Aussie Disneyland Planners come on in and lets plan together :)

[Flea]

thats so funny that alot of us were Travel agents - that's probably why we much prefer booking our own holidays and all plan out months in advance.

I'm a compulsive over planner - I have notebooks, lists, diaries. I just love this stuff. But for me it wasn't a career I could continue once I had kids as I was on call 24 hours a day working 7am-9pm and then having to go look at hotels in another country with 24 hours notice. So I'm using my compulsive overplanning and next year I start a Bachelor of Teaching Hence why our trip is this year - the next 3-4 years will be lost in study.

 

[Saskiwi]

If you don't want to dine at Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans also does the Monte Cristo - a bit cheaper too, but there isn't that crazy "it's like we're dining outside at night but really we're dining inside during the day" atmosphere!!

The Monte Cristo IS weird - but in a good way - just make sure you get the original one with ham and turkey in it, not the "three cheese" one, which is just cheese, cheese and more cheese, battered, deepfried and then sprinkled with icing sugar...blurg!
They gave us that by mistake at Cafe Orleans and after about 3 bites DH was like "Where's the ham?" - luckily they changed it for us.

Also, unless you have monster appetite, suggest sharing a Monte Cristo between 2 adults - most Americans sitting around us got one each but it is incredibly rich, and unless you're REALLY hungry....
The french fries at Cafe Orleans are good - sprinkled with garlic salt and parmesan cheese...mmmmm

 

[marvel]

Funny thing is that I almost left my current job to be a travel agent! i love the idea that every day I could be making travel bookings and doing all the research into different locations, which is what I enjoy doing. but I had heard from friends that you don't actually get to do all that, but do more tedious admin type work.

 

[gogo65]

I always wonder if i am doing the right job.
I love planning and booking holidays and do all the research for all of my friends.
BUT it all comes down to money, I would have to continue working as a nurse part time as well as a full time travel agent.

So for me it will always be my fun job

 

[keptwoman]

Yes lots of tediousness with working in travel. Crappy money. I got some good freebies/cheapies though!

 

[becpee]

How are everybody's plans coming along??

We are still saving hard (so hard I want to bring the trip forward), and researching madly.

We're planning for September next year, any idea what would be the best time to book our flights?
After the flights are done it will be full steam ahead and accomodation booking, still 15 odd months away but we've now buckled down and been saving for 5, and will reap the benefits come holiday time

 

[platypus67]

We have our flights booked and paid and our hotel reserved. Waiting on the ToT party tickets to go on sale in August and we will buy them and our park hoppers online. Now I'm working on a plan for our days at DLR. My DD has taken an interest in the planning this time so we are working on where we want to make our PS arrangements, etc.
I'm also watching the dollar. If it goes over 80 cents or starts to drop I think I will get our cash. Other than that it is just the wait. We actually leave Australia 3 1/2 weeks before we go to DLR.
I booked my airline tickets a few months ago as we had to also book FF seats on AA for within North America. By booking so early I probably paid more than if I was booking now with all the great sales, but the price even then was good.
With regard to when to book for Sept thats hard to say. If you book early (11 months is the earliest I think you can book) I guess you run the risk of better fares coming up. If you wait for sales they may not come up. I booked my Oct 08 three weeks before we left as it was a spur of the moment thing and managed to get seats without problem at the standard sale fares.

 

[hannah75]

hi. this is my first posting. i thought i'd join the discussion as i just got back from a US holiday (2 weeks ago) and it included a trip to disneyland. we loved it so much we're planning another trip for next year. i'd be happy to answer any questions

 

[gogo65]

hi. this is my first posting. i thought i'd join the discussion as i just got back from a US holiday (2 weeks ago) and it included a trip to disneyland. we loved it so much we're planning another trip for next year. i'd be happy to answer any questions

Hannah75

Just ask all of us here one trip is never enough.

Where did you stay in DL?? How long did you spend in Disneyland?

 

[Hibino]

I went in February so as Hannah just said, ask away if you have any questions

 

[aussiegirls]

For all those that have already been to Disney I just have a question re tipping.

I have already read what the expectations are in the US in regards to it but a question for those (like me) that are not used to doing it. I get the feeling that a dollar here and a dollar there is really going to add up to quite a significant amount of money at the end of the holiday. Does tipping really make a big dent in the budget? Also being in Disneyland are we expected to tip cast member etc for them being nice or helpful or something? I have noticed that some things say that the price includes tax and tip, so does that mean that I wouldn't have to tip again, or would the expectation be for another tip as we leave?

Oh, and while I have you here it seems as though they don't normally add tax to their prices, is that right? Because here GST is included in the price so I know what I am going to pay when I get to the counter. Over there because they don't add it to the original price, does that mean that if I grab something off the shelf that is say $10, when I get to the counter they might charge me $14 or something?

Thanks for your help.

xxx

 

[hannah75]

Hello. Thankyou for the welcome. We were in anaheim from the 27th march to 4th april, but from there we went to san diego (sea world and zoo) and universal hollywood. We bought the southern california city pass and extended out disney days when we got there. We spent 4 days at disneyland but hardly ever did a full day there. We usually did a morning til mid day and then break until the evening and go back. We stayed at best western park place and though it wasn't flash, it was great for us. the location was fantastic for disney.

As for tipping. We were kinda confused about the tipping when we first got there. We basically tipped as follows (after asking some really nice americans for their tipping advice) : bus drivers, cab drivers, and wait staff if it WASN'T included in the bill. u don't need to tip again if it is included. We'd also tip housekeeping staff at the motel.
There's no need to tip disney cast members unless u eat at a sit down restaurant. We always kept small notes on us for the tipping. One thing to consider - if u take a tour, tip the bus driver at the end of the day. on our first trip to san diego we made the mistake of tipping the bus driver when we got to the location thinking we would have another driver on the return journey but it was always the same driver and we ended up tipping the same guy twice. We learnt from that mistake quickly.
The tipping costs do add up, espescially if you end up taking several tours like we did. By the end of our 5 week trip we'd had enough and the amount we'd tip got less and less as our holiday drew to an end.

the tax thing is also quite confusing. we really couldn't figure it out. we found that department stores usually include tax in the advertised price but almost everywhere else didn't, including disney. so we always made sure we had that little bit extra incase tax wasn't included.

Sorry I if i've rambled on a bit.

Hope this helps.

 

[kylieh]

I did some research on this before our trip last year. Tax varies from area to area, confusing I know. I had a look at a receipt from last year and sales tax was 7.75% at EB Games in the Block at Orange Centre. So, if something on the shelf was $10, add 7.75%, so it would be 10 + 0.77.5c = 10.77 or 10.78 depending on if they round up! Elsewhere in the USA it was a different sales tax rate, but only nominally different to the above.

In DL we tipped at sit-down only, and that 15-20%. But at Ariel's we had prepurchased vouchers and that included tax/tip as mentioned so we didn't leave anything more.

Every other resturant sit down we tipped at, 15-20%, and we rounded up to the nearest dollar. I remember seeing a lot of people working out to the exact cent. Eg, 15% tip on $12.75 is $1.92 so they would leave $14.67. We would leave $15 because it's easy and less coins.

I struggled a bit with coins - dimes, quarters, etc.

We also made a little business card size quick checker for tips and stuff. Something like

Price 15% 20%
10 1.50 2.00
15 2.25 4.00

And so forth. It made easier to work out the tip. At some places outside DL there was a suggested tip on the bill.

We tipped housekeeping, but I know that some people don't. We stayed at Homewood and left $5 per day for the three of us. We had a lot of stuff and they did a good job.

 

[platypus67]

As kyleih mentioned tax can be a bit confusing. From memory CA only has the state tax of 7.75%. I've never come across anywhere that taxes are included in the price so in most cases tax has to be added on top of the price you see on the price tag. Other states are different. When we were in NY last year we paid different rates of tax at different stores. I think it was something to do with federal and state tax. I did ask but can't remember what they said. Other states like Pennsylvania don't have sales tax. ( or didn't when I was there last in 07) Rule of thumb is expect to pay a little more on top of the price you see on the price tag.
For those of you who are going to Canada-even more confusing. They have GST & PST. GST is constant at I believe 7% but PST changes by province.
With regard to tipping I add 10% - 15% to my food bill for little - ok service. If I get good service I add atleast 15%, Depending on the type of restaurant. When we ate at the Blue Bayou we left a 20% tip.
I always tip my bus driver generally $1.00 per bag for shuttles, and always something at the end of my tour if I'm on a tour bus.
I tip housekeeping $1-$2 per person per day as you will most likely have a different housekeeper every day.

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Hannah, what hotel did you stay in San Diego? How many days did you spend there. Did you just do one day each at seaworld and the zoo? Was that enough to see everything?

Also what tour company did you take to Universal studios? We're thinking of maybe doing the Universal studios plus hollywood night time tour. Not sure yet, we might just do universal and the hollywood tour on separate days

 

[staceyinaustralia]

Hi All Can I join in too?

Me and the fam are going leaving on June8...yes 2 weeks!! Its coming up really quickly! My group includes the hubby and I, my 8 yr old son, 4yr old daughter and 21 month old son

We are staying at the Desert Palms hotel and suites 10th till 19th. Im probably going to get the 14 day disney pass from expedia and then we can come and go as we please. The aussie $$ is looking great for us at the moment, yesterday our disney passes were $1092 and today they are $992, so Im waiting till last minute!!

Does anyone have any suggestions for us in regards to travelling to Legoland? We are definately going...Im just not sure how??! Probably do a bus tour straight from our hotel door to Legoland and back, expedia doesnt seem to have tickets so anyone with a suggestion yell out. I have seen they are having a star wars day whist we are there so how cool will that be!

We are also staying in LA at the Sheraton Universal 8th-10th, doing Universal studios (and recovering from jetlag)..and after disneyland we are flying to Vegas for a week

 

[becpee]

WOW your trip is so soon, how exciting!!

!
We are also staying in LA at the Sheraton Universal 8th-10th, doing Universal studios (and recovering from jetlag)..and after disneyland we are flying to Vegas for a week

We are also thinking of staying at Sheraton Universal or the Hilton close by for Universal, and will be heading to Vegas as well (although our trip is not until September next year )
You'll have to let us know what your hotels are like

 

[dollarmite]

Hi All Can I join in too?

Im probably going to get the 14 day disney pass from expedia and then we can come and go as we please.

Thank you, thank you for mentioning that! I didn't realise you could order theme park tickets from expedia.

I just checked it out and the 14 day pass is going to work out at least $400 cheaper for our family than buying through a TA here in Aust going on the prices in the Harvey World Travel brochure.

 

[becpee]

We will be getting the Southern California city pass, it has all the attractions that we want to visit and will save some $$
I can't believe the things that you can book online, travel agents have been making an absolute killing, haven't they??

 

[keptwoman]

No. Travel Agents make very little commission. Usually 10% or less. I don't know who makes the money but I agree absolutely you can generally find it cheaper on line.