Originally Posted By debtee Our trip report Sat 23rd December 2006. We left our house 9am Saturday morning the 23rd December from Sydney Australia for our trek over to the Happiest Place on Earth. Yipeeee! Our friends Alana and Pat arrived to drive us to the airport and it was bittersweet for them as they had come with us on our trip to DL last Christmas but they were still very excited for us. It’s always so hard for me to leave our doggies, Woody & Toby and I hate that final kiss and cuddle as they just KNOW we are going, this time Toby was sitting right on top of the suitcases in the hope he was coming too! Awwwww! We are very lucky that Barry’s sister Robyn moves into our home while we are gone to stay with them and she adores the boys and says she enjoys doing it, as it’s like a mini holiday for her too! We arrived to the airport in record time and so decided to go to breakfast with Pat & Alana at Hungry Jacks. We had never had breakfast there before and it was funny as Alana went straight to the counter and ordered a Bacon & egg McMUFFIN! Lucky the sales assistant had a sense of humor. Alana just forgot she was in Hungry Jacks! LOL We then went back to Sydney Airport for check-in at United Airlines. Hugs to Pat & Alana, they then left. We had been confirmed for Business Class upgrades ( this was our first time ever ) as a thank-you for all of the freight we move internationally, I was excited as we always fly economy and I had heard from friends just how great business class was. They confirmed our seats and told us we were allowed to wait in the red carpet lounge. I was bursting at this point as I couldn’t wait to see what it was like! I know I’m so un-cool. Haha We went to do some Duty Free shopping and ended up buying a new digital SLR camera for my Birthday! I just love it and it’s been so easy to use, we are very pleased that we got it! We made it into the lounge and found a corner to make our own. It was very pleasant sitting there, you could visit the buffet and bar if you wished but I didn’t as I get air sick on takeoff and didn’t want to push it. Barry had a snack and a soft drink. Three hours later it was time to board and we were taken to a separate area where we could load with no lines. This was all new for us. They did a security check of our hand luggage and literally took everything out to look at it, painfully slow but I guess it’s the world we live in now. Once on board we were surprised to see how big the seats are and knew this would be a great trip. The flight was very good we were spoilt rotten by the stewards who were lovely and I just wish we could afford to come that way every time as it’s brilliant. We were close to being first off the plane at LAX after first class, our luggage was already on the carousel (on our last trip we waited 50 mins for it to appear) so we were third in line at immigration which was great. I was so grateful we were at the front this time, as our trip last Christmas it had taken over 2 hours to get through. We were from the plane to outside LAX within 30 mins! Wonderful! We were so happy and on our way to DL! We ordered a shuttle and were really on our way! We arrived at the Paradise Pier hotel and checked in. The girl on the front desk was very friendly and helpful which was really nice. This was our first time at this hotel and we were surprised to find our room ready and we could go straight up! This was so welcomed. When we stayed at the GCH last year we had to wait until after 3pm for the room to be ready and that’s not what you want to do after you have been traveling for over 24hrs! We were on the 14th floor theme park view and it was stunning! We loved it instantly! More on this hotel later but it’s a winner in our eyes. Everything had gone so smoothly since we had left Sydney we just knew we were going to have a great time and a wonderful holiday!
Originally Posted By RAM1984 I am glad to hear that you had such a smooth trip. I had a little problem when I saw your report. Silly thing. You guys write your dates backwards from most of us so when I saw December 06 I thought you had been there when we were and hadn't said anything. Happy you were there for Christmas as that is the most wonderful time. I am shooting for Christmas Day next year.
Originally Posted By debtee ^ ohh sorry, I tried to write the date in full so you would get it, as we would usually write 23.12.06. which is completely different to how you guys do it! lol
