Over 9000 miles to visit the Mouse and a mickey boat as well!! - A May PTR

[Mum from oz]

Hi Everyone and to my PTR. I have done one of these not too successfully before but I like to have a place to put all my ideas and information together, plus feedback from you guys is a plus!

I'll start with our cast of characters:

There is me 26, I work a few hours a week from home in our business and look after the household, taxi the kiddos to school and sports and plan all our Disney trips.

Then is the other half we'll refer to him as DP. He is the daddy and a workaholic, he loves going to Disney and he fell in love with DCL on our first Disney cruise in May last year. He is happy for me to be the organised one.

Then is DS he is 5 and just started school, he loves Goofy and Cars. His favourite things are swimming, riding his bike or scooter and going "to America"

Last but not least is DD just turned 4. She is into princesses, Lilo & Stitch and basically any Disney movie. She is my dancing princess and takes 4 classes a week. She also loves swimming in the pool and the "Mickey boat"

 

[Mum from oz]

So here I will outline our plans in the very fine detail I have. First a history.
We are from Sydney, Australia so it is kinda a big deal to travel so far to visit Disney. Last year we set off on a once off epic journey to the USA that lasted a month. We spent 18 nights in Central Florida, we did WDW, US/IOA, Seaworld, Kennedy Space Centre, Boggy Creek Air boat Rides and lots of shopping. We spent 3 nights on a Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. We also spent 7 nights in Anaheim, California with 3 days dedicated to DLR/DCA. (Details in my blog, see link in my sig) Well out once in a lifetime trip turned into a lifelong love and we booked onboard the Dream for a cruise in 2012. We built the rest of this trip around the cruise.

Embarkation on the Dream 19th May 2011

So the details for this trip are as follows:
11th MAY
Depart SYD 1:40pm
Arrive LAX 10:30am
(around 14 hours)

Check in to Holiday Inn Express LAX for some well needed rest.

12th May
Depart LAX 8:55am
Arrive MCO 4:40pm

Pick up our rental car and stop at Publix or Super Target for some groceries. Have dinner somewhere and check in to our townhouse at the lovely Windsor Hills Resort. (I know stating offsite = blasphemous but it's how we roll!) Unpack and relax, maybe have a dip in our private plunge pool or go for a swim in the resort pool.

13th May
Nothing big planned today. My intentions are to head to DTD for a spot of shopping with an ADR at T-Rex at 1:30pm. Then over to EPCOT for the evening and Illuminations.

14th May - Magic Kingdom
15th May - Hollywood Studios
16th May - Animal Kingdom
17th May - Legoland
18th May - Magic Kingdom
19th May - 26th May - Disney Fantasy

27th May
Depart MCO 6:25am
Arrive SFO 9:38am

Check into the Columbus Motor Inn for the next 4 nights.

31st May
Depart SFO 5:06pm
Arrive LAX 6:32pm

Depart LAX 10:10pm
Arrive SYD 6:20am

 

[Mum from oz]

We ordered and received our WDW tickets from Undercover Tourist. They post internationally and are efficient and reliable. We got 6 day park hoppers.

Our first full day in Orlando will be Sunday. We want to head down to DTD in the morning for a spot of shopping. Ridemakerz is the at the top of DP and DS list. Then is lunch at T-Rex. After lunch I want to head over to EPCOT. While I quite like EPCOT my family do not rate as a favourite. We didn't catch Illuminations last year and it is something I want to see very much. We liked Test Track but unfortunately this will be down for maintenance. We also like Soarin' and walking around the world showcase. I think we felt a little overwhelmed by the size of EPCOT as we tried to do it in a day. This time I am planning on just doing a few sections.

The second day is for the Magic Kingdom. This is our favourite and we will probably let the kids choose what they want to experience. Their favourites are Peter Pan, Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, and Tomorrow Land Speedway. We will throw in others but they are at the top of the list for the kids. I think BTMR is out of action as well.


The next day is DHW and Toy Story Mania is first to do. We will grab FP and then jump in the standby line. We will want to see Indiana Jones, Lights Motor, Action, and Beauty and the Beast. We will ride Star Tours and DP might ride Rockin' Rollercoaster. DD really wants to meet Jake from Disney Juniors Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We will see how tired we are and make a decision on Fantasmic as we have seen this before and enjoyed it.

Wednesday is Animal Kingdom day. We will do Killamanjaro Safari, Kali and hopefully Dinosaur. We might see FOTLK if it is not too busy and definitely It's Tough to be a Bug. DP will probably ride Expedition Everest. I'm not a thrill ride kinda person. We will also go and look around Rafiki's Planet Watch. We may try and pop over to EPCOT afterwards.

Thursday we will be at Legoland. If we are done early enough we will visit EPCOT.

Friday is MK to do what we haven't yet and revisit old favourites.

 

[Mum from oz]

Wow, still here talking to myself.

Well today I have made progress and completed my online check in for the cruise. I also booked a Palo dinner, although I really wanted brunch seems gold and platinum CC members got in first.

I am now going to make a list of the things that need to be done

Notify DS school of his absence
Book Airport transfer to home in Sydney
Get TA to email me e-tickets
Pay off Windsor Hills townhouse
Book Hyatt MCO for post cruise stay
Book a tour or decide a place to go in St Thomas
Get photo mats to autograph
Make door magnets
Fish Extender Gifts
Order Travel Sim card
Make packing list for bags and carry ons
Check out park hours and print out some touring plans
Book Fire Engine Tour in SF
Book Alcatraz
Book rental for day in SF
Work out how we will get to accommodation from airport in SF
Kids passport renewal
ESTA (Visa Waiver)
Order cruise basket
Transfer final spending money to USD$
Pre pay cruise gratuities


[/COLOR]I will add more as I think of them

 

[Mum from oz]

Well the planning is coming along nicely. I have a few things to add to my list and a few things to check off. We now have all the funds for our trip, we are just waiting for the dollar to move up a little more before we convert the rest of our spending money.

I have been researching San Francisco and have a few things on the agenda.

Fishermans Wharf
Pier 39
Alcatraz
Ride a tram and trolley
Painted Ladies
Lombard Street
Fire Engine Tour
Hire a car for the day
Muir Woods
Spend some time exploring Chinatown
Maybe Coit Tower

Well I'm still working that part of the itinerary out.

I have booked BBB for DD at the Magic Kingdom and I am also going to let her do it onboard the Fantasy as well. I just need to find out how to book, no word yet but it looks like it might be book once you board.

Anyhow off to browse the DIS for more research, also going to try and book the Hyatt MCO at the best price I can get.

 

[BobbyRach]

Wow your trip sounds amazing and you seem to be so much more organised than me!

I have loved reading your pre-trip report as getting ideas for our trip in September. We are going on the Disney Fantasy and will spend 7 nights at WDW and then 4 at NY. I have been before but my 5 year old nephew is also coming this time and my sister...so it will be a much more magical for me travelling with him!

Whenabouts are you guys going?

Also, did you do the fish extender on the cruise last time? I have looked at it and it sounds like the kids would love it. Whereabouts do you get your fish extender from and how many gifts did you have to end up buying??

Your pre-trip report is fantastic!!!

 

[Mum from oz]

Thanks BobbyRach! Nice to have a reader along for the ride.

We are going 11th May - 2nd June. 50 days to go!!

We did do fish extenders on the last cruise. From memory we only had about 15 cabins to deliver to. This time the group is huge so we have split the list and we only have to do half, which is still about 25 cabins. My kids did love it, they ran down the halls back to our cabin to check for "surprises" it was just a lot of fun. I got my FE on ebay really cheap, I think it was advertised as a pocket organiser. You can buy custom sewed and personalised ones but they end up around $50 which was too much for me with all the gift buying too. I spent a good $100+ on gifts. I did Aussie key rings and shot glasses for the adults. Aussie pencils, clip on koalas and Disney stickers/pirate tattoos for the kids and Freddo Frogs and Redskin lollies.

Your itinerary sounds similar to mine, 7 night Fantasty, 7 night WDW and for us it is 4 in San Francisco. Are you doing Eastern or Western?

 

[Mum from oz]

I'm really getting onto things now. I have just ordered the last of our USD while the exchange rate is decent.

I have picked up a few things that we need/will use on the flight. I will post some photos a little later.

Things I have got for this trip:

• Headphones for the kids
• Beats by Dre headphones for me (Pink ones!)
• New luggage - 2 x big suitcases that weight 4.3kg each with 15 year warranty
• Travel wallet/document holder
• Travel journal for DS
• New Camera bag/backpack style

 

[BobbyRach]

Hi again!!

Thanks for your response about the fish extenders. I think my nephew will also love getting the gifts!! Your gift ideas were excellent – also good as they don’t take up too much room in the luggage!!

We are doing the western cruise. We are particularly looking forward to Castaway Cay and my nephew can’t wait to go on the AquaDuck. He won’t be tall enough to go by himself so we will get to go with him!! When we went to Disneyland when he was 3.5 and he didn’t want us to go on any rides with him – although the Disney people kept telling him he wasn’t tall enough to ride alone!! He even wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by himself – it was his favourite!!

What type of suitcases did you end up getting? I saw the Samonsite brand also has new light ones out which i am thinking of getting. Have you ever put a smaller suitcase inside a bigger one??

I also loved reading your trip report from last year – it gave me heaps of good ideas. I would like to check out Chucky Cheese but we will not have a car. We are staying at Universal Studios – how far is Chucky Cheese from the hotels onsite??

Thanks for all your info...it has been very very helpful!!!

 

[Mum from oz]

Hi again!!

Thanks for your response about the fish extenders. I think my nephew will also love getting the gifts!! Your gift ideas were excellent – also good as they don’t take up too much room in the luggage!!

We are doing the western cruise. We are particularly looking forward to Castaway Cay and my nephew can’t wait to go on the AquaDuck. He won’t be tall enough to go by himself so we will get to go with him!! When we went to Disneyland when he was 3.5 and he didn’t want us to go on any rides with him – although the Disney people kept telling him he wasn’t tall enough to ride alone!! He even wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by himself – it was his favourite!!

What type of suitcases did you end up getting? I saw the Samonsite brand also has new light ones out which i am thinking of getting. Have you ever put a smaller suitcase inside a bigger one??

I also loved reading your trip report from last year – it gave me heaps of good ideas. I would like to check out Chucky Cheese but we will not have a car. We are staying at Universal Studios – how far is Chucky Cheese from the hotels onsite??

Thanks for all your info...it has been very very helpful!!!

I'm happy to help! I ended up getting the Standbags branded ones. For the price difference it wasn't worth it. The Strandbags ones were the Flylite Microlite 27inch They are 4.3kg, 15 year warranty and $119. The comparable Samsonite I was looking at was 4.1 kg, 10 year warranty and $229.

Last year we took a big suitcase and a smaller one inside, works well. I did hear a good tip though about buying a canvas type duffle/sport bag from Walmart when you get there, costs less than $20, weighs next to nothing and you can fit heaps in. Of course you could only pack clothes and maybe shoes but it's a great idea.

Castaway Cay is amazing! The only complaint from me was some of the sand was hard/jagged. I think we're used to fine grained and sometimes quite powdery sand. The sand there had lots of sharp bits, maybe crushed shells? Not unbearable just not so pleasant.

Chucky Cheese was so fun for the kids. It is like a Timezone place that sells food (not that great but it was fine). It is incredibly cheap compared to playing arcade type games over here. We went to the one on International Drive which is very, very close to Universal, less than 10 mins in a taxi. Just Google Chucky Cheese International Drive.

 

[Kangarucci]

I'm subbing!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Checking in for the ride as well.

 

[BobbyRach]

I'm happy to help! I ended up getting the Standbags branded ones. For the price difference it wasn't worth it. The Strandbags ones were the Flylite Microlite 27inch They are 4.3kg, 15 year warranty and $119. The comparable Samsonite I was looking at was 4.1 kg, 10 year warranty and $229.

Last year we took a big suitcase and a smaller one inside, works well. I did hear a good tip though about buying a canvas type duffle/sport bag from Walmart when you get there, costs less than $20, weighs next to nothing and you can fit heaps in. Of course you could only pack clothes and maybe shoes but it's a great idea.

Castaway Cay is amazing! The only complaint from me was some of the sand was hard/jagged. I think we're used to fine grained and sometimes quite powdery sand. The sand there had lots of sharp bits, maybe crushed shells? Not unbearable just not so pleasant.

Chucky Cheese was so fun for the kids. It is like a Timezone place that sells food (not that great but it was fine). It is incredibly cheap compared to playing arcade type games over here. We went to the one on International Drive which is very, very close to Universal, less than 10 mins in a taxi. Just Google Chucky Cheese International Drive.

Thank you so so much for all your help. We will definitely check out Chucky Cheese and also the suitcases - that is a much cheaper option. We also take the Nike bags inside our suitcases but we wanted to have 3 suitcases and 3 sports bags!!! We buy a lot of stuff!!!! One tip i have (you probably already know it) is buy the space saver bags - you can fit sooo much in there!!

Thanks again our trip is going to be so much better from reading all of your ideas!!

 

[alicia1506]

hey i'm subbing in as well... this sounds like a great trip

 

[Mum from oz]

Checking in for the ride as well.

I'm subbing!

hey i'm subbing in as well... this sounds like a great trip

to the guys!

Thank you so so much for all your help. We will definitely check out Chucky Cheese and also the suitcases - that is a much cheaper option. We also take the Nike bags inside our suitcases but we wanted to have 3 suitcases and 3 sports bags!!! We buy a lot of stuff!!!! One tip i have (you probably already know it) is buy the space saver bags - you can fit sooo much in there!!

Thanks again our trip is going to be so much better from reading all of your ideas!!

You're welcome! I have a few of those space saver travel bags, I didn't use them last time but I will try them this time.

 

[Mum from oz]

So here's a post dedicated to the few things I have picked up for the trip.

Travel Journal for DS (5)

About me page for him to fill in

The daily two page spread for him to journal. I will help him with this. There is 14 days worth, I know we will be away for longer but I highly doubt we will write in it every day.

This is my travel wallet

The inside - sections for: Boarding Pass, Tickets, Itinerary, Passport and Miscellaneous. There is also four card spaces and a zippered section too.

More inside, I have some of my tickets and my Travel Money cards in there at the moment.

Some American dollars that I ordered from the Post Office.

 

[Mum from oz]

48 Days to go! 47 Days in 15 minutes.

So this week I have:

Booked and paid for Alcatraz for 30th May. I have printed out my tickets and also have a copy in my hotmail inbox just in case.

Ordered and converted all our spending money in a combination of Travel Visa, Cash and Travellers Cheques.

Ordered and paid for the Photopass CD and photobook combo.

Pre paid our cruise gratuities through our TA.

I love having as much pre booked and paid for in advance. It makes me feel more secure and makes me believe that all the hard (but fun) work is done and I will be free to enjoy my holiday. With less than $500 to pay for minor things I feel like we are almost ready.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the goodies - especially the lime green wallet.

YAY for having nearly prepaid everything.

 

[Mum from oz]

So, since my last update I have:

• Booked and paid for the Fire Engine tour in SF
• Booked the Hyatt Regency MCO for one night after the cruise for about $150 through hoteltravel.com. I'm hoping everything is legit!
• Ordered my new DSLR, I needed a new camera to go with the camera bag right? I ordered a Canon 7D. Hopefully it will be here by the end of next week in time for Easter so I can practice with it.

I still have to book our transfer home from Sydney Airport. I am going to go with the company I used last year. It is $115 for the four of us. For the way out I am getting mum to drive us (well we will drive there and she will take my car home). It is easy this was as she doesn't have to park or pay the exorbitant fees that go with parking at the airport. We can just pull up curbside, unload and wave her off home. When we are coming home you never know about delays etc, so you could be parked for ages, makes it worthwhile to pay for the shuttle, plus they have extra room for all our shopping. Mum is also pet/house sitting for us so that's taken care of.

In San Francisco I am going to book us a limo from the airport to the hotel. I've never been in one and I'm sure the kids would get a kick out of it. I just have to figure out who to book with, so many choices!

I am sure I will think of more things that need doing but for now I'm off to do some "real work".

 

[BobbyRach]

Not long to go now!! How exciting!!