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

[marvel]

I read about those characters at the walk of fame, so will be weary. I think we will save our characters photos for universal and disney. the kids are really excited about seeing the stars, we went there over 10yrs ago when it was really seedy but apparently it is pretty good now. The hollywood and highland complex sounds pretty good.

Hey keptwoman. Maryland sounds great. I have been watching an old series, Homicide Life on the Streets, a show from the 90's and its set in Baltimore, Maryland. It looks like it has great seafood.

 

[dave73]

In regard to the characters on the walk of fame, most are poor imitations since none of them are licenced, they are basically buskers looking to make a dollar, so they do tend to be a little in your face. I only found that to be the case if I stood close to them and looked at them. If you stand at a distance and are more discreet you can get a photo or video of them if you don't make it too obvious.

I am sure they are used to overseas tourists taking photos not realising they want to be paid.

If you walk away a block or so you get a few more undesirables but there are so many tourists and so many people around it's quite safe if remain aware and just politely say no to their advances.

Just a tip, If you walk behind the Kodak Theatre you can walk up to a small lookout and get a pretty good view of the Hollywood sign.

We are actually getting a shuttle from Anaheim to Hollwood, its $39 return pp, picks up at 11am and heads back at 7pm. We are doing this and then probably going to walk around down to the Tattoo shop where LA Ink is filmed (on foxtel) and to the Famous Pinky's hot dog shop.

We will then get the hop on hop off double decker bus and just get off where we want, like Beverley Hills and Santa Monica.

Also looking to catch a Lakers game while we are there.

 

[Flea]

I can now offically say I'm going to Disneyland NEXT month - welcome to the first day of spring.

Another question everyone

What do you all take in your carry on bag?

And if you have kids, do you take snacks? If so, what snacks?

Any fun things you do to keep the kids entertained?

Do you change into trackies for the trip, something comfy?

But you still need a park hopper for that day too.


Carry Ons
Everyone:
Journal, pencil case
Electronic gadgets (DS, iPhone, iPods)
Eye mask and snuggly socks (because we are travelling United who suck)
Small travel pillow

Kids:
Actitivy books
M: barbies or littlest pet shop or something like that and cuddly toy and her blanket

Me:
Herb tea (hate normal tea and too many coffees not sensible)
tissues, vicks sniffy inhaler thing for take offs and landing, gum ditto, lip balm
water colour paints, glue stick
Gluten free food.

In spare clothes bag:
Spare shirts and underwear (kids spill stuff!! hell I spill stuff) spare trousers for 6yo
toothbrush and paste, moisturiser, deoderant, face cloth, wet wipes.

Good Ideas

GIRLS:

• Their PJ's (we have a night flight so I'll change them before we board and they can wear their clothes when we land)
• Snacks: Muesli bars and what not
• Colouring books, paper, notepads and crayons (they are still young so crayons are a better pic - I'll get the crayola twistable ones)
• Their babies (one toy of their choice from home most probably their cabbage patch's because they are always in bed with them )
• A sippy cup with a lid (because I don't want them spilling drinks everywhere) also sucking through the straw helps their ears on landing and takeoff
• A reading book
• Their kid sized earphones so they can watch/listen to my ipod. I might buy an airplane jack so they can wear those to watch movies on the plane.
• Papo - which is my youngests lovie - and a pillow for my other dd she has those ones that have little beans in it like bean bags

Me:

• I'll wear something comfy for the plane trip - most probably tights and a hoodie
• Ipod
• Rescue Remedy and any other herbal stuff
• Pens and papers
• Wee gifts wrapped up for the kidlets for if they get restless
• Lollies and snacks
• book
• Knitting?? I'm not sure about this I have special knitting needles that I've used before in flight without problems but I dont know if I want to lose them if they get confiscated as they are expensive...and then I'll be without my knitting for our trip (not sure if I can go that long without some sort of knitting.
• deoderant/toothbrush/eyemask etc probably for everyone.
• Cameras and lenses

DH:

• whatever he wants haha - probably just a book and some sleeping tablets and then no-dose for when he landds at the other end.

Are any of you doing anything interesting in LA? We are doing Santa Monica, the tar pits, Pinks Hot Dogs, Walk of Fame, Griffith Observatory and of course Universal. Just wondering if there is anything else we might be missing.

We have a rental car for a couple of days but we are going to Santa monica (and this big yarn store there) and then to the outlet malls in the area (ontario mills, Desert palms?? I think I can't remember all the names) and Grocery store haha that is a highlight of my trip

Oh and Universal

 

[keptwoman]

Marvel, we are actually going to be in inland Maryland, in this funny little triangle at the North West side of the state, so miles from the sea. Baltimore looks gorgeous, I would have loved to go there, but alas no time. We shall have our fill of seafood in Rhode Island and Massacheusetts.

 

[platypus67]

Platypus67, we'll be there the same time as you. We have a PS reservation at the Blue Bayou for dinner on October 15th.

I was a little concerned to read (on another board) that there will be a major convention at the Disney Convention center from Oct 15th to Oct 18th. This will probably impact on the crowds

Guess we will just have to make doubly sure we're at the gates for rope drop!

Bye for now
Adrienne

Hey I'm at DL around this time too. I'm there from 12-17 Oct. Are either of you going to the TOT party?

Bummer about that convention. Do you mind PMing me a link to the thread where you heard the info so I can get a bit more info Adrienne.

Bit of a late reply as I've been away from the boards for a few days.

Andona we were at DLR last year during the weekend of gay days and the Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Party, both park events. Everything I've read says the crowds were bad. IMHO we really didn't notice and it didn't worry us at all. We managed to get waterside seats at Blue Bayou without asking and we waited reasonable amounts of time for rides. We only passed on one ride-Nimo because of lines. (good excuse for another visit)
I've come to the conclusion that there will always be something happening when I am there so I no longer worry about it.
In 2007 we planned our trip to WDW and after all was organised we found out that we were there during Pop Warner and staying at one of the hotels they used. I stressed for months, even thought about changing our plans. In the end we went and if I hadn't known about it I never would have noticed. No noise all night, no rude children, nothing that I had been reading about (on another board) worried us.

Ms Shttergirl yes we will be at ToT on October 15th. Really looking forward to it. Did it last year and had a great time. Still not sure about costumes as yet. We may wait until we get over there and organise something.

We are at HoJos Oct 13-17. I'll have to get a little Aussie flag for my bag.

 

[platypus67]

Okay everyone, let's play a little game.

How many days are you going for, and how many suitcases are you taking?

I'll start:-

We are going for 21 days and taking 4 suitcases.

One large, 2 medium and 1 small. We are also taking 2 cabin bags and the kids have a backpack each.


I definitely don't feel this is enough but I am extremely concerned about it all fitting into the boots of the town cars we have organised everywhere.

DL is at the end of our trip so I am quite expecting to have to buy one of those duffel bags with wheels or similar to bring everything home. I did consider posting some stuff back but I think a few of you mentioned it was quite expensive.

So everyone, how many bags are you taking?

Okay so this is my big question to all of the people taking many bags:-


HOW ARE YOU GETTING TO AIRPORTS AND FROM AIRPORTS?????

Some of you are going to need a bus

Hi everyone,

My name is sue and along with hubby & 3 kids (13, 12 & 10) we are heading off to LA in 49 days. We are staying at HOJO for 5 nights then off to vegas for 3 nights, back down to stay in San Diego for 3 nights before finishing off with 6 nights back at HOJO's.

We could not decide whether to do DL at the start or the end so decided on both. We will be buying annual passes so that hopefully we will be able to make a return trip next year.

Sue

We are away for 30 days. It's DD 14 and myself only this trip. 1 large suitcase, two slightly smaller ones and 1 fold up bag. One smaller suitcase will go inside the larger one with the fold up bag inside of this.
Carry on luggage will be DD14 1 over the sholder bag and 1 laptop. Myself 1 rolling bag with camera gear and necessities for flight inside and 1 shoulder bag. We will have to be careful this time as we will be short two bags that usually come with hubby
We aren't taking much clothing with us - two pair of jeans each and a few tops plus the basic necessities. Also will have a few presents for family.
We will do a bit of shopping while we are there and probably send a box home via sea mail if needed.

We will get picked up in Toronto by my sister and then take the airport bus back when we leave (4 hour trip stopping at every town on the way)
When we arrive in LA we will take whatever airport shuttle arrives first while we are waiting. We will use the same company from Anaheim to the airport when we leave DLR so we can pay for a return ticket.

Welcome Suewith3. We usually stop at DLR on the way over. Stopping on the way home this time. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference. We are usually pretty tired when we arrive in LA as we generally can't sleep on the plane. We are looking forward to the stop on the return this time.

We leave in about 17 days so it is getting very close. Will get our Commonwealth travel card next week. Have decided on this one as it allows us to have both USD and CAD on the one card and we can transfer between the two if needed. I've been watching the $ and will be happy if it stays above 80 cents.
I need to purchase our park hopper tickets-may do that today while the dollar is at .84
All that is left to do after that is try to book Fantasmic for Oct 16th. I have to wait until Sept 17th to do this so will get up very early and try to secure the tickets.

 

[Andona]

Andona we were at DLR last year during the weekend of gay days and the Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Party, both park events. Everything I've read says the crowds were bad. IMHO we really didn't notice and it didn't worry us at all. We managed to get waterside seats at Blue Bayou without asking and we waited reasonable amounts of time for rides. We only passed on one ride-Nimo because of lines. (good excuse for another visit)

Platypus,
I was so glad to read this!
I've been stressing slightly about the reports that I've read on the baords about "October is getting to be a really busy time" etc etc.

Our first trip to Disneyland was in early January and the place was like a tomb. We walked onto almost everything. It was heaven.

With our WDW trip it wasn't a peak time and I carefully followed all the advice about "which park to avoid on certain days" so we also had an excellent experience with minimal waits.

DH hates queuing for long and I'd been worrying that our experience this time would be made stressful by crowds but your post makes me feel a lot better

We are rope-drop people and I'll have my Ridemax plans all worked out so I'm now confident we'll have another wonderful Disney experience.

I'm excited because I can now say we are going THIS MONTH ( but it's kind of cheating because we leave on the 30th )

Andona

 

[platypus67]

Andona I'm sure you will enjoy your visit. Sure it will be busier than January, but it sounds like you have done some research and have a "plan of attack"
At this stage we are going with the flow. We have a couple of things planned like our PS at Blue Bayou, ToT and hopefully Fantasmic, and a couple of must sees like Alladin and the new halloween fireworks . Other than that we will hop between the two parks and maybe try to do some of the newer attractions early. I've never had a real plan for DLR just a few key items and we work from there. It has always worked ok for us. We don't ride everything but usually get to do most of what we want. My DD is now ok with going on rides herself so she takes advantage of the single rider lines for some. I think she went on mulholland three times in a row last time and had a great time.

 

[darren123]

Are any of you doing anything interesting in LA? We are doing Santa Monica, the tar pits, Pinks Hot Dogs, Walk of Fame, Griffith Observatory and of course Universal. Just wondering if there is anything else we might be missing.

Olvera Street, Farmers Market, if you are into tattoo's there is Kat Von d's High Voltage Tattoo 1259 n. La Brea Ave. W. Hollywood

 

[princessmiki]

omg!!!!!
we are going next week........
its been 18 months in the making and now we cant believe its nearly here, starting to freak out now guys!!!!

we have decided to do a helicopter ride to the grand canyon, it lands us down at the bottom, so we can truely say we have been there.
feeling the excitement now guys

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Ms Shttergirl yes we will be at ToT on October 15th. Really looking forward to it. Did it last year and had a great time. Still not sure about costumes as yet. We may wait until we get over there and organise something.

If you do decide to dress up, make sure you post it here so I can look out for you, hehe.

 

[melbarkwith]

My kids are super excited because we just got our Disney Fairy card, from a Diser. They wanted to know how Mickey Mouse knew their names, I said I'd bought tickets so he must have got them from that

We got a FairyGodmailer card today too! My 3YO won't let anyone else near Mickey's card! The kids wanted to know who wrote the card (and if I did it! I wish...)

 

[Czardas]

omg!!!!!
we are going next week........
its been 18 months in the making and now we cant believe its nearly here, starting to freak out now guys!!!!

we have decided to do a helicopter ride to the grand canyon, it lands us down at the bottom, so we can truely say we have been there.
feeling the excitement now guys

I know how exciting is it??

We did the grand canyon helicopter tour with a company called Maverick, they were very good but you don't actually get to the base of the canyon as they are not allowed. They have there own picnic tables permantley set up for when when you land. We were then given a glass of bubbly and there was a hamper with biscuits, cheese, lollies, chips etc.

This is as close as you get

 

[Czardas]

hey princessmiki, we are staying at the palazzo. when will you be in vegas?

Hey Marvel I thought you might like to see some pics of the great room at The Palazzo. I loved this place

My beautiful marshmallow bed

Looking down past the bedroom into the split level lounge

Looking up from the lounge towards the bedroom

The bathroom. It actually had these fantastic hip height jets in the shower

Next to the lobby

Oh and I think we only paid a little of $200 per night for the room

 

[LesleyP]

Are any of you doing anything interesting in LA? We are doing Santa Monica, the tar pits, Pinks Hot Dogs, Walk of Fame, Griffith Observatory and of course Universal. Just wondering if there is anything else we might be missing.

I'm hoping to do the Dearly Departed bus tour in LA, for something a bit different. They take you to the sites of where famous people died or did naughty things!

I'm also planning on getting a ticket to a LA Lakers game but they don't go on sale til October, and I plan to also go to Universal Studios and Santa Monica as well.

 

[keptwoman]

Wow that looks stunning!!
Lets compare it to the hotel we are staying in in New York
http://ymcanyc.org/index.php?id=1134
Check out those bunks, suuuuper comfy

 

[Czardas]

Wow that looks stunning!!
Lets compare it to the hotel we are staying in in New York
http://ymcanyc.org/index.php?id=1134
Check out those bunks, suuuuper comfy

Too funny

 

[melbarkwith]

I plan to also go to Universal Studios and Santa Monica as well.

Does anyone know of an 'easy' way to get to Santa Monica? We loved it last time, but don't want to do the whole bus tour thing again. Neither of us are game to drive (chickens, I know!). I've searched endlessly online but can't come up with anything other than the LA bus tour.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Does anyone know of an 'easy' way to get to Santa Monica? We loved it last time, but don't want to do the whole bus tour thing again. Neither of us are game to drive (chickens, I know!). I've searched endlessly online but can't come up with anything other than the LA bus tour.

cab

That's the easiest way I've come up with for us

I'm sure there is some sort of easy public transport though. I hope someone chimes in.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Does anyone know of an 'easy' way to get to Santa Monica? We loved it last time, but don't want to do the whole bus tour thing again. Neither of us are game to drive (chickens, I know!). I've searched endlessly online but can't come up with anything other than the LA bus tour.

okay, all sillyness inside, I just found this for you. Go to www.mta.net and type in where you are coming from and your destination which would be Santa Monica Pier or something similar. It them tells you bus routes etc.