An aussie visit

[ozvisiter]

Hi I am new to all this. We are very excited to be planning a visit from Australia to Disneyland in April 2009. It's a long way for us to come and I will be travelling with my 3 girls aged 11, 8 & 7. So I want to make sure I am well prepared. The girls will be dancing with their dance studio at DL and CA and just cant wait

I believe we will be visiting at a busy time (Easter)

Any andvice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

 

[DangerMouse]

First, start with reading the Hydroguy's Tips sticky at the top of this page. They will answer many of your questions. Then, come back and ask more!

 

[BecBennett]

One thing that I think is important is remembering that the flight there is a long one! We flew with United Airlines, and they didn't have the little individual TV screens in the backs of their chairs. If I'd known this I would have paid the extra and gone with Qantas.

But hey, that's got nothing to do with Disneyland, so who cares? Right? Remember for people like us, trips to Disneyland come around pretty rarely, so make sure that you save enough money to buy absolutely anything that takes your fancy. You'll regret not buying something that you liked when you get home.

 

[Judy from Boise]

will you be combining it with other locations ? We also have specific boards for the greater CA region, and the greater west.

 

[ozvisiter]

As there will be no other adults with me I want to keep it simple and safe. However I was thinking to spend a few days in San Diego.

 

[DizOz]

Ozvisitor we recently took our 2 DD (Ages 8 and 5) to DL and WDW at Christmas. Some tips for you:

1. The flights are exhausting and the first day is a challenge we landed and checked in and headed staright to the parks and kept the girls going until dinner.
2. Don't take a taxi from airport either use one of the various van services or do what we did and booked a private town car costs less than a taxi and we didn't have to wait for an empty van heading to DL area.
3. Plan, Plan and plan. Make sure you make your dinner reservations 6 months out to ensure you get into the restaurants you want. I know WDW we missed a few of our preferences as they were booked out by the time I went to book.
4. If you are flying Qantas there was plenty to keep our girls entertained dozens of movies, computer games and TV shows as well as colouring in etc.
5. We stayed at Grand Californian which was superb for entry into CA and DTD.
6. Get to the parks early to avoid the worse of the crowds from lunchtime onwards.
7. Use fastpasses wisely.

 

[ozvisiter]

Thanks so much any help is so much appreciated.

 

[kylieh]

Although the Aussie $ is going very strong at the moment, use a lower rate when budgeting, and adjust as you go. For example, we are going in Sept/Oct this year and have budgeted the trip at .83 even though the $ is currently around .93 That way we'll have more in our pockets, and if the $ does drop we'll be covered.

Travel insurance, travel insurance, travel insurance. As soon as you book. And don't forget pre existing coverage if needed. US medical bills are really pricey compared to what we are used to.

How much is the dance studio helping with? Are they arranging the accom, group airfares, etc? Or are they only providing the times you need to be on location? How far out will you get your schedule? This will help with any reservations or priority seatings that you need to make before you leave.

Re San Diego, the San Diego Convention and Tourist bureu have an "Offical Visitor Planning Guide" available, at no charge, and they will post to Australia. Takes around 3 weeks and is full of info regarding hotels, some coupons, etc. www.sandiego.com

 

[Danauk]

We too have long flights to Disneyland (London - LAX = 11 1/2 hours!) I agree with choosing an airline with seat back TV's, they are a must for us. I also agree with the point that you need to save up the money to do what you want to when you are there, it is not as if we can go back so easily to get things we missed.

Another recommendation would be to learn about the rides in the parks, have an idea what rides would be must do's. I am using Ridemax for my trip (www.ridemax.com) the programme allows you to put the rides you want to go on into the software and it recommends the best order to do them in. Also research the restaurants. You can make DL restaurant reservations 90 days beforehand (at WDW it is 180 days.) Visiting at a busy time I highly recommend Ridemax.

Finally I'm not sure if you have visted America before, if not there are a few things to remember. When you buy items the price on the tag is the price without tax, so not the price you will end up paying. Also like us English folkes I guess you are not used to the tipping culture. I would find out about what tips you are sometimes expected to give when in the USA.

Happy planning.

 

[Denton]

¿ɹǝpun uʍop sƃuıɥʇ ǝɹɐ ʍoɥ

˙sdıʇ s,ʎnƃoɹpʎɥ ƃuıpɐǝɹ ɟo ɐǝpı ǝɥʇ puoɔǝs ı

 

[ozvisiter]

We have one week arranged by a travel agent with the dance studio, after that they can help us arrange extras or we can go it alone...
Not sure how much time the dancing will take up so want to maximise our use of time.

Thanks for SD info- have ordered the planning guide

 

[ozvisiter]

I have been to America before, a long time ago... Before I had kids...

Is Easter a busy time at DS??? I think the kids are dancing on Good Friday and on the Monday at DCA...

Things are cool down here especially now we have this trip to look forward to!!!

 

[darren123]

Hello
We are going in May/June
Our tips to save money: best time to book and pay for airfares are in November we are going with Air Pacific to LAX and Qantas back to Australia and booking through Jetset we saved $700 per person. Book and pay online for park tickets etc as you will save alot as to booking through a travel agent.

 

[darren123]

First, start with reading the Hydroguy's Tips sticky at the top of this page. They will answer many of your questions. Then, come back and ask more!

Best advice ever

 

[melbarkwith]

FYI - We flew Air New Zealand from Melbourne, and it was quite a bit cheaper than Qantas. They also have the individual tv screens (kids had a ball watching a movie and playing games!)

Mel

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

My advice would be:

1. Buy tickets for the entire length of your stay - even if you don't think you will go to the parks every day - it's cheaper to buy here for a longer period than to buy a day here and there once at the gate. (And often it's fun after being out and about for the day just to go in and watch the fireworks).

2. Although flying Air NZ will save you some $ - the flight, I think, works out to be about 4 hours longer than Qantas. So consider the money vs time factor. Also Qantas gets in early in the morning (7:30am) so it give you a whole day.

3. Check out some of the great books that are available - you can get lots of great tips from them, as well as on the boards.

4 Don't think you have to stay on property to be close to the parks. If money is an issue, stay at one of the good neighbour hotels. (I always stay at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott.) There are also some great restaurants on South Harbour Blvd

5 With the Aussie Dollar so good at the moment, as you save some extra cash think of exchanging it into greenback - that way you will not be able to spend it at home.

I love Disneyland - it truly is the happiest place on earth!

I have some old park maps (from 2005) - PM me with your address if you would like me to send them to you.

Enjoy your trip, and good luck planning it - the planning is nearly as much fun as the trip!

 

[ozvisiter]

Thanks for that advice, will definately do some currency conversions....
We will be staying at the HoJo- hoping that is good
I think we are flying Quantas- group booking with the dancing studio..

Also what books do you recommend?

 

[Judy from Boise]

Unfortunately, yes it will be busy over Easter (spring break) time. But the hours will be long, and lots of entertainment available. If your bodies can manage get to DL early, hop to DCA when DL gets busy around lunch, spend late afternoon resting/swimming, and close the parks down at night !

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

I recently purchased the Frommers Guide to WDW and Orlando - I think they have one for DLR/California. Check out the travel section in Borders - there are heaps to pick from there - and if you have some time you can skim read a couple and just buy the one you want.

From all reports Ho Jo's is very good.

You must try the following restaurants on Sth Harbour Blvd - you will basically walk past them on your way to the parks:
- Millies (any meal)
- iHop (breakfast)
- Tony Roma's (dinner - the ribs are fabulous!)

Let me know if you have any other queries.

 

[Aust]

Make sure you allow yourselves plenty of time to enjoy the parks when you're not tied up with dancing - it's such a long way to go (and the airfares were our major expense) that it pays to have an extra few days so you can take your time and really enjoy everything. Especially since you'll be there in a busy time (we went in October last year and even though it wasn't too busy we still didn't get around to everything in 6 1/2 days of DL/DCA).

I agree with everyone about Qantas and the TV screens, they were great! I was dreading the flights with a 3YO and 6YO but they were so good, they loved having their own TV's. Depending on if you have flexibility of flight times, on the way home I'd recommend getting a late flight (ours was 10.30pm) - it gave us all day at DL and the girls fell right to sleep for most of the trip home.

To save some money take a lot of snacks, e.g. museli bars, little tubs of fruit, etc - US quarantine laws are heaps more relaxed than here and let you take lots of food in.

A good book is The Unofficial Guide To Disneyland, I bought it off Amazon, it has heaps of great tips.