From Australia to WDW - our first trip September 2018! UPDATE 6/17

[OziJo]

Renting a boat from Grand Floridian

DH and I used to spend a lot of time boating on a river when we were younger, so I love the idea of getting back out on the water together. We would rent one of the larger Pontoon boats from Grand Floridian for an hour. We plan to do a lap of Seven Seas Lagoon, and then a lap of Bay Lake. Of special interest to me is viewing Discovery Island and River Country from the water.

What a great idea! Having stayed at Fort Wilderness we took the boat across Bay Lake a number of times. It was the best thing about staying at FW. Having your own boat means you can get up close to the deserted Discovery Island and River Country. A nice little adventure

 

[elcmum]

G'day from an another Aussie! Following along.

 

[maryr1oz]

G'day from an another Aussie! Following along.

Welcome! Your trip is coming up soon too - how exciting

 

[maryr1oz]

We have 5 nights in DC right before we fly down to Orlando. I found out that while we are there 'Hamilton' will be playing at the Kennedy Center. I understand this is pretty much the hardest ticket to get on the planet at the moment, but I was definitely on board for trying.

I had registered with Kennedy Center, and counted down to the on sale date and time.

Unfortunately, unlike ADR's, this release began at 11pm Australian time. They conducted the sale through a queueing system, which was actually really fantastic.



At 11pm I was randomly assigned a place in the virtual queue...




#16673

I watched the numbers slowly counting down... midnight... 1am... 2am... I watched mindless middle of the night TV, i even took a short nap. And at 2.30am I was finally within sight of the end of the queue.



When it was my turn, i was redirected to the website, i chose the date i wanted and the price range - I went with the $99 tickets. I was allocated two seats together and then presented with the option to purchase. It was very straightforward, quick and painless one I was in this part of the transaction.

So, we are going to Hamilton!

I think it's a pretty fitting show to see while we are in DC of all places

Also, #16673 turned out to be a fantastic number in the queue, later i saw that the numbers went up to #170,000+

 

[Araminta18]

Hey, we got Hamilton tickets too! Though my number was ~73k--you did much better than me. But that's awesome! What a fun thing to do on your trip! And I want to echo how well the Kennedy Center handled that sale--much better than other high demand shows in the past that have crashed the website, etc.

 

[maryr1oz]

Hey, we got Hamilton tickets too! Though my number was ~73k--you did much better than me. But that's awesome! What a fun thing to do on your trip! And I want to echo how well the Kennedy Center handled that sale--much better than other high demand shows in the past that have crashed the website, etc.

Ah so exciting!!

Could you tell me - what will the dress code be for the Kennedy Center?

 

[Araminta18]

Ah so exciting!!

Could you tell me - what will the dress code be for the Kennedy Center?

Oh gosh, honestly? Whatever you want. There will be people dressed to the nines, there will be people slightly dressy, some coming from work in business/business casual, and then some coming in jeans and a nice shirt. You could even show up in shorts and a t-shirt, and while you'd be in the minority, you probably wouldn't be the only one. I go to shows there about once a month, and I usually wear nice jeans/nice blouse. But if you want to go all out and make it a night, you would not be out of place dressing up super formal. I'd say wear whatever you feel good in and that you feel looks nice. The Kennedy Center is really open and not stuffy, and won't make you feel out of place.

They also have free shows starting at 6 pm in the grand hallway every night--Millenium Stage. Kind of a fun thing to do before going to your actual show, if you have time to kill. http://www.kennedy-center.org/video/upcoming

 

[maryr1oz]

That's great information - thanks so much!!

We won't be travelling with too many formal clothes, but i'm sure we can pull together something that will be appropriate...

 

[Araminta18]

That's great information - thanks so much!!

We won't be travelling with too many formal clothes, but i'm sure we can pull together something that will be appropriate...

You're welcome! Yea, you'll be fine with whatever you choose to wear. I have occasionally seen people wearing what seems like workout clothes, so you know I hope you enjoy it! Hamilton is a great show, and the Kennedy Center is a fun venue.

 

[maryr1oz]

I was spending some time today looking back through old trip photos and I thought i'd post some to help me get in the vacation mode...

Disneyland - September 2007

 

[maryr1oz]

New York City - October 2007

 

[maryr1oz]

Over the weekend we caught up with some friends, one of whom is a travel agent. She started telling me about how many ESTA applications had been being knocked back lately - tales of kids who who had to stay home during a class trip, one parent who was accepted one who wasn't etc etc. Then creating issues for people who had already bought tickets that couldn't be refunded or changed... I nodded along while she was talking. Meanwhile inside I was more like

First thing yesterday I logged on to complete the ESTA. There is absolutely no reason that either DH or I would not be approved for an ESTA, but i was spooked. I kept getting an error message that our address was not correct - it was. I thought that might give me a hassle in the end.
2 minutes after completing the applications and submitting the payments - we were both approved

Fantastic, nothing like a bit of worry for nothing to get the adrenaline pumping.

Back to the countdown - 144 days to go!

 

[snowwhitesmom]

You will love WDW and September is a great time to visit. I enjoy Disneyland and DLRP, but WDW is definitely my favorite! MNSSHP is great fun - we adults get to trick or treat! I have dietary issues as well, and WDW restaurants are very good at making accommodations. Following!

 

[maryr1oz]

You will love WDW and September is a great time to visit. I enjoy Disneyland and DLRP, but WDW is definitely my favorite! MNSSHP is great fun - we adults get to trick or treat! I have dietary issues as well, and WDW restaurants are very good at making accommodations. Following!

Ah thank you so much! Great to hear that September is a good time to visit, we certainly are excited. Also great to have more reassurance that the dietary issues will be well accommodated

 

[Araminta18]

Ew, visa stuff. No fun, just adds extra stress. So glad you were able to get approved quickly and can now focus on the fun stuff!!

 

[maryr1oz]

Today I went for a bit of a wander through the city, I wanted to check out the end of summer sales here, in preparation for the warm weather we will get in the US in September.

Trip was a success!

I picked up a couple of summer dresses and some cute summer tops that will be perfect for our trip



I also managed to grab some Disney t-shirts at Uniqlo that were on clearance.

For me:



For DH:





I also popped into Sephora and grabbed a couple of these mini clay face mask sachets - they have 4 uses in each one. I love face masks, and particularly while i'm on holidays. I can't guarantee these will last until the trip... but anyway

 

[maryr1oz]

I think i mentioned that i work full-time in the tourism industry, but when i'm not doing that, I am also a Customer Care volunteer at Melbourne International Airport. I've been volunteering out there for about 4 years now.

We help passengers passing through the international terminal in arrivals and departures. Mostly we just give a lot of directions, but i'm an airport sucker and being out there is just plain fun to me. If i didn't work so many paid hours, I would love to be out there more than the once a week I currently am.

My favourite position to be stationed in at the moment is the international departure gate area. (I go through different phases every couple of months as to where I like to be). I am usually at the airport quite early in the morning, around 6am to begin a 4 hour shift. Now we are off summer time, I get to see this baby board, load and depart.



That's QF93, and she is bound for LAX. This is the flight we will be taking (in 140 days!). I love seeing this plane board, it's always such a mixed bag of passengers, but it always has a good vibe. The flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles is around 14 hours, and it departs Melbourne at 9am local time.

Another bonus for Melbourne Airport is that AMEX have just opened a brand new lounge. We have an AMEX that we use for travel, and this will grant us entry before our flight.



By the time we fly it will have been open about 6 months, so hopefully that's enough for them to sort out any teething issues they may have had. Also hoping that they can cater to DH with some gluten free food options. We'll be in the lounge around 7am I imagine - is that too early for our traditional glass of pre-flight bubbles?

 

[tink1957]

Following along...sounds like a wonderful trip.

We will be in Orlando at the same time but mostly at Universal. We arrive at Pop the day you leave. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross.

 

[Twilight Terror]

Following - fellow Aussie also heading to WDW in September

 

[krysenchips]

Following along! I love seeing how international travel goes!

Also, it is never too early for bubbly! Just ask for a glass of orange juice to go with it and have mimosas!