Rubygoose
Everybody's got a laughing place
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2012
Here are some tips specific to Canadians traveling to DLR:
info updated 04/16/2014
Flights:
When flying from Canada, we are pretty much limited to WestJet, Air Canada (sometimes operated by United Air), and Alaska Airlines (Alaska Airlines from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton only). It's a good idea to subscribe to e-mails to get alerts from these airlines, and to check their websites often for seat sales. WestJet and Air Canada fly into LAX and SNA, whereas Alaska Airlines fly into LAX, SNA and LGB.
Many Canadians who live near the border choose to fly from the nearest U.S. airport in order to save significantly on airfare. Even with the cost of staying overnight in a hotel and parking your car, you will still end up saving money. Also, by flying out of the U.S. you will have more airlines to choose from, such as Allegiant, Jet Blue and Southwest, who do not service Canadian cities.
Hotel:
Many Canadians choose to book hotels directly. However, if you book your hotel through a Canadian travel agent, expedia.ca, or through points such as Air Miles, you can pay in Canadian funds. However, you will normally pay in advance with this option.
Starwoods hotels can be booked using points if you have a Starwoods American Express card. The Sheraton Anaheim Hotel is part of Starwoods.
Canadians can book hotel packages through Costco Travel. Costco will direct you to the hotel's website and you will get a discount as a costco member. Canadians cannot book airfare through Costco Travel. Make sure you are on Costco.com and not .ca
Park Passes:
It is a good idea to purchase your park passes in Canada rather than buying them at the gates or online because of the current poor exchange rate between the Canadian and U.S. dollar. Also, most Canadian credit cards charge a 2.5% foreign currency fee in addition to exchange. Here are some ways to purchase park tickets in Canada:
- Air Miles: if you collect air miles, you can redeem your "dream miles" for 3 or 5 day parkhopper passes. Currently, Disneyland park hopper tickets are listed at: adult 3 day PH for 2160 and 5 day PH for reward miles 2350 reward miles, child 3 day PH for 2025 and 5 day PH for 2195 miles. These can be upgraded to 4 day park hoppers or annual passes.
-Flight Centre: they often have park tickets for a significant savings and these are sold in Canadian dollars. You do not need to book a vacation package through Flight Centre in order to buy the park tickets. Here is a link to their website: http://www.flightcentre.ca/vacations/disneyland
-Costco: you can purchase the SoCal Citypass at costco.ca. Sometimes the price for the citypass is the same as purchasing a 3-day parkhopper ticket at the gate. So, even if you are not going to visit SeaWorld or Universal, the Citypass may still be a good deal for you. These can also be upgraded to 4 or 5 day parkhoppers or annual passes. http://www.costco.ca/Southern-California-CityPASS.product.100094830.html
-CAA/BCAA: if you are a member, you can purchase your passes through your province's CAA affiliate. Here's a link to BCAA: http://www.bcaa.com/trip-planning/trip-planning-tools/disneyland-tickets
-through airlines or travel agents: if you are booking a vacation package, park tickets can purchased as an add on. It's a good idea to compare the price offered to the alternatives listed above before purchasing.
-through Mousesavers/Ares (but it is a good idea to calculate the exchange rate and foreign exchange fee on your credit card and compare this rate to Flight Centre)
-Way.com sells discounted Disneyland park tickets and annual passes. Canadians cannot purchase these online, but you can phone them and they can process your credit card over the phone.
Rental Cars:
-Air Miles: you can use Air Miles or cash to rent a car via their website
-Costco: on the american Costco website, you can find a good deal on rental cars.
Earning reward miles/reward points:
Alaska Airlines Master Card will give you a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees) once a year. You also receive 25,000 bonus miles when you are approved. Many one way flights from Canadian cities to LAX, SNA or LGB can be purchased for 20,000 miles, with some flights popping up at 12,500 miles. There is an annual fee of $75CDN for this card.
Air Miles: you can collect air miles to use towards hotel stays, airfare, park tickets and rental cars. A great way to rack up the airmiles is to use one of their credit cards, such as the BMO mastercard (free) or Amex ($65 but fee waved for the first year). If you shop at Safeway, they often offer spend $100 earn 100 air miles, along with other promotions where you buy specific products to earn x number of air miles.
Save on More points: you can redeem your points for Alaska Airlines vouchers. A "Zone 3" flight from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary or Edmonton to Lax, SNA, LGB and many other California airports is currently 129,000 reward points or 20,000 reward points plus $579. More Rewards also offers a $125 Uniglobe travel certificate to be used with Westjet for 48,000 points or 21,000 points plus $69. You can also redeem reward points towards gift certificates for vacation packages through Alaska Air, Escapes.ca and Uniglobe travel. More Rewards can also be redeemed towards hotel gift cards for Accent Inns, Best Western, Coast Hotels, Marriott, and Sandman. Reward points can be redeemed for gift cards for Alamo and National car rental.
Misc:
Ordering groceries from Von's
-It's a great idea to order groceries and have them delivered to your hotel room. This saves you a trip to the grocery store and you don't have to worry about packing too many snacks. Many travelers order diapers since they take up so much room in a suitcase. Just bring enough from home for the first day and order the rest. Vons (part of Safeway) deliver for free on your first order over $50.
Here's a thread about using a Canadian credit card on Von's website. I haven't personally had any problems ordering online, but I put "92802" in for the zip code rather than my own postal code. This doesn't work with all credit card types, though. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2651760
Shopping online for souvenirs:
If you like to shop online from American sites, you can have your purchases delivered to your hotel and take advantage of free shipping deals that are not normally available to Canadians. Shipping from the Disney store to Canada can be very expensive, but if you hit a sale just right, you can purchase your souvenirs ahead of time and take advantage of the sales. Always check with your hotel first, though, to make sure they will hold your parcel for you.
Renting strollers from City Stroller Anaheim:
http://www.citystrollerrentals.com/Disneyland-Stroller-Rentals.html
Many airlines will gate check your stroller, and usually a stroller does not count as a piece of luggage. However, if can be very awkward to bring a stroller along with you through an airport. Also, some families don't use strollers at home any more, but still like to have one at DLR. You can rent a single or double stroller from Anaheim City Stroller rentals and they deliver it to your hotel and pick it up from the hotel. You don't have to be there to receive the stroller - the hotel will keep it at the bell desk for you, and this is where you return it. You can pay using paypal on their website.
Cell phone use:
http://www.roammobility.com/
Roam mobility sells a SIM card that you can buy in Canada that you insert into your unlocked smartphone. When you register the sim card you will receive a U.S. phone number that is yours to keep. Then you sign up for airtime on their website. You can purchase one, three, seven, fourteen or thirty day plans that include talk, text and data. The sim cards are available at many places including London Drugs, Staples and through Roam Mobility's website.
Some Canadians choose to purchase an inexpensive pay and talk phone from walmart or seven eleven when they arrive. (I haven't done this personally, so anyone who has more info, please let me know.)
T-Mobile: If you have an unlocked phone... (unlocked where you can use other carrier sim cards in it.) Buy a sim card with activation code before your trip or, if you have an Ameri-friend who can order one for you for 99 cents, on T-mobile website, and have them get it shipped to their house, and they can mail it to you. Once activated, go for the $2 or $3 a day plan which includes data. Free texting and calling between Tmobile phones, and local numbers. Long distance charges apply for Calling back to Canada (or calling someone you are traveling with who is using a roaming plan from their Canadian cell carrier.)
Photo Pass +
You can order this online 14 days or more before your trip. You will not have to pay shipping charges for the package that comes with your voucher, but if you choose to get your images on a disc there will be a $14 charge. You can choose to get the digital copy of your images instead of the disc and you will not have any additional charges.
info updated 04/16/2014
Flights:
When flying from Canada, we are pretty much limited to WestJet, Air Canada (sometimes operated by United Air), and Alaska Airlines (Alaska Airlines from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton only). It's a good idea to subscribe to e-mails to get alerts from these airlines, and to check their websites often for seat sales. WestJet and Air Canada fly into LAX and SNA, whereas Alaska Airlines fly into LAX, SNA and LGB.
Many Canadians who live near the border choose to fly from the nearest U.S. airport in order to save significantly on airfare. Even with the cost of staying overnight in a hotel and parking your car, you will still end up saving money. Also, by flying out of the U.S. you will have more airlines to choose from, such as Allegiant, Jet Blue and Southwest, who do not service Canadian cities.
Hotel:
Many Canadians choose to book hotels directly. However, if you book your hotel through a Canadian travel agent, expedia.ca, or through points such as Air Miles, you can pay in Canadian funds. However, you will normally pay in advance with this option.
Starwoods hotels can be booked using points if you have a Starwoods American Express card. The Sheraton Anaheim Hotel is part of Starwoods.
Canadians can book hotel packages through Costco Travel. Costco will direct you to the hotel's website and you will get a discount as a costco member. Canadians cannot book airfare through Costco Travel. Make sure you are on Costco.com and not .ca
Park Passes:
It is a good idea to purchase your park passes in Canada rather than buying them at the gates or online because of the current poor exchange rate between the Canadian and U.S. dollar. Also, most Canadian credit cards charge a 2.5% foreign currency fee in addition to exchange. Here are some ways to purchase park tickets in Canada:
- Air Miles: if you collect air miles, you can redeem your "dream miles" for 3 or 5 day parkhopper passes. Currently, Disneyland park hopper tickets are listed at: adult 3 day PH for 2160 and 5 day PH for reward miles 2350 reward miles, child 3 day PH for 2025 and 5 day PH for 2195 miles. These can be upgraded to 4 day park hoppers or annual passes.
-Flight Centre: they often have park tickets for a significant savings and these are sold in Canadian dollars. You do not need to book a vacation package through Flight Centre in order to buy the park tickets. Here is a link to their website: http://www.flightcentre.ca/vacations/disneyland
-Costco: you can purchase the SoCal Citypass at costco.ca. Sometimes the price for the citypass is the same as purchasing a 3-day parkhopper ticket at the gate. So, even if you are not going to visit SeaWorld or Universal, the Citypass may still be a good deal for you. These can also be upgraded to 4 or 5 day parkhoppers or annual passes. http://www.costco.ca/Southern-California-CityPASS.product.100094830.html
-CAA/BCAA: if you are a member, you can purchase your passes through your province's CAA affiliate. Here's a link to BCAA: http://www.bcaa.com/trip-planning/trip-planning-tools/disneyland-tickets
-through airlines or travel agents: if you are booking a vacation package, park tickets can purchased as an add on. It's a good idea to compare the price offered to the alternatives listed above before purchasing.
-through Mousesavers/Ares (but it is a good idea to calculate the exchange rate and foreign exchange fee on your credit card and compare this rate to Flight Centre)
-Way.com sells discounted Disneyland park tickets and annual passes. Canadians cannot purchase these online, but you can phone them and they can process your credit card over the phone.
Rental Cars:
-Air Miles: you can use Air Miles or cash to rent a car via their website
-Costco: on the american Costco website, you can find a good deal on rental cars.
Earning reward miles/reward points:
Alaska Airlines Master Card will give you a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees) once a year. You also receive 25,000 bonus miles when you are approved. Many one way flights from Canadian cities to LAX, SNA or LGB can be purchased for 20,000 miles, with some flights popping up at 12,500 miles. There is an annual fee of $75CDN for this card.
Air Miles: you can collect air miles to use towards hotel stays, airfare, park tickets and rental cars. A great way to rack up the airmiles is to use one of their credit cards, such as the BMO mastercard (free) or Amex ($65 but fee waved for the first year). If you shop at Safeway, they often offer spend $100 earn 100 air miles, along with other promotions where you buy specific products to earn x number of air miles.
Save on More points: you can redeem your points for Alaska Airlines vouchers. A "Zone 3" flight from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary or Edmonton to Lax, SNA, LGB and many other California airports is currently 129,000 reward points or 20,000 reward points plus $579. More Rewards also offers a $125 Uniglobe travel certificate to be used with Westjet for 48,000 points or 21,000 points plus $69. You can also redeem reward points towards gift certificates for vacation packages through Alaska Air, Escapes.ca and Uniglobe travel. More Rewards can also be redeemed towards hotel gift cards for Accent Inns, Best Western, Coast Hotels, Marriott, and Sandman. Reward points can be redeemed for gift cards for Alamo and National car rental.
Misc:
Ordering groceries from Von's
-It's a great idea to order groceries and have them delivered to your hotel room. This saves you a trip to the grocery store and you don't have to worry about packing too many snacks. Many travelers order diapers since they take up so much room in a suitcase. Just bring enough from home for the first day and order the rest. Vons (part of Safeway) deliver for free on your first order over $50.
Here's a thread about using a Canadian credit card on Von's website. I haven't personally had any problems ordering online, but I put "92802" in for the zip code rather than my own postal code. This doesn't work with all credit card types, though. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2651760
Shopping online for souvenirs:
If you like to shop online from American sites, you can have your purchases delivered to your hotel and take advantage of free shipping deals that are not normally available to Canadians. Shipping from the Disney store to Canada can be very expensive, but if you hit a sale just right, you can purchase your souvenirs ahead of time and take advantage of the sales. Always check with your hotel first, though, to make sure they will hold your parcel for you.
Renting strollers from City Stroller Anaheim:
http://www.citystrollerrentals.com/Disneyland-Stroller-Rentals.html
Many airlines will gate check your stroller, and usually a stroller does not count as a piece of luggage. However, if can be very awkward to bring a stroller along with you through an airport. Also, some families don't use strollers at home any more, but still like to have one at DLR. You can rent a single or double stroller from Anaheim City Stroller rentals and they deliver it to your hotel and pick it up from the hotel. You don't have to be there to receive the stroller - the hotel will keep it at the bell desk for you, and this is where you return it. You can pay using paypal on their website.
Cell phone use:
http://www.roammobility.com/
Roam mobility sells a SIM card that you can buy in Canada that you insert into your unlocked smartphone. When you register the sim card you will receive a U.S. phone number that is yours to keep. Then you sign up for airtime on their website. You can purchase one, three, seven, fourteen or thirty day plans that include talk, text and data. The sim cards are available at many places including London Drugs, Staples and through Roam Mobility's website.
Some Canadians choose to purchase an inexpensive pay and talk phone from walmart or seven eleven when they arrive. (I haven't done this personally, so anyone who has more info, please let me know.)
T-Mobile: If you have an unlocked phone... (unlocked where you can use other carrier sim cards in it.) Buy a sim card with activation code before your trip or, if you have an Ameri-friend who can order one for you for 99 cents, on T-mobile website, and have them get it shipped to their house, and they can mail it to you. Once activated, go for the $2 or $3 a day plan which includes data. Free texting and calling between Tmobile phones, and local numbers. Long distance charges apply for Calling back to Canada (or calling someone you are traveling with who is using a roaming plan from their Canadian cell carrier.)
Photo Pass +
You can order this online 14 days or more before your trip. You will not have to pay shipping charges for the package that comes with your voucher, but if you choose to get your images on a disc there will be a $14 charge. You can choose to get the digital copy of your images instead of the disc and you will not have any additional charges.
) and earn airmiles on all of your purchases. Currently, 
) and you will not have to pay a foreign exchange % on your credit card.
The card has an annual fee of $75, but I think it was worth it for the bonus miles. I don't think it's worth it to keep for a second year though, especially since they'll give you bonus miles if you cancel and then apply again.
