The Trip for the Quadruple Crown Dec 1-13, 2012 ~ A PTR

[EvilinaDM101]

**UPDATES**HOTEL AND ALL FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED!!

The trip for the Quadruple Crown!! Nov 29th-Dec 12,2012

Here is our PTR..

The Cast for this adventure and some background history~

My name is Shonnel (30) and my DH is Joey (31). We are both Disney fanatics!
Here we are current day!

Here we are a few years ago at Club 33 in Disneyland

Our first vacation together as GF and BF was to WDW 13 years ago. We’ve visited Disneyland and California Adventures numerous times along with WDW. At the time we lived in Las Vegas and we had our Fairy Tale Wedding at WDW almost 7 years ago.
Here are some pics from our FTW

We love Disney and WDW! We love it so much we ended up moving to Orlando 2 years ago. The idea of doing all the Disney theme parks in 1 trip has been a dream of ours for some time now. Sadly, squeezing in Paris is just not in the cards BUT taking on Tokyo Disneyland, Disney Sea and Hong Kong Disneyland is available to us. We will take what we can get!!


So here we go!

Thursday, Nov 29 - Hitting up the Magic Kingdom (Crown #1)

Friday, Nov 30th - Fly out of Orlando and arrive in Los Angeles
We arrive at lunchtime and we plan to spend the entire time checking out the new Cars Land and hitting up Disneyland. (Crown #2)

Saturday, Dec 1 – 12:40am We say hello to International travel! Fly out of LAX and first stop is Beijing.

Sunday, Dec 2 – Arrive in Beijing at 5:30am for a 3 hour layover. This gives us time to wake up, freshen up and grab a bite at the Beijing airport.
Hop back on the plane and land in Tokyo (Narita) at 1:40pm. After doing customs and picking up our pocket WIFI from Global Communications, find the Limo Bus service and head to the Hilton Tokyo Bay (we originally had the Sheraton in mind but due to the date push back and finding out the Hilton houses a Starbucks, we were sold on it ). Check-in and then head to Ikspiari for some shopping and grub. Probably calling it an early night for the next day is the TDL!!

Monday, Dec 3- Bright eyed and bushy tailed, early arrival for park opening and do all we can do at TDL! (Crown #3)
Beside enjoying the park, my DH and I have it BAD for Stitch and friends merchandise. We will be on the hunt for all unique Stitch items that we can't get here at WDW.

Tuesday, Dec 4 – Disney Sea is calling, this is where we will spend the day!

Wed, Dec 5 – Revisiting TDL for anything we may have missed or would like to do again…

Thurs, Dec 6 – Revisiting TDS OR TDL for the final day in the parks. QUESTION! Is a 4th day really necessary? Can we see and do all we can at both parks in 3 days? Or should we head into Tokyo early? Your thoughts on this greatly appreciated!!

Friday, Dec 7 – Heading into Tokyo and making our way to Sanrio Puroland (if it’s open), afterwards checking out the Tokyo Sky Tree, Shinjuku, Shinbuya, Take****a, Harajuku and where ever else we come across! DH and I are always looking for new adventures!

Saturday, Dec 8 – packing up and saying goodbye for now to Tokyo, flight for Hong Kong leaves at 4:55pm
2 hour layover in Shanghai! SWEET another stop in China!
Arriving in Hong Kong at 10:30pm, where we then head to The Renaissance Hotel for the night, hoping to find some awesome Chinese food on the way to the hotel

Sunday, Dec 9- Sleep in day!! And then checking out Hong Kong! Any suggestions?

Monday, Dec 10 -Up early and at the Gates of Hong Kong Disneyland. At the park all day! (Crown#4)

Tuesday, Dec 11-Another day of Hong Kong Disneyland OR whatever else we come across

Wed, Dec 12 - heading back to the states our flight at 8:30am
Arriving in LAX at 10:30am, the time difference is AWESOME!! and hopping on our flight to Orlando at 1pm.


That’s it!! This is our itinerary and with hopes the trip report will be just as listed here!! We can’t wait and we are open to any and all thoughts, comments, suggestion and opinions! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

If any fellow DIS peeps would like to meet up, let us know!!

 

[battymum]

Sounds awesome, if not exhausting!!

If only Shanghai were open... you could have squeezed that in too!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like some trip. Looking forward to seeing you collect all those crowns!

 

[BecBennett]

Yaaaaay! You are going to try and do four in such a short time, that's so cool!

DH and I were married at WDW in 2011. They do it so well, I can't imagine getting married anywhere else!

 

[EvilinaDM101]

We are so very excited!! Being the hardcore Disney fanatics that we are, finally getting to visit all the different theme parks is going to be INSANE!! Oh and yes, getting married at Disney was AMAZING!!! I can't wait to plan our 10 year vow renewal!

 

[corgi_monster]

Wow - your trip is amazingly crazy and I am so amazingly jealous

If you are a Hello Kitty fan, Puroland is pure crack. I thought I'd just spend a half day there, but they nearly had to kick me out of the gift shop at closing. Oh, the gift shop - cookie tins, Sugar Bunny cupcake kits, Marron Creme, and other characters that have vanished in the US (and sometimes ones that haven't even made it hear yet!) They even have a game center where you can win prizes that aren't available for sale. I would suggest trying to visit on a weekday, though - that place can get packed and because it's inside a building, they just can't accommodate large crowds easily. It might be better to do to a Disney park on that day and take in parades and attractions that don't typically have long waits. Also, Puroland is a trek from Tokyo Bay!

Here's a pic of the water from Puroland - yes, even the stinking water is kawaii!

Based on your puri picture (I'm guessing you like girly, kawaii things), I think you'd love Harajuku! Lots of 1000 yen and under stores with decent quality items and a huge Daiso 100 yen store. The lollies and cosplayers hang out by the station on Sundays, so you might be able to catch them before heading down to Hong Kong.

Looking forward to reading more of your PTR! I'm going in August/September and reading about other people's trips makes me so much more excited for my own

 

[BecBennett]

How stinkin' cute are those water bottles?!?

My sister loves hello kitty, so I better go see that shop, just for her you know, not for me at all

 

[aussietravellers]

Wow, that is going to be an exhausting trip! But exciting at the same time! I'm looking forward to reading along about your journey.

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Since you will arrive early at the gates to HKDL I really recommend asking to be able to do the opening ceremony. We did it last time we went and it was really fun! The cast will line up to welcome you as the first guests of the day and you can take a photo with all the cast members and sometimes Mickey and Minnie. Then you will say Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland and cut the opening ribbon!

I want to say it shouldn't be too crowded at TDR when you are going (weekdays are always a nice choice!) but since it's just the two of you if you would like extra FP's for those days please pm me and we can help out. Have a great time!

 

[EvilinaDM101]

Since you will arrive early at the gates to HKDL I really recommend asking to be able to do the opening ceremony. We did it last time we went and it was really fun! The cast will line up to welcome you as the first guests of the day and you can take a photo with all the cast members and sometimes Mickey and Minnie. Then you will say Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland and cut the opening ribbon!

I want to say it shouldn't be too crowded at TDR when you are going (weekdays are always a nice choice!) but since it's just the two of you if you would like extra FP's for those days please pm me and we can help out. Have a great time!

Hi!! And thanks for the tips and for the offer! I might just hit ya up! Would you also be interested in hanging out and checking out Puroland? Let me know!

 

[EvilinaDM101]

Wow - your trip is amazingly crazy and I am so amazingly jealous

If you are a Hello Kitty fan, Puroland is pure crack. I thought I'd just spend a half day there, but they nearly had to kick me out of the gift shop at closing. Oh, the gift shop - cookie tins, Sugar Bunny cupcake kits, Marron Creme, and other characters that have vanished in the US (and sometimes ones that haven't even made it hear yet!) They even have a game center where you can win prizes that aren't available for sale. I would suggest trying to visit on a weekday, though - that place can get packed and because it's inside a building, they just can't accommodate large crowds easily. It might be better to do to a Disney park on that day and take in parades and attractions that don't typically have long waits. Also, Puroland is a trek from Tokyo Bay!

Here's a pic of the water from Puroland - yes, even the stinking water is kawaii!

Based on your puri picture (I'm guessing you like girly, kawaii things), I think you'd love Harajuku! Lots of 1000 yen and under stores with decent quality items and a huge Daiso 100 yen store. The lollies and cosplayers hang out by the station on Sundays, so you might be able to catch them before heading down to Hong Kong.

Looking forward to reading more of your PTR! I'm going in August/September and reading about other people's trips makes me so much more excited for my own

So with everything OFFICIALLY booked, our visit to Puroland will be on a Friday. Maybe that will be better. I also saw that it's almost a 2 hour if not a hair longer trek to Puroland from Disney BUT I am a HUGE Hello Kitty fan and think its worth it!!
I am so excited for this trip and I bet you are too with yours right around the corner!! I keep waiting for BecBennett updates and I also watch lots of Tokyo vlogs! LOL

 

[PrincessInOz]

I think there are a few of us waiting to live vicariously through BecBennett updates!

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Hi!! And thanks for the tips and for the offer! I might just hit ya up! Would you also be interested in hanging out and checking out Puroland? Let me know!

Great! My husband used to be a CM at TDS and he said he would be happy to give you a tour around the park if you like! I've never been to Puroland so it would be really cool to go but I just need to make sure I can make it back to my son's kindergarten in time!

 

[EvilinaDM101]

Great! My husband used to be a CM at TDS and he said he would be happy to give you a tour around the park if you like! I've never been to Puroland so it would be really cool to go but I just need to make sure I can make it back to my son's kindergarten in time!

That would be awesome to explore TDL and Puroland with some locals!

Question, is it ok to go ahead and start buying some Yen for pocket money? Living here in Orlando, we have a lot of currency exchange places and I was wondering if people have done it with this much time before the trip? Or is this something that should be done closer to departure date. Any thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated!

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

That would be awesome to explore TDL and Puroland with some locals!

Question, is it ok to go ahead and start buying some Yen for pocket money? Living here in Orlando, we have a lot of currency exchange places and I was wondering if people have done it with this much time before the trip? Or is this something that should be done closer to departure date. Any thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated!

Good question! The exchange rate is so awful right now, personally I would wait and see if it gets a little better since there is still time but really who knows.

 

[BelleBway]

I've always been told it's best to get local currency after arriving in the country. There are ATM's and currency exchange at the airport. (although if exchanging currency directly, the airport may not have the best rates) I usually try to use ATM's.

I've done a lot of traveling abroad and have never gotten currency in advance, though sometimes I've had leftovers from previous trips.

 

[BecBennett]

I usually get currency before I head over, simply for convenience. I don't want to spend my holidays looking for somewhere to change it over

 

[corgi_monster]

Try xe.com to watch the exchange rates.

I've found that the rates at Narita are better than xe.com ATM's usually offer the best exchange rates, but they can be picky about accepting foreign cards.

The yen is really strong right now, and unfortunately, it seems to keep getting stronger. I'm going in September for a gift fair/trade show and REALLY hope the yen falls a little before then. Personally, I'm waiting for 82Y/$1.

 

[EvilinaDM101]

Hello again!!

SO we are officially in the double digits til we fly out! 91 days

I've been keeping an eye on xe.com and just trying to be patient (also trying to pick up some basic Japanese)

Any tips or advice at this point out? I feel like I should be doing more but I think this just the waiting game part

Thanks in advance!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hello again!!

SO we are officially in the double digits til we fly out! 91 days

I've been keeping an eye on xe.com and just trying to be patient (also trying to pick up some basic Japanese)

Any tips or advice at this point out? I feel like I should be doing more but I think this just the waiting game part

Thanks in advance!!

I tend to buy my currency when the rate gets to a point that I like. I also tend to buy amounts over time; that way if the currency does go lower, I don't feel so bad as I've already locked some in.

And if it goes higher, I just buy some more.