Disney Magic How To Do London Like A Local

[mmmears]

I use my Apple Watch to pay on the tube every time I visit now

Fantastic. I am wondering if you know if we can use one Apple Pay to buy 3 tickets? Or do we each need to be set up for ApplePay?

 

[janiebubble]

Fantastic. I am wondering if you know if we can use one Apple Pay to buy 3 tickets? Or do we each need to be set up for ApplePay?

Transport for London website says this “If you're travelling with other people, each person must have their own card or other method of payment. You can't share the same contactless card to pay for travel.”

It also says “You can add supported payment cards to Apple Pay and then use your iPhone or Apple Watch to make contactless payments. If you are unsure if you can use Apple Pay contact your card issuer.

If you use Apple Pay with a payment card issued outside the UK you may be charged overseas transaction fees. Some may not work; check with your card issuer.” So you may want to check this out.

 

[mmmears]

Thanks. We don't have to worry about the foreign transaction fees with the card we are using, but I guess we should set it up on all the iphones instead of just one of them.

 

[dcassetta]

Thanks. We don't have to worry about the foreign transaction fees with the card we are using, but I guess we should set it up on all the iphones instead of just one of them.

Do people even use traveler's checks any more?

 

[mmmears]

Do people even use traveler's checks any more?

I don't think so. I don't think I've seen those since I was a kid.

 

[BadPinkTink]

bumping this back to the top as there is alot of information useful for anyone on the Dover cruises , British Isles / Western Europe / Northern Europe in September 2019 and September 2020

 

[lorimay]

bumping this back to the top as there is alot of information useful for anyone on the Dover cruises , British Isles / Western Europe / Northern Europe in September 2019 and September 2020

Going to London in less than 2 months..... Best Pub???? Tell me please

 

[BadPinkTink]

Going to London in less than 2 months..... Best Pub???? Tell me please

London is huge, so really it depends on your location and what you are looking for. What area will you be based / spending the most time in?

 

[lorimay]

London is huge, so really it depends on your location and what you are looking for. What area will you be based / spending the most time in?

We are staying at The Savoy and will be there 4 days. We are looking for good fish and chips and a good burger.
Authentic pub experience

 

[BadPinkTink]

We are staying at The Savoy and will be there 4 days. We are looking for good fish and chips and a good burger.
Authentic pub experience

That hotel is located on a street called The Strand, which is the edge of the area known as Covent Garden.
Go across the street from the hotel, go up one of the side streets and just wander around that area. Or walk down The Strand To Trafalgar Square. There are many restaurants and shops , its a very big tourist area. There are many pubs and bars, as well as chain burger restaurants. As its a tourist area, the pubs and bars are mainly aimed for tourists, not locals.

 

[oufpat]

Question about phones- How do I call a London number using my American iPhone?

 

[lds0191]

Everything I have read and seen (Rick Steves, Love & London, etc.) says we should not worry about taking a lot of cash as we will be ok using our chip and signature US credit cards as the machines will know they are not chip and pin and we will just sign as usual. The only exceptions would be possibly gas pumps, tube ticket machines, etc. Is this not true???

I apologize. I posted this before I had read all of the later posts.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Question about phones- How do I call a London number using my American iPhone?

Ok to use an example, Im going to say you are in New York and you want to call Hard Rock Cafe London.

This is the phone number for Hard Rock Cafe London - Landline

+44 20 75141700

+44 = the international dialling code for UK
20 = the area code. When dialling from outside the country you drop the 0.

If I was in Edinburgh and I wanted to call Hard Rock Cafe London from a Scottish landline or a Scottish mobile I would dial 020

75141700 = the phone number.

When you travel with your phone to another country, called roaming, you still use the international dialling code. This is because you are still technically using your home country network. The local foreign network will connect you to your home network. I usually store most phone numbers with their international dialling codes in my phone contacts

Everything I have read and seen (Rick Steves, Love & London, etc.) says we should not worry about taking a lot of cash as we will be ok using our chip and signature US credit cards as the machines will know they are not chip and pin and we will just sign as usual. The only exceptions would be possibly gas pumps, tube ticket machines, etc. Is this not true???

I apologize. I posted this before I had read all of the later posts.

Technically this is true. However it really only applies when the card reader machine gives an automatic receipt. This is usually in stores or restaurants or bars. If you use any type of self service machine, such as ATMs, grocery store self service checkout, tube ticket machines, train ticket machines, bus ticket machines, cinema or other venue self service ticket machines, you will need a chip and pin card. It will just take longer to pay for things and is less convenient than chip and pin cards.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

We are staying at The Savoy and will be there 4 days. We are looking for good fish and chips and a good burger.
Authentic pub experience

Wow, lucky you. We have stayed at the Savoy once and it was amazing

 

[lorimay]

Some useful info:

My sister was in Europe last year and she told me they were able to use "WhatsApp" to text back home for free!
We just downloaded it on our phones!!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Some useful info:

My sister was in Europe last year and she told me they were able to use "WhatsApp" to text back home for free!
We just downloaded it on our phones!!

WhatsApp is a very popular phone app here in Europe.

1. It is connected to your cell phone number.
2. Both people need to download the App, the person who is sending the text message and the person who is receiving the text message.
3. You need to have internet connection to send and receive messages, either data or free WiFi, both work just fine
4. You can send photos and files through WhatsApp
5. You can also make phone calls through WhatsApp
6. I did this recently when I was in California. I called my mom in Ireland and we talked for about 40 minutes, which would have cost a huge amount on a regular cell phone network.

 

[lorimay]

Wow, lucky you. We have stayed at the Savoy once and it was amazing

Glad to hear that, we were going between that and The Langham.

 

[Kellycanada]

Hi. Thanks for all the info. We will be there next summer for 5 days before our Northern Europe cruise. I had to giggle about the fanny belt comment. My son came home from university in April and asked his dad for his old leather fanny pack (early 90’s). He refused to get it for him. We then went to a summer music festival and every young person had one (some of the girls’ fanny belts were quite spectacular!). When we got home I dug our the old leather fanny belt and my son has been wearing it ever since! On another note- my family wears baseball caps to protect their faces from the sun when touring. I can’t imagine them wearing a different style hat. Although they would look quite dapper in a fedora. My husband also wears low white socks with his running shoes as black socks would look quite ridiculous. When walking all day he needs the support of a good running shoe. When you are visiting tourist sites, everyone knows you are a tourist! Kind of obvious. Just don’t be an obnoxious tourist and dress appropriately for where you are. Since my husband and son don’t carry a purse, they put a credit card and IPhone in a lanyard case so that they have easy access for pictures. But next year the old fanny pack my be pulled out! I was looking at the Oyster site and they have a student card for 16-17 year olds. I just emailed them to see if it was worth getting for my daughter. I will also make sure to get Apple Pay set up on watches, etc. That will be really convenient. Our credit cards are fine as we are from Canada. Our daughter will be 2 months short of her 18th birthday- I’m assuming she will have no issues going into a pub? Anyone have any experience with this? Anyone have any experiences with food allergies? I have an epi pen and my allergy isn't one of the typical ones- sulphites- so I get weird looks everywhere when I eat out. It’s why we are doing the Disney cruise- I can real food all day long! (I also have other food allergies). I will still bring safe granola bars for places that I don’t feel comfortable in. Have a great time in London everyone!

 

[BadPinkTink]

hi @Kellycanada

the bumbags (fanny packs) have come in fashion again for the tween and twenty something year olds. It mainly due to security reasons at events, concerts and festivals. Most events, concerts and festivals now have a no bag rule, which means people are not allowed backpacks or crossbody bags. Its mainly to sop people bringing in glass bottles, alcohol etc but its also due to the ongoing security since the world wide terror attacks.

regarding the student Oyster card, your daughter may need a student ID card. In UK teenagers can leave main stream school at 16 and do further education. I think thats why they have the student oyster card. It will be interesting to see what they reply to you,

Your 17 almost 18 year old daughter will be fine going into a pub. However , as the legal drinking age is 18, she wont be able to have alcohol.

 

[Naeher]

Actually , @Kellycanada ’s 17 year old daughter can drink in the pub when “accompanied by an adult. In this case it is legal for them to drink, but not buy, beer, wine and cider with a table meal.”