TR Oct/Nov 2012- Cowboys, casinos and pixie dust OH MY!

[frangipanisam]

We're making a list of our complaints so I'll suggest an early compliant before we leave the funniest thing is he is the manager of Blacktown

Sam #2 spoke to the Penrith manager yesterday after we discovered our TA had not fixed any of the transfer times I went & fixed 2 weeks ago so she knows the whole situation, lovely Christina filled her in & she fixed the transfer times on the spot for us so if we can change our contact to one of these ladies we'll be cheering! She wasn't 100% sure but she thinks our Hollywood hotel has been booked but of course no communication from our TA to confirm

Tossing up how to package their things at the moment, thinking of just wrapped them up so we don't have an extra bag to carry or throw out. They can unwrap & go straight into their carry on bags

Thanks for the offer Minnie Sue! That would be great to get some photos as a group & to of course meet you & DD

Ohh that gives me some ideas! I went eBay trawling (sticking to items in Aus for quick post) last night after reading this & I'm looking at face washers, princess pens, princess badges & it was princess post it notes but I'm going to decorate mini note pads instead with Disney stickers and maybe make bookmarks.

I'm going to go down to the Plaza as soon as I can to look for the Disney tissues, I wish Kleenex still have their mini Disney packs I loved them lol I have seen those Disney bars at Target before (packs of 6 for $2?) but couldn't find them at the three I went to these holidays : will check again though!

let us know how your bid goes Minnie Sue

I wish we'd booked it ourselves now because it was suppose to elevate our stress not add to it

Although she may not admit it your DD will love anything you get together for her Beee

I fully expect laughter from my friends but I don't care I'm having fun doing it!

Photo pass+ has arrived and I realised we're over there for the presidential election so that'll be interesting! Totally forgot we'd be there for it lol strange that they do them on a Tuesday & hopefully there is no impact on our day at Sea World lol

Sam #2 has asked for NYC advice: must do's & ticket suggestions please they'll be there for 4 full days plus a night.

11 sleeps

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

Wish I could help your friends out on the NYC sid eof things, but haven't been to that side of the country....................yet!!!

Wow, tomorrow you will be able to do the single digit dance...............now THAT is exciting!!!!

The tissues I have are Disney Kleenex ones, Winnie the Pooh in fact, and I bought them at the Reject Shop for around $2.00!!! I also have Cars ones, but I am not too sure I have seen them again!

Maybe you could pop the pressies for the girls in a toiletry/cosmetic zipper bag. It's something light, they can keep it and it may come in handy on the trip!!! I bought a cute Minnie Mouse one to put our small digital camera in that is vinyl and waterproof for occasions like Splash Mountain and Grizzly River rapids!!!

Oh and if you are looking for face washers, Best and Less have the coolest sort where they come in a little square, you add water to them, and hey presto, you have a full size washer! They have heaps of charcaters too like Minnie, all the princesses, Cars, Buzz and Woody etc! They are usually on the counter!

We too will be there for the election. Should be interesting!!!

And I think Blacktown needs a new manager!!!!

 

[frangipanisam]

The complaint letter is being editing at the moment and will be taken into Penrith in the next few days. Still no communication from original TA about anything

I got the Winnie the Pooh tissues, 6 for $2 in the Reject shop and I got the Disney chocolate bars in Target, 6 for $2 and I found activity pads for $3 in Target to finish them off. I tried looking for them for the past fortnight, found 1 lone one at one Target & gave it a miss. I fluked finding them today but score

I considered the vinyl comestic bags off eBay & gave it a miss and Best & Less only had Woody or Buzz in the Disney magic washers but oh well I think they have enough now

To do list is getting smaller at least! Booked our Sea World Transfers and Grand Canyon Helicopter flight yesterday and bought my T-Mobile sim about 5 minutes ago

I started to make piles in our spare room of clothes and things I'm taking, carry on is packed now but eveything else is just in piles and I'll pack my suitcase on Sunday so my clothes aren't sitting around getting crushed for no reason

I'm kicking myself about this travel card though, I freaked about Mastercard the day I went to do it and decided to do ANZ Visa and since that day the rates have been under $1 and is currently 0.9748 please go back up by next Monday or at least stay put! I feel like a brat saying that considering what the exchange rate could be Thank goodeness its an over the counter card.

Blacktown definatly needs a new manager

Call going out again for help for Sam #2 for ideas of what to do in NYC pretty please

10 sleeps

 

[battymum]

Hope that TA gets whats coming!! I dont trust them

Anyway we were in NYC for 4 days - OMG what a whirlwind!!

We did all the touristy things - which is great, but I wish we had time to take it slowly- its a place to soak up and feel it.


But, this is what we did

Arrival evening - Empire State Building - this can have lengthy queues but we got lucky and didnt have to wait long at all, Macys and Times Square -

Day 2 - Musuem of Natural History, Central Park, 5th Avenue shopping, FAO Schwartz, Tiffanys, - Top of the Rock. - TBH would skip the museum and spend more time in the park.

Day 3 - Subway to Battery Park - Statue of Liberty -we had tickets to climb the crown, probably too late for her to get them now, but was definitely a highlight for us.

World Trade Centre Memorial -

Shopping at Century 21.

Subway to Brooklyn, walk back to Manhatten across the Brooklyn Bridge.

(if I had more time I would not do this all on the one day, not only were we stuffed, but felt like I had walked a marathon, as in we covered a lot of ground, but didnt see anything! Could spend a day on the Brooklyn side alone )


Day 4 - Shopping in SOHO, DD was on a mission for a formal dress, Grand Central Station, general wandering. My DH and two sons took the subway to Coney Island this day (it was closed! )- we saw Cirque Du Soleil that evening at the Radio City Music Hall.

Day 5 - Departure day, we had until about 11:00 - so some last minute photography and shopping in Times Square.


I hope she is prepared for cooler temperatures, we had come straight from the oppressive heat of Orlando and had to buy coats the first evening. This was early October last year.

 

[alicia1506]

duplicate post.

 

[alicia1506]

I got horridly ill when in nyc and so our 3.5 day plan got scrapped and we only had 1 day to do everything. If sam 2 and 3 want maximum travel around nyc to see things i highly recommend the hop on hop off tour. There is a 24, 48 or 72 hour loops tours where they get unlimited rides on the uptown and downtown loops which stop at all the big tourist spots. You also get the night tour and a brooklyn tour.

We did the uptown tour and the night tour, did rockefeller plaza shopping, had lunch at rays pizza joint, saw engine company 54 tribute to 9/11, saw the veterans day parade, did some shopping on 5th, 6th, 7th aves, walked through the diamond district, explored times square and went nuts in the disney and toys r us stores in times square in the few hours we had on our last day. Oh and most stores in times square are open either 24/7 or close at like 3am. I made the mistake of asking at one store how late they were open and they looked at me like i insulted their mother. I had to explain that in qld, australia there are laws governing how late certain shopping stores can be open... I had never felt like such a tourist.. Moral of the story is in that part of the city they could still be out and commando touring at 2am if they wished, if they really want to pack in a lot into their days..

If your friends are unsure about what to do or have concerns about getting from point a to b, i recommend the hop on hop off buses. They give you peace of mind, flexibility, a reliable timetable, are clean and safe and well looked after and they will find that the guides are all really interesting and lively new yorkers who will tell them lots about the history of nyc, where various famous people live, history of the architecture etc. We found it to be an amazing experience.

The 72 hour loops tour cost us 48 dollars and we thought it was decent value. We know the subway and local bus system was there and we might feel comfortable enough to use it on our next trip but for a first trip we went with the option that gave us the most peace of mind.

 

[marvel]

battymum has given you some good NYC tips. I would just add that if you do catch the subway and walk the brooklyn bridge, have lunch at Grimaldi's. One of the the oldest pizza joints in NYC. There will be a line outside but it is worth it.

 

[battymum]

Biggest tip for NYC if you find a decent public bathroom USE IT!!!!! They are few and far between, plan accordingly. This is why we didn't get to grimaldis

 

[alicia1506]

Biggest tip for NYC if you find a decent public bathroom USE IT!!!!! They are few and far between, plan accordingly. This is why we didn't get to grimaldis

i second this!!! we ended up walking 13 blocks across town back to our hotel just to use the facilities, and then walked the 13 blocks back to where we were shopping!! lots of exercise, but we could have done without it. we learnt to use restrooms in places like starbucks and macdonalds which are usually kept pretty clean, you just had to buy something (no hardship at starbucks ).

sam and minnie sue if you are going to be getting an AP while in disneyland, make sure you check out this link here:

it might be worth the AP price if you are interested in adorable collectibles -- and minniesue, i thought with your love of minnie, and she being the first character in the collection available during october, and them being released in sets of 2 -- you might be interested

 

[Melbourne5]

Biggest tip for NYC if you find a decent public bathroom USE IT!!!!! They are few and far between, plan accordingly. This is why we didn't get to grimaldis

Spot on. No where else in the us had we found such dirty loo's. I shall not describe what passed as a toilet down at battery park......suffice to say its comparable if not worse to many I saw in my travels to rural SE Asia over the years......

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

it might be worth the AP price if you are interested in adorable collectibles -- and minniesue, i thought with your love of minnie, and she being the first character in the collection available during october, and them being released in sets of 2 -- you might be interested

Oooooooohhhhhhh........they are wonderful! And to think they are releasing Minnie first........they must have known I was coming

Thank you so much for thinking of me! I have my annual pass all ready to go!!!


Sam..........single digit dance...............oh yeah

 

[coco392]

i second this!!! we ended up walking 13 blocks across town back to our hotel just to use the facilities, and then walked the 13 blocks back to where we were shopping!! lots of exercise, but we could have done without it. we learnt to use restrooms in places like starbucks and macdonalds which are usually kept pretty clean, you just had to buy something (no hardship at starbucks ).

sam and minnie sue if you are going to be getting an AP while in disneyland, make sure you check out this link here:

it might be worth the AP price if you are interested in adorable collectibles -- and minniesue, i thought with your love of minnie, and she being the first character in the collection available during october, and them being released in sets of 2 -- you might be interested

look up the charmin toilets on you tube- we used them -BEST TOILETS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[alicia1506]

wow sam you are at the single digit dance

how exciting

 

[frangipanisam]

I've passed on the NYC info to Sam #2 so we'll see what they organise thanks everyone

TA sent Bec a message yesterday (he reckons he tried calling but no missed call or voice mail so he's full of it ) anywho Bec called back & he basically complained about Sam #2 going into Penrith and said they had printed the wrong forms for us, who blo0dy knows anymore he also said he was posting stuff out yesterday but we've heard that one before I'm so over it, we should not be chasing things a week before leaving.

Got my hair chopped yesterday so it's easier to manage while in the US, leg wax booked in & thinking I'll book a massage next Wednesday I've also organised my T-mobile sim & went through the loooooong process of unlocking and restoring my iPhone lol

Still hoping the exchange pops up just a little more

Woop woop single digit dance is in full swing 8 sleeps to go

 

[zanzibar138]

Woohoo for the single digit dance

AND... a possible massage Sounds like it will be just what you need to relax you for your trip after the stresses of planning and dealing with your less than capable TA.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Happy single digits Not long now

 

[frangipanisam]

It's the night for nightmares I tell you. Long story short our TA has called & harassed Bec again today in regards to us asking the Penrith office for assistance and I've found out that poor Sam #2 has been getting tension headaches the last three days from the anxiety & stress

The three of them are off to the Penrith office tomorrow afternoon as the manager has semi taken it over & has been dealing with the TA and that's caused the latest rude phone call from him.

Gahhhh I'm so pissed off on my way to bed now after finding out the way he spoke to Bec (who is deadset the loveliest person out, wouldn't hurt a fly) and that there is still no apology from him. Then to read in here about Becpee's nightmare with Delta why Disney gods?? What has the ANZAC board done to you??

Ohhh I don't think I shared the news with you guys that Bec asked me to be her Maid of Honour last week at least I have wedding planning to look forward to when I get back lol stupid TA has taken over my replies on here!

8 sleeps, night all

 

[frangipanisam]

Woohoo for the single digit dance

AND... a possible massage Sounds like it will be just what you need to relax you for your trip after the stresses of planning and dealing with your less than capable TA.

I'll be ringing tomorrow to lock it in now for sure after tonight's effort!!!

 

[frangipanisam]

Ok update on our TA situation. We went to Penrith on Thursday to collect our updated transfer vouchers and the original TA sent out a package to Sam #2 which arrived on Thursday.

So we found that he did not update any of the transfer times I went into change over two weeks ago so I'm glad that I got them changed at Penrith last Sunday.

Also the hotel he didn't book for us in Hollywood? Yeah he decided to "upgrade" us to a completely different hotel instead without consulting us Now it is a nice hotel but proves his incompetence, because he swore to me that he had booked it but it wasn't showing up on the Penrith system...if he had booked it why not upgrade us at THAT hotel instead of switching us

Overall I'm just glad to have all the blo0dy documents and we've told the Penrith manager we will not be dealing with him if something happens over there and she said we can call her, no problems. A proper complaint will be filed when we get back. Funniest thing, in his email he said "If you have any questions or concerns I implore you to contact myself regarding anything no matter how small or trivial you may think it is." Trivial!!! Trying to get our paperwork for 7 weeks is not trivial and he couldn't manage that

Now important question, on the flight itinerary we just recieved it is listing our SYD to LAX flight with Virgin Australia, on a Virgin Australia plane as including dinner and breakfast as expected for a 14 hour flight.

BUT our LAX to SYD with Virgin Australia, on a DELTA codeshare it is only listing dinner it's a 10.30pm, 15 hour flight. Is that normal or should I be ringing up Virgin Australia to see whats going on, we've paid for Virgin Australia tickets so I though we'd be entitled to the same things that we would get on a Virgin Australia plane or should I tweet Delta because its their plane or has anyone recently flew the LAX to SYD route on the 10.30pm Virgin Australia/Delta codeshare?

I wish I could relax and get really excited but this is just bugging me

Upside I'm packing tomorrow and having my graduation dinner with my family tonight

5 sleeps

 

[frangipanisam]

So the TA disaster is still not over Why Mr TA, why???

So the latest in the saga is that he has completely stuffed up the NYC transfers for Sam #2 & Sam #3. He has managed to book their transfers for the WRONG hotel at the WRONG time with the WRONG flight details

Sam #2 is ready to become a pirate, clown ninja and kick his butt to Timbuktu! Back to get them fixed tomorrow and attempt to keep a level head.

Just more ammunition to add to our complaint and Sam #2 wants to demand a refund on their NYC transfers, our Hollywood transfers and Hollywood hotel when we get back HIGHLY unlikely but we can try for something I guess After all we did not ask to change hotels and it will now cost us (how every small ) to get up to Universal Studios which was included in our original hotel.

I need a Thank goodness I'm going out for dinner tonight with the fam-bam and will not be paying

Stay tuned, fingers crossed this is the last installment of the Incompetent Male TA

I've booked in for a 90 minute full body massage for Wednesday just after lunch so I can totally relax, ready to go I'll pack last minute things, exchange last lot of cash, grab lunch and then total bliss and relaxation followed by my last Disney movie in my countdown, Tangled

Love seeing my ticker say 5 DAYS!!!