What was your favorite flight?
That would be a competition between Virgin Atlantic and Air France. They both are excellent carriers, but I think the service on Virgin Atlantic was just a little better. I’ll say if you like to drink, Virgin Atlantic has the most attentive drink service I’ve ever experienced on a plane. They almost won’t let you see the bottom of your glass. The British I have met take great pride in how much they can drink, and I’d say that definitely extends to their airlines as well. I really enjoyed the cabin lighting as well and the seats.
Just not having those bright cold LED lights and having a more calming magenta colored lighting for some reason really just makes for a much more enjoyable experience. Those cold bright LEDs on most planes just does not invoke relaxation.
We did enjoy Air France though, aside from their service in Miami. The amount of space Lucy had in her Air France pod was pretty crazy.
What was the best airport lounge?
Of the ones on this trip, I’d have to say Cathay Pacific’s Business Class lounge, The Pier, in Hong Kong was without a doubt the best. They easily had the best food by a mile. They served a large variety of Western and Asian Options.
They had a multitude of places to sit, and it felt way “homier” than the average lounge.
How are you still alive?
Thankfully, despite all the McDonald’s I eat my heart continues to beat and my lungs also exchange air pretty well so I’m still ticking.
What would you do differently?
I would either get a Chinese Visa just to be on the safe side OR start the Asia part in Hong Kong that way we wouldn’t have a potential issue going into China. I have zero faith in the airlines to know the rules going to China, and after discussing our case with consumer advocates, they state airlines that are not based in Asia can really struggle with this rule unfortunately occasionally wrongfully deny passengers despite this benefit being clearly listed on the Chinese Embassy website and US.gov travel site.
I’d also maybe try and find a way to reduce the amount of hotel hopping in Tokyo. The issue is that Tokyo Hotel Booking is very complex, and it was almost required to do multiple hotels based on what we wanted to accomplish, so I’m not so sure how to get around that.
Is there anything you wish you hadn’t spent money on?
I feel that Blue Bayou Fantasmic Dining Package wasn’t really worth it. The dinner with tip ended up being around $300 total for 3 people. We don’t eat that much so we ate very little of the whole dinner, and had no way to take it home as we were flying out the next day. The seats while nice, weren’t that much better than if we’d shown up 30 minutes before given the crowd level that day, and we coulda used the time we waited for the table and to eat to have done more at Disneyland.
We also felt that the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Hong Kong was very overpriced at $325 USD for the quality of the makeover. This was not our first time doing a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so we know that they are pretty good at making it such that the hair can stay in place regardless of what a child can throw at it. We didn’t really do anything too intense and after about 3 hours Lucy’s hair was falling apart. I will say that the dress quality was top notch though.
What was your best purchase or upgrade?
While it was expensive, purchasing the Unlimited Premier Access Vacation Package, more officially known as the “Even More” package, at Tokyo Disney Resort was definitely worth every penny. Tokyo Disney Resort is actually even MORE complex than planning a Walt Disney World Vacation, and having the Vacation Package completely eliminated nearly all planning required.
It also allowed us to take our time in the mornings as without a Vacation Package the majority of guests who want to actually ride most of the rides will arrive well before the park opens to secure Premier Access passes. This truly streamlined our time in Tokyo making for an incredible time there with minimal friction. Tokyo had the busiest parks by far the whole vacation with many wait times topping 180 minutes, and having unlimited access to any Premier Access line was a huge time saver.
That would be a competition between Virgin Atlantic and Air France. They both are excellent carriers, but I think the service on Virgin Atlantic was just a little better. I’ll say if you like to drink, Virgin Atlantic has the most attentive drink service I’ve ever experienced on a plane. They almost won’t let you see the bottom of your glass. The British I have met take great pride in how much they can drink, and I’d say that definitely extends to their airlines as well. I really enjoyed the cabin lighting as well and the seats.
Just not having those bright cold LED lights and having a more calming magenta colored lighting for some reason really just makes for a much more enjoyable experience. Those cold bright LEDs on most planes just does not invoke relaxation.
We did enjoy Air France though, aside from their service in Miami. The amount of space Lucy had in her Air France pod was pretty crazy.
What was the best airport lounge?
Of the ones on this trip, I’d have to say Cathay Pacific’s Business Class lounge, The Pier, in Hong Kong was without a doubt the best. They easily had the best food by a mile. They served a large variety of Western and Asian Options.
They had a multitude of places to sit, and it felt way “homier” than the average lounge.
How are you still alive?
Thankfully, despite all the McDonald’s I eat my heart continues to beat and my lungs also exchange air pretty well so I’m still ticking.
What would you do differently?
I would either get a Chinese Visa just to be on the safe side OR start the Asia part in Hong Kong that way we wouldn’t have a potential issue going into China. I have zero faith in the airlines to know the rules going to China, and after discussing our case with consumer advocates, they state airlines that are not based in Asia can really struggle with this rule unfortunately occasionally wrongfully deny passengers despite this benefit being clearly listed on the Chinese Embassy website and US.gov travel site.
I’d also maybe try and find a way to reduce the amount of hotel hopping in Tokyo. The issue is that Tokyo Hotel Booking is very complex, and it was almost required to do multiple hotels based on what we wanted to accomplish, so I’m not so sure how to get around that.
Is there anything you wish you hadn’t spent money on?
I feel that Blue Bayou Fantasmic Dining Package wasn’t really worth it. The dinner with tip ended up being around $300 total for 3 people. We don’t eat that much so we ate very little of the whole dinner, and had no way to take it home as we were flying out the next day. The seats while nice, weren’t that much better than if we’d shown up 30 minutes before given the crowd level that day, and we coulda used the time we waited for the table and to eat to have done more at Disneyland.
We also felt that the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Hong Kong was very overpriced at $325 USD for the quality of the makeover. This was not our first time doing a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so we know that they are pretty good at making it such that the hair can stay in place regardless of what a child can throw at it. We didn’t really do anything too intense and after about 3 hours Lucy’s hair was falling apart. I will say that the dress quality was top notch though.
What was your best purchase or upgrade?
While it was expensive, purchasing the Unlimited Premier Access Vacation Package, more officially known as the “Even More” package, at Tokyo Disney Resort was definitely worth every penny. Tokyo Disney Resort is actually even MORE complex than planning a Walt Disney World Vacation, and having the Vacation Package completely eliminated nearly all planning required.
It also allowed us to take our time in the mornings as without a Vacation Package the majority of guests who want to actually ride most of the rides will arrive well before the park opens to secure Premier Access passes. This truly streamlined our time in Tokyo making for an incredible time there with minimal friction. Tokyo had the busiest parks by far the whole vacation with many wait times topping 180 minutes, and having unlimited access to any Premier Access line was a huge time saver.
I think this may be hard to top. 
