It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

That sounds FABULOUS !!! All of this travel certainly enriches your presentation and knowledge to your travel clients...boss must be very pleased to have you onboard.
 
This sounds absolutely AMAZING!!!!!

I think it will be amazing. I have given up counting how many "trips of a lifetime" we have done. It is quite a few.

That sounds FABULOUS !!!

I can't wait. I am a little nervous about the language barrier and potential culture shock, but my excitement by far exceeds my nerves.

All of this travel certainly enriches your presentation and knowledge to your travel clients...boss must be very pleased to have you onboard.

At the moment, I am really benefitting from this. We are marketing some more unusual itineraries and I can really bring those to life for the customers as I have been to some of those places. In general, I think the boss is pretty happy. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that I will bring this award home this month.

Corinna
 
Will you know , in advance, the decision about the award or will it be a surprise announcement at the ceremony ? I seem to remember that you said it would be a formal affair....have you decided on a gown , if it is ?. You have sooooo many stunning ones from which to choose.
 
Will you know , in advance, the decision about the award or will it be a surprise announcement at the ceremony ? I seem to remember that you said it would be a formal affair....have you decided on a gown , if it is ?. You have sooooo many stunning ones from which to choose.

It will be surprise announcement at the ceremony. Yes, it is a formal affair and this gown has made the cut:

35229272431_71be4eb365_o.jpg

I just need to break in the shoes now.

Corinna
 


Very exciting. You must document it all and let us know the results. You are a winner in our book no matter the outcome at the ceremony. Great choice of gown BTW.
 
Very exciting. You must document it all and let us know the results. You are a winner in our book no matter the outcome at the ceremony. Great choice of gown BTW.

I will do. The necklace in the photo was a leaving present from my colleagues at Emirates. It just seems fitting that I would wear this to the awards ceremony as Emirates and the people there have played such an important part in my life for 11 years and have helped me grow on a personal and professional level. This gown compliment the necklace nicely.

Corinna
 
So is this for just about 4 months from now? Sounds iike a very exciting trip with a lot of highlights!
 


Yes, we leave on 30th November. I can't wait.

Corinna

That's very cool! I wish you luck at the ceremony, the gown is beautiful, so is the necklace! I need to get Fran to concentrate less on "stuff" and more on experiences!
 
Catching back up. Love the plan for the new trip!

Jill in CO

I am really excited about this trip. I actually need to update this. My old laptop has all but given up the ghost. I have a new one now, but it is taking forever to migrate the content of the old one across. Hopefully this is done by tonight and then I can set the new one up and I will be up and running again.

Corinna
 
It is absolute ages until I have last updated this. Life has got a little crazy recently. That means that planning for this trip has gone a little bit on the back burner as well. However, this does not mean that no progress has been made. We have not looked any further at tours, but will do this in due course.

However, a lot of the other elements are pretty much sorted. I got all my designs for my magnets and shirts that somebody on here kindly made for me. I have now printed them and ordered more laminate pouches and magnetic tape. Once I get some spare time, I will laminate them and add magnets to the back. This will not take too long and I still have plenty of time. The embarkation sweatshirts and some sweatshirts for the various parks are done as is a jacket. The first take on this has worked out too thin, but this is perfect for the weather we are having at the moment and I am wearing this with pride. I am now waiting for the second attempt. I have also reached out to somebody who makes custom Mickey ears. I really want a special pair of ears for each park.











I have started the visa process for China. It is a little bit too early to schedule the visa appointment, but the application form was straightforward enough to fill out and the supporting documentation required is not too difficult either. Essentially they just need a photo, an itinerary and the various booking confirmations. The application form itself is not a lot more involved than the form to apply for an ESTA. I will schedule the visa appointment for the end of October.

I have my SIM cards sorted out. I wanted a data SIM that will get around the restrictions of the Great Firewall of China. I have found something suitable and this has now arrived. While I was researching this, I also came across a data SIM for Japan that was really good value so I ended up getting this as well so I don’t have to worry about Wi-Fi.

All of our flights are now booked. I will finally get to try out the Dreamliner as our flights from Beijing to Tokyo and Tokyo to Shanghai are operated on this aircraft. The long-haul flights will all be operated by an Airbus A380. It will be a little strange flying Emirates now that I no longer work for them. It turned out a blessing that I took my time booking the flights between China and Japan. Originally the flight back was supposed to involve a change in Osaka, This was always pretty tight and due to a schedule change, this would now even tighter. However, they have now started a non-stop flight from Tokyo Haneda to the smaller airport in Shanghai. This means we do not leave Tokyo until 10:00 rather than 7:20, which is much more to my liking, but only arrive about 45 minutes later than we would have done on the original flight.

I will post something about my plans for the parks soon, but before I sign off, there is another trip to report on. This year is the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris. The festivities started in spring, but I have not been back to Disneyland Paris since January. That feels like a lifetime away. I managed to get two days off together in October and we are flying to Paris after work on the Tuesday and come back on Friday morning. Graham is working away from home again at the moment and he will fly from the airport closest to him and I fly from Manchester. We will then meet at the airport. I booked a transfer to our hotel, which is the same hotel I stayed at in January. By the time we get to Paris, the last quick train will have left and I do not fancy 90 minutes plus on a commuter train. In the end, it cost about the same to get a private transfer than what two train tickets would have cost. Graham will come to the park with me on the first day. He will then spend the second day at either Meaux or Versailles and I will have a second park day. The last night we will spend in a hotel near the airport as we have early flights out. I am happy that I will get to go to Disneyland Paris for Halloween again although this year it will be scaled down a little as the 25th anniversary celebrations will still be ongoing. I am actually pretty excited about getting to experience both.
 
Your plans are very exciting! I have China on my long term radar..can't wait to hear about your trip!

Jill in CO
 
We flew on the ANA Dreamliner from Shanghai (PVG) to Haneda. Which airline are you going to be on? We loved the Dreamliner. The windows make such a difference. And ANA was lovely all around! Such a fantastic experience. Hope you will enjoy the Dreamliner, too.

Looks like you are very prepared, including your little visit to Paris! We loved the 25th celebration in May and the Halloween stuff will be a bonus. I am a bit sad that we will not manage a Christmas visit this year, especially since it looks like there are some extra things they are doing this year. And I would have loved to visit for the Food & Wine Festival they are having right now. I think next year we will consider a September trip to take part in that (if it becomes an annual thing).
 

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