Am I the only one.....

[queenie82]

Thanks Aussiegirls, I so know where you are coming from.

I never once have bagged or judged WDW, just have no interest at this point either. I love my Disneyland hence my name "Lovintheland". I'm such a creature of habbit. Have holidayed at the same place every Easter for 16 years with my extended family. One day I will get to WDW when the urge takes me there!!!!

omg...I thought lovintheland refered to the ride "The Land" at WDW

SnowWhite and lovintheland, I am glad that you guys feel the same way, makes me feel not so weird

For the others that may have thought I was bagging WDW, that is not what I meant at all. I am not saying that DL is better than WDW (I wouldn't know anyway, I have never been). I am just saying that I love Disneyland so much that I have no desire at all to go to WDW.

I am sure that one day I will get there, but at the moment I only want to go to Disneyland. I love it, it feels like my park (I wish it was ) and I have no desire to go anywhere else.

Anyways, just glad that I am not the only DL crazy person

xxx

I never thought YOU were bagging it. In no way did you do that.
Heck we all love different things! But I'm happy you admit you are crazy
I have frustrations with the limitations of DL now that I've been to WDW but I DO also LOVE not having to deal with transport to get around.
I completely get why that is a HUGE appeal.
Staying at VGC as well makes you especially love staying essentially IN the parks.

As I say...I just don't like people who claim that WDW ISN'T Walt's park because his vision created both DL and Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. And claim it is a tourist park only

 

[Saskiwi]

I'm with you original poster - DL is always a special place for us - WDW (which we have visited twice) was fun, but for a number of reasons it just doesn't have the same "pull".
Many of the parks at WDW aren't that appealing to me: Animal Kingdom and Epcot always seem kind of like watered-down versions of "the real thing" - great if you can't get to Africa or Europe and see the real thing, but otherwise....

DL has the history - the links with our childhood dreams of one day being able to visit this magical place, and I love the compact nature of the parks, being able to walk to your hotel, the great old attractions like the Tiki Room...yep it's DL for me all the way!

 

[queenie82]

Something the Disneyland obsessed should be interested in

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/07/fifty-five-years-of-magic-at-disneyland-park/

 

[ColinA]

Mickey's Philharmagic and Illuminations alone make it worthwhile to visit WDW!

 

[1rocky]

1rocky - I'd double check this price and ask if it was for one or two people! I bought a 10 day park hopper ticket and paid about US$300 for an adult ticket. From memory, I think the 5 day park hopper ticket was about $20 or $30 less.

THanks Princessinoz. The prices the travel agent quoted was per person.
We are wishing now that we had allowed ourselves more time to visit WDW on our first visit to USA and Disneyland but we now can plan another special trip.

 

[1rocky]

You're getting ripped senseless champ. Completely and utterly ripped senseless. Get on the Disneyworld website and get a price there. A 5 day ticket INC park hopping AND waterparks is only USD$332 direct from Disney. Do not pay ONE CENT more than that. And bear in mind that each extra day on top of that is only USD$3 a day extra.

As to the original thread, you are kidding yourself if you think you are getting the complete Disney experience without visiting Orlando. With LA being the first port of call for probably 80% of Australians heading for the states, then Anaheim is usually our first Disney experience....and a fine one it is too! BUT..... to immerse yourself in the Disney experience fully, you have to stay on-site at WDW for as long as possible (absolute minimum a week...and even then you won't see everything) and take in the whole box and dice.
It really is night and day.

thanks for the info i will check out the website i knew i was coming to the right place before booking anything looking forward to booking for WDW thanks once again everyone

 

[aussietravellers]

THanks Princessinoz. The prices the travel agent quoted was per person.
We are wishing now that we had allowed ourselves more time to visit WDW on our first visit to USA and Disneyland but we now can plan another special trip.

Was that pricing from an Australian Travel Agent? Aussie TA's are just so expensive for anything Disney, its crazy!

 

[cola]

Aussie TA's are just so expensive for anything Disney, its crazy!

Though strangely QANTAS holidays usually has some amazing Orlando car hire rates plus they usually include all the CDW LDL and half a dozen other 3 letter things I don't understand but cost a fortune if you rent from a US website. On quite a few trips, all I got from QANTAS has been the car hire One trip we got a mid size car for 11 days for $210AU, nothing more to pay, everywhere else I checked it was almost double.

 

[Travel Mum]

Aussie TA's are just so expensive for anything Disney, its crazy!

The reason for that is because Aussie and Kiwi travel agents have to book Disney hotels/passes etc through specific local wholesalers which therefore adds an extra layer of mark ups compared to the U.S. travel agents who are able to book directly with Disney. Also the local wholesalers will add a bit on to cover their butts in case of currency dives so, when you put all that together, you can see why they are more expensive.

 

[aussietravellers]

Though strangely QANTAS holidays usually has some amazing Orlando car hire rates plus they usually include all the CDW LDL and half a dozen other 3 letter things I don't understand but cost a fortune if you rent from a US website. On quite a few trips, all I got from QANTAS has been the car hire One trip we got a mid size car for 11 days for $210AU, nothing more to pay, everywhere else I checked it was almost double.

I actually don't mind Qantas holidays . I have booked through them before as we got some great deals on flights, accommodation etc. But Disney, I would never, I've never seen a good price for anything Disney from any of the TA's in Australia (the Disney Brochures). Car Hire should be ok as it is not a Disney business

 

[aussietravellers]

The reason for that is because Aussie and Kiwi travel agents have to book Disney hotels/passes etc through specific local wholesalers which therefore adds an extra layer of mark ups compared to the U.S. travel agents who are able to book directly with Disney. Also the local wholesalers will add a bit on to cover their butts in case of currency dives so, when you put all that together, you can see why they are more expensive.

Yes I know all about the wholesalers and completely understand the whole process Still the prices for Disney are absolutely crazy regardless of the reasons that they expensive. Due to the wholesale agreements it means we can't book through a Disney .com.au website like the rest of the world and it also means that Aussies are severely ripped off! (and by the sounds of it so are New Zealanders). Poor unaware Aussies book their trip from their local TA, paying $700 or more for a Disney resort deluxe room per night in the US when they can get the same room direct from Disney or a US TA for about $300 a night. That is a rip off whatever the reasons for the wholesalers for jacking up the prices, its still a rip off

I don't really mind from my side, I know not to book Disney with them, its all of the other poor unsuspecting Aussies who save like mad, its an expensive trip anyway travelling so far with airfares etc but to be charged sometimes more than twice the actual cost of the accommodation for a Disney holiday when they can be paying half is just not fare in my opinion and it's crazy But that's just my opinion

 

[aussiegirls]

Well said aussietravellers

I completely agree

xxx

 

[Travel Mum]

Yes I know all about the wholesalers and completely understand the whole process Still the prices for Disney are absolutely crazy regardless of the reasons that they expensive. Due to the wholesale agreements it means we can't book through a Disney .com.au website like the rest of the world and it also means that Aussies are severely ripped off! (and by the sounds of it so are New Zealanders). Poor unaware Aussies book their trip from their local TA, paying $700 or more for a Disney resort deluxe room per night in the US when they can get the same room direct from Disney or a US TA for about $300 a night. That is a rip off whatever the reasons for the wholesalers for jacking up the prices, its still a rip off

I don't really mind from my side, I know not to book Disney with them, its all of the other poor unsuspecting Aussies who save like mad, its an expensive trip anyway travelling so far with airfares etc but to be charged sometimes more than twice the actual cost of the accommodation for a Disney holiday when they can be paying half is just not fare in my opinion and it's crazy But that's just my opinion

Yes, it seems that Aussies and Kiwis are in the same boat. I feel very annoyed that that we can't book directly with Disney Australia but they seem to be just an information service which is frustrating. I'm on Trip Advisor regularly and it seems that the UK residents often get even better deals from Disney than the Americans sometimes! How is that fair? I fully believe that if we Aussies and Kiwis are prepared to save up all the $$$ we need to actually get ourselves there (costs so much more for us than Brits or Americans), we should be able to easily access the best deals that Disney offers to anyone! I know it's probably all about the volume coming through but how could it hurt treating us fairly?

 

[aussietravellers]

There is one advantage with booking Disney accommodation through an aussie TA. I think the wholesalers must have some sort of agreement and a certain number of rooms available to them (maybe like airlines codeshares). When we went to WDW once, it was a last minute decision, organised in a week. We wanted to stay at AKL savannah view room and only AKL savannah view room. There was nothing available at AKL through Disney, not through WDW website or calling. We needed two rooms and we couldn't get one let alone two, so sort of resigned to the fact that we would not go (in a week) we would wait and go later. I happened to be passing a flight centre and as I often do, grab a brochure, I like know current Disney prices from the different TA's in Australia. Anyway I happened to just say that we were wanting to go next week but there wasn't any availability at AKL savannah view so we were planning September now sadly.

The TA said, well I will check for you and I said, well I have called Disney World twice and was just online earlier today and there isn't anything available. So she again asked if she could contact their supplier (creative holidays I think it was) and see if she can get us a room. Now I knew there was nothing available, and if she found one that we would be paying a ridiculous price for those rooms but we would be getting very very cheap flights from booking last minute. Anyway I was blown away when she came back and said, yes, we can get you two rooms, AKL savannah view, dining plan, tickets..... HUH SO, we took them. We paid a crazy price, knowing it was a crazy price and enjoyed every minute of our very expensive over priced rooms I won't do it again mind you. Just too expensive.

So that would be one advantage of using an Aussie TA for Disney, if you cant get the resort you want and are prepared and know that you are paying a crazy and expensive price but can get the room and resort that you want, then ok.

I am not apposed to Aussie TA's in general, it's just booking Disney through them I am not a fan of (it's not their fault that Disney has allowed this arrangement with Aussie/NZ wholesalers to occur)

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

Sorry I'm missing something apparently. Why can't you book direct with Disney through disneyland.com or disneyworld.com websites in the states and save money that way?

Once again I'm sorry if due to ignorance I've missed something somewhere.

 

[aussietravellers]

Sorry I'm missing something apparently. Why can't you book direct with Disney through disneyland.com or disneyworld.com websites in the states and save money that way?

Once again I'm sorry if due to ignorance I've missed something somewhere.

We were saying (well I was ) that you can't book through disneyland/world.com.au like you can in other countries. Other countries like .co.uk can book their disney packages direct with Disney in their own currency and also there are specials available to certain countries that are not available to others. We did say that you either had to book online or over the phone direct, just not through .com.au

Also, I do believe that it is not possible to book Disneyland online, but you can call to book and also use an US TA to get the US prices. I know it wasn't years ago and i just tried to make a dummy booking and it said that guests outside of the USA are to call ...... to make their reservation.

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

This is getting stranger by the post. We booked our trip to DisneyWorld direct through the US website for our last trip (pre DVC ownership) with no problems whatsoever. Disneyland is obviously another story unfortunately!!

 

[queenie82]

There is one advantage with booking Disney accommodation through an aussie TA. I think the wholesalers must have some sort of agreement and a certain number of rooms available to them (maybe like airlines codeshares). When we went to WDW once, it was a last minute decision, organised in a week. We wanted to stay at AKL savannah view room and only AKL savannah view room. There was nothing available at AKL through Disney, not through WDW website or calling. We needed two rooms and we couldn't get one let alone two, so sort of resigned to the fact that we would not go (in a week) we would wait and go later. I happened to be passing a flight centre and as I often do, grab a brochure, I like know current Disney prices from the different TA's in Australia. Anyway I happened to just say that we were wanting to go next week but there wasn't any availability at AKL savannah view so we were planning September now sadly.

The TA said, well I will check for you and I said, well I have called Disney World twice and was just online earlier today and there isn't anything available. So she again asked if she could contact their supplier (creative holidays I think it was) and see if she can get us a room. Now I knew there was nothing available, and if she found one that we would be paying a ridiculous price for those rooms but we would be getting very very cheap flights from booking last minute. Anyway I was blown away when she came back and said, yes, we can get you two rooms, AKL savannah view, dining plan, tickets..... HUH SO, we took them. We paid a crazy price, knowing it was a crazy price and enjoyed every minute of our very expensive over priced rooms I won't do it again mind you. Just too expensive.

So that would be one advantage of using an Aussie TA for Disney, if you cant get the resort you want and are prepared and know that you are paying a crazy and expensive price but can get the room and resort that you want, then ok.

I am not apposed to Aussie TA's in general, it's just booking Disney through them I am not a fan of (it's not their fault that Disney has allowed this arrangement with Aussie/NZ wholesalers to occur)

OH you crack me up
You really don't do uneventful trip planning do you
(of course neither do I...hehe...where's the fun in that )

This kind of thing happens with flights too. There are so many different classes etc and it all depends on when and how things are released.
The way the airline books work is that they get allocations...
Of course I would have thought by a week out they would have been released back to the resort? But I've given up on finding logic in anything airlines do...

 

[aussietravellers]

This is getting stranger by the post. We booked our trip to DisneyWorld direct through the US website for our last trip (pre DVC ownership) with no problems whatsoever. Disneyland is obviously another story unfortunately!!

You may have booked direct with Disney in the past, but there are a large number of Australians and I would say New Zealanders do not know to book direct with Disney or do not know that they can book direct and they book with travel agents in Australia and New Zealand! and they do not know that TA's have pricing that is a lot more expensive than if they booked direct. I then mentioned that other countries such as the UK, Canada, Europe have their own Disney specific sites, run by Disney, where they can book their WDW or DL trip with specials available only to their own country, eg on the UK disney website, residents of the UK can buy a 21 day WDW pass very cheaply, this is not available to us even though we travel further than they do.

Australians and New Zealanders do not have a Disney booking website available specifically for our country or reigion with specials just for us other than a TA in this country. We have a website for info but are then directed to contact our local TA for prices and booking, so many who are unaware they can book direct will stop here and as the Aussie Disney website recommends, contact their local TA for prices and book away! Yes we can book WDW online or over the phone or a US TA and DL over the phone or US TA, but the point is, you may know this, I know this and many on DIS know this, but many do NOT know this! and they book with Aussie TA's.

I don't find that strange or hard to understand, I am sorry that you do

We are sort of venturing OT from the original topic here, I know that is my fault , I do like to chat on sometimes

 

[Travel Mum]

We are sort of venturing OT from the original topic here, I know that is my fault , I do like to chat on sometimes

Mine too but it's a bit of a bugbear of mine!