Lots of Questions about CHINA

[smep013]

We brought small, cheap umbrealls with us and carried them with us in our backpacks. We did need them and used them often. They were light and easy to carry around. Did not realize we had them! But were so glad we did!

Many of the hotels had larger unbrellas in them and some folks on the trip carried those with them as well. (They were in the closets in the room and are free to use).

We also brought Disney World ponchos with us and they came in handy for some of our friends on the trip - they borrowed them when they got caught in the rain without their umbrellas. We are glad we brought those and our sun hats. Easy to pack in our backpack.

HAVE FUN!!!

 

[abnrob]

Changing the subject, how did everyone enjoy Hong Kong Disneyland? Is it worth spending the day? Do you think I should plan using that day to discover more Hong Kong? I'm not much into shopping but if its too much like DL or WDW I would prefer to see things I can't see in US. And yet, I'm excited about being able to stay at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Do they put you in the concierge level?

We thought about skipping the HK tour and spending the day at HK Disney. We were VERY tired and thought a more relaxing day would be good, but we decided at the last minute to take the tour and we are REALLY glad we did. The Stanley Market ended up being the BEST market (we are not shopping type people either). We loved the ferry and the views. Disney is fun, but HK was unique and so different from mainland China that I am glad we really saw it!

 

[Ivory]

Can anyone tell me about the food? I'm worried about my daughter not having enough of a"western" food choice. Also worried about the nausea and diarha that I have heard people experiencing. Is that from the food or the water? Do you have to worry about the water while in china? Thanks for any responses!

 

[2GirlsMama]

Hi Ivory!
The food on the China trip was a nice variety. There were some meals that were only Chinese food, but there was always a variety of veggies. So as long as your daughter will eat veggies and rice she will be fine. My kids are not picky eaters, so I didn't have to worry, but there were several western choices.

Also, ABD is very careful about food/water on the trip. They even provided meals for us to take on the plane so we didn't have to eat Chinese airline food. They absolutely think of everything!

We were there for two weeks and had no stomach problems at all. China has really changed over the years, and it isn't as exotic as it used to be. On this ABD you are going to big cities, and it is very easy to get around. There are opportunities to eat some unique things, and there are more typical options as well. They serve lots of fruits and veggies.

 

[Ivory]

Hi Ivory!
The food on the China trip was a nice variety. There were some meals that were only Chinese food, but there was always a variety of veggies. So as long as your daughter will eat veggies and rice she will be fine. My kids are not picky eaters, so I didn't have to worry, but there were several western choices.

Also, ABD is very careful about food/water on the trip. They even provided meals for us to take on the plane so we didn't have to eat Chinese airline food. They absolutely think of everything!

We were there for two weeks and had no stomach problems at all. China has really changed over the years, and it isn't as exotic as it used to be. On this ABD you are going to big cities, and it is very easy to get around. There are opportunities to eat some unique things, and there are more typical options as well. They serve lots of fruits and veggies.

Thank you so much for your response, we are thinking of booking this trip in the next couple of weeks, and I was so conserned about the food and stomach problems, I was considering choosing another trip! My daughter does love rice and veggies and fruit so if there is plenty of that then we should be fine. BTW did you do the 10 day or the 12? Which would you recommend?

 

[sayhello]

Thank you so much for your response, we are thinking of booking this trip in the next couple of weeks, and I was so conserned about the food and stomach problems, I was considering choosing another trip! My daughter does love rice and veggies and fruit so if there is plenty of that then we should be fine. BTW did you do the 10 day or the 12? Which would you recommend?

Hi, Ivory. I'm sure 2GirlsMama can give you more details, but 2011 is the first year that ABD has offered 2 China trips of different lengths. This year's trip is the equivalent of the 12-day itinerary. *Personally*, one of the reasons I've been eyeing this trip is because it now includes visiting the Terra Cotta soldiers, which it didn't at first. I can't imagine going all the way to China & not seeing them. But that's just me. I'm assuming others weren't so keen on the time it took to get there to see them, and that would be why ABD now offers an itinerary without them. From what I can see, that's the main difference between the 2 itineraries.

Sayhello

ETA: I take it back, the 10-day also does not go to Guilin & the Gum Drop mountains. That's supposed to be very beautiful. I'll be interested to hear what the opinion is of folks who have taken this year's itinerary.

 

[figmentfan2009]

I agree totally... the 12 day trip hands down. The terracotta (deadacotta... hi Ethan...) soldiers are worth the money alone... and Guilin... Hotel of Modern Art... is amazing. When I run away from home, I'm running away to there. Quiet... peaceful... beautiful... and artsy fartsy all at the same time.

I love the Chinese Soup Spoons sculpture and the emperor's jacket and... something else... hanging on the side of the cliff.

Yeah... if you are going to "do" china... I would splurge on the extra time... it is SO well worth it.

 

[Q's My Princess]

I agree totally... the 12 day trip hands down. The terracotta (deadacotta... hi Ethan...) soldiers are worth the money alone... and Guilin... Hotel of Modern Art... is amazing. When I run away from home, I'm running away to there. Quiet... peaceful... beautiful... and artsy fartsy all at the same time.

I love the Chinese Soup Spoons sculpture and the emperor's jacket and... something else... hanging on the side of the cliff.

Yeah... if you are going to "do" china... I would splurge on the extra time... it is SO well worth it.

Agreed! 12 days...terracotta warriors...Guilin....not to be missed!

 

[SteveInCA]

I can't imagine going all the way to China and not seeing the Terra Cotta soldiers. Yes, it was a long day, but so what? Absolutely worth it.

Guilin and the Gumdrop Mountains is easier to imagine missing, but for me it was one of the highlights of the trip, so I'd personally rather stick with an itinerary which included it.

 

[carolina64]

I have gone over this trip schedule so many times and really want to book it. but...

Did it ever seem like too many flights? Especially with children in tow. Were there a lot of delays, comparing to service in the US? Luggage trouble? Does the tour take care of luggage transfers on these intercity flights?

Every trip has issues of some kind and believe me, I KNOW that. What issues came with this trip? This would be our first trip to asia and I am kind of stressing.

Thanks for any help!

 

[disneyphx]

Yes, it is a lot of flights, something that did not really register with me somehow until after we booked!
ABD makes the luggage process as simple as possible - with some flights we were just handed our boarding pass when we got to the airport!
We had one delay from Shanghai to Hong Kong, of about two hours. And one luggage delay where the delivery van broke down. Of course, it is unpredictable.
The reason for all the flights is so you get to see so much of China in a short time - and ABD packs every minute and takes of the logisitics wonderfully.

 

[2GirlsMama]

We took our daughters on the trip, and they were wonderful. They had just finished third grade and fifth grade. I asked my youngest daughter about the flights. She said there was a lot of flying, but it was worth it. Although she said she didn't really like the terra cotta warrior day. She would have rather stayed in Guilin longer. Our older daughter said that the flights were worth what we got to see, but some of the flights seemed too long. Both girls liked playing with the other kids at the airports. We travel a lot, so they are used to flying.

Turns out neither daughter really liked the terra cotta warriors, but they both loved Guilin and every thing else!

 

[It's always cold]

We did China this past summer as our first ABD trip and could personally not imagine going all the way to China and not seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors, but I think it is a matter of personal choice. On our trip the people who generally did not like that day had the youngest children 6 & 8 (it is a long day), but my children did fine 10 & 14.

As for luggage transfers, airport and hotel moving I put the trip this way, when you check in at the first hotel in Beijing, just check your brain there, because Disney takes care of everything that you don't really have to think of anything, until you are released on your own at the end of the trip in Hong Kong. Have to admit felt a little lost on our extra day alone in Hong Kong having to think for ourselves LOL!

 

[tufbuf]

.Disney takes care of everything that you don't really have to think of anything, until you are released on your own at the end of the trip in Hong Kong. Have to admit felt a little lost on our extra day alone in Hong Kong having to think for ourselves LOL!

We felt exactly the same way when we spent 3 extra days in Disney Paris after our City of Knights and Lights ABD tour last year!

 

[DVCGirl49]

We did China this past summer as our first ABD trip and could personally not imagine going all the way to China and not seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors, but I think it is a matter of personal choice. On our trip the people who generally did not like that day had the youngest children 6 & 8 (it is a long day), but my children did fine 10 & 14.

As for luggage transfers, airport and hotel moving I put the trip this way, when you check in at the first hotel in Beijing, just check your brain there, because Disney takes care of everything that you don't really have to think of anything, until you are released on your own at the end of the trip in Hong Kong. Have to admit felt a little lost on our extra day alone in Hong Kong having to think for ourselves LOL!

We went on the Aug 15th trip and felt exactly the same way with the post night in Hong Kong. Although Dusty & Yuan were awesome with making sure we knew exactly how to get to where we wanted to go for that day, it felt odd having to think and plan for one's self again after having everything 100% taken care of for the previous 13 days!