National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney Wonder! VANCOUVER SECTION COMPLETED About This Page:

[chezp]

Welcome to the Vancouver section of this trip report.

The pre-trip report can be found elsewhere in this forum, while the first section, focusing on our time in Disneyland in California can be found in the Disneyland trip reports forum.

So, as you join us, we're about to fly north from LAX to Vancouver....

[chezp]

Sunday 28 August – part nine: welcome to Canada and Vancouver!

As the time approached for our flight, with no plane in sight, we realised that we wouldn’t be on time, no matter what the sign said.... I will credit them that they did do very well and it wasn’t long before we were boarding after the plane got in, but there was no way we could make that time up and we were about half an hour late leaving.

I think Mark was very pleased with the emergency exit seats that we got. They certainly had plenty of legroom.



As we took off and headed up the coast, we were treated to the most beautiful sunset going. It was just stunning.



I had bought a mozzarella roll from La Brea Bakery at the airport, so I tucked into that once we were airborne and offered Mark a bit as well, as he was admiring it so much. It was excellent. I have to say that Ariel’s Grotto certainly filled us up, as it was 8:00pm before I started to get hungry, having sat down for lunch at 11:30am.

The entertainment system on board was quite something. It was working as we took off, which I’ve never seen before. I opted to watch the Lincoln Lawyer again, as I had enjoyed it so much on the flight on the way out. I ended up finishing off watching the film as we came into land, which was a very surreal experience.

We taxied to our gate and were quickly off the plane, something to do with only having 94 people on board, I guess. The crew had told me that earlier.

My immediate impression of Vancouver International Airport was that it was a stunning airport. I’m guessing it’s very new and the architecture was quite something, with huge, high ceilings, giving a real sense of space.



As it was 10:15pm, nearly everything below us was closed, with the exception of Starbucks Coffee.

We headed for immigration and this time we barely had a wait, no more than five minutes, which was such a pleasant change after LAX. A nice conversation later and a new stamp from a country we’d never visited before and we were through to baggage claim. One suitcase was already doing the rounds when we got there and the other two followed very soon afterwards.

We headed for the exit through customs and, although there was a long line, that moved very quickly and we were out in a couple of minutes.

Everything was very well signposted (LAX, are you listening? ) and we soon found our way to the taxis and with no wait, we were soon off. It had taken us about half an hour from landing to getting in the taxi. Very impressive.

The taxi ride to the Pan Pacific was really interesting and, to be honest, like nothing I’ve ever taken from an airport into a city before. : Usually you’re heading out along freeways and there’s not much to see, until you hit the urban sprawl. Here, we ended up going down what I would call ordinary residential roads, albeit they had two lanes going each way, with beautiful houses and lots of greenery on either side. Let’s just say that these are the types of huge houses you’d expect to see outside of a city in the States and some of the places were massive. I was amazed and a couple of times I had to pinch myself to remind myself that I was in a city. In fact, had it not been for the fact that we’d passed the “Welcome to Vancouver” sign on the way, I would’ve wondered if we were somewhere else altogether...

Finally we came into what I would say is more like a traditional city, although it took some time. The small scale shops gradually got bigger and then we were crossing water and you could see the heart of the city looming up in front of you, in the shape of skyscrapers. Many were obviously apartment buildings and not the type of place I’d like to live. : Give me those big houses on the way to the airport any day!

We were soon approaching the Pan Pacific and it looked like it was right in the middle of the hotel district. I was immediately impressed as soon as we arrived and we paid our taxi fare of $35 and headed inside.

We were told by the bellman to go up two escalators to get to the lobby, which starts to give you a scale of the place. With the camera packed in the rucksack, I only got limited photos, figuring I’d make up for that in the morning, when I would be less tired...



We were quickly checked in and assigned our room number on the ninth floor. It was a city view, as I hadn’t been able to justify the additional charge for a harbour view. I was too tired to even care about the view outside and suddenly very glad that I had already got all the photos off the camera at the airport earlier. In a touch of amazing service, as we got to the room, we rounded the corner to be greeted by one of our suitcases Next to them was a bellman, waiting for us.

I was very impressed with the size of the room and asked him if it was standard, but he told us it was hard to say, as they’re all differently shaped, which is interesting.



A few photos of the room later and we were in bed, exhausted from trailing the suitcases around. As a footnote, whoever thought that thick carpets were a good idea at Vancouver International Airport has never had to drag one around in their lives...

The weather today was hot and sunny with temperatures into the 100s in Los Angeles and still warm when we arrived in Vancouver.
The best thing today was taking a ride down Main Street in a vintage vehicle and having it all to myself.
The worst thing today was the heat and how exhausted we were by the end of the day.
The funniest thing today was “losers!”
Today we tried touring the DVC preview centre
And the result was we loved the model rooms from Aulani.
The most magical moment today was meeting Jeannie and spending a couple of hours with her.

Next: how much for breakfast?

[lauriep]

What a nice, easy flight and arrival into Vancouver! I sure wish all flights had the entertainment available from takeoff to landing. The hotel room looks so nice and spacious.

[Big Baloo]

Yay! You're on your way to Alaska!!

[DMA]

So nice that your time in Vancouver airport went smoothly. And your room at the Pan Pacific looks wonderful!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you made it to Vancouver! I'm with you, it was strange driving to and from the airport and not really getting on any highways! More please!

[cubfancolleen]

Much better airport experience in Vancouver!
Your room looks great!

[DrDolphin]

Sounds like a great flight to Vancouver, and your room at the Pan American looks wonderful!!

[Dlandmom2]

Love that legroom on the plane! The hotel room looks really spacious and comfy!

Yeah, I don't know what it is about LAX. A few years back they announced they were going to spend a ridiculously huge amount of money to upgrade...the giant LAX sign at the entrance! Seriously, does anyone in government have a brain?! I can't remember if they went forward with it, but there was such a huge uproar! I wish someone had thought to spend that money to upgrade the interiors where people can really see a difference!

Now I want to fly to Vancouver just to check out the airport!

[jenseib]

Your room looks fabulous!

[disney_duke]

Holy legroom, batman! Gosh, I love the exit row. Haven't been there in awhile. But it sure is nice for us tall people. Aside from running a little late, the flight sounded very nice and easy - even the entrance to Canada! What a great hotel!

[Disneybine]

Your hotel looks really great! Glad to hear the flight and cab ride went so smoothly. I have to admit, I was a little sad that you didn't get any photos of those pretty big houses outside of Vancouver...

[mushu22]

Room looks great. Love thepuctures of the sunset. more please

[honeybee723]

Glad you made it safe and sound to Vancouver. The room looks great, and I can't wait to see more of the hotel.

[lexiemom]

Sounds like you had an easy time getting to Vancouver, can't wait for more!