The 'so far to travel' threads make me laugh!

[WanderlustNZ]

I can't help it, and have to stop myself from being a one-upper with a "You think YOU have a long way to travel..." kinda reply. The latest one in the DL thread says that it will be a whopping 11 hours from door to door for them to get to DL OMG!!! I feel like replying with the 24 hour+ door to door that I will be doing - with a 2, 4 and 6 year old in tow - which would be longer still if we were going to WDW. I restrain myself and know that I have a lot less to travel than our WA friends so I shouldn't complain. Cracks me up that 11 hours door to door is a long time though, but I guess it is for some people. Maybe it's just that we have to go long haul if we want to go OS to anywhere but NZ and we're just use to it...

(and in other news - 8 days to go!)

Slightly different, but I'm usually quite shocked by how far Americans do drive to get to the theme parks. The time spent travelling is way less than us, but usually we are safely resting on the plane. I'm always shocked by the number of posts I see on the Dis of people who are talking about leaving from work on Friday and driving 15 hours through the night to get to Orlando on Saturday. I can't fathom how that could ever be safe???

I know US roads are much wider, straighter, and more well-lit than NZ's narrow country roads, but driver fatigue is one of the number one killers on NZ roads. Irrespective of the condition of the road, it does scare me that people are doing those long drives without proper breaks.

I used to give a lot of advice on Trip Advisor to people coming to NZ. The comment I found myself writing on an almost daily basis: "For the safety of others on the road, please don't try to do that much driving all in one day". It was usually Americans who were the most horrified that I was trying to change their 'see all of NZ in 7 days and drive 12 hours a day' holidays, down to a 'see half of the South Island and drive 4-6 hours per day' holiday. On the flipside, at least those posters had the good sense to check their itinerary first. It's the ones that don't ask that I worry about.

 

[MsMinne]

Slightly different, but I'm usually quite shocked by how far Americans do drive to get to the theme parks. The time spent travelling is way less than us, but usually we are safely resting on the plane. I'm always shocked by the number of posts I see on the Dis of people who are talking about leaving from work on Friday and driving 15 hours through the night to get to Orlando on Saturday. I can't fathom how that could ever be safe???
.

When I read this I immediately thought of national lampoons vacation

 

[kylieh]

I see on the Dis of people who are talking about leaving from work on Friday and driving 15 hours through the night to get to Orlando on Saturday. I can't fathom how that could ever be safe???

I know US roads are much wider, straighter, and more well-lit than NZ's narrow country roads, but driver fatigue is one of the number one killers on NZ roads. Irrespective of the condition of the road, it does scare me that people are doing those long drives without proper breaks.

Me too! I sometimes fell like saying "don't you know stop revive survive... every two hours!!.." It would take us two days now to drive Sydney to Gold Coast (we fly though..) as driving that much in a day when you're not used to it isn't good!

When I read this I immediately thought of national lampoons vacation

 

[WanderlustNZ]

When I read this I immediately thought of national lampoons vacation

I didn't think of that.

 

[heidispidi]

Last time I was at DL was when the BIG Brisbane floods were happening, in 2010. We got talking to some people at rope drop who picked that we were Aussie, and actually KNEW there were floods occurring. They were concerned for our houses, but we were able to tell them that Brisbane was 1000km (or thereabouts) from Sydney, so ours were ok. That same day, we actually met a family whose house WAS underwater in Brisbane, but their attitude was that this was their last day of their trip and they were trying to put it out of their minds. They were very strong people, I would have been a mess.

 

[jacs1234]

We were mistaken a lot for British. lol We actually bumped into another Aussie in the laundry room and I didn't even pick that he was an Aussie lol He was like "Of course I am mate" lol

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

I had a smart alec Yank ask me which part of New Zealand I was from, even after a conversation telling him I was from Perth.
So I then asked him what province of Canada he was from. He wasn't such a smart r's again after that.

Two can play at that game. Even us stupid "New Zealanders"....

 

[PrincessInOz]

I had a smart alec Yank ask me which part of New Zealand I was from, even after a conversation telling him I was from Perth.
So I then asked him what province of Canada he was from. He wasn't such a smart r's again after that.

Two can play at that game. Even us stupid "New Zealanders"....

You should have told him that you were in the West Island of New Zealand.

 

[zanzibar138]

So glad it's not just me! I really have to bite my tongue sometime (or put my hands behind my back ).

And I think it's HILARIOUS that they think it's too far to go to the other coast! Oh, and I had to stop reading a thread where people were talking about why there's really no need to travel anywhere but WDW, because in Epcot you can visit countries all over the world

I was reading a TR on the DLP boards by an American, who made such enlightening statements as 'in Europe they don't really do American breakfasts' And don't even get me started on the whinging about the 8 hour 'long haul' flight! She even changed into pyjamas! I managed to stop myself typing a response about my flights to Europe (ie 4 hour flight to Perth, 8 hour flight to HK, THEN a 12 hour flight to Paris).

Having said that, when we were actually in the US, most people were able to guess where we were from, and we never heard anything silly about Australia. We came across quite a few well-informed, open-minded people, some of whom had actually been here

 

[Jadeey]

Slightly different, but I'm usually quite shocked by how far Americans do drive to get to the theme parks. The time spent travelling is way less than us, but usually we are safely resting on the plane. I'm always shocked by the number of posts I see on the Dis of people who are talking about leaving from work on Friday and driving 15 hours through the night to get to Orlando on Saturday. I can't fathom how that could ever be safe???

I know US roads are much wider, straighter, and more well-lit than NZ's narrow country roads, but driver fatigue is one of the number one killers on NZ roads. Irrespective of the condition of the road, it does scare me that people are doing those long drives without proper breaks.

I get worried about the amount some people mention driving too. I'm always so tired after work I couldn't imagine then driving 15 hours! No question I'd fall asleep at the wheel.

 

[Snickals]

Ditto to all the previous comments lol I also find it amusing when they stress over how to keep their children entertained on such long flights...you know for 2 or 3 hours lol We have a 30min, 13hr than 5hr flights (not to mention waiting in airports).

My first trip to WDW though we were standing in line to meet a character that was taking a 'break' and the cast member was asking people in line where they came from, they all said American cities "wow that's far" etc. until they got to me "OMG! Hands down she wins!" lol was a funny experience!

 

[ssour]

We were mistaken a lot for British. lol We actually bumped into another Aussie in the laundry room and I didn't even pick that he was an Aussie lol He was like "Of course I am mate" lol

I get British all the time too and I can never pick Aussies out of the crowd. DH picks them out from a mile away and I'm left looking around clueless.

I know US roads are much wider, straighter, and more well-lit than NZ's narrow country roads, but driver fatigue is one of the number one killers on NZ roads. Irrespective of the condition of the road, it does scare me that people are doing those long drives without proper breaks.

I think the US roads being wider and straighter make fatigue a bigger problem. They can set cruise control and do very little, recipe for falling asleep! At least with windy roads you're thinking and doing something. If I have to drive home late at night I much prefer driving the manual car to the auto as it keeps me thinking and awake.



I once had someone comment on the amount of luggage I was checking in with, he didn't really understand what I meant when I told him it was mostly empty - I of course planned on doing a lot of shopping! I don't think they realise how much stuff costs over here. One guy in a shoe store was apologetic that the style we wanted wasn't on sale, I think he thought I was exaggerating when I told him that his full price was less than half our full price at home!

 

[Charmel]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

 

[elphaba91]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

That's really not the case at all, and I'm surprised that you got that impression from this thread. As far as I can tell, the main points have been:

1. Australians are jealous of Americans for having Disney right on their doorsteps and surprised they don't realise how lucky they are.
2. Australians are surprised how little some Americans seem to know about Australia (but the Kiwis are mostly impressed with their knowledge of NZ).
3. Australians are concerned for the safety of U.S. citizens driving such lengthy distances as this would not be done in Australia.

Nothing was said about disliking Americans. If Australians disliked Americans so much would we really be watching so many American tv shows and movies, listening to American music, wearing American branded clothing and eating American branded food? And if the participants in this thread in particular really disliked Americans, would they be spending such exorbitant amounts of money and travelling such lengthy distances to visit your country?

 

[ssour]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

Definitely not dislike Charmel, just jealousy LOL! I know I'd love to live in the States so I was closer to Disney World, great shopping, Disney Stores and Hershey's Stores - yep, green with envy!

 

[ssour]

That's really not the case at all, and I'm surprised that you got that impression from this thread. As far as I can tell, the main points have been:

1. Australians are jealous of Americans for having Disney right on their doorsteps and surprised they don't realise how lucky they are.
2. Australians are surprised how little some Americans seem to know about Australia (but the Kiwis are mostly impressed with their knowledge of NZ).
3. Australians are concerned for the safety of U.S. citizens driving such lengthy distances as this would not be done in Australia.

Nothing was said about disliking Americans. If Australians disliked Americans so much would we really be watching so many American tv shows and movies, listening to American music, wearing American branded clothing and eating American branded food? And if the participants in this thread in particular really disliked Americans, would they be spending such exorbitant amounts of money and travelling such lengthy distances to visit your country?

Point 2 made me think of Australia's representation in it's a small world! Um platypus eggs are teeny tiny and is the statue supposed to be a moai from Easter Island?

ETA: or the blue tongue lizard at conservation station in AK that is found in Australia, PNG and Tasmania!?!?

 

[kylieh]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

That's really not the case at all, and I'm surprised that you got that impression from this thread. As far as I can tell, the main points have been:

1. Australians are jealous of Americans for having Disney right on their doorsteps and surprised they don't realise how lucky they are.
2. Australians are surprised how little some Americans seem to know about Australia (but the Kiwis are mostly impressed with their knowledge of NZ).
3. Australians are concerned for the safety of U.S. citizens driving such lengthy distances as this would not be done in Australia.

Nothing was said about disliking Americans. If Australians disliked Americans so much would we really be watching so many American tv shows and movies, listening to American music, wearing American branded clothing and eating American branded food? And if the participants in this thread in particular really disliked Americans, would they be spending such exorbitant amounts of money and travelling such lengthy distances to visit your country?

I'll add that the Au/NZ sense of humour is slightly different, and a lot more dry.

And I would love to be a 13 hour drive compared to 13 hour flight - yep jealous!

Adding to point 2 - I believe that at least in Australia, we're built up by the media and politicians to believe that the world knows a lot about us, the capitals, geography, people, attractions, everything. We then become shocked, especially on first visit, to discover how little is actually known.

 

[Marlea98]

It's approximately 1600klms (we don't use miles so I can't tell you what that equates to) from where I live (a large regional city in Queensland) to our capital city. It's a similar distance from Melbourne to Brisbane in Queensland. My friends in Melbourne keep asking me if I go to the Gold Coast on weekends To them, Queensland stops at the Gold Coast

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[Marlea98]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

No, not disliked but envied.

I've got family in Montana who see nothing wrong in travelling to Europe for a holiday but think visiting Australia and New Zealand is too far to go (and one of them was originally from NZ!).

We Australians love visiting other countries, and sadly, many of us have no idea what a great country we already have and rarely are tourists in our own country. Australian media feed us a steady stream of US culture through tv shows, movies, music, fashion and more. We know more about 'your' celebrities and politicians than we do our own.

Our sense of humour is more akin to that of the Brits. Americans seem to have a different sense of humour but we embrace that too.

For what it's worth, I don't just envy the easy access to Disney that those of you in America and Canada (or the great discounts Disney offers to those in Britain), I am insanely jealous of those in America who have a steady supply of molasses chips from See's Candy! It's a 16 hour (two plane) flight from where I live to LAX just to get my See's fix

Dislike? Definitely not.

Envy and jealousy? Definitely.

You guys (see, another American term we've embraced) don't realise how good you've got it

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[WAMUMOF4]

Wow. I guess I AM uneducated about your side of the world. I never knew we Americans were so disliked.

Your kidding right this is one of those 'Gotcha' comments
We all spend thousands of $$ to get to America and a whole day as in 23 hours travel time for me and then spend Thousands of $$$ whilst we are in your country and we dislike Americans

This thread says nothing at all about disliking Americans at all for many of us we scrimp and save all year to be able to come back there are other Disney options with less travel time we still choose America