Kiwi's and Aussies - I need your help

[Flea]

Heya

I'm planning our first trip to Disneyland for next year (October). I'm after advice from you long distance seasoned dis'ers

I'm wondering about costs - How much we should realistically aim to save. I've had some quotes for the travel side of things but how much more should we save for meals, souvenirs, other stuff that I haven't planned for.

Do you have any tips or advice - what do you prefer to do? What do you recommend for meals? I've heard meals are huge

It will be myself, my DH our 2 DD's (they will be almost 3 and almost 5 at the time). Also travelling with us but paying for themselves are my best friend and her mum and possibly my sister also. We are looking at staying at Hojo's and will be in the area for 10-14 days.

We have been advised we can get a 14day disneyland pass for a wee bit more than a 5day pass - have you used this?? Our thoughts were we could enjoy the parks and not feel like we needed to spend every moment there (have 2 young girls who will probably want rests) also being able to go back for things such as Fireworks etc when we might not have planned to go to the park.

We will be doing SeaWorld, Universal, Medival times - do you have any other recommendations??

I'm after any and all information I can get (I'm a serious overplanner). Links to your travel reports would be good to

TIA

 

[kiwitravel]

Meals
We have travelled as a family twice, on our first trip we really struggled with the American food, lots of carbs, big portions.... We ended up eating a lot of MacDonalds salads, however on the second trip we bought an electric frypan at Target for $22US and cooked a lot for ourselves. We stayed at the Carousel Inn which has a microwave in the room so were able to cook a lot of our own meals savng both our money and our waistlines.... We splashed out with a meal at BB and another at Tony Romas, had the odd takeaway.

On both our trips we were there for 16 nights, for us Kiwis its such a long way to go..... On the second trip we had a 14 day pass which was brilliant, it is only $20 more and gives you the freedom to come and go as you please.

I can recommend Soak City if you are there in the summer, I wouldn't recommend Knotts Berry Farm (very run down). Soak City is across the road from Knotts, you can get there by bus from HoJos no problem.

Shopping
There is a supermarket within walking distance from HoJos which sells fresh veges etc. Go up Harbor to Ball Rd, turn right and about 5 minutes down on your right there is a supermarket. It is spanish but we had no language problems, you will find their food produce closely matches what you will buy in NZ. You can get to a couple of shopping centres very easily by bus.

I have a trip report which includes all the busroutes to get to the shopping centres and Soak City as well as tips for DL, I will try to PM it to you.

 

[Flea]

brilliant thanks - exactly the type of information I am after

we are also heading to Hawaii on the way home for 5 days so a long trip (but a very much wanted one )

 

[kylieh]

I have a trip report which includes all the busroutes to get to the shopping centres and Soak City as well as tips for DL, I will try to PM it to you.

Hi Kiwi - I've read a lot of your comparisons and have enjoyed and appreciated your assistance on. Could I also see your Trip Report - or perhaps you could post it?

 

[kiwitravel]

Hi Kiwi - I've read a lot of your comparisons and have enjoyed and appreciated your assistance on. Could I also see your Trip Report - or perhaps you could post it?

PM you maybe I can email it to you...

 

[kylieh]

Hi Flea - I completely forgot my reply to you!!!

A lot of people that stay at HJ recommend Mimi's Cafe which is located next door to the hotel.

http://www.mimiscafe.com/menu.aspx

Have a look at the menu which will give you some basic price ideas for outside the park, and from what I've read (and compared other locations) Mimi's is in the cheaper price range. Don't forget to add tax 7.75% and Tip 15-20% for each meal, ie, for estimates add around 25%. Don't forget any drinks, etc.

Elsewhere from research I've done, most other places outside the park will charge around US$10-$15 main meal, + tax/tip, although I believe that $15 is truely the upper range for most everyday establishments.

From other threads, a lot that say around $150/day for food for 2A/2C, but I don't think this includes the tax/tips.

Most meals inside the parks will cost more - there are heaps of threads on this.

Try Grayline.com for ideas on the cost of day tours (if you're not hiring a car). There are many others that offer day trips that will be around the same cost as Grayline.

If working out on todays prices, I would then add 6-10% more for inflation. I know that 10% is way over the top, but most tourist attractions will go over normal CPI.

The 14 day pass is offered to Aussies/Kiwis and may be a few other countries that have longer term stays. The downside is that they do not include Magic Mornings (the extra 1 hour before the park opens to everyone else, a few days per week). They are though very good value, and a lot cheaper than an annual pass.

And I've also taken Kiwi's recommendation on board for the supermarket - we'll be going in October this year.

 

[kiwitravel]

The 14 day pass is offered to Aussies/Kiwis and may be a few other countries that have longer term stays. The downside is that they do not include Magic Mornings (the extra 1 hour before the park opens to everyone else, a few days per week). They are though very good value, and a lot cheaper than an annual pass.

Our 14 day pass in 2006 included MM for one day. It would pay to check though as it might have changed. One thing to watch with the 14 day pass is that it is only valid for 13 days after first use. Yes the same rule as for the 5 and 4 day passes, they may have fixed this but when we went we had a few problems getting in on that 14th day. In the end they gave us new tickets for that day and then asked how much longer we were in LA for (one more day) and gave us another set of tickets for that day as well. This was because we had only used our 14 day passes for 10 days....

 

[melbarkwith]

Hi,
When we travelled last May with myself, DH, 5YO DD, 4YO DD, 11mth DD and my mum we allowed $200 per day for food. It was way too much, but having that leeway enabled us to do character breakfasts, go to the Rainforest Cafe (Well worth the $$$. I think that is the only time in my memory that my girls have just sat still in one place for nearly 2 hours, baby slept through it!) and splurge on special treats. By the time you buy Tigger Tails for everyone it adds up
Make sure you get groceries delivered to your room too. You'll save a bunch getting bottled water, soft drink and fruit from the supermarket rather than at DL. You can order those online before you leave.

We booked our other tours etc before we left on the Grayline website. With our dollar being so high at the moment (not too sure about the NZ$) that could be worth it for you also.

Definitely recommend getting the 14 day Disney pass. The day we arrived, it was probably about 5.30pm by the time we got to our room and got settled. The kids were bouncing around with the excitement that DL was just over the road. It was great to be able to take them over for a couple of hours (walked in just as the parade of dreams was starting, talk about the perfect start to a visit!) and not be concerned about 'wasting' a full day of a 5 day pass.

Have fun planning (we are aiming for a return in November 2009)
Mel

 

[kiwitravel]

Hi,
Make sure you get groceries delivered to your room too. You'll save a bunch getting bottled water, soft drink and fruit from the supermarket rather than at DL. You can order those online before you leave.

Mel

We were thinking of doing this on our next trip but apparantly these companies won't deliver if you don't have a US credit card. Which company did you use and how did you get round that?

 

[Aust]

We did our trip last October, and I can't wait to go again! (will be awhile though). I think our trip cost approx. AUD$15,000 - that was 10 days staying at DLH, doing Grayline tours to Seaworld, Universal and round LA, and the rest of the time at DL. The main component was airfares (around $9,000) - for me, DH and 2 DD's (6 and 3).

We didn't spend a great deal on food - we paid for a character lunch and breakfast before we went, took lots of snacks and breakfast stuff with us, and mostly at at takeaway type places. Besides the character meals we had 3 sit-down dinners at restaurants (all in Downtown Disney). We were craving vegies by about the 3rd day, we were sick of fried stuff! The coffee shop at DLH and a couple of other places sell trays of vegies with dips and salads, we shared them a few times. And the meals in DL itself are large so our kids mostly shared.


We got the 14 day pass because we had 6 1/2 days available for DL and didn't want to waste any time. At the end we gave the passes to the hotel maid so she and her family could use the rest of the days.

HAve fun planning and have a great trip, it will be worth it.

 

[madfelice]

Universal is not great for such young kids. Maybe the San Diego Zoo or Wildlife park would be better?

 

[bumbershoot]

We were thinking of doing this on our next trip but apparantly these companies won't deliver if you don't have a US credit card. Which company did you use and how did you get round that?

I could be misremembering, but I think a Canadian was able to order from albertsons.com with her Canadian credit card. I've heard repeatedly that Safeway.com doesn't have the capability, though.

Oh what a wonder that 14 day pass would be! We have APs and it's lovely to be able to just go in for a few hours and not worry about wasting anything, and I imagine the 14 day pass would be the same.

Have you seen the menus listed on allears.net and dlresortinfo? Those are helpful in budgeting. Also, know that adults can get kid's meals (I like the bean/cheese burrito meal at Rancho del Zocalo and the penne pasta meal at Plaza Inn) if they wish, and that sharing is OK. The portions for adult meals can be pretty big!

To save on beverage costs, you can get water and soda in plastic bottles from stores, and bring them in. Or for water you can refill a bottle in various places in the parks, or even just ask for a cup of water. Free!

I've never heard anyone mention the market with fruit before, how exciting to find out about! Thank you to the person who mentioned it.

 

[farmfresh]

Hi - we have done the Disney thing several times now with kids, and we travel pretty frequently to the US generally (we're off again in April and back through Hawaii!) the flights out of NZ are good for jet lag - just stay up the afternoon you get there, and you should be fine the next day.

Your trip sounds good fun. My only suggestion would be to consider a few nights somewhere else, say San Diego. Anaheim is a very particular kind of travel experience. Your kids might enjoy some beach or park (the kind with trees!) time, and you might like to see something else too. San Diego is close, has plenty for kids to do, and has good access to the natural environment. you might even find accommodation is a bit cheaper there too.

You will find meals larger than expected (don't order a whole Pizza at Napoli) but very easy overall. You can be very specific- get your salad dressing on the side, etc. Feeding kids is a breeze. October won't be too busy, so bear in mind that you can cover Disneyland very thoroughly in three or four days. Universal takes one. In San diego you can check out seaworld, the zoo, and Wild animal park etc.

If you are heading in to Hollywood, you might want to check out the El Capitan theatre, which often runs special children's previews - we saw the Wild there, with a live bird show first. Very easy to find, right near the Walk of fame etc.

A rental car can add to your costs, but if there are enough of you, it might be worthwhile. You will find driving around LA no problem - or should I say, don;t be put off, you'll be fine.

I know Hawaii pretty well too - presume you are heading to Waikiki as as top over? Slightly more expensive than the mainland price wise, but still a great spot for kids. All the main chain type restaurants are on teh main streets, so you'll have no problem finding what you want.

 

[lampardcl]

I bought our family the 14 day hopper pass on expedia .com.au, This way i paid for it in AUD and didnt have to pay any conversion charges , It cost the same as the disneyland website. I just printed the vouchers. We will be in anaheim on may the 4th.

 

[Flea]

wow thanks - lots more kiwis and aussies than I thought. Hi

The universal studios is mostly for us adults though my eldest DD wants to meet spongebob, dora and scooby There will be enough adults for us to take turns doing kidlet stuff while the others do the adult stuff and then switch.

My friends we are travelling with have been (and do go quite regularly) but never with kids so it's a learning curve for her. Her mum said that if there is something more adult like then she will take the girls and do something with them (isn't she lovely?).

My girls both love buses so I wasn't too worried about doing the coach things to sandiego etc as long as we didn't do it one day after the other.

Oh and yes we are going to Waikiki, mainly for a wind down before heading home (oh and it's DH's 30th birthday and he wanted to go to Hawaii - he's doing some mountain biking tour while I enjoy the shops and water )

I'll read through all the notes and keep it for future reference.

 

[madfelice]

I bought our family the 14 day hopper pass on expedia .com.au, This way i paid for it in AUD and didnt have to pay any conversion charges , It cost the same as the disneyland website. I just printed the vouchers. We will be in anaheim on may the 4th.

You may find that although you are told the AU dollar amount by expedia you are actually charged by a US company on Expedia's behalf and DO actually have to pay a conversion fee. That's what happened to me and because I was booking 3 separate things together they were separated and I was charged 3 conversion fees anyway. My credit card company told me it is not uncommon.

 

[melbarkwith]

We were thinking of doing this on our next trip but apparantly these companies won't deliver if you don't have a US credit card. Which company did you use and how did you get round that?

I ordered from Albertsons.com with my Visa debit card. It was a Westpac card, and I had no problems.

Mel

 

[lampardcl]

You may find that although you are told the AU dollar amount by expedia you are actually charged by a US company on Expedia's behalf and DO actually have to pay a conversion fee. That's what happened to me and because I was booking 3 separate things together they were separated and I was charged 3 conversion fees anyway. My credit card company told me it is not uncommon.

True i really didnt get any conversion fee's at the .com.au site. I booked 2 rooms at Park Vue Inn and 6 x 14 day hopper passes and got no extra charges on my credit card. But i do know what you are talking about, because i also booked 6 x RT HNL to LAX with ATA and was charged 6 x seperately and received charges i didnt even know about like a cross border fee of about $5.00 for each passenger . With all the extra fee's it added another $50.00 to the booking. So i will be paying mainly cash when on holidays to avoid any extra suprises.

 

[jennifur25]

Just poking my head in this thread to say hi to all the kiwis! I'm not a kiwi but I'm married to one We took the boys there right after their first birthday and it's such a beautiful country. We flew into Christchurch and drove down to Invercargill.. just beautiful!

 

[kylieh]

I ordered from Albertsons.com with my Visa debit card. It was a Westpac card, and I had no problems.

Hey - thanks for letting us know. We've heard so many negatives about international CCs (including my own after I emailed both Albertsons and Vons) who both said no!!!!

It will make life a lot easier for all of us, and we can give it a go.

True i really didnt get any conversion fee's at the .com.au site. I booked 2 rooms at Park Vue Inn and 6 x 14 day hopper passes and got no extra charges on my credit card. But i do know what you are talking about, because i also booked 6 x RT HNL to LAX with ATA and was charged 6 x seperately and received charges i didnt even know about like a cross border fee of about $5.00 for each passenger . With all the extra fee's it added another $50.00 to the booking. So i will be paying mainly cash when on holidays to avoid any extra suprises.

And thanks for the heads up on the international processing fees on per passenger rather than 1 bulk transaction. I have conversions factored in, but anywhere and how I can save money is the aim.