DIS/Dreams Unlimited China Adventure Oct 14th - 25th 2017 SOLD OUT!!!

[Merry Mousketeer]

Unfortunately at this point in time, Chuck and I need to keep working to afford all of the trips that Kevin comes up with. We will be in awe of those of you who have gone ahead and transitioned to retirement and will probably be trying to become adopted by you. For the time being, could everybody one time post their name so that I can associate a name with their disboards name.

Chris

Michael Bowling - Hey there, hi there, ho there!

 

[kuzco-like]

Something organized I guess...don't know exactly. I'm traveling with my father who is not going for the Disney aspects and I'm having to convince him on the Tokyo pretrip as it as. Suppose having other Disney minded folks around would enhance the experience but I can tackle it on my own too. I'll do my planning but will be interested to hear what others are planning as well. At this point, not a lot to do until early spring anyway.

Malia (Karilynn), I'm going to be in Seattle around the 4th weekend in February (sometime from February 22 to ?). Let me know if you want to meet up!

 

[macman752]

Looks like the Chinese government has begun to crack down on VPN services used to bypass their firewall. Currently, China blocks access to Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (and many other sites). Story http://www.scmp.com/news/china/poli...na-tries-ease-fears-over-impact-vpn-crackdown

 

[OKW Lover]

Looks like the Chinese government has begun to crack down on VPN services used to bypass their firewall. Currently, China blocks access to Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (and many other sites). Story http://www.scmp.com/news/china/poli...na-tries-ease-fears-over-impact-vpn-crackdown

That's going to put a crimp in our internet plans. Most of my various email accounts are Gmail, which I might not be able to access.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Looks like the Chinese government has begun to crack down on VPN services used to bypass their firewall. Currently, China blocks access to Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (and many other sites). Story http://www.scmp.com/news/china/poli...na-tries-ease-fears-over-impact-vpn-crackdown

Bummer. Yes, you definitely need a VPN to access fb and twitter. Even some forums on disboards were blocked. I can't remember if gmail was blocked.

The good news is the article says it's cracking down on VPN providers based in China. All of the VPN providers we would use are based outside of China - the US, Australia, etc. So, hopefully those will still work ok.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I'm really hoping that Kevin (Cousin Orville), Mike or Jeff will be able to lay out exactly what we need to do as far as phones/email/internet access in Hong Kong, China, and Tokyo for those of us who are technologically clueless. Need to figure out if we need any sort of additional immunizations and the visa process. And I'm still hoping that Kevin (DisneyKevin) will be able to work his magic for some sort of official pretrip in Tokyo. I've become lazy with my travel planning since Dreams Unlimited came into my life.

Laurie

 

[kuzco-like]

[QUOTE="Sarabi's Cubs, post: 57067541, member: 188431"And I'm still hoping that Kevin (DisneyKevin) will be able to work his magic for some sort of official pretrip in Tokyo. I've become lazy with my travel planning since Dreams Unlimited came into my life.

Laurie[/QUOTE]

Me, too, Laurie. Kevin...?

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm really hoping that Kevin (Cousin Orville), Mike or Jeff will be able to lay out exactly what we need to do as far as phones/email/internet access in Hong Kong, China, and Tokyo for those of us who are technologically clueless.

I'm relying on Mike for the phone/email/internet in China. I've got a VPN but I understand those don't work in China. Also, access to Gmail may be restricted. Might have to set up some email forwarding to a non-blocked email server. Hmmm...

 

[DisneyKevin]

[QUOTE="Sarabi's Cubs, post: 57067541, member: 188431"And I'm still hoping that Kevin (DisneyKevin) will be able to work his magic for some sort of official pretrip in Tokyo. I've become lazy with my travel planning since Dreams Unlimited came into my life.

Laurie

Me, too, Laurie. Kevin...?[/QUOTE]

Tokyo can only be booked 6 months in advance Rob and Laura...I mean Rob and Laurie.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I'm relying on Mike for the phone/email/internet in China. I've got a VPN but I understand those don't work in China. Also, access to Gmail may be restricted. Might have to set up some email forwarding to a non-blocked email server. Hmmm...

As long as you get a VPN with servers outside of China, I don't think there will be a problem. Famous last words right? I will likely still use ExpressVPN. I used it in 2014 in China and it worked well. Here's a review of VPNs in China as of Jan 2017: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/whats-the-best-vpn-for-china-5-that-still-work-in-2016/

For anyone unfamiliar, basically you can download a VPN app on your smartphone and create an account with a VPN service. You can do it right before the trip good for 1 month. ~$12. You'll still use the hotel's wifi or your international data plan like you would in Europe or anywhere but the phone connects through the VPN servers outside China like Singapore Australia, etc allowing you access to anything otherwise censored.

 

[belle41379]

Michael has been explaining all this to me...which I still don't understand. lol Basically, I know my phone will work and that's all I'm relying on. I'll tell everyone but the kids we are unreachable unless it's an emergency. Good news is he won't be able to take any of his work items (phone, iPad,laptop, etc) out of the country due to new company policy...so that means a vacation without him having to work! (Unless they call my phone to get to him. lol)

We may use DVC points for Tokyo, but will wait to make that decision until we know if Kevin comes up with something. Either way, it will be a while yet before we can book anything there.

(Disney)Kevin, do you happen to know what the suggested reading list is for this trip from ABD? I know they will send it out closer to the trip, but I never have enough time. Was thinking of getting a head start.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Me, too, Laurie. Kevin...?

Tokyo can only be booked 6 months in advance Rob and Laura...I mean Rob and Laurie.[/QUOTE]

I heard you have to book Tokyo DL with a MasterCard for some reason. Have you heard the latest of booking TDL outside of Japan?

 

[OKW Lover]

I heard you have to book Tokyo DL with a MasterCard for some reason

Hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure I even have a MasterCard.

 

[kuzco-like]

Me, too, Laurie. Kevin...?

Tokyo can only be booked 6 months in advance Rob and Laura...I mean Rob and Laurie.[/QUOTE]
Got it. Thanks (Disney)Kevin and (other) Kevin. So what is everyone doing about flights, then? Waiting until the 6 month mark? (I've never flown to Asia. I don't know what the protocol is.)

 

[kuzco-like]

Tokyo can only be booked 6 months in advance Rob and Laura...I mean Rob and Laurie.

I heard you have to book Tokyo DL with a MasterCard for some reason. Have you heard the latest of booking TDL outside of Japan?[/QUOTE]
Hmmmmm...I had forgotten about that. I hope there are options.

 

[kuzco-like]

I just looked at the Tokyo Disney Resort Explorer website. They have a post from January 27 about how to book a hotel (including the credit card issue). http://tdrexplorer.com/how-to-book-a-disney-hotel-at-tokyo-disneyland/ At the time of publishing, it looks like MasterCard cards (but not types) were still the only ones accepted, while Visa, American Express, and Diners Club still aren't.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure I even have a MasterCard.

Right?! Of all the cards, a MasterCard. Might as well be Diner's Club.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Does Tokyo not understand uberplanners? or my need to think about one trip because I'm trying to distract myself from the 2018 trip I can't go on???

Laurie

 

[OKW Lover]

So what is everyone doing about flights, then? Waiting until the 6 month mark?

I'm waiting until we nail down Tokyo. Not sure how many pre-days we want. Even after that, if the world situation is unsettled I may wait longer.

 

[Cousin Orville]

As far as flights, Google Flights is a pretty good service where you can plug in your flight dates and it will track the price for you and email you if the price drops. Sometimes, it can also suggest slight changes such as arriving a day early to save money. It will also give little warnings or suggestions like the if a flight is typically late by 30min. It follows most airlines except Southwest.



Here's an example of a flight I tracked to MCO (Not looking so good, but thankfully I purchased it already):



And here's one I just put in for Orlando - Tokyo - Hong Kong and from Shanghai - Orlando. Just as an example.



So, $1042 is the lowest I could find using those specific dates. Pretty good price. Doubt it would get much lower, but you could have Google track it.