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

[darren123]

Hello All
Just a tip . If you look at your Camera,Phone,Video Camera,Laptop etc the power supply it says 110/240 volt 50/60 hertz. How can you charge these all at once without buying a few adaptors or waking up at night to change to the next thing to be recharged. What I did last trip was I had one adaptor and brought a power board from home, that way I was able to charge every thing at once. I checked with a electrican friend of mine and said that it will work and did with no problems at all, at night when we can back to the hotel I was able to recharge everything for the next day and switched them off at night before we went to sleep and then in the morning went we woke up. I do not like to leave things to recharge over night that is just me, Hope this helps out.

 

[kylieh]

When I spoke to ANZ the guy told me that the fees are an $11 fee for the account and the % (can't remember how much it was) that they deducted from the deposits but the first deposit was free. So I am thinking that it might be worth my while to put it all on in one go and not pay any fees except for the $11 account fee. ...... so much to think about!!

double check on that - when we got ours it was $11 to setup including the first deposit commision, then 1.1% for each recharge.

Hello All
Just a tip . If you look at your Camera,Phone,Video Camera,Laptop etc the power supply it says 110/240 volt 50/60 hertz. How can you charge these all at once without buying a few adaptors or waking up at night to change to the next thing to be recharged. What I did last trip was I had one adaptor and brought a power board from home, that way I was able to charge every thing at once. I checked with a electrican friend of mine and said that it will work and did with no problems at all, at night when we can back to the hotel I was able to recharge everything for the next day and switched them off at night before we went to sleep and then in the morning went we woke up. I do not like to leave things to recharge over night that is just me, Hope this helps out.

We did that as well (it may of been youself I got the idea from.) Worked really well, and only needed the one converter.

 

[platypus67]

Thanks aussiemickeys for the AAA info. I don't think I've ever looked at the back of my RACQ membership card. The AAA symbol is very small but when I put my glasses on there it was. I did abit of checking into the details on both AAA (Australian) and AAA (US) and found that there is also a reciprocal agreement for roadside assistance. We usually rent a car so this is included, but last year I borrowed my brothers car and the whole time I was driving it around I kept thinking "what if I break down" The car sounded like it was in desperate need of repairs
I think you need some sort of certificate from your club as well as your membership card for this, but it is good to know. I don't change tyres so happy to know I can call someone else if hubby isn't around.
I also read on the AAA (us) site that if you show your card at one of their offices they will provide you with the same travel services as AAA members (maps etc)
With regard to car rentals we have used National a couple of times without any problem. Customer service leaves a bit to be desired, but as far as prices went they were great. We rented a car for five weeks in 2007 picked it up in Florida and dropped it off in Syracuse New York and it was very reasonable. Around $1500.00 Australian. The drop off fee to drop in a different location is 1/2 of what the others charge. It was also all inclusive for insurances.
I also found a listing for discounts and you can search specific types ie dining and areas. i haven't had a good look at the details but notice some Disney dining listed.
the link is: http://www.aaa.com/PPInternational/International.html

 

[marvel]

I tried to get a quote from National and when I finalised it is said "booking confirmed" and now I get this email confirming my reservation. I this normal? I didn't put in any credit card info or anything, will they hold that reservation even though I provided very little personal info?? The price was good, but I am still not sure whether it is worth us having a car for the first few days of our trip. I suppose I can just cancel it, but just wondering if they will really hold a car for you without credit card info?

With the tickets the 14 day didn't come up in expedia so you may be right about only through travel agents. I will have another look though keptwoman, just in case it does come up.

 

[Caroline NZ]

The 14 day vacation pass from Expedia in NZ was only coming up a month or two in advance of the travel dates when I purchased. The price for the 4 of us was just over NZ$1,000 in total so well worthwhile.

 

[keptwoman]

It was only on expedia.com.au not expedia.com
Here you are:... sorry link doesn't work. Bah humbug LOL.
I don't remember if I put the CC details into the National system. I don't think I did actually. But I have confirmed bookings.
If you decide you don't want the booking, there is a "modify/cancel" button on the email, hit that and you will be able to cancel the booking.

 

[keptwoman]

I am thinking of not getting a car for our 4 days in LA when we plan to do Universal and Hollywood. the parking alone is $30US a day, I am thinking even if we stay in hollywood it can't be that hard to either us cabs or catch the train to Universal and Santa Monica it would be ok? What do you guys think?
Anyone us public transport in LA? I figure even the cabs would be close to the same price as the car hire and parking combined.
Then we pick up the car on the last day in LA drive to Vegas and back to Anaheim and keep the car the whole time.

I missed this earlier. On our last trip in 2005 we used public transport around LA. It was *interesting* but we managed OK. We were staying in Santa Monica and used it to get to a park in Culver City where we were meeting friends. I have to say that it was a relief when they offered to drop us off after the picnic! The drivers are a kind of combo between helpful and impatient.

 

[marvel]

I really like having a car, just makes it so easy to get around. But the hotel we were looking at in LA is now $280 US plus either $10 if you park it yourself or $30 for valet. That makes the room nearly $400! Looking at diff options for LA but just cannot decide. Someone did mention the Holiday Inn Universal, may have to check that out, but will definetly have to have a car then.

Has anyone picked up a car from National or anyone from LAX? I am guessing you go there via a shuttle to pick up the car?

 

[gogo65]

You can also use AAA at The universal Orlando Hotels, I think it was 20% off, just for anyone that is visiting WDW

 

[gogo65]

Have checked the expedia site.

You can get the 14 day pass for $266 AUD but you need to put in dates before it comes up with a price.
Click on the hopper price then it gives you the option of a 2,3,4,5 or 14 day pass.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Marvel, there are purple signs outside the LAX arrivals terminals where the rental car shuttles pick you up from. We only waited a couple of minutes before one from Thrifty came by.

 

[AlyssaCameronsDad]

One thing I was thinking of doing re the Travelcard is putting all my money on in one go when the dollar gets to a good rate.

When I spoke to ANZ the guy told me that the fees are an $11 fee for the account and the % (can't remember how much it was) that they deducted from the deposits but the first deposit was free. So I am thinking that it might be worth my while to put it all on in one go and not pay any fees except for the $11 account fee. ...... so much to think about!!

xxx

Somebody else may have replied to this already, so forgive me. But as far as I know, there isn't any reason you can't get a second card and pay the the $11 again for as much as you want to put on. So as long as you're going to put more than AUD$1000 on the next time, it makes sense to get a 2nd card. Also be aware, that you sign the card, as you would a cc, so it's only good for one person.

Just my AUD$0.02.

-Brian

 

[kylieh]

When I spoke to ANZ the guy told me that the fees are an $11 fee for the account and the % (can't remember how much it was) that they deducted from the deposits but the first deposit was free. So I am thinking that it might be worth my while to put it all on in one go and not pay any fees except for the $11 account fee. ...... so much to think about!!

Hi Aussiegirls - I apologise, I read your post incorrectly, and posted a rather silly answer on the last page.

Oh, well, back to the corner for me!

 

[aussiegirls]

Brian, that is such a good idea and one that I didn't think of before.

Kylieh I rang again and confirmed, the first deposit is free (apart from the $11 account fee) it is only recharges that are charged the commission.

So I am thinking that if I find an exchange rate that I am completely happy with then I might just get it all on in 1 go. Sux that their sell rate is about 3c lower than actual dollar value.

xxx

 

[hannah75]

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

Hi, sorry i haven't replied to this sooner. We actually travelled to san diego from anaheim. a day for each was plenty for us, and while we didn't see absolutely everything, we got to see what interested us the most. If we were to do it again, i would stay in san diego 2/3 days instead. The bus driver took us on a mini tour after leaving the zoo and san diego is lovely - we actually wished we'd given the zoo a miss and toured the surrounding areas instead.
we travelled to universal studios and san diego with grayline. if u purchase the southern cali city pass you can get transfers to the parks outside of disney for only $75 (not inc taxes). the company picked us up from the hotel, then took us to its depot to catch the buses to the various locations.

We also did the night time hollywood tour after universal and i wouldn't recommend it, esp if u have young kids. we adults were exhausted and half asleep for the tour and plus we didn't see as much as we would have liked to.
Hope this helps.

p.s - i noticed you're also going to new york. We went to new york for 4 days and absolutely loved it, 4 days was definitely not enough

 

[Jade+3]

I have been looking at the ANZ card too. The one thing I do not like about it, is that after the initial deposit, you have to use BPay to put more money into the account. The rate the bank gives you, is the rate when they receive the BPay payment, which could take 2 days. The rate can change significantly in that amount of time.

Last week when I was in the Commonwealth Bank, the teller mentioned that they were introducing a new travel card next month.

 

[arje]

On the travel card/exchange rate issue, prior to our last trip in 2005 I did alot of work establishing the best rate to buy travellers cheques at. The best offer was the NAB (and still are too). They charged the standared 1.1% but their exchange rate was superior to all others by far. The closest was at least 1c away. Assieegirls mentioned that ANZ was 3c different to the actual cross rate (the one we see on the news) but the NAB is about 1.5c and depend when you get it can sometimes be just inside 1c. Australia Post are nearly on par when you take into account the reduced exchange rate offering versus the free fees.

However as like others have said they're doing, I am looking at using a card for our next trip, and will more than likly use the Travelex card I get through my Credit Union, which I believe is pretty well the same as the ANZ card (ie Visa Debit). Not as good as the NAB on the exchange rate but still OK.

 

[marvel]

It's funny with the exchange rate, I watch the dollar every day now!! So glad its gone up so high, I was really shocked when I booked the trip and the rate was 62c which meant you were actually getting under 60c in reality.

 

[aussietravellers]

Just picked up some brochures for a sticky beak from the flight centre at my local shopping centre this afternoon as I was walking past.

The Creative Holiday's brochure has the 14 day Pass. Prices in AUD (obviously ) are $332 for adult and $284 for child (3-9yrs)

For anyone wanting to compare that price to the expedia prices.

 

[aussietravellers]

It's funny with the exchange rate, I watch the dollar every day now!! So glad its gone up so high, I was really shocked when I booked the trip and the rate was 62c which meant you were actually getting under 60c in reality.

When we went to Disney World last year the exchange rate was .95c boy was that good. We were so lucky to get that rate. It started to drop not long after we got home. We are looking at Sept/Oct or beginning of December this year. Hope the exchange rate continues to climb, would be nice to get back up to what it was last year!