A first for everything & planning early...pre trip report

Sarah84

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Aug 6, 2008
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I know I probably should have posted this in the Disneyland section as its California BUT firstly they don't have a PTR section and plus it seems alot more busier over here :laughing: even if you are all talking about 'the world' :)


Yes it is still a long way off yet but I thought I'd start this now as I just booked our flights this week and I'm just too excited that I'm actually going :banana: ...

Decisions, decisions, decisions...
After not having a holiday last year, I was determind that this year would not be the same and we would be returning to my favourite place the USA. My DBF always said he has no interest in going to Orlando and visiting the wonderful Disneyworld despite me dropping it into conversation a few times (well more like talking about it everyday :lmao: ) that, thats where i wanted us to go on our next holiday he said he has no interest in spending a few weeks with Mickey Mouse, pfft he doesn't know what he's missing.
Well as I like to spend my days looking at places i'd love to visit, I figured I would still be making the decision on where we would be going, it just wouldn't be Orlando.
I have always wanted to visit Southern California particually Los Angeles and after Darren making it clear Orlando was out the question it was the next place that popped into my head, I then spent an evening dibbing (as you do) and came across Jools & Dollar Bills fab Las Vegas & California 2006 Trippie it was then certain that we will definitely be heading there in 2009, plus I had always wanted to one day visit Walt's Original Disney and figured I could sneakly have a few days at Disney for my Mickey Mouse fix, I just had to drop those plans in slowely and when Darren was in a very good mood :rotfl:
So after deciding what part fo the world we would be going to it was then time to decide the when, how long and exactly where to stay....

I spent quite a few hours, weeks and a few months researching what i really wanted to see & do, changing my mind about what places to visit and when was the hottest time to go (very important, for a sun worshiper like myself). Fast forward a few months i have lots of ideas and im set on going then Darren drops the bombshell.....
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He quite fancys going to Florida, HE WHAT?? :eek: :mad: as you can imagine I was not amused in the slightest, apprently the idea of Universal, Animal Kingdom and Seaworld had sold it to him, well he could have decided that a few months ago, I had now spent hours playing with ideas for the the West Coast and really getting excited to be going to another place I had always wanted to visit and now I had the oppertunity to go back to Orlando, the place I had dreamed to return to since my first visit back in 2005 :confused3

Well as you can obviosuly tell, California won the decision mainly due to the fact I was hyped about it, it was somewhere new, and it would be another tick on my list of 'must go' places.


So on with the cast....

Me - 24 (will be 25 when we go) The one in charge :laughing: Lover of all things Disney (esp Tinkerbell & Dopey), American, Sparkly, Holidays, Hot weather and MAC Cosmetics. Very much a girly girl into shopping, makeup, shoes, clothes and things pretty & pink and anything that shines & sparkles


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DBF, Darren - 25 (will be 26 when we go) Loves football & his PS3 and thats probably about it as far as he's interest go :rotfl: Ok well maybe not he also loves Films, Animals and is obsessed but petrified of sharks insists we will not be stepping foot into the sea in California, though he said that when we went Mexico & Miami but he couldn't resist a little paddle once he was there

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And here's a few photo's of us together from a recent visit to DLP and from our wonderful holiday to Mexico in 2007

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And lastly on with the when, where & what...

When...

Tuesday 1st September - Thursday 17th September 2009
Virgin Atlantic 11.30am Heathrow - Los Angeles
Virgin Atlantic 20.55pm Los Angeles - Heathrow


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Where...

6 nights in Anaheim, staying at the Sheraton Hotel (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/shera...ocal_Sheraton_Anaheim_Hotel_POP_060107_NAD_FM)

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We (well I, as DBF doesnt really have nothing to do with the planning he just gets told the when & the where) wanted a nice hotel, rather than one of the many motels type hotels they seem to have in Anaheim and somewhere with a decent pool, pricing up hotels lately they seemed to be coming upto quite a bit even for the lower range ones than when i first started getting price ideas last summer, mainly due to the drop in the dollar rate it all seemed like it was going to costa bit more than I first expected but I managed to book this through Virgin holidays for £400

4 nights in Las Vegas, staying at The Mirage Hotel Mirage (http://www.mirage.com/hotel/)

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I didn't plan on booking the Vegas hotel untill nearer the time, as that usually when I notice the best deals appear about 2 months out from the dates you wish to stay but I got a great offer emailed to me and thought I'd grab it and im able to cancel if something i like the look of more comes up.
Booked directly with the hotel for $258

3 nights in San Diego, no hotel has been booked or decided yet but I plan on using Priceline or Hotwire for this as I've read about some great 4* hotels in the downtown area that can usualy be had for about $100 a night, so I doubt this will be booked till at least june/july.

3 nights in Hollywood, Again no hotel has been booked for here either, at the moment I'm looking at The Hollywood Magic Castle Hotel (http://www.magiccastlehotel.com) but if I can get a good price or our budget can stretch I'd like to book the Renaissance Hollywood hotel (http://www.renaissancehollywood.com)


We will have a hire car for our 6 nights in Anaheim, which we plan to pick up from LAX. This hasn't been booked, so if anyone has any recommendations of who to book through will be great, at the moment the best price I have found is £127 for economy 2dr with gold insurance through usrentacar.co.uk
The car will then be dropped off at John Wayne airport in Orange county, and we will catch a late morning flight to Las Vegas.
We will be flying from Las Vegas into San Diego and will then get the Amtrack train upto LA into Union Station.


And finally the what...

There are quite a few things I want to see and do and hopefully we will get time to do most of it, we plan on buying So Cal citypasses which will cost around $250 each and contain 3 day hopper ticket for Disneyland, entry to San Diego Zoo, Seaworld & Universal Hollywood. The following things are places that will will definitely be seeing...

In Anaheim
  • Disneyland of course, that goes without saying really. We will probably spend full day in each park and then maybe half a day in the main Disneyland park again. We will be here during Labor day weekend so expect it to be quite busy hopefully we can get the main park done before the crowds start coming in at the weekend
  • Laguna Beach, I have seen the show loads and since then have always wanted to visit it just looks such a beautiful place. I haven't even been yet but I'd love to have a house here on the beach :)
  • Shopping, one of my favourite things to do espcially while i'm in the US
  • And just relaxing by the pool soaking up some gorgeous California sunshine

In Las Vegas
  • Relaxing by the gorgeous pool soaking up the sunshine
  • Exploring the lovely hotels that I have heard so much about and seen some great pictures
  • Lion Habitat @ MGM Grand
  • Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat @ The Mirage
  • Helicoptor trip at night over the strip
  • More shopping


In San Diego
  • Seaworld
  • The Zoo
  • Colorado Island


In Hollywood
  • Universal Studios
  • Starline's Hollywood sightseeing double decker tour
  • Check out Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Disney Soda Fountain
  • And probably Warner Bros studios but this hasn't been decided for certain yet


So if anyone has any suggestions on must do's/see's for any of the places we plan on staying in then please post away. And generally any hints or tips you think would be great.
Any places recommended for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner?


We have the Anaheim & Las Vegas hotels booked, flights will be done this week then its the Hollywood & San Deigo hotels to book, car hire, internal flights, and So Cal city passes to buy :D
 












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