Help needed for buying WDW tickets and other extras!

[Nicsjtp]

Our trip is booked for May 2011 - arrive 30 April until 12th May at WDW then a 4 day Disney cruise, 6 nights in New york, 5 nights in San Fran.

Anyway given that the dollar is so good at the moment we are trying to purchase as much as we can in advance!

So apart from WDW what else can I purchase in advance? Universal and Kennedy Space Center? And thats prot it for Orlando... what about NY and San Fran?

With WDW stuff - we were going to get the 10 day park hopper - now Im wondering whether we should upgrade and go the water parks plus more as well for the 10 days? I thought my kids may be a little young for the water parks and would just play in the resort pools BUT I know my eldest DS would want to go to the Sports complex.. so should I go the upgrade ?? For what its worth there are a lot of us travelling - DH and myself, my mum (grandma), DS 8 years, DS 6 years and DD (who will almost be 3 but not quite which means I dont have to pay for her!!)

$370 /$346 for water parks included (10 days park hopper)
$316/$293 without water parks....

hmm just not sure what to do given kids ages etc.... unless I just get the boys the extra ones and DH can take them??

Also in regards to Universal - obviously with my kids ages they will be limited on some rides for height... so we are thinking we would be able to do it in 1 day??? Am I right in this assumption?

Looking for any advice from you seasoned WDW travellers!!!

Thanks

 

[battymum]

My suggestion go and buy an ANZ travel card or similar with as much as you intend to spend - locks in the current exchange rate. Use it just like a debit card when you travel.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Battymum has suggested that you change the money into the travel card, and I think that's a great idea.

In regards to upgrade of the tickets, you could change the equivalent amount of money into the travel card and then decide whether it is worth upgrading when you are actually there. Guest Relations or your hotel concierge should be able to help you out on that front. They will charge you the upgrade difference.

This way, you'll have the money available and can make the decision once you determine how the family feel and whether there are other things that can 'substitute' (e.g., depending on the resort, you might find a games arcade; or DS might be too tired out from the parks to go). It may also be appropriate or cheaper to just pay for the one-off visits; depending on how many in the family want to go.

In San Francisco, you might want to check out the Walt Disney Family Museum and/or Alcatraz tours for prepayments. You might also see if there are any boat cruises e.g., to Sausalito or a harbour cruise; that you want to do.

In New York, you might want to have a look at the City Pass to see if the attractions there cover what you want; or just go on line and see if you can prepay for the attractions you want to go see (Statue of Liberty, Top of the Rock (ToTR), Empire State Building, any musuems?).

I do not know if you can prepay for these attractions this amount of time in advance....but it is worth going on line to find out. At the very least, you'll have an indication of pricing and can load the equivalent amount on the travel card.

 

[DVCAustralia]

In relation to pre-buying currency this is a good idea as you cannot pre-purchase everything. However whilst a travel card is a good idea for some uses, such as on-line or larger purchases at a known exchange rate instead of a credit card, especially at WDW travellers cheques are a much better option particular for items in shops. They are not only easy to use but most importantly give you change in cash (try to get at least US$20 change per cheque), which you will need everywhere but particularly in Nassau (the non-Disney port on the cruise) and New York. In effect you get the security of traveller's cheques up uintil a few days before you need the cash, and you can closely manage the total amount of cash you have at any one time.

For the WDW passes sign up to the mousesavers.com newsletter and when you receive the first NEWSLETTER on the 15th of the month you will get the link to special lower prices at undercovertourist.com, who ship free to Australia. I have not used them personally but they have been a longstanding partner of mousesavers.com and I have seen many positive reports. Anyway it is probably best to use a credit card for added protection.

I am a big fan of the Disney water parks and it is worth it to add on if you have never done them before as it gives you entry to Disney Quest and the sports complex as well (plus with the 10 day pass you get 10 entries). Your idea for one one adult and the children to have it is a good one to save money. It is not cheaper to do individual visits, particularly when you can get 10 visits for the fixed add-on price.

For New York the Citypass is great value, and I think you can pre-purchase these on their website.

 

[Jade+3]

I agree with DVC regarding the travellers cheques. I took them for the first time last year and they were so easy to use. Each time I brought something at WDW I would use a travellers cheque, and get the change in cash. Saved heaps on ATM fees. I am going to order some today, even though I don't need them for a year!

 

[CMHusband]

What is the weather like at WDW in April/May. That also might make a difference on your decision to go to a water park. I'm from Southern California so I don't know the answer but curious to hear.

 

[DVCAustralia]

Originally posted by CMHusband

What is the weather like at WDW in April/May. That also might make a difference on your decision to go to a water park. I'm from Southern California so I don't know the answer but curious to hear.

The weather is definately warm enough in April/May , I have done the water parks in December a few times and even then many days are warm enough.

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

Having just got back from WDW, I can tell you that the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex is only open to the public when there is an event on there. For the 11 days that we were there, it wasn't open once. So don't bank on it being accessible whilst you are there. For what it's worth, you should absolutely add the water parks and more option. It also gives you access to DisneyQuest (for your son especially), and gives you more minor options such as golf at Oak Trail etc.
However as you can upgrade at the gate for the same price differential as it would cost you today, i.e. $54, you can wait until you get there to make your decision. But if you want to prepay as much as possible, then I would definately add-on.....for what it's worth.

 

[aussietravellers]

I would change cash or travellers cheques rather than a travel card. We found the travellers cheques very easy to cash in NY and also here at WDW. Actually I just went down yesterday and cashed in the rest of the travellers cheques and put them onto a Disney Gift Card (we still have cash, we just changed some money to travellers cheques) . We have been using the gift card everywhere from paying for meals, to getting a bottle of water in the parks to souvenirs so that's why I changed them onto a gift card.

April May can be great weather wise, no where near as hot as it is now in Sept/Oct! We had mixed weather in April/May, from cold top of 12 degrees for a whole week to high 20's for a couple of weeks, so we did go to the waterparks on the warmer days (Blizzard Beach is fantastic and with your kids ages, there is a great area for them). But as already mentioned, you can upgrade your tickets when you are there

 

[Toy Story]

We travelled only with a pre-paid travel card and took $500 US with us.

The travel card was loaded with the amount cover our New York hotels, and a couple of nights in Orlando before we checked into WDW. I also had about money on the card to cover expenses at WDW - we put everything on our KTTW, I checked receipts at night, and paid off the amount in full the night before we checked out.

In NY, every couple of days we would withdraw cash out of the ATM - it cost no more that $2 to this. I had pre-purchased entry to MOMA while in Australia.

 

[kdfogliano]

def buy tickets to the statue of liberty if you can before you go
you should get ticks ahead of time b/c the lines are so long and often sell out

 

[Nicsjtp]

thanks so much for the replies....

I work for a bank so economically its better for me to change cash rather than use a travel card and have to pay commission!!!! So we have changed some cash but we are looking at what we can put on this CC and not have to pay for until next month when the tax cheques arrive

Well I think from the sounds of it we will benefit getting waterparks as well... so I may as well take the plunge and do it!

Just in regards to Universal - has anyone been there recently? Will we be able to do one full day and still be able to do most of it (incl Harry Potter??)

 

[happyhippy59]

wizard credit card has a great international deal - no comm and no trans action fees. I have one and it costs nothing and I can easily put money to bpay if I use it.

 

[disneymum2201]

I have used undercover tourist a couple of times and they are great. We purchased Kennedy space centre tickets as well as WDW. You can also put money on your cruise tab to cover your excursions and tips.