Aussie Disneyland Planners come on in and lets plan together :)

[darren123]

That sounds bad for Qantas but good for us we might see cheap airfares in the New Year then. $4000 is a good price kylieh

 

[kylieh]

That sounds bad for Qantas but good for us we might see cheap airfares in the New Year then. $4000 is a good price kylieh

Especially as it was around $7000 in October last year

 

[DizOz]

Especially as it was around $7000 in October last year

That is a great deal. I just got quoted by Qantas for our trip in Sept/Oct 2010 for 2 Adults and 2 kids it was $9293.

I saw an article on the weekend that said if V-Australia and Delta get approval to join up prices will go back to normal on the Aus-US route. My quote would seem to suggest they are right.

 

[aussiegirls]

DizOz, I think that Qantas are overly expensive anyway. If you are looking at booking a package holiday V Australia packages are significantly cheaper than Qantas, so are Expedia packages.

But if you are happy to book it all yourself and separately I would suggest that you could save a significant amount off that price you got from Qantas. I think you could probably get it at least a third cheaper, and probably better accommodation too.

xxx

 

[kylieh]

That is a great deal. I just got quoted by Qantas for our trip in Sept/Oct 2010 for 2 Adults and 2 kids it was $9293.

I saw an article on the weekend that said if V-Australia and Delta get approval to join up prices will go back to normal on the Aus-US route. My quote would seem to suggest they are right.

Thats one of the reasons why we brought the trip forward. We were originally going for the Sept/Oct holidays and the price was the equivalent for your own quote (pro rated to 2A/1C if that makes sense). Anyway a couple of weekends ago DH got an email from Qantas about their seat sale through to April. We did some quick holiday calculations and we decided to go earlier.

For us anyway, the $4000 saving justified bringing the trip forward.

 

[soak01]

To any of you just back from DL. Just wondering if you did a character breakfast. If so any recommendations?

 

[mareeld86]

Goofy's Kitchen I have posted Heaps Of Pics in the dining Thread it was great!!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32671721#post32671721

That link has the start of my Posts they go for a fair few pics hop this helps!!

 

[aussiegirls]

We did 2 character breakfasts, Minnie's at the Plaza Inn and Ariels Grotto. I think both of them were great but Ariel's was extraordinary. Lots and lots of characters at Minnies and all of the princesses at Ariels. Just by having done those 2 breakfasts we didn't have to line up for very many photos or autographs around the parks as we had almost everyone's already.

So for variety and quantity of characters I liked Minnies. For an amazing experience, beautiful food and interaction with the gorgeous princesses (that I never saw anywhere else around the parks) then Ariels is the go.

xxxxx

 

[jacs1234]

We just booked Ariels. Thanks Aussiegirls We're doing bibbidy bobbidy at 10am on a Friday and we just booked Ariels for 1pm, so we should have lots of time to slowly make our way for a princess lunch after she gets all dolled up.

We did Goofy's last year and LOVED it. It was so awesome. We were worried it wouldn't be great because of some not so great reviews here on Dis but it totally exceeded our expectations.

We saw The Genie, chip and dale, Mulan, Alice, Goofy and Pluto and I think there was someone else but I can't remember. Both Alice and Mulan sat down with us and talked for ages. Alice and my boys had a great talk about how their toys come to life while they sleep :rotfl"

 

[rossip]

To any of you just back from DL. Just wondering if you did a character breakfast. If so any recommendations?

Goofys !! The Best $100.00 we spent ( 2 a & 2c) . 2 hours of fun , lots and lots of interaction , great food and we didn't need to eat for the rest of the day !!!

 

[melbarkwith]

To any of you just back from DL. Just wondering if you did a character breakfast. If so any recommendations?

We just got back home today and we did breakfast with Minnie, the princess celebration at Ariel's Grotto and also Lilo and Stitch at PCH grill.

They were all wonderful. I don't think I will ever spend so much $$ on breakfast as we did at Ariel's, but it was definitely worth it. My girls had a great chat with Cinderella about her bringing her mice to stay with us, and making sure we had enough cheese for them.

DH commented that if we ever go again (which we will ), he would definitely go to the Lilo and Stitch breakfast again. The food was great, and the character interaction was also.

We probably saw the most characters at Minnie's though.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

We just got back home today and we did breakfast with Minnie, the princess celebration at Ariel's Grotto and also Lilo and Stitch at PCH grill.

They were all wonderful. I don't think I will ever spend so much $$ on breakfast as we did at Ariel's, but it was definitely worth it. My girls had a great chat with Cinderella about her bringing her mice to stay with us, and making sure we had enough cheese for them.

DH commented that if we ever go again (which we will ), he would definitely go to the Lilo and Stitch breakfast again. The food was great, and the character interaction was also.

We probably saw the most characters at Minnie's though.

Welcome back Mel. Hope you had an awesome time. Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[melbarkwith]

Thanks Ms Shuttergirl.

We had a wonderful time, with the exception of DD6 ending up in the emergency dept of an Anaheim hospital after slipping in the Hojo's pool area. She needed 5 stitches to her chin which are coming out this morning (yay!).

V Australia were awesome. The flight over was probably only 1/2 full and we could sit anywhere we wanted to. That worked out well since DD3 threw up everywhere in her sleep

We loved the kids suite at Hojo's. The staff were fantastic, especially helping DH out when DD slipped over (DD8 and I were out shopping).

Halloween weekend was crazy busy in the afternoons. We were at the parks early on both weekend days we were there and did tons of rides. I think the kids favourite day was when DCA was pretty much empty, they rode Screamin' probably 5 times in a row. The CM was telling people to sit wherever they wanted to it was that quiet. The other days in the parks were pretty quiet. We started off collecting fastpasses in anticipation of it being busy, and the only one we used was for Indy.

We weren't crazy about Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, but just the original. DD6 & DD8 went on it over and over again after the overlay was removed.

DD3 was just over the 40" height requirement for most of the rides, so she went on everything she could except TOT. She did however develop an obsession with Star Tours. I think we went on it at least 15 times during our visit.

It was awesome to see both Halloween and Christmas decorations in one trip. By the time we left, the castle was decorated, as was New Orleans Square and Toontown. There was a gorgeous tree up in Paradise Pier at DCA too.

Legoland was very impressive. We are glad that we decided to go there. Knott's Berry Farm annoyed me though. DD6 is quite tall, and they tried to tell me that she needed an adult ticket because she was over the adult height requirement. I got a bit peeved, and ended up only paying an extra $9 to upgrade her ticket. I won't go back there again, it seems to have really gone downhill.

Any questions about anything specific, ask away. We did the character meals I mentioned earlier, as well as Carnation Cafe, Tortilla Jo's, ESPN Zone (food poisoning from here...) and Hungry Bear Restaurant.

 

[dave73]

We got back yesterday also. As promised a detailed (but not too long!) trip report will be up later today.

Melbarkwith, you didn't happen to be in row 22 on the flight home did you? if so we were behind you in row 23.

We were on the 8pm flight from LA with V Australia.

Anyway Melbarkwith good to hear you had a great time, sorry to hear about DD6 though....

Back soon with a trip report

 

[jacs1234]

Welcome home you two. I'm looking forward to your trip report dave73

Melbarkwith- your kids sound like sooooooo much fun. I don't think my 3 year old will enjoy half the things yours did. I think she'll freak out on a rollercoaster, she's never been on one before. Oh well, there's always the first time, and what better place to try your first rollercoaster

Sorry about your dd's chin though. That must have been awful.

 

[dave73]

We spent from Oct 25th to Nov 5th in Anaheim.

In no particular order I will report on the various things we did so it is easier to read.

Shopping - We went to South Coast Plaza, third time there, love it. It's a very big mall focusing on more high end brands but has your Macy's and Sears as well as general stores like Footlocker etc. There is a shuttle there from the Anaheim area, $14 pp return trip with various return times.

Also went to MainPlace mall which is good but not as big, has a better Macy's I thought. Also went to the Block at Orange. This is an outdoor mall, a nice relaxing place with some cool outlet type stores.
A tip, be wary of the Disney Character Warehouse in Anaheim. We took a normal bus there which is about 15mins from the resort area. The place itself was a bit dodgy and the store was a let down, there were some ok bargains but it was mainly old Disney stuff and alot of it wasn't that much cheaper.

Went on a tour to the Desert Palm Outlet which is about 90 mins away, highly recommend this place, great outlets, stores like Ed Hardy (real cheap), Nike, Gucci, Levi's etc.

Hollywood - We opted just for transport there so we could do our own thing, due to a minor stuff up with the tour company (All Anaheim Tours) causing them to run late Tom the owner took us around all day wherever we wanted.
Got to see the Tar Pits, Melrose, Mullholland Dve, went to LA Ink and Kat Von D was there working which was cool, got a hot dog at Pinks, long wait, hot dog was ok, nothing special, and spent some time down Sunset at the Rockwalk of Fame and then some more time on Hollywood Blvd.

I highly recommend All Anaheim Tours, Tom was great and will look after you.

Universal Studios - Still the same, great rides, did the backlot tour, shame King Kong and the Back to the Future set was gone but was still fun. The Simpsons Ride is awesome, similar to Back to the Future Ride that used to be there but 10 times better.

Warner Bros Studios - Never been before and glad we did it. It's a working studio so no rides and photography is limited to a few indoor places. We got to see the Friends set, walked on to the set of Chuck and the Adventures of Old Christine, saw vehicles from Batman, Gran Torino and Dukes of Hazard and costumes from Harry Potter and other old and new movies. For something different it's recommended.

Disneyland and DCA - What can I say, I always love spending time here, DCA first. Enjoyed the usual rides and attractions, went on Toy Story which was alot of fun. Alot of works going on as we all know, so it's not as magical since you see workman around etc. but it will be worth it in the end when it's finished. Near the wine cellar there is a room where you can see models and info on what they are planning to do, worth a look.

Disneyland. With Halloween it was great. I think the decorations were just right, not overdone. The Haunted Mansion was great as was Space Mountain, preferred the original ride without the makeover but still great. We watched the fireworks on Halloween night, waited 2.5hrs in a good spot, well worth it but was so packed, the days leading up to it got busier. It seemed everyone left that weekend. During this week from Mon to Thursday was quiet, on Wednesday we spent the whole day there with hardly any wait times on the bigger rides.
It was amazing to see the kids along with adults dressing up, they really get into the Halloween spirit over there.
Can't fault DL, had a great time.

Food - We ate at many places, a bit over the food there but highlights were ESPN and the Jazz Kitchen. We went to ESPN and watched the Yankees win the Baseball World Title. Great atmosphere. We got a booth which had it's on TV with a touch screen, basically mimicking the massive screen in front. The booth's have speakers so you can hear whatever channel your on.
The Dole Whips in Adventureland are the best, they are sold in front to the Tiki Room, if you are there don't go by without trying one.
Food is subjective and depends on your tastes and budget. Tony Roma's is great for steaks and Ribs, Denny's is pretty good for a big brekky. Milly's in front of the Fairfield Inn is good also.


Accommodation - We stayed at the Fairfeild Inn. Highly recommended, good service, nice big clean room and facilities. Just wish the internet in the foyer was a bit faster and not as hard to get on. Up to Halloween you could barely get on for people using it, but not a big deal.


V Australia - I cannot fault the airline and our experience. The seats are spacious for economy. Instead of 4 in the middle there are 3 seats, so this allows more space. The in-flight entertainment is great, a huge selection of new and old movies in various genres, as were the TV shows and music. There are games also which you can use with a retractable remote. There is a USB so anyone with an iphone can use it and keep it charged.
The staff were great also. Food was suprisingly ok as well. We had full flights there and back.

Overall a great trip, like Melbarkwith, any questions happy to answer.

Cheers

 

[melbarkwith]

Yes Dave, we were in row 22. Which seats were you in? Hope my kids didn't keep you awake. How long did you spend in the lovely line at the Virgin Blue transfer desk? That was ridiculous!

Jacs, I think that because there were little to no wait times on everything, my 3YO didn't have time to get scared. We walked straight up the ramp for Star Tours and right onto the ride. It was the same for Soarin'. To be fair to DD we all just walked onto Space Mountain and told her that she would love it She didn't get much of a chance to back out of that one.

I remember last time that our middle DD (who was 4 at the time) freaked out in the queue for Space Mountain because it was dark. Of course, this is the same child who went on Screamin' 5 times in a row straight after breakfast this time.

DD3 went on Splash twice, loved it the first time but cried the second time. She hated Pirates (too dark), and we didn't even try getting her on Haunted Mansion even though she loves the movie. We actually saw Jack Skellington and Sally on our first day there, and they were fantastic. Jack was so in character - I was really impressed. My older kids think that while Mickey etc are just people dressed up, any characters which talk to them are the real deal. Jack and Sally really convinced them of this.

DD's chin is fine now. All stitches are out and it's looking a little better.

I did mean to add earlier that my two older DD's did one of the makeovers at Studio 365. It was great. At first I thought it was a bit of a rip-off, but it was really cool. They had their hair and makeup done, then a press conference and photo shoot. They got a lanyard with a pic of them on it and we get a free photo download from a special photopass card.

 

[dave73]

Yes Dave, we were in row 22. Which seats were you in? Hope my kids didn't keep you awake. How long did you spend in the lovely line at the Virgin Blue transfer desk? That was ridiculous!

We were in the middle section right behind you I think, I was on the left side on the aisle of the middle seats row 23. My wife saw your post and said she saw a girl with a band aid on her chin, so from the stitches you mentioned she got I figured it may of been you.

Your kids were great, on the way there we had one crying the whole way, the hostess was so good trying to assist the mum.

We were a bit lucky getting our bags and getting through customs, so the transfer desk wasn't too bad, waited about 15mins but we saw how big the queue got. it was pretty bad and the staff weren't very fast either, and it was hot in there too, so none of that helped.

 

[melbarkwith]

Yeah, that was DD. She had pink and blue hair from Studio 365.

We got through customs/immigration really quickly (probably under 20 mins including collecting our bags), but it took forever to get through the transfer line. All the people pushing in the line from the side didn't help either.

 

[kylieh]

Melbarkwith, you didn't happen to be in row 22 on the flight home did you? if so we were behind you in row 23.
Back soon with a trip report

Yes Dave, we were in row 22. Which seats were you in?

OK -Major Coincidence

Dave and Melbarkwith - I enjoyed reading your notes.

Melbarkwith - glad to hear your DD is ok, and that you were happy with HoJo. I'm also glad to hear of someone doing Studio 365. My own DD wants to do both Studio 365 and BBB. She will be 7 1/2 at the trip time so she's between both. My DD also thinks the face characters are the real ones and there is no chance of that changing in the next few months, so its more magic for them.

Dave - we're planning on the the Warner Bros tour, and hoping that Chuck is still set up when we go. Was there a lot of walking?