Budget SE Asia trip, Summer 2016 Updated real-time - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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It all definitely looks affordable. Imagine an AP for $128. I know that's just one park, and it's relatively new, so not fully developed, but still.... It'll be such a treat to be in the park with your son on his birthday. Eight seems to me a great age for the parks!
Great plans. I am not a business person but I am curious as to how/why HKDL can be so much less expensive. Would people in the area just revolt and stay away if prices were comparable to DW?
Great plans. I am not a business person but I am curious as to how/why HKDL can be so much less expensive. Would people in the area just revolt and stay away if prices were comparable to DW?
The Hong Kong park is fairly new and is in no way comparable to what even just MK has to offer. Maximum daily capacity is the lowest of any Disney park. Once the whole complex is developed I'm sure prices will go up!
Well, you're better than me then - we've only ever flown once with Ryanair (c. $40 for the two of us to Venice back in 2001, not long after 9/11, when all the airlines dropped their prices through the floor to get everyone flying again), and we swore never again. It was not a nice experience and I've heard bad things from friends in the intervening years as well.
Somehow I missed this post earlier!
Yeah, Ryan air is super abusive and cutthroat. I've done it tons, and know the deal. I will basically fold up into a suitcase and fly in the baggage compartment for what they charge. Happily, I never had to deal with a canceled flight with them, that sounded like a trip through Kafka's Trial.
The Hong Kong park is fairly new and is in no way comparable to what even just MK has to offer. Maximum daily capacity is the lowest of any Disney park. Once the whole complex is developed I'm sure prices will go up!
I thought part of the lower prices was a product of the exchange rate. But it's true. I've noticed in my research that there aren't the wealth of dining options, for example. I've read some pretty nice things about some of their attractions, most notably Mystic Manor, which I'm not reading any more about so I can be surprised when I ride.
Dining is not much cheaper. For example, right now the character breakfasts run at 30 dollars, with children at 20 dollars. Isn't that the same as Chef Mickey's at WDW, and maybe a bit more expensive for kids?
I thought part of the lower prices was a product of the exchange rate. But it's true. I've noticed in my research that there aren't the wealth of dining options, for example. I've read some pretty nice things about some of their attractions, most notably Mystic Manor, which I'm not reading any more about so I can be surprised when I ride.
Dining is not much cheaper. For example, right now the character breakfasts run at 30 dollars, with children at 20 dollars. Isn't that the same as Chef Mickey's at WDW, and maybe a bit more expensive for kids?
I don't do character meals, but that does sound pretty much what it is at WDW. I really think the lower ticket prices reflect the smaller number of attractions and also they're still trying to build loyalty to this park. It didn't take off the way they'd hoped and attendance dropped the first few years. By offering lower ticket prices, especially the AP, they may get people hooked!
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The whole concept of "SE Asia" is so big and unwieldy! I've been reading on Trip Advisor and got some books from the library that I've started to skim...but I think I'm just going to leave a lot of the research for this one to DH. There just isn't anything solid enough for me to sink my teeth into. Instead, I will have principals and preferences laid out for him and myself, and I will stick to planning the San Francisco travel and touring, and will do the communicating with our friends in Don Det, Laos.
Getting to SF:
Amtrak from Eugene (5:10pm on 6/18) arriving at Emeryville, CA (8:10am on 6/19). This gives us a huge chunk of wiggle room in case the train is late. Our experience with Amtrak, expecially in California, has taught us to expect delays. If the train gets WAY behind, we will have the option of hoping off and renting a car.
From Emeryville Amtrack, I thought we would have to find our own way over to the City, but for the same price, we can extend with Amtrak. Looks like they will have a bus waiting when the train arrives to shuttle passengers over to SF. Yay! We could have handled dealing with the Emery-go-round shuttle to the BART, but this is cheaper and simpler. Whoo hoo!
Sooo, if we're on time, we will have from about 9:30 AM to about 10 pm in SF. Oh, what shall we, what shall we do???!!!!
I know we'll have been up forever, since it gets light about 5 am at that time of year, and we will be WAY excited to be on our trip. So, I don't think breakfast can wait. I'll have to pack something. Our go-to road foods right now are hard-boiled eggs, celery, carrots, and cheese. I'll plan enough for dinner the night before, along with ramen cup-a-noodles, our favorite train food, as well as breakfast.
In SF, we will want DS to get as much activity as possible, preparing for the 12-14 hr flight ahead of us. The 2 best options I can see are Golden Gate park or the Exploratorium. DS went there 2 visits ago, and loved it so much. DH loves it too. Me, not so much. I like the idea, but it's just too overwhelming and overstimming and after a while I'm DONE, and they aren't.
Soooo, at 30 bucks for an adult, I don't see myself joining them. Perhaps I could travel down the road a spell to the Disney Family Museum while they Exploratorium to the hilt?
Another option is to go to the GG park and tool around there. I like this because it's close to some great hole-in-the-wall eateries on Balboa street. For the price of a museum entrance, we could rent bikes and see the entire park with ease and pleasure. As a cheapskate, I hate spending 65 bucks renting a bike...shoot...my own bike that I ride daily didn't cost that much! But, it does afford us a TON of mobility with our son, who is definitely not stroller age but really complains with longer rides. And DH actually can't do a TON of walking without getting leg cramps. So this might just be the way to go.
I see those as our 2 best options for the day.
After whatever we chose, we need to stuff our faces with cheap food, because, beginning just after dinner-time (about 8pm), we will make our way to the Fairmont Hotel, for ..... THIS!!!!
I'm pretty psyched on this. I don't expect it to stand up to our experience at the Forbidden Tiki in Vancouver, BC (that was much more intimate), but I think it could still be good. If it weren't across the water, I might chose Trader Vic's over this, as I think the atmosphere might be more casual and feel easier for our 7 yo...but this will have to do, and I'm excited!
We plan on going VERY SLOW here. We'll drop stupid money, but hey! It's a tiki bar that takes minors!
Despite having downed a Mai Tai or two, we will need to keep track of the time. At about 10:30, we'll need to stumble over about 8 blocks to the BART rail and catch a train for SFO. Our flight leaves at nearly 2 am. We'll get there early and snuggle down at the gate till boarding. Hopefully DS will catch some Zs, and we will be on our way.
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It was not a nice experience and I've heard bad things from friends in the intervening years as well. 
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