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

[hannah75]

Marvel: i think i agree with your son. I too have been to both WDW and disneyland and i liked NY better than both. Didn't expect to though.
But i still love disney and wouldn't give up the chance to go again


ButterflyKisses - you're welcome. I'm happy to answer any other questions u may have.
About the statue of liberty - we were one of those that waited in the queue for ages. we got to Liberty island, were there for maybe 30 min, took the obligatory pics and then caught the ferry back, was nice to see the statue but wasn't worth the wait. Not in my opinion anyway. Each day they sell a limited amount of tickets to actually enter the statue and we missed out.

 

[gogo65]

About the statue of liberty - we were one of those that waited in the queue for ages. we got to Liberty island, were there for maybe 30 min, took the obligatory pics and then caught the ferry back, was nice to see the statue but wasn't worth the wait. Not in my opinion anyway. Each day they sell a limited amount of tickets to actually enter the statue and we missed out.

How things have changed.
I lived in NY for a year in 1987, walked up the statue of liberty to the crown, I certainly don't remember waiting to catch the ferry. I also was fortunate enough to walk up the leaning tower of Pisa Must put them down to a once in a lifetime experience

 

[marvel]

I am jealous, would love to live anywhere in the US for a year. There is something about NY, it has a positive feeling about it. Just talking about being there makes you feel good. Need to plan another trip there!!

 

[kel77]

We've had a slight change of plans thanks to the airline cancelling a couple of flights :S

Instead of leaving on the 14th - we leave Brisbane on the 15th and only have 1 night in Fiji before flying out on the 16th instead of the 17th. We arrive in Anaheim a day early so will have an extra night at HoJo's We have Disney passes for the 18,19 and 20th so we plan to spend 16th afternoon and 17th exploring Anaheim and surrounds

I finally received my passsport (had Name drama's thanks to my Mum remarrying and giving my my StepFather's name unofficially!) Anyway, all is sorted

Go Aussie Dollar Go!!!!

 

[gogo65]

I am jealous, would love to live anywhere in the US for a year. There is something about NY, it has a positive feeling about it. Just talking about being there makes you feel good. Need to plan another trip there!!

I haven't been back to NY since the 80's despite a few trips to the US. Would love to go back, I agree it has such a wonderful vibrant feeling about it.
Thanks to an AMEX promotion at the end of last year we were fortunate enough to earn nearly 1million points, so I have planned a few round the world trips, I just have to wait a few more years, with my son in Year 11 and my daughter in year 9 I just need for them to finish school and then my DH and I can have some wonderful trips including New york

 

[Flea]

haha it's so funny i was so excited to see our dollar at .64c against the US - you guys are just spoilt hehe.

We are renting a car for 2 days as for the 7 of us it is cheaper than doing just 1 tour. We are going to Santa Monica, the outlet stores and a bit of sightseeing in LA. We originally had a beach tour booked and a shopping tour booked so we are saving heaps more doing it this way.

I've decided I might have a garage sale and raise some more funds. We have 20 weeks to go and I'm having a bit of a money freakout. It's the food thing that I really struggle with as it's not something I can book and pay before hand so I have no idea what to budget for.

 

[aussiegirls]

Flea, I saw you mention in another thread that you had booked a kids suite at the HoJo for October. How did you manage to do that? As far as I was aware they weren't sure when they would be ready and I can't see any option on any websites to book them. Did you call the hotel directly? Also, if you don't mind me asking, how much are they per night?

Thanks

xx

 

[lovintheland]

KylieH Can definately relate to the American Girl experience. I took my 2 daughters (9& 14)there last Sunday. They both bought a doll but the best part was the three course lunch in the cafe. It was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. The service & food were superb and the cafe itself is very stylish & girly and it's a very indulgent & special thing to do. Lunch was only $24.95 per person (a drink included) and honestly there was so much food we couldn't finish it. We noticed a couple of tables of groups without any young girls and it wasn't surprising because I commented to my daughter it was one of the yummiest. best value meals we had done. They even bring special chairs to the table for the dolls to sit at. DD's came back from the toilets amazed at the doll holders in the loo. Of course DD 9 had to go back with her new girl and try it out. And I didn't miss the photo opportunity of course.

Loved Farmers Market & the Grove (where Amercian Girl is ). We then drove down to Santa Monica & Venice Beach. Have to say they were worse than I remembered them 18 years ago. It was Memorial Day weekend and extremely crowded & freezing and I think that's why it wasn't so memorable for us. Have to say Huntington Beach & Newport Beach areas are absolutely gorgeous and would love to go back there and stay for a week. Wish we had more than just the day there and would highly recommend both beaches.

Sorry if this reply is all over the place. Got home this morning at 9.00am and are hanging out to go to bed. I can't even speak properly I'm so tired.

 

[Czardas]

Thanks to an AMEX promotion at the end of last year we were fortunate enough to earn nearly 1million points,:

Gotta love that promo, we got over 1 million points as well, so this week I have booked first class flights to Paris. We will then drive to Italy, then fly to the Greek Islands. All thanks to being points pigs

 

[gogo65]

Gotta love that promo, we got over 1 million points as well, so this week I have booked first class flights to Paris. We will then drive to Italy, then fly to the Greek Islands. All thanks to being points pigs

Yes we have planned a few business class flights without the kidsCan't wait.
Did you book your flights with Singapore using their current promotion??
So wish we could have taken advantage of that special. Oh well I am sure there will be more opportunities

 

[Czardas]

Yes we have planned a few business class flights without the kidsCan't wait.
Did you book your flights with Singapore using their current promotion??
So wish we could have taken advantage of that special. Oh well I am sure there will be more opportunities

No we have automatic transfer to Qantas. I watch the flight releases daily until I find the seats I want. So much fun! Rumours Qantas will be suspending the 1st class seat flights MEL-LDN and running business only, so I have reserved seats in the pointy end and if they change it, then I am still sitting upfront and I will just have to forgo my Dom P. for something else.

 

[Flea]

Flea, I saw you mention in another thread that you had booked a kids suite at the HoJo for October. How did you manage to do that? As far as I was aware they weren't sure when they would be ready and I can't see any option on any websites to book them. Did you call the hotel directly? Also, if you don't mind me asking, how much are they per night?

Thanks

xx

You can book them online - they are meant to be ready for July - but online reservations call them king suites and in the notes it says pirate theme. There is a video on Youtube of their concept room. Not overly piratey which is good.


I'm not sure what the actual rate is as we are travelling with a travel agent so got industry rates for the room.

 

[platypus67]

So with all this talk about New York, I'm seriously considering doing a quick side trip there in October. I can get transport by bus and 3 nights accomodation at the Edison for around $700.00pp for my DD and I. It would be a early am departure and we would arrive at the hotel at 3pm. We would have two full days and then leave on the fourth day. Since I've never been to NYC I think maybe it is time for a visit.

 

[marvel]

We booked the kids suites for Sept at HOJO on the phone. Found it easier to talk to reservations and they were very nice on the phone and easy to deal with and they explained the rooms really well. I think the rooms was $109 US.

What was the amex promotion? Was it like a bonus type thing,I have been building up our points with Westpac Amex so hopefully for the next trip we can use points for that. Our current trip was all AirNz points which was a suprise as we actually hadn't planned to travel this year. But now I am hoping the crisis will continue so the airfares can stay low for the next few years !

 

[gogo65]

What was the amex promotion? Was it like a bonus type thing,I have been building up our points with Westpac Amex so hopefully for the next trip we can use points for that. Our current trip was all AirNz points which was a suprise as we actually hadn't planned to travel this year. But now I am hoping the crisis will continue so the airfares can stay low for the next few years !

Amex had a promotion running from Sep-Dec where you received 1000 points per transaction, so everyone started going a bit silly and started putting really small transactions on the credit card.
Amex realised that made a mistake and tried to suspend people from the promotion, however the financial Ombudsman intervened and virtually made Amex pay everyone their points, so their was some happy people
we virtually made enough points for 4 round the world business class seats, just buying our everyday stuff.

 

[keptwoman]

OH MY GOODNESS!! How on earth did I miss that promotion?? Gaaaaah!! We could have had this trip (plus some) for free.

 

[kylieh]

OH MY GOODNESS!! How on earth did I miss that promotion?? Gaaaaah!! We could have had this trip (plus some) for free.

Me too -I spoke to DH about it, rather upset and I thought though that we had some T&C that said to 20,000 points only, or something. We don't normally use the Amex, only for travel. Oh well.

 

[BecBennett]

Hello everyone!
We're back from our holidays! I haven't had the chance to read through all of the posts since I left, but I'll try and catch up soon.

Just thought I'd post to let you know we're back and had a great time! No one talks about swine flu over there, but everyone is so scared of it here, that sure enough we were quarantined for a week! I can't complain though, it was nice to have an extra week off work!!

Just make sure that if you have a cough you stay away from your doctor until a while after you get home!

 

[gogo65]

Me too -I spoke to DH about it, rather upset and I thought though that we had some T&C that said to 20,000 points only, or something. We don't normally use the Amex, only for travel. Oh well.

They did change the terms and conditions of the promotion and limit your entitilment to 10,000 points per month but if you enrolled in the promotion at the beginning, there was no limit to the amount of points you could earn.

 

[marvel]

wow that is a great promotion/stuff up, good to see the customers benefiting from it for a change.

Great to hear you had a great time Bec, look forward to hearing all about your trip, in detail. Nice tip about getting some more time off, don't want to waste my annual leave, I suppose if it is a government requirement they cannot stop you using using sick leave, especially if you aren't allowed to leave you house.

we have probably 500,000 points via the Westpac Altitude Cards, so by the time 2011 rolls by we should be able to get some trips for free. i would really love to get business class though.

Lets hope my application for a new position at work comes about, might be able to afford a big trip in 2011 trip after all!

I am really disgusted in the way the Aussie media is handling the swine flu. I was watching a USA expert and he was saying that the swine flu in the US is actually having milder affects on the people than regular flu. And yet we are acting like it is some sort of plague. With ridiculous statistics that 2 million aussies would be infected etc etc, even though all the symptoms are mild!