China adventure

[smores]

just thought we should start a "general" thread for all traveling to china...if you have tips, packing suggestions, questions etc..post them here!

 

[LisaTex]

Way to get to it Smores

SO we all know who is who - We are on the 7/12-24 trip. I am the aunt - will be taking my mother (68), my niece (10) and nephew (12). Our 4th ABD trip and first ever to China. AM really worried about the packing - in the past they have let an extra bag or 2 slide, but I bet not this time with all the extra flights.

 

[figmentfan2009]

We are doing the China Trip July 26th through August 7th. We are taking one day early, flying out of Austin on the 24th... planning on going to the Summer Palace on Sunday morning.<it is 117 days from now that we leave... but who's counting>

I'm the mom <44>, dh <62>, dd <turning 15 on the 27th of July> and ds 17 are going.

This is our first ABD trip, planning 2 more next year <Germany over dd's 16th birthday> and either Italy or Czech Republic.

I'm looking forward to the adventure and meeting the other adventurers.

 

[smores]

we are on the 7/26/09 trip...first disney adventure but have traveled mainly cruises (medX3, greece, etc) our group consists of:

me (karen) 41
daughter (hannah) 12
son (ethan) 5 1/2

we will be coming from chicago area....still trying to straighten out flights.

heard we are each allowed one suitcase less than 40#. my daughter always packs the kitchen sink...think we will have to leave sink at home this time

 

[2GirlsMama]

Thanks for starting this thread.

This will be our third trip to China, but our first trip with ABD. We are going June 27 - July 10. We added one day before the adventure starts.

Our family is DW - Leah, DH - John, DD (9) Grace, and DD (7) Cate.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to get to return to China. We really enjoyed our previous trips.

Leah

 

[BriarRose59]

We are on the June 14-26 trip.

Me--Rochelle (50) and dd--Amanda (18). This is our first trip with ABD and our first trip to China. We are also visiting Tokyo Disney on the way to China. I have read the posts on the other threads and we have gotten some great information so far. I look forward to keeping up with everyone's plans.

When we made our final payment I asked about luggage. I was told 1 checked bag no heavier than 44 lbs. and 1 carry-on no heavier than 11 lbs.

 

[figmentfan2009]

That's what we've been told multiple times, too. I'm not sure why the 11 pound carry on limit, though. I kind of understand the 44 pounds (Disney has to take care of the luggage... the chia airlines may have very different regulations... etc...

But won't we be responsible for the carry on? We have already figured out that the camera bag with its contents are going to come in right at about 11 pounds. My laptop back with just the laptop and plug will come in right about that too. Ouch. That leaves a good bit of room and not anything I can put in it. Going to have to have one of the kids bring one with an extra change of clothes in case the luggage takes a different plane than we do.

And I've read where people have said that they bought extra luggage to get things they bought home... how does that work if you are only permitted one and one?

 

[LisaTex]

I'm thinking you can buy an extra bag in Hong Kong because the limits on the international flights will be much higher - 2 bags/person @50 lbs. each.

 

[LisaTex]

would any of you guys mind sharing your flight info here? i am still looking. our rooms through dvc for TDL just came through, so that will change it some, but mainly wondering what carriers are being used. thanks!!

 

[BriarRose59]

From what the agent told me at ABD, the weights are because of the smaller Chinese carriers that we are going to use while on the actual tour. Whatever airline you choose to get you home will have different guidelines because it will be an international flight. Buying bags in Hong Kong is an option. I just flew British Airways to Europe and could check 2 bags at no charge.

I keep going back and forth about the camcorder. I am bringing my DSLR with various lenses and a point & shoot camera. I don't think I want to bring a camcorder also.

We used the Amex buy one, get one free in business class with JAL. We were limited to one stop so we had to book from LA to Tokyo (5 day layover to visit TDL) to Beijing then Hong Kong to Tokyo to LA on JAL. We are using American to get from DFW to LA and back. We have had problems with connecting flights before with American so we are flying into John Wayne airport on Saturday night and spending 2 nights at Disneyland just to make sure we are there on time. Then we leave out of LAX on Monday.

 

[smores]

is any body bringing "nice"clothes...or mainly shorts/capri etc....looking for a super comfy pair of shoes and trying to decide gym shoe style or more of "dress shoe" style.....

 

[figmentfan2009]

I'm doing just shorts and capris and probably just t-shirts. I'm not sure whether to bring a pair of sandals or just running shoes, but in the interest of weight, probably just the running shoes.

 

[BriarRose59]

I am also bringing mostly capri pants. I am planning on bringing a couple of nicer tops to wear to the dinners. It looks as if we go to a nice restaurant or two so I thought I would bring something for those meals. I will probably wear my tennis shoes when we are flying inland because of the weight issue. I am taking sandals also because I am reading that it gets quite hot during the summer. I will probably also pack a nicer pair of sandals to wear to meals. Okay, three pair of shoes. That's it for shoes! Sometimes when we are going on longer trips I pack 5 pr., but not this trip. I am making myself pare down what I am packing. I will be placing my luggage on a scale before leaving home to make sure I have not over-packed. I might even look into some lighter weight luggage. One of my suitcases weighs 8 lbs. empty!

 

[pandafan]

We had the opportunity to visit a laundry while on the trip. When we arrived at Shanghai we simply let the hotel take care of the laundry. It really was not that expensive. As for shoes, go for comfort. Tiananmen and the Forbidden City will take you about four hours so think comfort.

 

[BriarRose59]

We had the opportunity to visit a laundry while on the trip. When we arrived at Shanghai we simply let the hotel take care of the laundry. It really was not that expensive. As for shoes, go for comfort. Tiananmen and the Forbidden City will take you about four hours so think comfort.

I am glad to hear about the laundry situation. Amanda and I will have been gone from home for over a week by the time we hit Shanghai and would love to have some laundry done by the hotel. Thanks for the info!

 

[abbyjt]

I'm thinking you can buy an extra bag in Hong Kong because the limits on the international flights will be much higher - 2 bags/person @50 lbs. each.

We usually pack a soft duffel type bag in one of the suitcases and use that as an extra bag if we need it. I don't know if Disney will let you just pay to bring an extra bag or not.

 

[pandafan]

We decided to just purchase an extra bag in Shanghai and then another one in Hong Kong. We did not have any issues with baggage weight on the International flights (united) nor the internal China air flights.

 

[smores]

we decided to book pre-night...flights over $2500 cheaper (for 3) that way....friend recommended buying cheap bag in hong kong for flight....limits between other cities is still 40#....international limits are 50#. still trying to decide on what type of clothes to bring....will be hot (80-90 i think)...maybe raining....

 

[smores]

all we need is a one enty visa right?

 

[figmentfan2009]

Each person needs one visa and their passport