same flight home, and i thought how cool is that??!?! then i realised you're coming back in nov. we're coming back in december.

silly leesha.

it sounds like you have a lot of your plans already sorted. we're at that horrible stage where we've prepaid for a lot of it and it's really just the spending/food money to save, plus money for tours/tips/extras and one lot of accom that we still have to pay for so it's despair time. our savings account is at $0 as we've just shelled out all our money, and we now have to save up even more!!!! lol.

wishing you all the best with the plans sounds like an awesome trip and sounds like a pretty full on trip !!!

Thanks

oops! That would have been cool though

Yeah most is sorted, just slight shuffling of days and choosing between a few activities to make the most of it Yep same here, all of our accomodation and transfers are booked with most of the flights, only Vegas to San Fran and San Fran to LA to book so thats easy and buying our entry tickets

Thanks Alicia I'm expecting to come back buggered! Thank goodness I'll have five days to recover before being avaliable for work

Should be buying our halloween party tickets today just waiting for Sam #3 to reply


Is Knott's worth a trip or not? Really unsaure to keep this in Bec & I have scrapped the LA shopping tour (the reviews were terrible ) and we'll do South Coast Plaza + The Block at Orange instead on seperate days to make the most of our time

[frangipanisam]

I'm looking at different travel insurance quotes at the moment and thought I'd ask on here who people usually choose and why.

I've looked into the following:
*1cover $133
*cover-more $172
*AAMI $172

All have unlimited medical which is the main thing I'm checking, suggestions on what else to compare? All have either $200 or $250 excess, not that I'm expecting to claim.

I don't understand why the TA quoted $266 for cover-more and when I did an online quote with the same $100 excess it was $192 and they price match so whats the point in charging so much more. More profit for the TA maybe

[zaccy]

Originally Posted by frangipanisam

I'm looking at different travel insurance quotes at the moment and thought I'd ask on here who people usually choose and why.

I've looked into the following:
*1cover $133
*cover-more $172
*AAMI $172

All have unlimited medical which is the main thing I'm checking, suggestions on what else to compare? All have either $200 or $250 excess, not that I'm expecting to claim.

I don't understand why the TA quoted $266 for cover-more and when I did an online quote with the same $100 excess it was $192 and they price match so whats the point in charging so much more. More profit for the TA maybe

We always use 1cover as we had a claim with them once and they were great to deal with - they always seem to be the cheapest as well

[battymum]

[QUOTE=frangipanisam;45937945

I don't understand why the TA quoted $266 for cover-more and when I did an online quote with the same $100 excess it was $192 and they price match so whats the point in charging so much more. More profit for the TA maybe [/QUOTE]

Totally, I think they make a huge commission on insurance policies!

[frangipanisam]

Found out that the Christmas season at DL will officially start on the 12th of November and means we will be seeing DL done up for Christmas on the last day of our trip : ahh my plan is working out perfectly!!!