I'm off to WDW 6-18 Dec 2006...

[australiankaren]

Hey,
flying air tahiti to LAX, then delta to orlando.
staying 6 nights POFQ/POR and 6 nights at Contemporary.
getting 10 day hopper tickets
doing MVMCP one night
and Islands of adventure - 1 day
shopping at orlando premium outlets one night
doing aqua tour in EPCOT [snorkling with the fish in living seas]
keys to kingdom tour one morning

and all this with my son Josh- age 14....[Dad and brother at home]

95 days to go and cant wait.....have it planned out to the minute[ as I love planning]

have a great one
Karen

[sandie]

Sounds great - is it a direct flight to LA?

Do you have any meals booked?

Port Orleans is our favourite resort.

Sandie

[australiankaren]

hey Sandie,

we have booked a few meals for donalds b'fast at AK, chef mickey at contemporary,and crystal palace......but i really want to go to the sci fi drive in again.....awesome atmosphere, foods ok but expensive...great for coffee and dessert in the afternoon or night.

we are flying via tahiti....the flights were $300 pp cheaper than qantas or ANZ...and its just 2 hours longer...I can spend the $600 on mickey things
my only worry is we only have 2.5 hr stop over in lax before catching our flight to orlando.....hope we can do it!

we stayed off site last time[ in 4 brm condo], so really really excited about staying on site...any tips about POFQ????How much did you tip the mousekeepers??
did you do the magical express from the airport???

any other info would be great....94 days to go...woo- hoo

karen

[sandie]

We stayed off site one trip and I would never do it again!!!!

Riverside is our favourite probably because I have always had a thing for Gone WIth the Wind. The food court is great although it can get a bit busy sometimes. If you drink a lot of tea/coffe or soft drink the refillable mugs are worth it.

If you are going to catch the bus always catch it in the morning from the main stop near reception as it gets full by the time it gets to the quiet stops.

The boat to DtD is a great addition and is much better than catching the bus.

I leave Mouse Keeping $3 per night and we have always been left extra soaps etc.

2.5 hours should be ok - what time do you arrive at LAX?

Sandie

[australiankaren]

hey, thanks for the reply

we get into Lax about 8.10 am and our flight leaves 10.40 am.

did you get the mugs?? were they worth it.

hopefully we will be up and gone most days by 8am, so full buses wont be a problem I hope.

when did you go???
where did you put your passports/ tickets etc?

What were the laundry facilities like? as I want to take half what we need and wash halfway thru the trip....6 days clothes for 12 days...so I can buy more

have a good one
karen

[sandie]

Yes we did get the mugs - last trip we stayed for 20 nights so we used them alot. We will also get them next year when we go back.

Our last trip was in December 2003, from the 30th November - 19th December.

I have always left my passports in my bag andI only take TC so they are safe in the bag too. There is a small safe in the room if you prefer using that.

I love doing laundry when in WDW. I put the clothes in the machine, walk to the shop, walk back, put the clothes in the dryer, walk to the food court and by the time I get back they are done. A hint for finding money - always check the lint filters in the clothes dryers - no one else ever does and you can usually find at least $1.

Sandie

[australiankaren]

hey,

I also was in WDW nov 26 - dec 14 2003, and absolutely loved it. There were no crowds and MVMCP was nearly empty the night we went. The christmas decorations are fantastic, and we were surprised how cold it got at night.Had to buy my 16 yr old son a jacket at norway[ $200 usd] but he still wears it....

I just loved the fireworks at epcot....and the apple cider at the american pavillion in epcot, served out of the ginger bread house....man I'm looking forward to that again. I'm taking my youngest son, josh whos 14 this time, they get more quality time alone with me, and not fighting with each other.....even at 19 & 14 they squabble...and its a Loooooooong flight.

So, since we are staying at 3 resorts, we may just get POR & contemporary mugs.....josh is hanging out for dr pepper, we just cant seem to get it here.

gota love xmas at wdw

86 days to go....and counting

[sandie]

I also really enjoyed the Candlelight Procession -we had a meal package at le Cellier.

Two other club members where also there in Dec 2003 - we could of had a mini - meet!

Sandie

[PrincessBelle]

I'd much rather be doing Christmas than Halloween. But just can't swing it with the kids. Oh well, I can always pretend that I was there when I read your trip report.

[australiankaren]

Hey ladies,

christmas at disney is totally fantastic, but anytime at WDW is great!

I saw the candlelight processional with david ogden-something [charles winchester in MASH] totally unbelievable......and the troops had just left for Iraq, so alot of parents etc were there.....very moving. And with the cider, perfect

I dont think josh will sit thru it this time, so will enjoy the rides whilst everyone else is at this end of the park.

Halloween would be great too, we had thanksgiving at knots berry farm, the americans do holidays well & you'll get into the spirit of things no problem. You have to do the mvshp.......

And dont worry, with the amount of photos and info I'll send you, you will feel like you were there

Have you guys any ideas on phone cards??? I will be needing to call home daily to check that the boys are still alive

83 days to go!!!!
Have a good one
Karen

[sandie]

We have done phone cards two ways:
1. get the one from the post office that charges to your home bill (you get a big big big shock when you get your bill)

2. Buy cards from a Walgreens, Walmart etc (not Disney) For $20 you can make about 6 15 minute calls home. Its a bit hard though if you don't have a car to go buy one. The Disney ones did 2 15 minute calls for the same price. the good thing with the cards is you can call from your hotel room without getting even a local call charge.

Sandie

[australiankaren]

hey Sandie,
thanks for the info........I know about massive o/s phone bills, $700 on his visa the last time my husband went to canada.....I nearly died

so with the disney phone cards...I can just call home using the number on card etc, and wont be billed for phone call ie: international etc??Is that right?
Where do I get these cards??Front desk etc?

215 min /12 days = about 17 minutes a day.....very adequate for checking up on them

Would I also be able to get a card at the virgin mega store at DTD???Have you been to the virgin store??? what about prepaid sims for our mobiles [ we have 2 x usa mobile phones we want to use for sms]? any ideas??

Only 82 days to go and counting.........11 weeks [and a bit].

have a great one
Karen

[sandie]

opps-

[/quote]215 min /12 days = about 17 minutes a day.....very adequate for checking up on them

not 215 but 2x 15 minutes!

I have been to the Virgin store but I wasn't looking for them. You know if you get a Town Car from the airport it will stop at Publix and you can get both the sim cards and the prepaid calling cards.


Yes you are right if you use it from yourroom you willnot be chargedby the hotel.

Sandie

[australiankaren]

hey sandi,

sorry, didnt read it properly...

catching magical express, so will try and grab a card/ sims at downtown disney...

too excited for my own good....just paid my accom and tickets

2 x 10 day hoppers, 2 nights pofq, 4 nights POR, 6 nights contemporary for just over $3000 aud...pretty good I think...cheaper than our airfares and i got my MVMCP tickets to pick up at gate...

now all i have to do is save for food and spending...

80 days to go....

just saw discovery channel show on disney cruise ships...going to do that next time, looks a blast

have a great one
karen

[sandie]

Hi Karen,

On the phone cards - why not try http://www.walmart.com and see if you can buy them and get them shipped to you or post a message for HELP in the Club News section and see if one of the guys over there now can grab you a couple.

I accidently clicked on your bio link instead of the message link and see you live in Sydney - why not come to the next meeting?

Sandie