Spontaneous trip to DL and Vegas

[teddykins]

My partner and I are getting married in October, originally we were going to do Orlando and Vegas next year or in 2021 but as some of you may remember I have kidney failure, my last transplant failed in 2014 and I spent 4 years doing home Heamodialysis while also working 4 days a week, I was lucky enough to receive a second kidney transplant Oct 2017 and have had marginal luck with it so far due to rejection and other annoying little germs. The little kidney isn't doing so good so my partner and I toyed with the idea of bringing our trip forward to after our wedding, it's not the trip I originally wanted (bye bye Orlando) but he has never been to the US before, I've never been to DL, we may not get to go next year due to the kidney slowly dying and my dr encouraged me to "go sooner rather than later" so I figured why not just do it? Have spent the last week trying to organise it all and this afternoon while at work, after being awake until 2:30am thinking it over and over, I bit the bullet and paid the deposit so here we are!! *waves* hiiii!

We fly out on Oct 20th with United then have 3 nights in hollywood with 2 days at Universal staying at the dunes inn sunset, 7 nights in Anaheim with 5 day PH tix for DL at the Clarion, driving to Vegas then 3 nights in Vegas at the Luxor before flying home on Nov 2nd.

We are booked on United and reading the reviews aren't all too nice how ever I know you'll always get more bad ones than good ones... has anyone here flown them? (UA99 Melb - LA), my partner is roughly 6'1 and I am podgy but only 4'11 so just nervous about being comfortable... flew Qantas last time and found the A380 really comfy but couldn't justify the cost for this trip unfortunately.

Any tips on transfers? We were quoted $100 to transfer from LAX to our hollywood hotel (dunes inn sunset) with Karmel but I figured we might be able to just use Lyft or Uber? I've never used them before so that will be fun. Same with getting from Dunes inn down to Clarion Hotel..we have 7 nights at Clarion with 5 day PH tickets to DL, I figured we can fill in the other two days with shopping or resting (or both lol) but there wasn't much difference in price to stay 5 or 6 nights instead of 7.

After Disney we are driving to Vegas, this is the part of the trip that is for my partner, he gets to drive a Cadillac and I think he's more excited than I am about visiting DL! We have 3 nights in Vegas, 1 of which I have already scheduled to be with Human Nature if I can secure the ticket Are there any other 'must do' things in Vegas on a budget? originally we were going to do a grand canyon tour but it came down to cost, we do have the car from 9am - 6pm so I thought maybe a drive out to the valley of fire (I think it is?) as partner is into nature and all that stuff so he might like that before we have to drop the car off at Alamo? The only thing he really wants to do is visit the Ghost Adventures haunted museum thing as he's a huge fan of the show.

I am suuuuuper excited to be going back (cross your fingers the kidney behaves) but more excited for him to go than anything else

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Fingers crossed for that pesky kindey of yours.

 

[Yanevernoinoz]

This is an amazing trip. You're right about reviews. Bad news travels faster than good and some people whinge over the tiniest things these days. You should renew your vows in vegas .... maybe with Elvis?

We will be doing a similar trip in a couple of years so I look forward to reading all about yours here.

 

[sjmac42]

Really sorry to hear about the rotten luck you are having with your health. This trip should take your mind off things though.
With regards to the flight, I’ve flown from MCO via IAH and SFO to SYD with them they were friendly, helpful and efficient. We did get some incorrect info from them regarding our connections but it was a new codeshare they were doing with Qantas so they were obviously not familiar with it. We had Economy plus seats which are just extra legroom seats in Economy (free upgrade) which were very comfortable and the onboard entertainment was fine. I’m 6’ and my partner is 5’4”.

To transfer to Hollywood, you can use someone like Karmel, Zippy or even Super Shuttle although the last one can be a bit hit and miss service wise. You can reduce costs significantly by getting a shared shuttle service, just means more time for the transfer but I don’t mind that so much as you can get a mini tour of the city as the driver drops of other guests. If you’re the first drop off, that’s just a bonus. Uber and Lyft are an easy option, they have rideshare s down to a fine art in the States, particularly California. Sign up for each and you’ll probably get a welcome bonus but I prefer Lyft as they pay their drivers more.

For getting to Anaheim, rideshare is probably your best bet, about $50 to $60. Can you get something better than the Clarion? It really has seen better days and it’s been the least favourite hotel that I’ve stayed at in Anaheim. From the looks of the reviews, things haven’t changed much. In any case, plenty to do in Orange County, some of the best beach towns are close by, Newport, Huntington and a bit further south, Laguna Beach and Dana Point. Outlets at Orange or South Coast Plaza for shopping and Knott’s Berry Farm for another theme park hit

Vegas, love that place. Things to do on the mind numbing lay boring drive there (interesting in that it’s so different and . . . flat but that gets old pretty quick, think the Hay Plains in NSW if you’ve been there).
https://californiathroughmylens.com/stops-drive-la-vegas
Don’t like the term “must do” as I’d hate to suggest something you end up doing and hate but here’s a list of stuff I’ve enjoyed. One must not though is the cleverly named grandcanyonwest. It’s only 2.5 hours drive but it’s expensive, built for tourists and not actually in the Grand Canyon. I’ve driven to the South Rim (the actual Grand Canyon) and back in a day but with 2 drivers, it’s close to 5 hours each way.

Anyway, you could drive to some of these places
* Hoover Dam, less than an hour
* Valley of Fire, about 90 mins but a sizeable area
* Red Rock Canyon, about 30 mins
* Death Valley, about 2 hours but, again, a large area but one of my favourite places. That would be an all day trip. Going straight to Furnace Creek, down Badwater Road and exiting to Shoshone and Pahrump back to Vegas would be close to 6 hours round trip wheels turning, bit more than 1 way to the Grand Canyon.

Stuff in and around Vegas.
* Window shopping although that’s never free (or cheap) for me . Premium North Outlets are the best, it’s where the locals go.
* One of the many free shows along the strip like the Bellagio Fountains, watching the Gondolas at The Venetian, the Volcano at The Mirage etc.
* Wandering around the casinos like New York New York, Paris, MGM Grand, the Venetian etc.
* The Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas itself (about 8km north off The Strip). Massive 500m long canopy with a light and sound show played to music every hour. Casinos are a bit cheaper up there as well for meals and drinks.
* People watching, always fascinating
* A quick trip to the massive bowling alley in Sams Town about 15k’s away
* See the animals in some of the resorts, MGM Grand, Circus Circus, Flamingos at The Flamingo the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.
* Some of the resort attractions (cost varies) like the Big Apple Rollercoaster at New York, New York, the indoor “theme park” at Circus Circus (bit of a grandiose term that one), climb the replica Eiffel Tower at Paris and if you have the nerve, the rides on top of the stratosphere which looks like the Sydney Eye Tower.
* Slotzilla at Fremont St. Zip lining under the canopy, amazing. They have sit down and prone (superman position) zip lines depending what you’d be most comfortable with.

I also think a first visitor would benefit from an evening tour of the Strip. It’s only 2-3 hours but we enjoyed it on our first trip. It’s called the Neon Nights tour or something.

Hope that gets you started. Keep asking questions and have a great trip.

All the best.

 

[teddykins]

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Fingers crossed for that pesky kindey of yours.

It does I just hope we can manage the financials for it as it's costing more than anticipated but when the fiancee says he'll cut down on his spending then I know he's serious about going (he spends more than I do lol) Thank you! I'm having some sort of nephritis infection thing happening right now, the drs aren't too sure what or why so it's rather annoying.. creatinine got up to 350 which is high, it was 315 on friday and I have to do blood test tomorrow... hoping I don't need a biopsy after it, I still have the bruise from the last biopsy 3 weeks ago!

This is an amazing trip. You're right about reviews. Bad news travels faster than good and some people whinge over the tiniest things these days. You should renew your vows in vegas .... maybe with Elvis?

We will be doing a similar trip in a couple of years so I look forward to reading all about yours here.

We are going literally 4 days after we get married because that is just how the dates for DisneyLand worked out lol! I am stressing about packing and getting everything done afterwards but oh well - last trip I packed 2 hours before I left so it'll be ok! I wanted to go early November but the hotels around Disney are all gone unless you go way out and being first timers I didn't want to stray too far. I do love a good Elvis though so that could be cheesy but fun.

I love reading trip reports so looking forward to writing my own I didn't get around to doing it with my last trip.

Really sorry to hear about the rotten luck you are having with your health. This trip should take your mind off things though.
With regards to the flight, I’ve flown from MCO via IAH and SFO to SYD with them they were friendly, helpful and efficient. We did get some incorrect info from them regarding our connections but it was a new codeshare they were doing with Qantas so they were obviously not familiar with it. We had Economy plus seats which are just extra legroom seats in Economy (free upgrade) which were very comfortable and the onboard entertainment was fine. I’m 6’ and my partner is 5’4”.

To transfer to Hollywood, you can use someone like Karmel, Zippy or even Super Shuttle although the last one can be a bit hit and miss service wise. You can reduce costs significantly by getting a shared shuttle service, just means more time for the transfer but I don’t mind that so much as you can get a mini tour of the city as the driver drops of other guests. If you’re the first drop off, that’s just a bonus. Uber and Lyft are an easy option, they have rideshare s down to a fine art in the States, particularly California. Sign up for each and you’ll probably get a welcome bonus but I prefer Lyft as they pay their drivers more.

For getting to Anaheim, rideshare is probably your best bet, about $50 to $60. Can you get something better than the Clarion? It really has seen better days and it’s been the least favourite hotel that I’ve stayed at in Anaheim. From the looks of the reviews, things haven’t changed much. In any case, plenty to do in Orange County, some of the best beach towns are close by, Newport, Huntington and a bit further south, Laguna Beach and Dana Point. Outlets at Orange or South Coast Plaza for shopping and Knott’s Berry Farm for another theme park hit

Vegas, love that place. Things to do on the mind numbing lay boring drive there (interesting in that it’s so different and . . . flat but that gets old pretty quick, think the Hay Plains in NSW if you’ve been there).
https://californiathroughmylens.com/stops-drive-la-vegas
Don’t like the term “must do” as I’d hate to suggest something you end up doing and hate but here’s a list of stuff I’ve enjoyed. One must not though is the cleverly named grandcanyonwest. It’s only 2.5 hours drive but it’s expensive, built for tourists and not actually in the Grand Canyon. I’ve driven to the South Rim (the actual Grand Canyon) and back in a day but with 2 drivers, it’s close to 5 hours each way.

Anyway, you could drive to some of these places
* Hoover Dam, less than an hour
* Valley of Fire, about 90 mins but a sizeable area
* Red Rock Canyon, about 30 mins
* Death Valley, about 2 hours but, again, a large area but one of my favourite places. That would be an all day trip. Going straight to Furnace Creek, down Badwater Road and exiting to Shoshone and Pahrump back to Vegas would be close to 6 hours round trip wheels turning, bit more than 1 way to the Grand Canyon.

Stuff in and around Vegas.
* Window shopping although that’s never free (or cheap) for me . Premium North Outlets are the best, it’s where the locals go.
* One of the many free shows along the strip like the Bellagio Fountains, watching the Gondolas at The Venetian, the Volcano at The Mirage etc.
* Wandering around the casinos like New York New York, Paris, MGM Grand, the Venetian etc.
* The Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas itself (about 8km north off The Strip). Massive 500m long canopy with a light and sound show played to music every hour. Casinos are a bit cheaper up there as well for meals and drinks.
* People watching, always fascinating
* A quick trip to the massive bowling alley in Sams Town about 15k’s away
* See the animals in some of the resorts, MGM Grand, Circus Circus, Flamingos at The Flamingo the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.
* Some of the resort attractions (cost varies) like the Big Apple Rollercoaster at New York, New York, the indoor “theme park” at Circus Circus (bit of a grandiose term that one), climb the replica Eiffel Tower at Paris and if you have the nerve, the rides on top of the stratosphere which looks like the Sydney Eye Tower.
* Slotzilla at Fremont St. Zip lining under the canopy, amazing. They have sit down and prone (superman position) zip lines depending what you’d be most comfortable with.

I also think a first visitor would benefit from an evening tour of the Strip. It’s only 2-3 hours but we enjoyed it on our first trip. It’s called the Neon Nights tour or something.

Hope that gets you started. Keep asking questions and have a great trip.

All the best.

Thank you! I was looking at the Economy Plus seats, he is really cramped in economy, we went to Brisbane on Jetstar back in June and the poor guy had to have his knees hunched up against the seat in front, I am convinced Jetstar changed their seating because I couldn't even get the tray table down onto my lap.. I know I'm podgy but I've never had that issue before. I just watched a youtube video of a syd - la flight and the seats look narrow so hopefully I fit! I'm secretly hoping we get a free upgrade at the airport because we just got married and all that cutesey stuff haha

We originally had Karmel booked at $102 to Hollywood and $150 from Hollywood to Clarion, it seemed rather excessive to me or is that just the norm? I've never used Uber or Lyft so shall be an interesting experience.

Sadly can't do much about the Clarion, Disney is pretty booked out halloween week and we didn't want to stay too far but last night i noticed they released a 4th night free offer for the clarion so my TA jumped on it and we saved $120 so that was a bonus. I did read on trip adviser the hotel is a bit run down and it is getting a make over over the next few months (supposedly) so you never know but I'm not too fussed..it was the cheapest within the disney area without going too cheap.

Oh great, I'll have to do some research of those places.. Hoover Dam would be fantastic to see, we only have the car for 1 day sadly as was just a way to get to vegas without flying and was an added surprise for my fiancee who wanted to drive over there....hopefully his driving skills are as sharp there as they are over here I just got cheap front row tickets to see Human Nature while we are there - the boyband fanatic in me is squealing with delight, the fiancee not so much but I don't care :lol: He wants to go see Chris Angel so need to research that option...I also googled the zak bagans museum he wants to visit and it is about an hour on the Deuce bus from the Luxor so will research that, I have been convinced Vegas shopping is fantastic and Freemont St is a must, fiancee would love the animals, will need to write that down in our itinerary and also the neon lights sounds interesting, seems like there is lots to do after all which is great, I was a bit worried I'd be bored during the day.

We have 7 nights in Anaheim so I plan to visit a Michaels because I have a Cricut cutting machine and spotlight just doesn't cut it so will prob Uber it out to Fullerton (on the advice of my friend), I think I need to introduce my fiancee to the Walmart experience too lol.

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions and well wishes xo I definitely appreciate them! Feeling better about Vegas, just need to wait for confirmation numbers to do some things and can really start planning it all out!

 

[sjmac42]

The prices ($A I assume) you quoted for shuttles sound a bit high for a shared shuttle but not outlandish, just Travel Agent prices. Compare with booking direct on their websites though. Rideshare would be (in USD) about $20 to $30 into Hollywood and about $50 to $60 from Hollywood to Anaheim so I’d just do that, saves about $100.

Fair enough about the Clarion. Just make sure your agent is getting a good rate. I can see it on booking.com for A$1179 for 7 nights (23rd to 30th), a little cheaper on their website for choice privilege members (free to join) at US$783. Always best to double check pricing from TA’s.

No, you won’t get bored during the day in Vegas, there’s always something going on. You’ll always get approaches asking if you’d like a free dinner/show on the Strip. They are usually working for a timeshare company. Easiest way to shake them off is tell them you are leaving the next morning, they’ll just move on to the next person.
All the best.

 

[teddykins]

The TA is a friend so she worked pretty hard to make it as cheap as possible for us within her guidelines, her wholesaler even managed to extend our final payment time and give us a $500 discount because she had told them about my kidney issue so that was rather unexpected and helped a lot with the cost offset. I'm not too fussed on the hotel really, I am just happy to be going Our airfares have dropped $425 tonight but I am of the opinion at least we are going. That is my motto for this trip when things go bad 'at least we are going / at least we are here' hopefully it all works out lol. I will check out the transfer site and see what I can come up with, thanks. Last time I went to US with another friend we just got taxi's (2013) and it worked out not too bad.

Our Vegas time is already filled up, shopping, exploring and a night out to see Human Nature so that was rather easy. Thanks for the tip on those, I have a hard time saying no to people so must remember! We are tossing up the idea of doing the Disney Halloween party.. I did MNSSHP in 2013 and had a blast but need to research the DL one, see if its worth $120US each, then to find some other things to do in and around Anaheim, like shopping

 

[Montanabel]

Hi teddykins, sounds like you have a fantastic trip planned. Best wishes for your wedding and your health.

We did the DL Halloween Party in 2016 and loved it. We have done the MNSSHP in DW a few times, the DL version is different but still very good (especially if you like NBC )

Keep us informed of your plans and a trip report when you get back would be excellent.

 

[teddykins]

Thanks Montanabel! Small planning update; I asked my TA yesterday if we could swap from the Clarion to Best Western Stovalls Inn as it was only $150 dearer than Clarion but this morning the price had jumped from $1382 to $1900 so that was out of the question! I then went hotel shopping and found the Quality inn and suites which were at $1400 included breakfast but then I found the Alamo inn and suites for $1020 it doesn’t include breakfast but it was basically near a Denny’s, next door more or less to the quality inn and stovalls and there’s a Walmart nearby where I could grab us some cereal and just eat brekky in the room as well.... I don’t think breakfast is worth $27/day each.

I also asked her about the 10 day PH as I see it mentioned all the time here and on FB but it was an extra $250 so stuck with the 5 day tickets - if you’re wondering it’s $1374, she also said current price for the 5 day tickets were $30 more than what we are paying as they fluctuate so I said yay that’s our first days breakfast and lunch right there so once all that was done I paid for everything - we are officially booked now! I am soooo excited!!

Really not much else to report on, this DisneyLand thing is SO different to DisneyWorld! I was all into working out park hours, fast passes, dining etc for the World but I feel like there’s literally nothing to plan! I do want to do a night out at a restaurant since it will be our Honeymoon and all, any suggestions? Shaun is into eating and everything lol but loves his steaks, parmas, burgers.... I did see there was a steakhouse but it’s a bit expensive for our budget, we are definitely doing PCH Grill though because...Donald but I want somewhere nice that we eat at too so will have to keep looking.

Actually I will give a Kidney update: I had a Biopsy yesterday and the results showed that the little kidney (I call him Thursday because it was a Thursday when I got him) is doing a bit better than he had been, he is no longer classed as being in rejection, how ever he isn’t 100% yet but he is improving and that’s all that matters. All the kidney drs now know about our honeymoon plans, it only takes 1 dr to spread the news and before you know it the whole department knows

 

[Montanabel]

Horray for officially booked!

We always go to the Cheesecake Factory when we visit Disneyland. Its about a 15 minute walk from the main gate and the range of food they have (and the size of the servings) is amazing. If we go for lunch I usually just order a slice of cheesecake and they are so large/filling that's all I can eat - but they taste so good!

Maybe you and your fiancee should check out the menu to see if its looks any good? https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu/

 

[D0ktaa]

I love halloween time at Disney (both Land and World), if you do end up booking the party I recommend stopping in one of the many costume shops that pop-up around that time to get a cheap costume.

Inside the parks i recommend trying to book the Fantasmic package at the Blue Bayou (Disneyland Park), and the Frozen package at Carthay Circle (California Adventure) both great restaurants and priority seating for shows. Also if you can the dessert party for World of Color (California Adventure) is worth it just for the seats and table.

As for shopping the ART shuttles go to the outlets at Orange (not the best outlet mall, but the closest) or there was a shuttle to Citadel outlets last time we were there.

 

[teddykins]

Horray for officially booked!

We always go to the Cheesecake Factory when we visit Disneyland. Its about a 15 minute walk from the main gate and the range of food they have (and the size of the servings) is amazing. If we go for lunch I usually just order a slice of cheesecake and they are so large/filling that's all I can eat - but they taste so good!

Maybe you and your fiancee should check out the menu to see if its looks any good? https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu/

I'm not a fan of cheesecake and Shaun doesn't really do sweets but the menu does look rather nice with all the other stuff, wouldn't have thought that they'd do other things so thanks, we will definitely check it out!

I love halloween time at Disney (both Land and World), if you do end up booking the party I recommend stopping in one of the many costume shops that pop-up around that time to get a cheap costume.

Inside the parks i recommend trying to book the Fantasmic package at the Blue Bayou (Disneyland Park), and the Frozen package at Carthay Circle (California Adventure) both great restaurants and priority seating for shows. Also if you can the dessert party for World of Color (California Adventure) is worth it just for the seats and table.

As for shopping the ART shuttles go to the outlets at Orange (not the best outlet mall, but the closest) or there was a shuttle to Citadel outlets last time we were there.

The party date I was looking at has sold out and the next one is $214au so definitely not paying that, as much as I wanted to go that is a lot of money. We will just enjoy the Halloween stuff in the park instead I am looking at dining now since our dates are starting to open up - do we know what time the site opens each date? Currently only up to the 23rd is available and I don't want to miss out. I need to plan out what days we are doing what parks, we will be coming down from Hollywood on the 23rd so will probably just go to DTD, pick up our tickets and maybe go to some Walmart, Michaels, Target etc for shopping... then do our first day on the 24th - I imagine with the Halloween party on the 24th being in DCA that DL will be very busy? I was thinking of doing DCA that day, then maybe hop on over to DL for a bit or something depending how we feel.

In terms of dining; has anyone done the Brunch at PCH grill? I can't seem to find many reviews of it, mainly breakfast. My one and only requirement this trip is I must eat with Donald but wanted to try something else other than the breakfast and he isn't there at dinner time. Shaun likes the sound of the Bourbon chicken from Cafe Orleans so that is a "must" for him. I will look at the dining packages once they become available, there's still a heap of info missing for October and beyond, even the park hours haven't been posted yet.

I heard the Citadel ones are amazing so will definitely check those out

 

[Sandeep1]

Cool trip! Grand Canyon is an option, bit of a drive though. Another option is to visit Death Valley instead, only about a 2 hour drive from Vegas and Oct/Nov is a decent time to check that out.

 

[teddykins]

Just popping in for an update! First of all my little kidney isn't going great.. I am having treatment for high antibodies every 2nd day, it's called plasmapheresis and its like being back on dialysis all over again only it's way more awful than dialysis Basically my body is attacking little Thursday so my antibodies against my donors antibodies are really high... I am glad they 'think' they have found the 'problem' after the last few months (I won't know for sure until I see the drs on Tuesday) but just having to do it every 2nd day and then working 4 days a week is really testing me. I managed to do 6 hours of dialysis 4 days a week and work 4 days a week from 8:15-4:20pm for 4 years without too much issue but I was also dialysing in my own bed, at night, while I "sleep" (I use that term loosely as some nights I didn't sleep at all) where as this is at the hospital dialysis unit where it's cold, noisy and just plain blah.

The treatment is also leaving me feeling very drained compared to how I felt on dialysis, I could do my dialysis and not feel tired or worn out afterwards but this? leaves me wanting a 12 hour nap even the day after. Wednesday was the worst so far, 10 mins into my treatment my blood clotted (I hardly ever clotted on dialysis), took them another 15 mins to declot it and thankfully they didn't have to re line the machine or worse - start over then 15-20 mins to go I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick and pass out - usually on dialysis this happens when you've removed too much fluid, not sure what the cause is with the the Plasma but I was soo drained on thursday that my boss basically had me sitting down all day but even on friday I was still a bit drained. I have another run in the morning at 8am so between my treatment, working and going to the drs I don't have much of a life at the moment! Hopefully this is doing it's job though, it certainly can't make it worse I suppose.

On top of all this we are still organising our Wedding which is happening in 32 days.....I still need to do my dress alterations, organise some shoes for the bridesmaids, organise getting their dresses altered (hems are too long), one groomsmen needs his final fitting, my dad has now decided he wants to wear a suit suit so need to organise that, need to do our seating chart, final payments.... and do my treatments, go to work, ensure our honeymoon stuff is all organised...tired just reading all that lol.

On the trip side of things, United changed our flight home, we are now going Vegas - San Fran - Melb, I'm annoyed because I could have done this flight on Qantas and saved $500 but I didn't want to go through San Fran and now we are I also just looked up the movie schedule and I don't think I am getting sleep on the way over - Aladdin, Toy Story 4 and Avengers end game are all playing, I haven't seen them yet haha. Who needs sleep

Dining packages are finally out so I've finally been able to make some reservations for our trip! I booked the Seaside brunch for the 25th, I also managed to grab a Fantasmic package for BB on the 27th at 5:50pm... I wanted the 25th but nothing available sadly, I was going to do World of Colour but not sure which way to go on that front....don't really want to do the dessert party and not sure which viewing area for either restaurant is 'better' for my 4'11" self, any ideas? Also how do you know how much the package is? For places like Carnation Cafe / Cafe Orleans is it essential to make reservations? I'm just not sure which days to do what at the moment but would hate to miss out.

I suppose that is about it for updates, there's not much else I need to plan or book in, just a few DL things...Vegas is sorted, car hire to Vegas is sorted (still thinking about a drive to the valley), our time in Hollywood/Universal is pretty much sorted, we converted some US$ the other week, transferred more to our qantas cash cards, thinking might get some more cash just in case especially since the dollar has gone up slightly but not long to go now and we'll be saying bye Melbourne!!

 

[Montanabel]

Just popping in for an update! First of all my little kidney isn't going great.. I am having treatment for high antibodies every 2nd day, it's called plasmapheresis and its like being back on dialysis all over again only it's way more awful than dialysis Basically my body is attacking little Thursday so my antibodies against my donors antibodies are really high... I am glad they 'think' they have found the 'problem' after the last few months (I won't know for sure until I see the drs on Tuesday) but just having to do it every 2nd day and then working 4 days a week is really testing me. I managed to do 6 hours of dialysis 4 days a week and work 4 days a week from 8:15-4:20pm for 4 years without too much issue but I was also dialysing in my own bed, at night, while I "sleep" (I use that term loosely as some nights I didn't sleep at all) where as this is at the hospital dialysis unit where it's cold, noisy and just plain blah.

The treatment is also leaving me feeling very drained compared to how I felt on dialysis, I could do my dialysis and not feel tired or worn out afterwards but this? leaves me wanting a 12 hour nap even the day after. Wednesday was the worst so far, 10 mins into my treatment my blood clotted (I hardly ever clotted on dialysis), took them another 15 mins to declot it and thankfully they didn't have to re line the machine or worse - start over then 15-20 mins to go I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick and pass out - usually on dialysis this happens when you've removed too much fluid, not sure what the cause is with the the Plasma but I was soo drained on thursday that my boss basically had me sitting down all day but even on friday I was still a bit drained. I have another run in the morning at 8am so between my treatment, working and going to the drs I don't have much of a life at the moment! Hopefully this is doing it's job though, it certainly can't make it worse I suppose.

On top of all this we are still organising our Wedding which is happening in 32 days.....I still need to do my dress alterations, organise some shoes for the bridesmaids, organise getting their dresses altered (hems are too long), one groomsmen needs his final fitting, my dad has now decided he wants to wear a suit suit so need to organise that, need to do our seating chart, final payments.... and do my treatments, go to work, ensure our honeymoon stuff is all organised...tired just reading all that lol.

On the trip side of things, United changed our flight home, we are now going Vegas - San Fran - Melb, I'm annoyed because I could have done this flight on Qantas and saved $500 but I didn't want to go through San Fran and now we are I also just looked up the movie schedule and I don't think I am getting sleep on the way over - Aladdin, Toy Story 4 and Avengers end game are all playing, I haven't seen them yet haha. Who needs sleep

Dining packages are finally out so I've finally been able to make some reservations for our trip! I booked the Seaside brunch for the 25th, I also managed to grab a Fantasmic package for BB on the 27th at 5:50pm... I wanted the 25th but nothing available sadly, I was going to do World of Colour but not sure which way to go on that front....don't really want to do the dessert party and not sure which viewing area for either restaurant is 'better' for my 4'11" self, any ideas? Also how do you know how much the package is? For places like Carnation Cafe / Cafe Orleans is it essential to make reservations? I'm just not sure which days to do what at the moment but would hate to miss out.

I suppose that is about it for updates, there's not much else I need to plan or book in, just a few DL things...Vegas is sorted, car hire to Vegas is sorted (still thinking about a drive to the valley), our time in Hollywood/Universal is pretty much sorted, we converted some US$ the other week, transferred more to our qantas cash cards, thinking might get some more cash just in case especially since the dollar has gone up slightly but not long to go now and we'll be saying bye Melbourne!!

Hi teddykins

Sorry to hear that Thursday has not been well, your treatment sound exhausting! Wishing you well and hope this treatment helps Thursday get back on track.

Your wedding is so close! That is exciting news and plans for your trip are shaping up well.

When we have done World of Color (I'm going to spell it the American way although it just looks wrong....) we have just grapped the fastpasses available in the morning. I think at various time we have either gotten fastpasses for the yellow or blue sections. Everytime we have had our daughters with us (the first time they were 3 and 7, so definately not tall) and the key seems to be just getting to as close to the front as possible, noting you will be in the 'wet zone' and will get wet from the spray off the water, so make sure you have a jumper or jacket and maybe a hat if you want to keep your head warm/hair dry. To get up the front, you will have to arrive at the showing areas early, maybe an hour before the actual show? Grab some dinner and take it with you so you can eat while you wait for the show to start.

We have always had reservations for Cafe Orleans, only because I like the certianly to know I will get in. When you arrive, let the hostess know you want to sit outside. One of our favouriate things to do is sit in Cafe Orleans and watch the people walk by, or the boats on River of America, as we eat some amazing food. It is lovely to just soak up the atmosphere of being at Disneyland......

 

[teddykins]

I wish I was posting this from our hotel in Vegas but unfortunately we had to cancel our whole trip 6 days before we were due to leave and 2 days before our wedding the kidney drs called me and told me my transplant is failing and they don't think I should go because if something were to happen while we were over there and I needed to go to emergency or worse start dialysis, then we would be looking at a huge medical bill because medical in the USA is overpriced and crazy expensive. It took me a while to come to turns with this, I also had the honour of trying to figure out how I'm telling Shaun, my husband to be 2 days before we were due to get married - I didn't want him to worry about me on the day, he spends every day of the week worrying as it was. He ended up finding out because a so called friend and work colleague decided to cause drama and threatened to tell him all about it, all because we wouldn't let her into the bridal suite the morning of the wedding so she thought by threatening to tell him and by sending him a text message saying "Lisa has a secret you will be disappointed" that I would cave and let her up into the room - the plan backfired and I kicked her out of the wedding altogether, she was no longer invited! But that meant I had to tell Shaun via a text message instead of face to face. More drama ensued and its still on going today but we have severed ties with her for good although I'm not looking forward to seeing her at work.

I am gutted, Shaun is gutted, I haven't started back on dialysis yet and I actually don't feel too poorly but we are in the process of going back on Dialysis and the transplant list This is my second transplant so I have gone through rejection / failing kidney before but I think this one is harder to accept because we were sooo close to going on our trip and it was only for 2 weeks so why couldn't it have lasted another 3 weeks? It's lasted for 2 years. But these things happen so now we have decided to just put $50 a week away until my next transplant and then we will have a nice sum for our next holiday; I have given us 4 years to save which will be roughly $20K give or take what life could possibly throw at us by then but knowing that we are saving for our next trip makes it a bit easier to accept my diagnosis.

Thankfully we are getting back 75% of our money from our TA, so I am thankful she spent a bit of time making sure we purchased the right travel insurance for my situation and her suppliers worked with her to make sure we were covered just in case - not sure how many TA's do that.

Thank you all soooo much for your help and posts!! Next time we are looking at doing Orlando parks, New York, maybe a train trip somewhere, DL, Vegas and somewhere central where some of our US friends can come and meet us as it's been in the works for 10+ years so hopefully this time we can make it work lol so I will be back hopefully by 2023 with a new planning post for you all, I'll still be around as I love reading all the trip reports and things though. I hope you all are having a great week and if you're going away soon have a fabulous trip!!

 

[teddykins]

Here's a picture of us from the wedding

 

[Montanabel]

Hi teddykins.
What a beautiful wedding photo! You look amazing. ☺
I am so sorry you had to cancel your trip, but I am glad you are putting your health first. Disney will still be there when you are ready to go and it sounds like you are planning an even bigger trip.
Sorry about your awful 'friend'. I swear some people are just addicted to drama, even if they have to cause it. You were absolutely right to kick her out of your wedding and your life.
Would love to hear about your plans for your 2023 trip.
Wishing you all the best.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Oh what a shame, I was just thinking I wonder how the trip was going and then saw your post. Sorry U had to cancel.I guess getting 75% of monies back isn't too bad, at least U had insurance, but that must have cost a packet to have cover for your condition.

 

[teddykins]

Hi teddykins.
What a beautiful wedding photo! You look amazing. ☺
I am so sorry you had to cancel your trip, but I am glad you are putting your health first. Disney will still be there when you are ready to go and it sounds like you are planning an even bigger trip.
Sorry about your awful 'friend'. I swear some people are just addicted to drama, even if they have to cause it. You were absolutely right to kick her out of your wedding and your life.
Would love to hear about your plans for your 2023 trip.
Wishing you all the best.

Thank you we had a lot of fun despite attempts to ruin it! I just wish time went a bit slower.. it was 7:30am one minute then 8:30pm the next, like blink and you miss it lol.

Absolutely, just hard when you DO have the money to travel but you are restricted by your health..and there really isn't anything else I'd rather spend my money on than travelling. I have friends in DL right now and some in Hawaii so my FB is covered in photos, living vicariously through them while being highly jealous of them at the same time. Awful awful feeling but we will get there... we will be one of those "childless couples who are in their 40's and visit Disney" that you hear about on Facebook

Oh what a shame, I was just thinking I wonder how the trip was going and then saw your post. Sorry U had to cancel.I guess getting 75% of monies back isn't too bad, at least U had insurance, but that must have cost a packet to have cover for your condition.

Thank you. I didn't have cover for my condition, they wouldn't cover me because I have had rejection in the last 12 months but we had cancel anytime cover which doesn't have any conditions tied to it, just you had to cancel within 48 hours...seemed too good to be true but so far so good. The total insurance cost that we paid according to our receipt it $463.80, it had cancellation cover for up to $7000 minus a $100 excess. I'm not entirely sure how it all works but TA said we are covered to get 75% back so I am pretty stoked with that; better than I expected. We got $1780 back a few days ago so have put that away in the bank after paying some bills and Thursday we are starting our savings plan of $50 each a week and then seeing how we go over the next 4-5 years.