Down Under Disney

"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." - Walt Disney This has always been the case for Disneyland. Attractions and rides have come and gone since the 1955 opening yet the heritage and basic layout have (aside from expansion) always been preserved.  Disneyland 1955: Sourced from http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/disneyland_photo_pages/aerial/aerial.html Currently, Disneyland consists of 8 major lands or themed areas. The round about looking area at the centre of the park (shown in both maps) is called The Hub; tying all areas together like the points of a compass. I will go through these lands briefly so you have an idea of what each area has to offer. Main Street USA is the first area you enter as you pass under the train station, into "The world of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy." It pays homage to Walt's Hometown of Marceline Missouri in 1910 and is prob...

This is pretty much the most important thing I will say on this still very young blog. "DOWNLOAD THE DISNEYLAND RESORT APP!" I haven't been to Disneyland in two years but I still keep this app on my phone and regularly updated. It's great for live and accurate wait times, along with park maps, daily opening hours, and show times. Why would I keep it on my phone then? Well, until now, I didn't really need to know that the average wait time of Indiana Jones, between the hours of 6 and 7pm, was 45 minutes, in August 2017. Deep down though I knew that keeping this app would render my pointless knowledge marginally useful one day. To download the app for free just head to your phone's app store and search Indiana Disneyland. It should be the first one that comes up.               Maps:  For those who do not wish to download the app, please find the link to all park maps  here.  Having a good knowledge of these maps will make y...

Flights? Check! Hotel? Check! Shuttle? Check! Disneyland Tickets? Read on! Disney provides many ticketing options to suit most travellers. It is structured like most theme parks throughout the world, in that the longer you stay the cheaper a day at the parks becomes. If you want to buy cheaper tickets on special elswhere feel free but I will be deaing with official Disneyland website, as prices are fixed anyway and you are guaranteed legitimacy. Here is the link:  https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/ No matter how many days you are going for, with each ticket you have the option of doing one park (Disneyland or California Adventure) or buying a park hopper add on. This extra add on allows you to walk between both parks for a flat $US45, over the course of your stay (advisable). You can also add on a Max Pass for US$10 a day but this will be discussed in a later post. Below is a list of each of the ticketing options for ages 10+. For kids between 3 and 9, minus $12 fr...

The door to your Boss' office has never looked so daunting. You slowly approach, half expecting to see a troll guarding the entrance. A solitary bead of sweat forms on your brow. In your hand, the paper you hold flutters, as you pass the air vents. Knock Knock. "Enter!" Comes the muffled but authoritative voice. He has his stamp ready. You hand him the paper. Thud! He hands it back. "Leave Approved", it reads. When to Go! So far we have discussed the hows of getting to Disneyland we should probably discuss the whens! While it is fantastic that your leave has been approved, what's more important are the dates you printed on your form. You may have already checked out some flights and hotels and based your decision on these factors already. However, it is also important to check out when peak times occur at the Disneyland Resort. The graph below gives a rough guide to when the best times to go to Disneyland are in terms of queue times and crowd numbers....

The hard part is over and after the 12 hour, time defying flight, you're feeling like Marty McFly, arriving at LAX Airport 4 hours earlier on the same day you departed. As excited as you are to get going and collapse into your hotel bed you realise Anaheim is still at least 1 hour away, depending on your mode of transport. So what is the best option to get from LAX to Disneyland? Once more this will depend on personal preference, budget and how many you have in your party. Below I will provide you with some of the most common/simple options. Shuttle Van Service: There are countless Shuttle Van services all over LAX. They are cost effective, ride sharing transports that drop you at your hotel and are perfect for single travellers and couples. Supershuttle and Prime Time Shuttles are among the best options in this category. A one way trip to Disneyland will cost you between US$15-20 plus a 15% tip. You can also book as a return trip for about US$30. I recommend pre-book...

Much like your flights, choice of Hotels will simply come down to your personal preferences but again I will try to give you as much information as possible to get you started! Let's begin with the Disney owned hotels. While they are the more expensive option they come with a few perks that you cannot find in other hotels. There are three hotels owned by Disney: The Original "Disneyland Hotel", "The Grand Californian" and "Paradise Pier". The locations of these are shown in the map below. *The stars are essentially where the entrances to the two parks are, including the hotel only entrance to California Adventure Park direct from the Grand Californian. Perks of Stay: When staying at a Disney Hotel there are a number of perks: - Price of room comes with tickets for the number of days you are there. Extra fee if you want to do both parks in a day, which is called a park hopper ticket. - Access to the park an hour before the general public, ev...

Living on a cotinental, albeit beautiful, island often makes getting places difficult and expensive. However awesome it would be, we cannot simply jump into a chalk painting, catch the Casey Junior Train or take a magic carpet to have our dreams fulfillled. Indeed, in the words of my friend Boromir here... While it would be ridiculous of me to suggest what flight and airline you should take on the 12-14 hour flight (yes it is worth it) to Los Angeles, I will offer you some basic information to help you on your way.  Flights: At the time of this post, Brisbane (2 flights), Melbourne (3 flights) and Sydney (5 flights) all have direct flights to Los Angeles. If you are in any other part of Australia you will have to stop in at least one of these cities on your journey. From Sydney the carriers for these flights include: QANTAS, Virgin, Delta, American Airlines and United (Budget option). Melbourne are restricted to QANTAS and United, while Brisbane has the option of Virg...