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

[Andona]

When is Disneyland on in the show. Early or late? They're up to Santa Monica now.

They've already shown it Jacs. If you missed it I think you'll be able to watch the segment on their website after the show?

Andona

 

[jacs1234]

I'll do that. Thanks Andona.

 

[queenie82]

Been hovering the WDW and DVC boards for a while but only just popped over to this one now! G'DAY!
I also just watched the Getaway Episode. I was quite surprised how much in ride filming they could do! Toy Story Mania....I was salivating. I REALLY want to do that. I confess....I LOVE the Buzz Lightyear ride!

As for the other parts of the Episode...there are a few more things in Malibu than the beach - The STUNNING Getty Museum which is a must see. This is the original one before the massive one designed by Richard Meier was built.

So my reason for stopping generally into this forum (before I found this massive Aussie thread!) was if anyone knows when ther DL calendars come out? We are going in early January after spending a couple weeks in WDW (United sale fare ) and am getting onto the DL planning....
We have 5 nights at DL but don't know if there is something that might be happing on the 1st or 2nd Jan that might not still be on from the 3rd???

Anyways
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE - OI OI OI!!!
Nice to see all you folks here

 

[aussiegirls]

cool sig queenie, and I love the Syd-o-ney

I don't actually know when the calendar comes out. We will be there in 5.5 weeks and the calendar is still not up. I think it is only a few weeks before that they put it up. Stupid really but whatcha gunna do

 

[queenie82]

cool sig queenie, and I love the Syd-o-ney

I don't actually know when the calendar comes out. We will be there in 5.5 weeks and the calendar is still not up. I think it is only a few weeks before that they put it up. Stupid really but whatcha gunna do

Ah yes....
We will NEVER let him live that down...

So excited for you!!!! I hope it all goes smoothly
Bummer about the calendar! Geez...
WDW just released December hours...

But as you way what can you do....JUST HAVE FUN!!
Say hi to the mouse for me!

 

[dave73]

This might be somewhere back in the thread but might take me a while to find it

Last time we went to LA we got private transfers from LAX to Anaheim and return. But looking at the Disneyland Resort Express coach this seems a good option and seems just as easy.

It will also save us a couple of hundred dollars in the process.

My question is to people who have used it before, how did you find it? Any long waits due to overcrowding etc...?

You save $2 by booking online but I assume you can pay on arrival direct to the driver, can anyone confirm that?

Just after peoples impressions of the service.

Also is it hard to locate at LAX once you clear customs and get your luggage?

Thanks in advance

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Is anyone using TSA locks to lock their luggage? I've heard that US customs will cut open your suitcase if it has locks on it and TSA locks are the only ones that allow them to get into your suitcase without damaging it. Any one know more about this?

 

[melbarkwith]

My question is to people who have used it before, how did you find it? Any long waits due to overcrowding etc...?

You save $2 by booking online but I assume you can pay on arrival direct to the driver, can anyone confirm that?

Also is it hard to locate at LAX once you clear customs and get your luggage?

Thanks in advance

We used it last time and found it great. Our bus was mostly full of overexcited Aussies who were itching to get to DL

I'm not sure about paying the driver directly. From memory the bus first went to the Disneyland Hotel where someone from the bus company jumped on board and grabbed everyone's vouchers etc. I don't remember how long it took to get to our hotel on Harbor from there, but obviously not long enough to get annoyed about

You quite literally walk out of customs/immigration, walk up the ramp and out of the door to the street to wait for the bus. Not hard to find at all.

 

[melbarkwith]

Is anyone using TSA locks to lock their luggage? I've heard that US customs will cut open your suitcase if it has locks on it and TSA locks are the only ones that allow them to get into your suitcase without damaging it. Any one know more about this?

We used regular suitcase locks last time (we have a bunch of them). I took spare locks with us just in case they cut the locks, but they didn't. Having said that, I will swear that someone had been through our bag which had all of the food in it.

I figured if they cut the locks at least I would know that someone had been through our cases.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Is anyone using TSA locks to lock their luggage? I've heard that US customs will cut open your suitcase if it has locks on it and TSA locks are the only ones that allow them to get into your suitcase without damaging it. Any one know more about this?

I bought the TSA locks for this reason, plus I bought those little cable tie ones that look through your lock so that you know if the locks have been opened or not. I guess it doesn't matter, i just want to know that's all.

 

[Jade+3]

My question is to people who have used it before, how did you find it? Any long waits due to overcrowding etc...?

You save $2 by booking online but I assume you can pay on arrival direct to the driver, can anyone confirm that?

Just after peoples impressions of the service.

We have used the Disneyland Express once, and our experience was not great. DH and I were one of the first people waiting at the bus stop. As we waited the crowd grew. When the bus arrived, my goodness. The people were so rude. Everybody pushed and shoved. There was no organisation what so ever. We did not get on the first bus as all the people that had arrived after us managed to push their way in. When the second bus arrived there was also a crowd. DH, who is a big guy, grabbed our cases and stood his ground, while I was being pushed and shoved while trying to get on the bus and find 2 empty seats together.

Once on the bus, we paid our driver. I was disappointed with the bus as it had Disney pictures all over the windows so we could not see out very well. I know it is only freeways, but I still wanted to check everything out. We were staying at Hojo's so were first dropped off. There was another family being dropped off also, and they were missing a case. The driver had to empty out all the cases on the bus, then they were yelling at him saying that he must have left it at the airport.

Thats my experience with the Disneyland Express. It was a few years ago, so hopefully there is better organisation now.

 

[Andona]

Is anyone using TSA locks to lock their luggage? I've heard that US customs will cut open your suitcase if it has locks on it and TSA locks are the only ones that allow them to get into your suitcase without damaging it. Any one know more about this?

Yes, we use TSA locks.
In all the US airports I've been to, you have to take your suitcases to a separate security line after you check in ( they don't take the bags away at checkin)

Last year we had several domestic US flights and each time the security guys looked at our locks and said, "Ok you're fine". People with unlocked cases were also "fine".

In some cases, where people had ordinary locks they were asked to wait until their bag got to the checkpoint - so that they could open it. I assume that if they didn't wait they ran the risk of having their locks cut open.

I watched the procedures because my son has had his locks cut open in the past.

Andona

 

[Jade+3]

Yes, we use TSA locks.
In all the US airports I've been to, you have to take your suitcases to a separate security line after you check in ( they don't take the bags away at checkin)

When we were flying domestically out of San Francisco, they took our luggage at check-in, but out of LAX we had to go in another line for our bags. When we arrived in Hawaii there was a flyer in one of our cases saying that it had been searched. We don't use locks.

 

[darren123]

This might be somewhere back in the thread but might take me a while to find it

Last time we went to LA we got private transfers from LAX to Anaheim and return. But looking at the Disneyland Resort Express coach this seems a good option and seems just as easy.

It will also save us a couple of hundred dollars in the process.

My question is to people who have used it before, how did you find it? Any long waits due to overcrowding etc...?

You save $2 by booking online but I assume you can pay on arrival direct to the driver, can anyone confirm that?

Just after peoples impressions of the service.

Also is it hard to locate at LAX once you clear customs and get your luggage?

Thanks in advance

Wow we must of picked a good time to go as we have never in our trips had overcrowding there would may have been about 25 people on the bus both ways to LAX to our hotel. I have not seen anyone pay for there ticket to the driver everyone seemed to have a voucher. We had a lovely comfortable trip with them and have been very happy with their services, the staff are very friendly we were met with a smile from the bus driver and and when confirming our pickup from the hotel to LAX the lady on the phone was very nice maybe we had picked a good day.

Just a Question for you all are any of you taking your recycling shopping bags with you. We did and you should see the looks we got from the supermarket checkout guy and the lady from the Disney Discount shop said Ohh you must be from Australia had a couple in here last week with those shopping bags and saved heaps on having to throw out plastic bags at the hotel.

 

[LesleyP]

Just a Question for you all are any of you taking your recycling shopping bags with you. We did and you should see the looks we got from the supermarket checkout guy and the lady from the Disney Discount shop said Ohh you must be from Australia had a couple in here last week with those shopping bags and saved heaps on having to throw out plastic bags at the hotel.

I intend to take a couple of recycling bags because I'm going to San Francisco and they've banned plastic bags there apparently. I'm going to see if I can buy some funky ones there too as it would make a change from hauling around green Woolworths bags!


With the luggage locks, the last time I went to the US I didn't put locks on my bags and they got searched on my flight from Vegas to New York. All the bath and lotion stuff I purchased I put in a large plastic ziplock bag and it was all pulled out of the plastic bag and left strewen throughout my bag. Luckily, nothing leaked! They did put in a note saying they'd checked through my bag.

I loved that Getaway special on LA! I loved how they showed inside the Toy Story ride! I can't to try it!

I checked out Getaway's link on their website to Santa Monica's shopping area and downloaded the 4 page walking map of the area. There's not just 3rd Street that they mentioned, there's heaps more streets with excellent shops around there too.

 

[keptwoman]

Just a Question for you all are any of you taking your recycling shopping bags with you. We did and you should see the looks we got from the supermarket checkout guy and the lady from the Disney Discount shop said Ohh you must be from Australia had a couple in here last week with those shopping bags and saved heaps on having to throw out plastic bags at the hotel.

Yes, we are taking a Coles blue insulated bag so that we hae somewhere to put cold stuff for our roadtrip, plus 3-4 Coles Jute bags for grocery shopping because they are really sturdy and will hold a good amount of weight. I toyed with buying some there, for the novelty but they looked expensive.

 

[aussiegirls]

lesley that map of Santa Monica you talked about sounds awesome. Where on the website did you find it, I think I might be a bit blind I have looked on the Getaway website but can't see it.

xxxx

 

[Flea]

I might sew up a couple of reusable bags before I go in some disney fabrics....I'll see how I get on

Can I mention again how in love with my new lens I am haha. I had another play during the girls swimming lessons today...head over heals in love

 

[LesleyP]

lesley that map of Santa Monica you talked about sounds awesome. Where on the website did you find it, I think I might be a bit blind I have looked on the Getaway website but can't see it.

xxxx

Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade website

I hadn't expected that there would be so many shops there, they even have Macys, Sears and a post office too, which will come in handy! Can post all my shopping home! There seems to be a few parking lots too, if you're planning on driving.

 

[Andona]

I loved that Getaway special on LA! I loved how they showed inside the Toy Story ride! I can't to try it!

Me too , Lesley! I got tears in my eyes and a big silly grin on my face when they showed Toy Story Mania. We rode it last year at WDW and thought it was one of the best rides in the whole place

At rope drop a huge mass of people made a beeline for the ride at Hollywood Studios - there were even long queues at the Fastpass machines!

We managed to ride it three times there in one day but I don't know if we'll be able to at Disneyland. At WDW it's a Fastpass ride, I don't really understand why it doesn't have a Fastpass at Disneyland.

Andona