We’re Coming all the way from the Land Down Under! Jan 2012 PTR

[PrincessInOz]

Oh No!

Can the Genius Bar help?

 

[OziJo]

Can the Genius Bar help?

We made an appointment. She's taking it into the city store. We used to have one at our local shopping centre but they closed down. The earliest we could get was Sunday 3.45pm.

P.S. Your smilies say it all and they made me . Have bookmarked that page.

 

[OziJo]

88 Days to Go!!

 

[OziJo]

87 Days to Go!!
86 Days to Go!!

Wow my countdown is really moving along!

I'm starting to think about the things I haven't done yet. I still need to buy tickets to Universal. We have decided to buy a 2 day park to park pass and was thinking about crossing it off my list asap. There is the option to print at home or pick them up. Any suggestions as to which is best?

The other thing is hiring a car for our first four days. I'd like to have that all sorted to pick up from somewhere in WDW before we leave home. From what I gather it's probably best to wait until closer to the time to see if there are any discounts happening. Any suggestions as to who to go with? Price is always going to be an option but convenience of pick up is probably a priority. I will contact my TP re this but any suggestions prior would be appreciated.

Also I have been pretty laid back with Honolulu arrangements. I was thinking that we would have the Macbook with us and we could go online and see if there are any specials on tours for the day.

Unfortunately the nail polish remover destroyed it (see 2 posts back) and DD1 is going to have to buy a new one. The Genius guy was really nice. He is giving her a 10% discount and free one-on-one to salvage what they can from her hard- drive. Anyway it has made me think twice about taking it away with us.

So...I'm now looking at day to tours from Honolulu. We will definitely be doing a trip to Pearl Harbor and out to north shore. I also want to do a day trip to The Big Island for a volcano tour. With a computer (the hotel has free in-room wifi!) we could do research and compare prices but without one we are reliant on the concierge desk and their vested interests.

DH & DD1 said we shouldn't take it with us because they wouldn't need it. But they just don't understand how much easier it is to book stuff and it would give us the flexibility to decide when we get there. We are not the types to just sit on the beach for 10 days but we also don't want to be over scheduled. Maybe I will just relax and let DH decide what we will be doing. Mmmm not too sure I can do that...me DH

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hi Jo. Looks like things are coming along nicely....and not!

You're staying in WDW and using that as a base to go to UA, aren't you? That being the case, you might want to consider printing at home and/or downloading to your laptop so that you have the tix on hand and don't have to worry about it. You could consider the Will-Call option if the pick up for the tix is at the gate. I think it is....but I walked up and bought tix at the gate when I went.

If you want to pick up a car at WDW, then you're only looking at National/Alamo as the option. They have premises right on the Disney property....as well as a desk at the Swan/Dolphin hotel. You will have more options if you pick up the car from MCO.

Why don't you hire a car in Honolulu as well? That way you have the option of going where you want without the issue of taking tours....it might work out cheaper for you than booking in tours for all of you. Driving in Oahu is pretty easy compared to the mainland.....traffic isn't as bad. And it is a little/lot slower than the mainland. That way you could head out to the various locations in Honolulu for half a day excursion and come back for half a day on a beach....or a different beach on the other side of the island.

The alternative is public transport. From memory, the bus system in Honolulu works reasonably well.....will take a little longer but the scenery isn't bad.

 

[OziJo]

Thanks for your reply PrincessInOz

but I walked up and bought tix at the gate when I went.

I just checked and Universal website says that you can save $20 on all multi-day tixs if you buy online. For us that's $100! I'm just tossing up whether to pick up there or print at home. I don't mind printing at home but then there is the worry that I will leave them at home. I tried to find out where to pick them up but it doesn't really say. I suppose there is a particular line. Do you know? If It's not much more hassle at least I know the tickets will be there when we arrive. One less thing to carry.

DH doesn't want to pick up the car from MCO because we will be getting in at 9pm and he doesn't want the hassle of driving on the "wrong" side of the road that late at night. So National/Alamo? Are the same company or two different? If they are on the premises sounds great. . We will arrange to pick up next day after a sleep in.

We will hire a car in Honolulu but not for the whole time. Another decision I was hoping to leave until we got there but if no laptop I might have to arrange a car before we go. So I have to figure when and for how long then I have to work it out with DH who won't want to think about it now cause's he's or . and he does go to work too...

 

[PrincessInOz]

For that saving, I would buy it on line too.

If you decide to print at home, you will be given the pdf?, sent to your email. If so, then even if you lose the tix and you have access to a PC, you can open your email and re-print the tickets again. I wouldn't worry too much about losing this on the way. We've certainly way-laid stuff in bags and its been easier to re-print rather than upend bags looking for papers. And you're staying at Disney....they will be more than happy to help you out.

For your Will-Call tix, I assume that there will be the option to pick up at Guest Relations; which at IoA, from a rather faulty memory, I believe is on the right hand side of the entry gates where the queue starts. I would definitely check this out...if not on-line on the UA site; then post a thread on the UA section of the boards. Pretty sure someone will be able to help there.

Alamo is the "budget arm" of National. They are on the WDW property - but it is a VERY big plot of land. I understand that they are happy to come and pick you up to their premise if you're calling from a Disney resort. Allow about 3 - 4 hours for when you get picked up to getting the car. I haven't checked the transport board in a long time...but that seemed to be the standard complaint on the board. It probably takes much less time...but if you plan for the worst, then you'll be happier with less time. Alamo has a different website to National.

If you go on the Alamo website, you will have the option for different pick up and drop off locations. It might be worth considering dropping off at MCO and using the car instead of ME.

Another thing about car hire...have you looked at prices for car hire in Honolulu? It may be more value for money if you have more days; rather than less.

 

[Mum from oz]

Hi Jo, another Aussie subbing! Firstly it's nice to put a face to the name on the screen. Helps me remember everyone's trips a bit better. Reading through your plans it sounds wonderful. The time is really flying by!

As for Honolulu I second PIO and would be hiring a car. When we went in 2007 we hired a Mustang for the week and it was so easy to just drive around. We went to the North Shore and did a shard dive tour, Dole Plantation, Pearl Harbour/Arizona Memorial and we did have a day just spent driving around the whole island just stopping if we saw anything interesting. It was also handy to have the car for shopping sprees.

 

[OziJo]

85 Days to Go!!

Thanks for the car info PrincessInOz. I had a look at some info for National/Alamo and it seemed pretty straight forward and there seems to be quite a few places to pick the car up or use the Walt Disney World Car Care Center shuttle. Seems pretty easy but as with most things hope for the best but expect the worst.

Hi Mum from oz. Thanks for joining. Yes we will hire a car in Honolulu but maybe not for the whole time. All your ideas sound right up our alley!! I really do like the idea of the freedom the car gives you. We hired a car in Maui for a few days when we were there in 2009 and it was fantastic.

Here's a pic of DH & DD3 in Maui:

My ongoing obsession with weather continues and I found this great site. I entered my dates and it came up with some cool historical info.

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORL/1996/1/4/PlannerHistory.html?dayend=15&monthend=1&yearend=1996&req_city=Orlando&req_state=FL&req_statename=Florida

 

[Belle599]

Hi, I have finally clicked your signature from my TR and I am loving your PTR! I will be so interested to read about the Hawaii portion (especially) after your trip as we have never been but would like to in the next couple of years.

I was at WDW from Dec 30 2010 to Jan 5 2011 and on most days wore jeans, sneakers/socks with a Tshirt and light cotton sweater. The sweater came off during late morning and afternoon. If I went out at night, I wore a thick hoodie. I brought thin gloves but never really put them on. I live in Canada but am a cold person generally. I know the year before I went, there was a real cold snap and people were wearing winter coats/scarves etc.

So the moral of the story is to bring what you can layer. I had a toque (maybe you call it something else, but a wooly winter hat) that I brought in case it got really cold. If you have gloves, hat and just a hoodie I think you're fine for most Florida cold temperatures.

Your trip is getting so close! Have you thought about which parks you want to visit on which days?

 

[OziJo]

84 Days to Go!

3 things I learnt today while :

1. We definitely have to pick up our luggage at DFW. I always thought this to be so but had been reading around and became confused with references to being "checked-through" and QANTAS wonderfully vague ways of informing us of procedures. ie. from QANTAS website:

If both your flights are booked on the same single reservation and your flights are all with Qantas or Qantas and another oneworld® airline your baggage will be transferred between flights for you. You may need to check-in at the connecting point to obtain your next boarding pass from another oneworld carrier.

I understand now (thanks to DIS members on the Australia board) that this means that you still have to pick up your bags and go through customs at your first entry port but the bags don't need to be checked back in. They can just be placed at a drop off point.

2. We don't have to pay checked baggage fee on AA.

3. Waikiki Shores has onsite parking for $18.00/night. It's good to have onsite parking and the price is not too bad in comparison to other places but will have to take into consideration when looking at how long to rent a car.

 

[OziJo]

Hi, I have finally clicked your signature from my TR and I am loving your PTR! I will be so interested to read about the Hawaii portion (especially) after your trip as we have never been but would like to in the next couple of years.

Hi Belle. Thanks for joining me. My trip will be sooo different to yours with three teenagers. I know it will be fun but I will think of you when I sneak off for a quite coffee "solo".

I'll post plenty of Hawaii photos in my TR to entice you.

Your trip is getting so close! Have you thought about which parks you want to visit on which days?

Yes. We started off not being too scheduled but I made some ADR's and then the fitted the Parks around those. here's the plan:

Day 1- Arrive 9pm. Take DME to Fort Wilderness. Check in. Sleep

Day 2- Sleep in. Take a walk to Trails End for Breakfast. Pick up hire car. Go and buy groceries. Spend rest of day exploring FW

Day 3- Breakfast in Cabin. Head out to Universal/Potter World. Lunch at Universal. Dinner on way back.

Day 4- Breakfast in Cabin. Visit Kennedy Space Centre. Lunch at Kennedy. Dinner on way back.

Day 5- Breakfast in cabin. Recheck in. Revisit Potter World. Lunch at Potter World. Dinner Hoop Dee Doo Revue 6:15pm.

Day 6- Breakfast in Cabin. Magic Kingdom. Lunch and dinner CS.

Day7- Breakfast in Cabin. Epcot. Lunch CS Dinner La Hacienda San Angel 6:30pm

Day 8- Breakfast in Cabin. Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Lunch and dinner CS.

Day 9- Light breakfast in Cabin. Magic Kingdom. Brunch at Crystal Palace 10:20pm. Afternoon TBC. Dinner CS

Day 10- Breakfast in Cabin. Animal Kingdom. CS lunch. Artists Point dinner.

Day 11- Breakfast in Cabin. Revisit favourite parks. CS lunch and dinner.

Day 12- Depart 9.20 flight.

 

[lisateaches]

Love that historical weather site. I got to see what the actual highs were last year while we were there. For the last two years it has been kind of cold. The years before that were warm. Let's hope this year is warm

 

[OziJo]

83 Days to Go!

Love that historical weather site. I got to see what the actual highs were last year while we were there. For the last two years it has been kind of cold. The years before that were warm. Let's hope this year is warm

The cold doesn't worry me so much. What I like is that there's not much wind and rain at that time. In Sydney the temps in winter are similar but we get a lot more rain (except during periods of drought but that's another story). So as Belle599 said:

... the moral of the story is to bring what you can layer. I had a toque (maybe you call it something else, but a wooly winter hat) that I brought in case it got really cold. If you have gloves, hat and just a hoodie I think you're fine for most Florida cold temperatures.

Toque. We would call that a "beanie" and they are surprisingly fashionable at the moment so we will have no problems throwing a beanie each in. In fact last trip our first stop was San Fran and our first shopping spree was a hat shop. DD2, 3 and me bought beanies. DD1 and DH bought brimmed hats. Here's a photo:

Here's a more recent photo of DD2 in her Toque/beanie. So fashionable:

 

[OziJo]

82 Days to Go!
81 Days to Go!

After reading some TR from Australians with recommendations that we shouldn't have anything planned for the next day, I've been thinking of using a Grocery Delivery service. That way we will have everything when we arrive and we can relax at FW for the day instead of heading out to buy groceries, I job I hate at the best of times. It will also mean we won't have to pick up our car until later and we can spend the day catching up on sleep and exploring at our own pace. Sound like a plan?

Garden Grocer comes highly recommended and I understand they deliver straight to the room but I have a couple of questions:

1. What is the latest they deliver. We arrive at 9pm and I don't want the groceries too early in case anything spoils?
2. In relation to q1. how do the groceries come. Is the cold stuff in insulated bags?

I will do some more research but in the meantime if anyone here has had any experience with deliveries I loved to hear about.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Jo - I know that the current TRs have shown that a number of the Sept/Oct travellers had jetlag and took the day to recover. I would recommend that you keep it flexible. The trip across affects people differently. I've never had jetlag going across, along with a number of other Aussies who have also travelled across the pond.

With your teens, you may find that they are all raring to go go go go go the next day.

But Garden Grocer does come highly recommended. I've never used them; so hopefully someone else will come along and advise. I did look at them for one of my trips..but I only wanted water and some fruit delivered. It didn't meet the minimum spend for delivery.

 

[OziJo]

Jo - I know that the current TRs have shown that a number of the Sept/Oct travellers had jetlag and took the day to recover. I would recommend that you keep it flexible. The trip across affects people differently. I've never had jetlag going across, along with a number of other Aussies who have also travelled across the pond.

I also think that the heat and humidity is making it worse for some. We won't have that problem in Jan.

With your teens, you may find that they are all raring to go go go go go the next day

I hope we all are. But remember we don't have Park tickets for the first 4 days so day 2 is free time. Day 3 Harry Potter Day 4 KSC Day 5 Universal again and Hoop Dee Doo. Then 6 Days Park Hopper and Free Dining.

Still it would be good to have groceries delivered and at least have something to eat when we wake. Then we have our options open whether to set out and explore or take it easy and not waste time in a grocery store.
On that point I wonder how we are going to feel being so close but not able to go to the parks. At least at FW we won't feel the Theme Park pull so much. Lots to explore there.

 

[PrincessInOz]

If you have free time, I'd recommend looking into an excursion such as going on an air boat. I did one down in the Florida Everglades and it was a lot of fun. Certainly not something that you'd do in Oz.

If it were me, I woudn't be able to cope with being that close and not going to a park.

 

[Belle599]

I love the photos of your family in their beanies! I have also heard Americans say beanies before.
To me, when I hear "beanie" I think of a hat with a propeller, like this:

Your itinerary sounds fabulous!

I think that using garden grocer is a good idea if you hate grocery shopping.

Mousesavers talks about 2 services: Garden Grocer and Wegoshop
http://www.mousesavers.com/meals.html#groceries

I have never used either but I do hear Garden Grocer mentioned a lot on disboards.

With the potential for jetlag, I think its a good idea to not have solid plans for the first day. What about making a short list of things that might be fun to do in case the kids want to go exploring?

If you don't want to burn a day on your ticket, here are a few favourites:

-Take the monorail to each of the 3 monorail resorts and check out the lobbies, shops, and grounds of each
-Rent a boat and go for a tour of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon
-Walk around the Boardwalk (making sure you stop for a treat at the Boardwalk Bakery!) and check out the lobbies of the 3 resorts
-Go to Downtown Disney, have a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich and stop in at Ghiradelli for dessert

Have some ideas and then wait and see what your family feels like doing.

I understand that Fort Wilderness has plenty to explore as well and many activities so I think you have plenty of options!

 

[OziJo]

80 Days to Go!:
79 Days to Go!!

Such wonderful ideas from PrincessInOz and Belle. Thank you It would certainly be a shame wasting our free day when there is so much to do.

The airboat sounds like fun. Where can we do that? Would you be able to walk up and book that or would we have to pre-book.

I love all your ideas Belle. I will definitely add them to my short list. I will make a special post for my short list and add things as they come up.