Our Adventure Down Under has begun!! *Pics added*

[tgeorge]

I just read a very interesting article in USA today about the Quantas A380 flight from Dallas to Sydney (currently the world's longest non stop flight). They talk about the design of the seats,etc. I knew that this was the flight I wanted to take to Australia before and now I'm completely sold on it. Quick flight from KC to Dallas and then a not so quick flight to Australia now I just have to figure out when I can go

WDW Groupie....hope your trip is amazing. I know we're all excited to hear about it upon your return!

 

[pixiepirate]

I just read a very interesting article in USA today about the Quantas A380 flight from Dallas to Sydney (currently the world's longest non stop flight). They talk about the design of the seats,etc. I knew that this was the flight I wanted to take to Australia before and now I'm completely sold on it. Quick flight from KC to Dallas and then a not so quick flight to Australia now I just have to figure out when I can go

tgeorge, thanks for the heads up on the article. We will be taking this flight in October so it was nice to get an idea of what to expect. I'm afraid I'll be missing out on those Business Class perks though. I was at the Qantas site last week checking on baggage restrictions and discovered that beginning two months out from your flight you can find out exactly what movies and other entertainment will be on offer during your flight.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I just read a very interesting article in USA today about the Quantas A380 flight from Dallas to Sydney (currently the world's longest non stop flight). They talk about the design of the seats,etc. I knew that this was the flight I wanted to take to Australia before and now I'm completely sold on it. Quick flight from KC to Dallas and then a not so quick flight to Australia now I just have to figure out when I can go

WDW Groupie....hope your trip is amazing. I know we're all excited to hear about it upon your return!

That's the flight my DS and I are taking! I'll be sure to report back.

 

[Lawyer Mommy]

I am very interested in hearing about everyone's Down Under Adventure! I just booked to go in June/July 2016 and am dying to know everything about the trip and the flights.

 

[tgeorge]

It may sound funny, but Cousin Orville and Pixiepirate... I'm just as anxious to hear about your thoughts on the flight as I am about the trip itself I love planes for some reason. I saw the Air France A380 when I was waiting for a flight out of Dulles and thought it was spectacular. And yes, if I want to experience the business class, I will be waiting a lot longer to take the trip,but it certainly does sound amazing!

 

[gcoolie]

I just read a very interesting article in USA today about the Quantas A380 flight from Dallas to Sydney (currently the world's longest non stop flight). They talk about the design of the seats,etc. I knew that this was the flight I wanted to take to Australia before and now I'm completely sold on it. Quick flight from KC to Dallas and then a not so quick flight to Australia now I just have to figure out when I can go

WDW Groupie....hope your trip is amazing. I know we're all excited to hear about it upon your return!

tgeorge that is the exact flight we have looked at for next summer including the the KC to Dallas part. We live in the suburbs on the Kansas side. I will have to find the article. My husband loves to know everything about planes!

Can't wait to hear more about this trip.

 

[tgeorge]

tgeorge that is the exact flight we have looked at for next summer including the the KC to Dallas part. We live in the suburbs on the Kansas side. I will have to find the article. My husband loves to know everything about planes!

Can't wait to hear more about this trip.

www.usatoday.com/story/sponsor-story/2015/06/30/sponsor-story-quantas-what-its-like-to-fly-from-dallas-to-sydney/29218377/

Hopefully the link helps

We live about 3 miles from MCI. Too bad we're not going next summer too. That would be awesome if we knew someone so close to us that we would be traveling with. I'm sure you will have a fantastic time

 

[EllinK]

I am loving your trip report. We are hoping to go to Aus (and maybe NZ) in 2017. You are doing so many things that we will want to do too!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

So sorry for the long time in posting on the report. Once we left Sydney for Cairns the pace of the adventure picked up. In Palm Cove the Internet was very spotty in our suite (the suite was really, really nice) and I'm not one to spend more time than necessary in the lobby. In Uluru the Internet was better, but we hardly spent any time in our room (we went to watch the sunset with mathgeek during our 'free' time, then it was an amazing dinner (amazing food at that hotel, wish I could say the same thing about the room -- definitely my least favorite room on the trip by a large margin), followed by one of my favorite activities: star gazing -- it was phenomenal. In Sydney the Internet was only free in the lobby (even though we are Starwood Gold they wouldn't give us access in the room); Freycinet Lodge had Internet in some rooms but ours wasn't one of them. Besides it was so beautiful there I wasn't going to spend any time in the room other than to eat and sleep. The hotel in Hobart had Internet in the rooms but again, we didn't spend any significant time in the rooms.

A piece of advice for anyone going on this adventure is to buy a GOOD Internet package. I got a slightly better than basic package (which is what I've always done in Europe and never had an issue) and ran out of data on day 2.

Day one of the adventure was a dinner at 5:00pm. We wanted to maximize our time in th area so I took dd on a tour of the beautiful Mossman Gorge. I'm certain it's much more enjoyable when it's not POURING rain on a 2 hour walking tour, but we really enjoyed both the tour and the guide. The tea and damper at the end of the tour was exceptional. We spent 2 hours in Port Douglas following the tour which consisted of a delicious lunch, ice cream and wandering through the shops. It is a lovely town so I recommend spending some there if possible before the adventure starts. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and went downstairs for the Welcome Reception. The guides, Suzanne and Amber, both Australians, were very friendly and engaging. The food was served 'family style' and there was plenty put on the table. I tried a very small piece of kangaroo but decided that I didn't like it (since I don't eat a lot of red meat this didn't surprise me).

The night ended relatively early as many had just arrived from the states. I spent some time doing laundry in the room since we had already been in AU for a week.

*Anyone going on this trip should note that in AU most of the electrical outlets in hotels have a switch to turn them on and off (the Park Hyatt didn't, so it really caught me off guard in Palm Cove). Also to avoid a trip down to the front desk to ask why the washer wasn't working, dial *9* for the hotel reception!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Too bad about the rain, but otherwise it sounds like a nice first day.

Who was your tour with for Mossman Gorge? We're doing a Daintree Walkabout tour including Mossman Gorge with Down Under Tours.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Too bad about the rain, but otherwise it sounds like a nice first day.

Who was your tour with for Mossman Gorge? We're doing a Daintree Walkabout tour including Mossman Gorge with Down Under Tours.

We went with BTS. Turns out BTS is a bus service that picks up (a lot of) people and drops them off at various points. They also arranged the tour at Mossman Gorge for us.

You will love the rainforest. It is beautiful and the aboriginal guide was very knowledgeable. If you can try to spend a bit of time in Port Douglas -- it is quite nice!

 

[pixiepirate]

Very useful information on Internet access and data usage. I will definitely be checking out my plan before I leave.

Did you book your tour to Mossman Gorge before or after you arrived in Cairns?

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Very useful information on Internet access and data usage. I will definitely be checking out my plan before I leave.

Did you book your tour to Mossman Gorge before or after you arrived in Cairns?

We booked before we left for AU. I found it difficult to find a half day tour and BTS fit the bill. However I don't know that I would recommend them -- the bus picking us up at the hotel was late, the bus was old and dirty and it made way too many stops on the way there for my liking. If there were any other companies providing half day tours in the area then I'd give them a try over BTS. That's my $0.02.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I ran into a young woman from Cairns working at the Guest Services desk on the Magic this June. She said she used to work tourism in Cairns so I asked who to book tours through. She recommended Down Under Tours for the rain forest and Mossman Gorge. For the Great Barrier Reef she happend to recommend the same tour company that ABD contracts with for the reef. So hopefully both companies are good. I'll report back.

We're just about to board our A380 from Dallas. Holy cow that plane is huge! It dwarfs the other planes next to it.

 

[sayhello]

I ran into a young woman from Cairns working at the Guest Services desk on the Magic this June. She said she used to work tourism in Cairns so I asked who to book tours through. She recommended Down Under Tours for the rain forest and Mossman Gorge. For the Great Barrier Reef she happend to recommend the same tour company that ABD contracts with for the reef. So hopefully both companies are good. I'll report back.

We're just about to board our A380 from Dallas. Holy cow that plane is huge! It dwarfs the other planes next to it.

Have a fabulous trip!! I hope your flight is uneventful. Looking forward to your report!

Sayhello

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We're just about to board our A380 from Dallas. Holy cow that plane is huge! It dwarfs the other planes next to it.

Safe travels!

Tell Suzanne & Amber hello from Joy & Jacqueline!

I'll look forward to hearing about your fabulous trip.

 

[tgeorge]

We're just about to board our A380 from Dallas. Holy cow that plane is huge! It dwarfs the other planes next to it.

It really is quite impressive isn't it? I think I sat in Dulles across from the Air France A380 for a good 10 minutes just admiring the plane. It is hard to put into perspective until you see it.

Hopefully your flight wasn't too bad and I hope you and your son enjoy your time in Australia! I love reading your trip reports and I know this one will be fantastic!

 

[pixiepirate]

We booked before we left for AU. I found it difficult to find a half day tour and BTS fit the bill. However I don't know that I would recommend them -- the bus picking us up at the hotel was late, the bus was old and dirty and it made way too many stops on the way there for my liking. If there were any other companies providing half day tours in the area then I'd give them a try over BTS. That's my $0.02.

*WDW*Groupie* thanks so much for your input. I was actually considering BTS but now I will take another look at what is available.

I ran into a young woman from Cairns working at the Guest Services desk on the Magic this June. She said she used to work tourism in Cairns so I asked who to book tours through. She recommended Down Under Tours for the rain forest and Mossman Gorge. For the Great Barrier Reef she happend to recommend the same tour company that ABD contracts with for the reef. So hopefully both companies are good. I'll report back.

We're just about to board our A380 from Dallas. Holy cow that plane is huge! It dwarfs the other planes next to it.

Cousin Orville, I will check into Down Under Tours. Enjoy your many adventures in Oz. Looking forward to reading your trip report.

 

[disneyphx]

Loving your report - your time in Sydney sounds amazing

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]