ABD Backstage Magic 7/31 - 8/5/11

[paulasillars]

Good to know. I'll have to pack my "good" clothes for the show!

I'm sure we will all look gorgeous in stereo

 

[rchristiansen]

Hi Everyone!

Becky, here from the April ABD trip. I wanted to post some "tips" I learned from this last trip.

Make sure you get plenty of rest. It's a really fast paced trip and we were exhausted each day. A good kind of exhausted, though. We wanted to make sure we didn't get sick either on the trip, so we brought our vitamins & saline nasal sprays along with us. I think that helped a lot.

Also, if you are bringing your kids with you make sure you don't stay out too late. That was key. We had our DD in bed early each night making sure she got at least 8-9 hours of sleep. We are always tempted to stay out late at night at the parks, but tired kids = grumpy kids It was worth it! I guess tired adults = grumpy adults too!

Finally, another thing I did was stretched each day. Lord only knows how many miles I put on and my muscles were sore. In the morning and evening we sat down in the room and stretched just for five minutes - made a world of difference!!

Oh one more thing - they feed you,....A LOT! I pigged out - at the beginning of the week, I was good, at the end I was loading up on desserts! But keep that in mind when you eat each meal - I had a stomach ache a few times

Have fun!!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Thanks for the tips, Becky!

 

[paulasillars]

We ordered (and paid) for our US$ at the bank today. We get them on Tuesday.

We got an awesome rate, its the best I remember when going for a trip!

We are only losing 20 cents to the dollar - I remember travelling to the US a few years ago when we were losing nearly 50 cents on the $ - made everything twice as expensive

I'm really tempted to start packing but we still have 70+ days until we leave - I think I at least need to wait another week or so

 

[*NikkiBell*]

That's great, Paula! So they have to special order the US dollar for you?

 

[paulasillars]

That's great, Paula! So they have to special order the US dollar for you?

Most banks would have it to hand but the bank we went to its a really tiny counter/post office in our local strip mall book shop so they simply don't have the space for keeping currency. They only usually have 2 staff there

It was just really handy to be able to walk over the road to organise it though.

 

[mr. figment]

Sorry I haven't been following along with the t-shirt idea, but my 2 cents would be to have everyone order their favorite design from the GKTW shop and wear those for the group shirt. Last time I looked they had several designs to choose from so hopefully everyone could find something.

 

[SaraMc]

I think I've started getting ready to pack. I've made a doctors apoitment for my eyes. I need new glasses and contacts and would love to be able to see all the cool stuff we are going to see. I have my daily carry all bag and started thinking about clothes to take. Just trying to figure out how hot it's going to be.

 

[paulasillars]

I think I've started getting ready to pack. I've made a doctors apoitment for my eyes. I need new glasses and contacts and would love to be able to see all the cool stuff we are going to see. I have my daily carry all bag and started thinking about clothes to take. Just trying to figure out how hot it's going to be.

I got my USD$ today - so next on the list will be packing.

I have a big pile of "holiday" clothing so need to go through it and decide what I'm going to take for the 3 weeks we are away.

I'll be keeping an eye on the forecast too but would appreciate anyone giving an update if they know - its starting to get pretty darn wintery feeling here now - we had our first frost of the year the other day.

 

[bigmoonmullen]

Hi all you July/August ABD Backstage Magic Travelers,

All I will say is that you are going to have a Blast. Be prepared for long fun filled days. Get your rest going into your trip is my best advice.

Have Fun... I know you will.

Mark

 

[NitroStitch]

Hi all you July/August ABD Backstage Magic Travelers,

All I will say is that you are going to have a Blast. Be prepared for long fun filled days. Get your rest going into your trip is my best advice.

Have Fun... I know you will.

Mark

I know we're going to have a blast, and this time I know I need more sleep ahead of time! Just listening to the podcasts about the trip and from the trip you took made me even more hyped about going on our trip!

 

[U2FanHfx]

Hi All,

Is this adventure still sold out? Also, anyone know if returning ABD guests get a discount?

Regs,

Chad J.

 

[mr. figment]

Are any of you fellow ABD'ers going to the D23 Expo two weeks later?

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Hi All,

Is this adventure still sold out? Also, anyone know if returning ABD guests get a discount?

Regs,

Chad J.

According to the first post in this thread, yes, it is sold out. I am not sure about discounts. You might want to check out the ABD forum here on the DIS. I'm sure they would know.

 

[NitroStitch]

Are any of you fellow ABD'ers going to the D23 Expo two weeks later?

We'd planned to do the D23 Expo until this trip came up. We can't do both trips, so we picked the ABD trip. I'm sure we'll be bummed when we find out what we miss at the Expo, but I can't wait til the ABD Trip.

 

[AllyGirl_79]

I'll admit that I'm not really thrilled with the idea of matching shirts, though I think it's really nice that someone's offered to organize it/prepare the shirts! (And I don't know if my friend, who is not a DISer, would be willing to wear one, though she's generally a pretty good sport.) That said, I'll go along with the group if everyone else thinks it's fun, and I was curious to see the design, which appears to have been posted a page back. However, I can't get the picture to show up. Any thoughts on a way to fix that? I am so not technically savvy on these things.

Also, wanted to say that I'm so impressed by those of you thinking about packing already. Unless I completely diverge from my normal habits, I will think about packing roughly 48 hours before my plane leaves, and actually do the packing about 24 hours before the plane leaves.

 

[paulasillars]

Its 70 days until I leave for the US!

 

[NitroStitch]

It's getting closer...

We're staying after the trip, so we won't be using the ABD transportation back to LAX. Does anybody remember the name of the "good" company for the shuttle bus back from Disneyland hotels to LAX? We've got to set that up and get park otickets for the two days after the ABD trip, and then we'll be set. Well, we probably ought to plan to make a few dining ressies once we're just a bit closer.

 

[bigmoonmullen]

It's getting closer...

We're staying after the trip, so we won't be using the ABD transportation back to LAX. Does anybody remember the name of the "good" company for the shuttle bus back from Disneyland hotels to LAX? We've got to set that up and get park otickets for the two days after the ABD trip, and then we'll be set. Well, we probably ought to plan to make a few dining ressies once we're just a bit closer.

Hi,

We used SuperShuttle on the April ABD trip http://www.supershuttle.com/ and were very pleased with them. They picked us up ontime... albeit it was at 4:30AM.

Have a Great Trip... I know you will,

Mark

Mark

 

[BonnieMB]

Hi,

We used SuperShuttle on the April ABD trip http://www.supershuttle.com/ and were very pleased with them. They picked us up ontime... albeit it was at 4:30AM.

Have a Great Trip... I know you will,

Mark

Mark

SaraMC and I are staying an extra day, and arriving a day early. Does that mean we don't get ABD airport transfers and have to book our own? Anybody know what the taxi rates are? Shuttles are ok, but they can be painfully slow...