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

[becpee]

I am also looking forward to trying some yummy foods in the parks such as the corn dogs! What is everyone else looking forward to doing and eating most?

I remember last time I was there I had the best hot dog, strange I know but it had barbeque sauce, mustard, cheese and onions and it was and I also remember a particular ice cream.....
I also love the malls, auntie anne's pretzels MMMM

 

[kylieh]

Ok everyone, so I had nothing better to do this morning.

Thanks GoGo85 for your list. Really cool. And Becpee, I can't believe that someone else is planning as far out as us!!! I'm more reading and keeping my hand in, and I enjoy it. And with only 525 days to go.

What do you guys do on the plane besides sleep? I can tell I'm going to get bored very quickly!

We flew Qantas in the Sept/Oct hols last year. We watched the inflight entertainment, got poked by my daughter, tried to make the inflight entertainment work, watch the moving map (I don't advise doing this, bad for the sanity.) We had probs with the inflight entertainment both ways. There was no ondemand on the way over, so it was on loop, like what they had in the "old days." You could choose a younger kids loop, thankfully, some movies, and I can't remember what the others were.

On the way back DH's inflight didn't work at all, to quote the flight attendant, say this with sarcasm, "It's Qantas, what do you expect," and to the people in front "it was purchased off eBay." Heres the thing, at least for 747s, even if your not watching, start playing something you might be interested in. There are only so many licences so not everyone can watch at the same time. This is is economy.

We're right down the back of the plane on V.

On V Australia, the seat is less than an inch wider in premium and 6 inches more legroom. If you are short that won't really mean much, but to some, like me, it means a lot.

The entertainment system on V is far better than QANTAS so it should help entertain my son somewhat for 15 hours (then 5 hours to Orlando...argghhh).

Go to seatguru.com to give you an idea of where and where not to sit.

I'm 180cm and so is DH. Ooh, what I would of given for Premium Econ last trip!!! I think it's our plan for next year.

On other things...

try www.checkmytrip.com to see what seat allocation you have. Works for Qantas direct booked flights, not sure about travel agent flights or V Australia. You'll need your 6-character booking number, eg A7GE44, and surname, then drill down through the info. You will even be able to see what seats are empty, and could do what we did, ring Qantas and got moved further forward.

www.allmenus.com was a bit of a life saver for us in budgeting menus and seeing what was at a resturant before we went. It has the menu and prices listed. Type in Anaheim as the city for Disneyland, or Garden Grove which is about a km away. Or other cities if you're moving around.

I'm hoping that we'll get to the Cheesecake Factory and Bubba Gumps on our next trip.

We went to the Farmer's Market /Grove as part of a day trip. We had the best ever CornDog from one of the vendors. I'll find the name if anyone is interested. I found the CornDogs in DL a bit thicker in batter than the ones we normally get here at the Easter Show.

 

[ColB]

I'm 180cm and so is DH. Ooh, what I would of given for Premium Econ last trip!!! I think it's our plan for next year.

I'm 197cm, but my son is 115cm, so guess where my legs end up! I always end long haul economy flights with bruises shaped like tray table hinges on my knees.

 

[lovintheland]

YoungAussieNurse you will loooooove Space Mountain!!!! It is the reason we are returning with our three kids in 3 weeks 5 days after our June 2007 once in a lifetime trip (LOL!). Hubby and I had our first visit to Disneyland 20 yrs ago and he and my sister dragged me on Space Mountain. I was absolutely terrified and closed my eyes and screamed the whole ride. Rode again in 2007 with Dh and DS 10, DD's 13 & 7 were too scared, I was trying to be brave for terrified DS, but once the ride started I actually opened my eyes's and loved it sooooo much. DS was screaming and I screamed back "are you ok?" to which he replied "this is the most awesomest ride". It was what I would call "fun" not "scary" and I'm a big wus! We unfortunately ran out of time to ride it again but will be very soon thanks to V Australia. By the way my niece works for Virgin and she got a special staff rate of $100 return to LA in Premium Economy. She said it was very nice but was a little bummed as she had actually put in for business class. That was her only disappointment as she said service/entertainment etc., were excellent!

I can't wait to go! still doesn't feel real that it's so close. About to book Disneyland Express. Yay!

 

[marvel]

Youngaussienurse, you have to do space mountain, it is a very smooth ride, very fast but really smooth, you don't get rocked around at all.

Premuim economy sounds great, we are in regular economy as our flights were all booked with AirNZ points, we find their inflight service and the tv system fine so far.

ColB - i know what you mean about going solo on rides. my wife won't do any coasters or haunted mansion, and i try to do every ride i can. At least at WDW they had a lot of single rider lines, not sure about DL haven't looked into the rides that much yet.

BUtterflykisses - we will be there exactly the same dates in a king room!!

 

[AlyssaCameronsDad]

Hello to all the other Aussies on here!

We're heading over at Christmas time, and after spending 3.5 weeks doing family & friends, will finish up at Disney 3-6 Jan, staying at the HOJO.

I just wanted to add two things to the ongoing conversations.

1. We booked our travel insurance through worldcare.com.au. We found them by searching all the standard ones, and saw that they were actually the underwriter for somebody (flight centre or webjet). Anyway, we went directly to them and saved $100 over the premium that was originally offered. aus$300 for 30 days cover for family of 4 in the states.

2. For those who miss having some of the best american food, you can try usafoods.com.au. They've got all the good stuff, like candy bars and pop tarts. In addition to more standard 'cooking' foods if you ever got into that type of thing

In terms of restaurants to visit over there, we're going to have to visit Arby's for their roast beef, waffle fries & shakes, as well as taco bell. it's fast food, but you have to do it once a trip.

Our kids will be 5 and 2 and they really haven't gotten into disney movies, or movies in general yet. We tried to watch Toy Story today, and got about half way through before the oldest got bored. The youngest was bored after 10 mins and spent the next half hour walking around banging the tamborine, sitting on his sister, and otherwise looking for attention.

Finally, can i just put some of these silly icons on which otherwise, wouldn't get used. they're apropos of absolutely nothing:
: : : popcorn:

-Brian, Liz, Alyssa & Cameron

PS
DOH: "To be able to post links or images your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 1 posts.

Please remove links from your message, then you will be able to submit your post."

Guess I need to do more posting and less lurking. Please copy the links above into web if interested. not associated with either.

 

[gogo65]

Ok everyone, so I had nothing better to do this morning.
I have read through the thread and tried to get as much info as possible.
If the information is incorrect or if you would prefer not to have your name in the list please let me know.

We should be able to update this as we go,
I will also look at adding useful links to help with the planning etc.

What does everyone think??
PS I hope I haven't forgotten anyone

Aussie trip planners 2009


May

BecBennett -
Renderman7-
lovintheland-

June

July

August

September

Marvel -19-27/9 – Hojo’s
Czardas
Butterflykisses- 21-28/9 - Hojo
rossip

October

Platypus67 -14-18/10 -Hojo
Ihaveamickeymousekid – 18-26/10 - Carousal Inn
Flea 18/10-1/11 Hojo’s

November

Aussiemickeys 15-17/11
Aussiedaisy & youngaussienurse - 17-24/11 - Hojo

December

ColB
Gogo65 25-30/12 - Carousal Inn


Aussie trip planners 2009 WDW

Sharkmeister
Dollarmite
ColB 8/12



Aussie trip planners 2010
alyssacameronsdad - 3-6/1 - Hojo
KylieH Oct 2010
Becpee Oct 2010
Mareeld86

Other helpful links:

Disney DVD for Aussies:
http://www.disney.com.au/disneyland/disneyland_dvd.html

Menus for anaheim:
www.allmenus.com

Flight seat allocation:
www.checkmytrip.com
www.seatguru.com

Travel insurance:
www.suresave.net.au
www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au
www.worldcare.com.au.

Time/clock converter:
www.timeanddate.com

ANZ travel card:
http://anz.com.au/aus/promo/Dont-Get...as/default.asp

Added a bit more info.

 

[ozdisfan]

Hi everyone!
I am new to disboards.com and am loving it so far. i am a person who has a dirty little secret with being obsessed with all things disney. none of my friends and family seem to be interested with disney....seriously.......WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh well, their loss, am i right guys?

 

[emum]

Been a while since I posted in this area, but thought I'd poke my head in at this ridiculously late hour. (Actually, we leave first thing in the morning for a week's holiday up the coast, and I've been up packing).

We travelled to DL in Sept./Oct. last year, and I'm happy to say I very successfully converted my DH into a "Disney-a-holic".

As such, we're treating ourselves to a an all-submersive Disney experience for our fortieth birthdays next year - we're doing DL, WDW, and a week-long cruise in Dec./Jan. I think I'm the longest term planner here thus far ! (But planning it all is half the fun !)

We too will be travelling premium economy this time (as DH seems to rack up FF points quite nicely). Will hopefully be anice change from "cattle class" (as my parents call it ).

The kids don't know about the trip yet, and from last year's experience, probably won't until the second half of next year. It will be a whole new ball game next time, as our eldest will have hit teenagehood with gusto LOL.

Lots of exciting months to look forward to planning, and saving as many $$ for the trip as we can.

I look forward to catching up when we arrive home in a week's time.

Cheers,
Sally

 

[Saskiwi]

Hi all - another Kiwi Dis fan here
This thread is a great idea - we just got back from our trip to LA which included a 6-day Park Hopper at DL/DCA. I will post a full trip report when I get my act together and finish unpacking, but though I'd check in anyway.
Accomm: We stayed at Hojo's which was perfect - easy, easy walking distance to the park and great pool area for kids. I'd read on some boards that people thought it was too far for their kids to walk, (The Unofficial Guide makes a BIG deal about how much walking you will do at the parks and how to prepare your kids for it) but our 6 and 9 year old found it a breeze - I don't want to make too many assumptions, but I think maybe the average Aussie/Kiwi kid probably walks a bit more than US kids in their daily lives (e.g. ours walk to school around 3 days a week), so they were fine with all the walking at the parks - they were so excited most of the time, there was very little moaning about tired legs at all!
Transport: We flew with Qantas, which was fine - very basic service from the cabin crew who seemed pretty unenthusiastic about their job, but the flights were on time and the kid's meals were good, and we survived that hellish long trip (I know, - even longer from Oz!)
We have driven a lot in the US in the past, and were confident about driving in LA, so hired a car from Budget (wouldn't recommend them - poor service, nearly an hour's wait at their LAX office to get our car -sneaky upgrading insurance costs etc. etc) as we wanted to do some trips after our DL stay, but a car is definitely NOT essential if you are staying close to the parks.
Crowds: We were worried about being at DL during Spring break and Easter, one of the busiest times of the year with all the crowds, but thanks to these boards and HydroGuys's tips (READ THEM!) we learned the TWO MOST IMPORTANT TIPS for getting the most out of DL:
Get there early (at least half an hour before opening) and learn how to use FastPass!
We did this and the longest we waited for any ride in 6 days was 30 minutes one morning for Toy Story Midway Mania (no FP) - the rest of the time it was waaaay less, with many rides we just walked straight on - despite the big crowds and wait times of over an hour for non-FP holders. I almost felt guilty breezing past the long lines of parents and kids waiting for Splash, Soarin, Grizzly etc. - but it seems many locals a) don't bother turning up to the parks early and b) haven't learnt how to use FastPass. I guess if you have an Annual Pass and can rock up any time, it's not such a big deal to maximise your time at DL, as it is for us on the other side of the world!
Anyway, if any Kiwis/Aussies planning a trip shortly want to PM me with any queries I'm happy to answer them
cheers, Sarah

 

[gogo65]

Hi everyone!
I am new to disboards.com and am loving it so far. i am a person who has a dirty little secret with being obsessed with all things disney. none of my friends and family seem to be interested with disney....seriously.......WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh well, their loss, am i right guys?

You have found the right place, you see we are all very normal here, it is everyone else who doesn't like disney that isn't.

Any trips planned yet??

 

[becpee]

I guess for a while I will be living vicariously through all of you
So keep up the good work.
Because our trip is so far away all we can do is look and dream and plan for now, even my DH is very excited which I am rapt about.
I am glad we have decided to book and plan everything ourselves, planning is definately half the fun.
We are hoping to fly V-Australia premium economy also, so hopefully the prices don't increase TOO much between now and booking the flights, does anybody know how far the good specials come out for Sep/Oct?
It will be 2010 so I know not until next year at least.

 

[marvel]

HI there emum, ozdisfan, saskiwi and alyssafcameronsdad,

thanks for all the info brian, will definetly check out the insurance haven't got any yet. As for usafoods i have spent plenty on them but they are out of stock of alot of the stuff we like, my DS8 loves poptarts

saskiwi, you trip sounds great thanks for the tips.

ozdisfan - i know what you mean about others not understanding disney. we haven't told anyone at all about our upcomming trip as they won't understand why we need to go back 1 year after spending 7 weeks doing WDW, NY etc. but we just had to.

emum - love to hear about your trip last year as we are going sept this year. where did you stay etc etc, and where else did you visit?

becpee - we booked the specials for this sept about 3 weeks ago, so I suppose that gives you and idea for next year.

 

[LittleDisneyLovers]

Just found this thread, wish I'd found it weeks ago so I could share my excitement with other Disney lovers!
Ok, Disney History-
May 2005 DL for 50th celebrations.
April 2006 DL to finish 1st trip.
Sept 2008 WDW for a whole month! Port Orleans, French Quarter.
April 2009 - 3 more sleeps! Couldn't NOT go with the cheap flights at the moment! So, we're doing 10 nights in Anaheim, then a week in Vegas (Adults DL!) Travelling with DH and 2 x DD, 6 & 8. Staying at HOJO.
Will be sure to post any tips upon returning since their is so many changes lately. Don't hesitate to ask if anyone has any specific questions or stuff to check out while I'm there. I'm pretty open and honest, so ask away!
I'm a shopper, so any shopping questions will be taken extremely seriously (any excuse, right?)
Ohh, and I'm more than happy to "test" some churro's, dolewhips and handfuls of Taffy if anybody needs me to.....anybody?
PS, Great Thread!!!!!

 

[marvel]

Great to hear from you. Great to add another disney addict to the club. Look forward to hearing about your trip when you return, we are big shoppers as well. Love to hear about your WDW trip as well, when you get back of course

Have a great trip, look forward to hearing more from you.

We plan on staying at HOJO in sept so really interested in your honest opinion on it, as I am still a little
nervous about the noise issue.

 

[Czardas]

Hi guys, I have been away for a week sick in bed - only the flu but enough to knock me around . Gee this thread has taken off -

I have 3 Disneyland maps, they are from last year but very relavant. So I am happy to post to the first 3 who PM me with their postal details and haven't been to Disneyland before.

Update

Aussie trip planners 2009


May

BecBennett -
Renderman7-

June

July

August

September

Czardas - 09-12 September - Park Vue
Marvel -19-27/9 – Hojo’s
Butterflykisses- 21-28/9 - Hojo
rossip

October

Platypus67 -14-18/10 -Hojo
Ihaveamickeymousekid – 18-26/10 - Carousal Inn
Flea 18/10-1/11 Hojo’s

November

Aussiemickeys 15-17/11
Aussiedaisy & youngaussienurse - 17-24/11 - Hojo

December

ColB
Gogo65 25-30/12 - Carousal Inn


Aussie trip planners 2009 WDW

Sharkmeister
Dollarmite
ColB 8/12



Aussie trip planners 2010

KylieH Oct 2010
Becpee Oct 2010
Mareeld86

Random Bits

Insurance Company - travelinsurancedirect I have used for every holiday for the past 3 or 4 years. They are under written by Alianz. Great prices but I have never (thank goodness) had to make a claim so I can't vouch for there services in the claims department.

Vegas Accomodation - We stayed at The Palazzo not long after they opened. This massive hotel is connected to the Venetian and directly opposite Treasure Island. What can I say it was fantastic and I have noticed that they have great prices at the moment. All rooms are suites and huge. If anyone would like me to email them photos of the rooms, just PM me.
Vegas Grand Canyon Tour - We did a helicopter flight with a company called Maverick. Couldn't recommend them highly enough. We landed near the Colarado river and they even had picnic tables and offered champagne and hampers. Flew over Hoover dam as well.

Website - I love using a website called seatguru.com this allows you to view all the seats on the plane and see which ones are better than others, and which ones not to sit in. All airlines are listed.
Also checkmytrip.com which is handy to see where your seats are that have been allocated and which ones are still available.

Disneyland Express - This was a really simple way to get from the airport to our Disneyland hotel, as we weren't going to hire a car. Who wants to drive on the other side of the road after a 14 hour flight and then pay for a car to sit in a carpark all day? We came out of the customs area, walked out to the medium strip and waited about 15 minutes before the well signwritten bus came and picked us up. I didn't bother about making a booking, just jumped on and paid when we arrived at one of the stops. Easy.

Food - The serving size in America is massive. Get ready for everything being deep fried or coming with packets of potoato chips. I couldn't get over how many people were drinking coke with their breakfasts
I also spent ages in the supermarket amazed at the massive choices. I am sure we saw an aisle dedicated to donuts

Our flights there and back

• 
  Our flight over was wonderful until I was served a steak sandwhich that had a live cochroach in it, which looked like he came from the lettuce. The FA couldnt believe it until I handed her the semi squished little fella in a serviette. The cabin manager rushed in and was sooo apologetic, offering me anything in the duty free shopping catalogue I wanted. I didn't take it as it started to feel like I had planted it there. it was becoming embaressing. I was given a bottle of Dom Perigon as I left the flight, which went down nicely when we got to Vegas. When I got home there was a very appologetic letter from Qantas, as well as a David Jones gift voucher. I have since read in the paper this happening to another passenger on the same Mel-Lax route.

• Our flight home last year was a bit exciting also as I was seated next to Ozzie Osbourne and his wife Sharon. It made for an interesting flight. The Qantas staff were all over him. I must admit that the aftershave that he put on the next morning was really yummy and to this day I am kicking myself for not asking what it was. Might I just add that his brain cells are fried

 

[LittleDisneyLovers]

I don't want to hijack this thread, so kick me out if I am, But.... Since there are so many of us down under that are planning trips......I thought we could start a postcard thingy. So I goes like this, I am willing to send 5 postcards from DL to kids in OZ/NZ, Saying something like "I hear your coming to see me soon, I am looking forward to meeting you! Love Mickey", But....If you recieve a card you have to agree to send some to other kids on your trip. What do y'all think?
I have tomorrow and Wednesday to get organised with names and addresses, if anyone is interested???

 

[Flea]

I don't want to hijack this thread, so kick me out if I am, But.... Since there are so many of us down under that are planning trips......I thought we could start a postcard thingy. So I goes like this, I am willing to send 5 postcards from DL to kids in OZ/NZ, Saying something like "I hear your coming to see me soon, I am looking forward to meeting you! Love Mickey", But....If you recieve a card you have to agree to send some to other kids on your trip. What do y'all think?
I have tomorrow and Wednesday to get organised with names and addresses, if anyone is interested???

That sounds like a nice idea

 

[Flea]

Our flights there and back

• 
  Our flight over was wonderful until I was served a steak sandwhich that had a live cochroach in it, which looked like he came from the lettuce. The FA couldnt believe it until I handed her the semi squished little fella in a serviette. The cabin manager rushed in and was sooo apologetic, offering me anything in the duty free shopping catalogue I wanted. I didn't take it as it started to feel like I had planted it there. it was becoming embaressing. I was given a bottle of Dom Perigon as I left the flight, which went down nicely when we got to Vegas. When I got home there was a very appologetic letter from Qantas, as well as a David Jones gift voucher. I have since read in the paper this happening to another passenger on the same Mel-Lax route.

• Our flight home last year was a bit exciting also as I was seated next to Ozzie Osbourne and his wife Sharon. It made for an interesting flight. The Qantas staff were all over him. I must admit that the aftershave that he put on the next morning was really yummy and to this day I am kicking myself for not asking what it was. Might I just add that his brain cells are fried

Sorry you have been sick - I've been sick in bed today luckily with the laptop so I can do some "research"

I would LOVE to be seated with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne - how cool is that

 

[LittleDisneyLovers]

Ok Flea, so your number 1.
The first 5 people to PM me thier child's first name, address and favourite Disney character (i will try to accomodate) have a postcard on the way. I will be posting them between 23rd April and 3rd May.
I just love spreading the magic! It's good karma too!