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

[jacs1234]

Sitting here trying to print out all our stuff and my printer is stuffed, I *might* go and get another one, sooo frustrating!!

Just buy a new one. They're so cheap but they're just not made to last.

 

[queenie82]

Thank you
Looking at going to Magic Mountain on the Sunday as they are only open Sat/Sun, We want to be in Disneyland for Fri/Sat for the Fireworks etc. We went to Magic Mountain in May last year and it was crowded but not to bad some rides we walk on in the morning but waited 2.5 hours to get on X2, did you go on it best rollercoaster ever. I remember the area of high wind that you are talking about and have made a note to take care will make sure we have jumpers especially my DW feels to cold. Just got back from FC and they will match the quote I got from Expedia worked out to that if we stay another 2 days we will save $150 on airfares as I am looking at staying at Alpine Inn only need a place to sleep and the reviews look good. Looking at booking in Nov/Dec do not want to book to far in advance because when we went to HKD airfare went down by $300 each in Dec maybe VAustralia/Qantas will have a special on then I hope.

Unfortunately it was Jan 2008 that we went before the arrival of X2. It does look amazing though.

 

[welley]

I am sooooo excited. I was having a look around on the Disney website and came across the Disney store... I can get a custom made skin for my iPhone with Pooh (Winnie that is) on it...

 

[keptwoman]

Oh goodness you guys who are going soon, sooo jealous. A competition to go to Disney came on the TV last night, DH couldn't work out why I would possibly want to go again so soon. Crazy man

Oh and a temper to my United grizzle, I have a friend who travels extensively and also has celiacs. Apparantly my allergy meal experience... lump all allergies into one meal and make it tasteless to boot is common across all airlines AND even worse they all serve exactly the same special meal in business class as they do in economy. Appalling! She's given up ordering GF meals and just takes pot luck with what lands on her plate. So there you go, take back everything I said about Uniteds sucky allergy meals, they all suck equally.

 

[Ihaveamickeymousekid]

Only 8 sleeps here

I cannot believe it is almost here...

Now just have to pack and get everything organised, i hate packing but i know it needs to be done.

My DD has bad asthma when she picks up colds which she does often so i have imposed a quarantine for her (just staying at home with her for the week) from Monday till we leave on Sunday to prevent her getting sick for the flight. I know it probably sounds over the top but she is so hard to handle when she is sick that i think i would go insane with her on a 13 hour flight if she is not well.

On the plus side i guess that makes it more motivating to pack.

We weren't really planning on heading out anywhere beside DL, DCA and some shopping, but was considering Legoland, has anyone had any experience with it? is it worth going to?

 

[Jade+3]

On the plus side i guess that makes it more motivating to pack.

We weren't really planning on heading out anywhere beside DL, DCA and some shopping, but was considering Legoland, has anyone had any experience with it? is it worth going to?

I too am trying to find the motivation to pack. I am determined not to leave everything to the night before, which I usually do. I have my new packing cubes, which should make packing fun.

We enjoyed Legoland. The day we visited there were no crowds. My kids are little and they loved it, but I have read that it is boring for older kids. We are going back again this trip.

Hope your DD stays healthy. I have been thinking of keeping my kids away from their swimming lessons this week, just in case.

 

[melbarkwith]

Oh goodness you guys who are going soon, sooo jealous. A competition to go to Disney came on the TV last night, DH couldn't work out why I would possibly want to go again so soon. Crazy man

I entered that competition too, and we haven't even been yet!

 

[keptwoman]

I would have entered, but it required me to watch Home and Away, and there are limits to my dedication to Disney

 

[melbarkwith]

I have been thinking of keeping my kids away from their swimming lessons this week, just in case.

I briefly considered doing that - but I need them to be tired out for at least one day

I am itching to get packing, but have to wait until the doggy prozac kicks in If I don't wait, our house will be trashed before we leave...

 

[melbarkwith]

Can't say I've watched it either. Knowing my luck, I've won a trip but b/c I won't watch Home and Away I don't know it!!

 

[Kiwianna]

We are back home from a 12/13 day (can't figure out the added/ lost hours) stay at Hojo.
We flew Air NZ premium economy from Auckland and although one has to try to sleep sitting up, we thought the extra legroom was worth it, one of our family still has some aches and pains from a car crash 18 months ago and the kids were able get in and out of their seats without bumping the seats in front of them.
When we have travelled in Asia, shop and stallkeepers who have not heard me speak often try several languages, as they are unsure of my nationality, but I have never before had a flight attendant ask me if I understood English.This was asked when the immigration forms for the U.S. were handed out.
Immigration at LAX was a breeze even though we had filled out only one of the "family" forms when we should have done two. The customs/immigration (?) officer said he would fix it up for us. We were not asked to produce either the medication we said we were carrying, or the prescriptions. Two of us were asked to elaborate on our occupations and asked about our annual leave entitlement.
Less than an hour after the plane landed we were on the Disneyland Express.
We stayed at Hojo for the whole time, had 2 rooms in Building 2 so the 5 of us had plenty of room. Beds were comfortable and it was good to have access to reasonably priced laundry facilities as well as free internet access.
We did not have to rush around, the girls could repeat rides as often as they wished and they had plenty of time to spend at the hotel pool and water playground.
We saw Fantasmic from the seated area, it was expensive, but we thought it was worth it. The Halloween fireworks started 2 days after we arrived, but after watching them once within view of the castle, 9 year old was happy with what she could see from the hotel carpark.
We ate at the family type restaurants like Mimi's or Millies, food was okay but I wouldn't praise it to the skies.
Had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen and Rainforest Cafe which were much better, but more expensive, of course.
We went to Medieval Times, used a coupon code for a good discount and 9 year old was thrilled when our "Knight" presented her with a
"Queen of Beauty" ribbon.
The Trick or Treat Party wasn't anything special for us, and the girls don't mention it when asked what they enjoyed at Disneyland. But, that may be because Halloween is not one of our traditional celebrations.
We had bought 14 day vacation passes. If it helps anyone to know if they are paying a reasonable price for these, the face value was $209 on the adult pass and $179 on the children's (age 3-9).
We followed the instructions on our bus ticket and arrived at the airport for our flight home at least 3 hours before departure. Big mistake. Check-in and security took no more than ten minutes and we then had the best part of the 3 hours in the gate lounges of Terminal 2. This place is not even up to the standard of a provincial airport and WAY below what you would expect of an international facility. Reminded me of the old type Railway bus depots we used to have in New Zealand.
I must thank all who have answered my questions on this forum, your help was invaluable. You helped us give our two grand-daughters a wonderful holiday, one that they will remember for a long time.

 

[keptwoman]

We followed the instructions on our bus ticket and arrived at the airport for our flight home at least 3 hours before departure. Big mistake. Check-in and security took no more than ten minutes and we then had the best part of the 3 hours in the gate lounges of Terminal 2. This place is not even up to the standard of a provincial airport and WAY below what you would expect of an international facility.
Remind me of the old type Railway bus depots we used to have in New Zealand.

We were supposed to be at LAX 1 hour before our flight (domestic, connecting to International) I'm so glad we got there early (not intentionally) because it took us an hour and a half for check in and security!! The check in took FOR EVAH, and security lines were long and the guys were being complete jerks. I suspect that the UA terminal is a bit better than the Air NZ/International one, it's 4 years since we were there with Air NZ, but it's still pretty crappy. Not that we had much time, we got through all the rigmarole 10 mins before boarding.

I agree with you about immigration coming into the US, they were so friendly

We must have been at HoJos at the same time And we went to the same ToT party.

 

[queenie82]

Immigration at LAX was a breeze even though we had filled out only one of the "family" forms when we should have done two. The customs/immigration (?) officer said he would fix it up for us. We were not asked to produce either the medication we said we were carrying, or the prescriptions. Two of us were asked to elaborate on our occupations and asked about our annual leave entitlement.

We have had this as well. Of all our overseas trips we average 6 weeks per trip to make the most of it and save up leave for it. There needs to be some negotiation with bosses...but it works fine. The customs people are so jealous at the concept of having this much leave.
I'm trying to remember what is on the form...do you have to declare food????

We ate at the family type restaurants like Mimi's or Millies, food was okay but I wouldn't praise it to the skies.

I agree but the Americans are obsessed with it. Going through Trip advisor you would think it is the greatest food place on the planet.

We followed the instructions on our bus ticket and arrived at the airport for our flight home at least 3 hours before departure. Big mistake. Check-in and security took no more than ten minutes and we then had the best part of the 3 hours in the gate lounges of Terminal 2. This place is not even up to the standard of a provincial airport and WAY below what you would expect of an international facility. Reminded me of the old type Railway bus depots we used to have in New Zealand.

That's a bummer. But you can never predict this wait and it is something you have to do because you don't want to miss the flight. There is nothing worse than being stuck somewhere like there though
I think the worst airport I have encountered is in Rome. We were in the terminal Air France and Alitalia use and our flight was delayed 2 hours in addition to getting there early and there was nothing to do and it was awful. I was exhausted and by the end of the flight was almost at breaking point. I slept till 12 the next day.

 

[Kiwianna]

We must have been at HoJos at the same time And we went to the same ToT party.

[/QUOTE]
Not sure of the ages of your kids but we had girls age 9 and 7 and they were in the pool most afternoons.

 

[Kiwianna]

.
I'm trying to remember what is on the form...do you have to declare food????:

and also asks if you have
a. fruits, plants, food, or insects?
b. meats, animals, or animal/wildlife products?
c. disease agents, cell cultures, or snails?

It was the one about snails that puzzled us.

 

[gogo65]

and also asks if you have
a. fruits, plants, food, or insects?
b. meats, animals, or animal/wildlife products?
c. disease agents, cell cultures, or snails?

It was the one about snails that puzzled us.

Don't we all travel with some cell cultures and snails just in case, you never know when you might need some.

 

[queenie82]

and also asks if you have
a. fruits, plants, food, or insects?
b. meats, animals, or animal/wildlife products?
c. disease agents, cell cultures, or snails?

It was the one about snails that puzzled us.

Oh I knew about the snails part...honestly...and I always declare my disease agents.

Thanks for that...I know we do (Border Security anyone! Yes...if it goes in your mouth it is food...hence the "so you're declaring chocolate and jelly belly????" question when we declare on arrival home) but I just don't remember putting it on the US one even though we normally travel with Suimin or similar incase we are too tired to find food on arrival plus lollies.

So I appreciate the info!
Thanks :

 

[Kiwianna]

biosecurity form lists every organism known to mankind except moondust and even that may be in there somewhere.

 

[marvel]

I agree about terminal 2 at Lax, really terrible. Although going through Customs was a real breeze compared to Melbourne. If I didn't know the system so well, it would have taken us 2hrs to get through.

We finally tried Mimi's on the last day and it was ok, but nothing earth shattering.

Packing to go is ok, packing to return home is bad very bad.

I think I am a bit depressed since we returned. Not having a trip coming up until at least 2011 is making it hard to get through the day at work.

 

[marvel]

I agree about terminal 2 at Lax, really terrible. Although going through Customs was a real breeze compared to Melbourne. If I didn't know the system so well, it would have taken us 2hrs to get through.

We finally tried Mimi's on the last day and it was ok, but nothing earth shattering.

Packing to go is ok, packing to return home is bad very bad.

I think I am a bit depressed since we returned. Not having a trip coming up until at least 2011 is making it hard to get through the day at work.