Aussie Disneyland Planners come on in and lets plan together :)

[aussiedaisy]

Just thought I'd try and start a thread to get all us Aussie Disneyland trip planners together. As we know it is a little difficult to plan and organise a trip from this end of the world. We could all get together with tips and useful info to help each other out.

 

[maryr1oz]

Sounds good to me!!

I love hearing about how other Aussies go about planning their trips, and also getting tips for travel etc as well...

 

[aussiedaisy]

Ok so I'll start by introducing myself. I am a 29yo clinical nurse specialist who works in the recovery room in the operating theatre. My travel companion is my identical twin sister who also works with me as a CNS in theatre. We live in Melbourne, Victoria (on the Mornington Peninsula). Our first trip to Disneyland was in 2004 and then we did WDW 2005, 2007 and a WDW/Disneyland combined trip last year in 2008! We are total Disney addicts and LOVE the atmosphere and feel of the parks. We weren't going to travel this year however we got a FANTASTIC deal with the new V Australia airlines which goes direct to LA and well it was too good to pass up!!! So off we go again in November to experience Christmas at the Disneyland resort, we are staying for 8 days at the HoJo and can't wait!!! The difference this year is that we are, for the first time, not using a travel agent and booking the whole thing ourselves which is a bit daunting, but hey, by now I think we know more than the travel agents do

 

[aussiedaisy]

Hi Maryr1oz, by the looks of your ticker you only have 3 months to go WOO HOO Lucky duck!!!! Would love to hear about your plans etc.

 

[youngaussienurse]

Yay!!! Disneyland here we come.....only 7 months to go!

 

[Ihaveamickeymousekid]

Hi there

My name is Melanie and i am going to Disneyland with my DH, mum and almost 3 year old DD (well almost 3 at the time of the trip)

We are going from 18th Oct - 26 Oct. We have booked our flights and accomodation so i am getting pretty excited, only about 6 months to go

Look forward to chatting with you

 

[aussiedaisy]

Hi Melanie!!! Bet you can't wait for October, is this your first trip to Disneyland? We went in late October last year for Halloween and it was GREAT, had a blast! We loved the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, that was my favorite. The weather was PERFECT and the crowds were not too bad. Would love to hear more about your plans!

 

[Sharkmeister]

Just saw this thread and thouhgt I would pop in and say hi.

I'm in Australia too and have found myself returning to Disney sooner than expected (This is not a bad thing.) We picked up a really good deal with United through to Orlando. We will be heading to WDW, but it's great to know other Aussies are on here too.

Happy planning

 

[aussiedaisy]

Hi Sharkmeister We love WDW also!!! Would have liked to have gone back again this year but Disneyland is quite a bit cheaper We are going back to WDW next December fingers crossed for the Christmas festivities and I can't wait! Hope your planning is going well

 

[SnowWhite09]

We leave in exactly 6 weeks for DH's 6th trip to DL but mine and DD's first trip! We can't wait it is just so exciting. We are also flying with V Australia.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

 

[Ihaveamickeymousekid]

Thanks for the welcome!

Well i guess i should tell you a bit about me, i am a stay at home mum with my almost 2.5 year old daughter Ella who absolutley loves Mickey Mouse and everything associated with him. So we thought that we must take her as she would so enjoy it, then when Qantas had such cheap airfares to LA we could not pass it up.

I am a big kid too so i know i will love it, i am so excited already!

We are staying at the Carosuel, right across the road from the parks. Got a good deal and we only really plan on sleeping there so i am not too fussy.

We are getting 14 day hopper pass even though we won't be there that long but with a toddler who knows what could happen and i would hate to waste a day by going and her getting sick/ tantruming and we have to leave wasting the whole day so this way we can come and go as we please, plus it was only $15 extra than the 4 day pass so gotta love that.

I am waiting on the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland to come from Amazon, so i am spending too much time on here until it arrives...

 

[Aust]

I'm jealous of all you people with trips planned!! We went to DL in October 2007 with our then 6 and 3 year olds and had such a great time (stayed at DLH). Before we went I thought it would be a once in a lifetime trip, but even while we were there I was already planning our next trip. If it were not for us having a new baby I'd be thinking seriously about organising a trip while all these cheap airfares are around - as it is it will be about 5 years till we go again.

I found the Unofficial Guide really helpful, also this board helped me heaps. Have a great time everyone.

 

[kylieh]

Well after a lot of umming and ahhing (sp?) we've got tentative plans to go back in October 2010 School Hols. We were in DL in October 2008, myself, DH, and DD6. We were thinking of returning in October this year, then after Christmas, and then on Thursday night, just past, we were at Westfield and had the world's worst Churro. DH looked at me and said "That's it, October next year, we're going back."

Make sure you have a Churro - love the DL ones!!! And I've been informed by my native Spanish-speaking friend at work that they don't rhyme with burrow, rather, pronunced as chew-row. He was in fits of laughter when I mentioned them to him in my thick Aussie accent

 

[maryr1oz]

Hi All,

Thought i would add some of our trip plans in here:

We are getting married on August 1st, and on August 3rd we are outta here bound for the USA. Yes it is our honeymoon - but - we are travelling with 7 other people! I'll backtrack a little...

My mother took my sister and I to EuroDisney about 10 years ago, and ever since then i had dreamed of hitting Disneyland in Anaheim. In 2005 i got sick of waiting for someone to want to come with me and packed up on a 5 week trip around California, Arizona and Nevada on my own. In 2007 i had finally convinced my boyfriend that he needed to come with me this time, and we spent 10 days in Anaheim before setting out on a 6 week drive to NYC. (While in Chicago he proposed to me!)

Then comes the wedding - we knew straight away it was back to the US for our honeymoon and couldn't think of anything better than inviting some friends along for the ride. We'll be starting in Anaheim for 6 nights before moving onto Vegas, Yosemite, San Francisco, Niagara Falls and then NYC. The travel party consists of friends as well as siblings. I know, I know, it's supposed to be our honeymoon, but we've travelled together alone plenty before and really want to spend time with our friends before everyone has more tie downs at home.

We will be away until August 29th (fiancee has a semi-new job and could only take 4 weeks leave) and i am getting so excited!

I'm also really liking having our own Aussie thread... yay!

 

[dollarmite]

This thread is a great idea! There seems to be plenty of info in NZ/Oz regarding Disneyland, but hardly any on Disneyworld. I guess this is because DL is closer so we're more inclined to go there.

Well, after visiting DL 6 or 7 times in the 1990s, we're off to both DW and DL in October/November this year, thanks to Qantas having some fabulous deals to New York (from Brisbane). We're detouring down to DW for 12 days (via Washington DC).

"We" is my DH, DS12 and DS8 (who will turn 9 at DL in November ). We took DS12 to DL as a toddler but this will be DS8's first time. I'm also excited about spending Thanksgiving in the US and plan on being at DL on that day.

I asked my local travel agent for a price on the DW part of the stay and then compared it to the DW site. Even with the exchange rate, I can save over $1500 AUD doing it myself on line.

I've also gotten quotes off a couple of online Disney affliliated US based companies. Their prices are exactly the same as the DW website but they can organise the dining reservations for me as well as keep an eye out for extra discounts. (I think DW's set up of having to call them directly for ADR is ridiculous, particularly if calling from overseas).

We've decided to stay on site at DW as this will probably be our only chance of visiting DW and we want to enjoy the total Disney experience. It'll be my birthday during our visit, so that will make turning *cough cough* a bit less painful, lol.

Looking at the Disneyland website, I noticed that the most days you can buy a ticket for is 6(?). I read on another thread that there is a 14 day pass specifically for NZ/Australians. Does anyone know where I can get those from? We'll be in Anaheim for about 10-12 days and would like to come and go from DL at leisure rather than try and cram it into 5 or 6 rushed days.

I'm so glad I found this board and others as it's made planning the DW part of the trip so much easier.

 

[Flea]

Can Kiwi planners join in too??? there's not a group for us yet I don't think

 

[Flea]

dollarmite - you can get 14 day passes http://www.disney.com.au/disneyland/disneyland_resort.html - we ordered ours through our friend in NZ who's a travel agent. I have heard that people get them online somewhere but I'm unsure where. You should be able to just buy the passes only through an agent without having to book anything else.

 

[BecBennett]

Hi, My name's Rebecca, and I'm a disaholic...


Sorry, couldn't help myself.

DF and I are heading back to DL in May, we were there in March last year, and I'm already planning my WDW trips in November 2010, and March 2011 - because we're going to do a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding!!!

Very exciting!

I found booking everything myself was much easier then going through a travel agent, and I don't think I'll ever use one again! I just like knowing that I've been able to get all the information and use it myself, as aposed to telling someone else what I want to do, and them telling me I wouldn't enjoy it.... I hate that

Dollarmite: You mentioned cheap deals direct to New York from Brisbane, do you mind if I ask you what dates? I can never seem to find cheap flights to NY, from anywhere!!!

 

[marvel]

Hi everyone. Good idea for a thread. Where to start?

We are going to DL starting Sept 19th for 8 nights staying at HOJO, also doing LA and Vegas prior to that. We love the US, this will be our 3rd trip (2005 DL, 2008 WDW) in 4 years. We didn't plan to travel this year at all, but the cheap airfares meant that we could get free flights using our Air NZ frequent flyers which were expiring so we thought why not?

May 2008 we did 7 weeks in the US, starting with NY and we drove to Florida, staying in Tennessee, Savannah Georgia, then WDW, Hard Rock Hotel Universal, Vegas and then Hawaii. Absolutely great trip, if anyone needs any info on hotels etc, we had really fabulous hotels all over, drop me a line happy to help. I booked and planned the whole thing myself but used a Disney travel agent for the WDW portion, as the price was the same and they do all the dining booking for you which I found to be a great service for no cost.

Planning and discussing anything to with the trips is something I really love to do. Look forward to talking with you all. Oh, I am from Melbourne as well.

 

[Czardas]

G'day (sorry couldn't resist)

I went to Disneyland early last year and we had a ball. We don't usually repeat destinations, so I thought it was the once in a lifetime trip.
Anyway I am a frequent flyer point hog and had enough points for first class to LA on the Qantas's new A380, so I was lucky to find some seats and back to Disneyland we go

We are then heading to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico for 6 nights, then back to LA for a few days before heading on home.

For those that have been before, what is your must do for this trip?