180 + 10 = ADRs booked.

[kylieh]

i heard on the news that in usa 25% of homes under mortgage owe more than the value of the home

thats an incredible figure which im hoping will keep our dollar high for some time to come

of course there is more to it than that

I think it will be high for ages too. Really I do. Everytime in recent years we've seen the $$ drop its been the biggest in late Sept/early October.

yay for you!

I have put money on a travel card to pay for our trip. Cant afford to watch the dollar go down (I am not a gambler!)

I was thinking today it wasnt that long ago the $A was only worth 50c US - there is no way we would be going on this trip if it was costing twice as much.

Totally understand. this is a bit of a budget trip for us.

Remember when it plummeted in 2008? We were in Four Seasons Las Vegas breakfast room when DH opened the paper and it went from 93? to almost 68 overnight! We had paid for everything and preloaded a travel card. But it was scary!

I wanted a watch in DL, it was one of those hand painted ones, relatively exe, perhaps US$800. I hadn't purchased anything for me that whole trip. DH kept saying, laying the guilt trip on "it's a $1400 watch now..." Even though I had enough converted $$$. ".. buy it if you want... just saying...." I didn't buy that watch. I guess that plays in the back of my mind now.

I've transferred the $ onto the CC, so now I'm going to start preloading a travel card or perhaps get one of the HSBC US$ accounts. I think it needs a AU$1000 min balance.

 

[Travel Mum]

I am so envious of you Aussies with your U.S. exchange rate. We were doing okay (for us) but now, since the earthquake, our dollar seems to be in freefall against the USD (and the AUD). At the end of today, it was 0.73. I feel very guilty for feeling so selfish, considering the tragic reason that this has happened, but have to admit I'm gutted and there may be no shopping on this holiday for us anymore I had already put enough US$ on a Travel card to pay for the WDW booking so I'm very relieved I did that though of course wish I'd been able to put more on.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I pulled out my Credit Card and did a major purchase.

WE'VE PAID IN FULL.

Both rooms. Now I know we had to August but something was bugging me to pay off the trip while the dollar is parity. Don't know why, so it's paid. YES!

Then I went and purchased some water shoes Mary Janes from Landsend. Wasn't going to purchase today, but was clicking around starting to look and found some in Overstocks for US$9.97. Got a couple of pairs for me, a pair of normal priced ones for DH, and SIL was here and wanted a couple of things for their trip to NZ in a couple of weeks. And she got some water shoes too!

Too early for DD and DN to get Water shoes for as their feet will groooowwww.

Congratulations
It feels so good to pay in full doesn't it! At the moment when I get paid I am separating out the money I need to survive (rent, bills, food), and then everything else is going towards the holiday. I am paying off as much as possible while the $ is still good.

I checked out the site you posted for the shoes, they do look really good. I was so tempted to buy them but I really didn't want to pay the postage for only one pair.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I am so envious of you Aussies with your U.S. exchange rate. We were doing okay (for us) but now, since the earthquake, our dollar seems to be in freefall against the USD (and the AUD). At the end of today, it was 0.73. I feel very guilty for feeling so selfish, considering the tragic reason that this has happened, but have to admit I'm gutted and there may be no shopping on this holiday for us anymore I had already put enough US$ on a Travel card to pay for the WDW booking so I'm very relieved I did that though of course wish I'd been able to put more on.

I know how you feel, when the QLD floods happened I thought that the AUS$ would fall so I paid for a lot of things and put money on a travel money card incase. In the end it turned out it didn't effect the $ at all. But at the time I felt pretty guilty that people were losing their houses and what I had on my mind was a holiday.

I am sorry you aren't going to get as much for your money, but at least you have got most of it paid, so you can still have a good time.

 

[kylieh]

I am so envious of you Aussies with your U.S. exchange rate. We were doing okay (for us) but now, since the earthquake, our dollar seems to be in freefall against the USD (and the AUD). At the end of today, it was 0.73. I feel very guilty for feeling so selfish, considering the tragic reason that this has happened, but have to admit I'm gutted and there may be no shopping on this holiday for us anymore I had already put enough US$ on a Travel card to pay for the WDW booking so I'm very relieved I did that though of course wish I'd been able to put more on.

I had a look - AU$1/ NZ$1.36. When we went to Auckland 11 years ago it was $1.27, I don't think I've ever seen it at that level. Hopefully it will return to a normal level for you.

Congratulations
It feels so good to pay in full doesn't it! At the moment when I get paid I am separating out the money I need to survive (rent, bills, food), and then everything else is going towards the holiday. I am paying off as much as possible while the $ is still good.

I checked out the site you posted for the shoes, they do look really good. I was so tempted to buy them but I really didn't want to pay the postage for only one pair.

It does feel good, but I thought I'd be more excited. I feel kind of flat! I don't think I'd pay that postage for one pair of the shoes, but if you end up getting a bit of stuff it works out good.

 

[battymum]

You know I am not all that learned in global economics - but it seems to me the only people that benefit from such a strong $ is travellers and importers, basically anyone who wants to take their money out of the country - it is not really a good thing for our economy.

 

[kylieh]

So last night was 180+10... and drumroll..... I got all my ADRs. Even Ohana. Then I looked at the menu, and we changed our mind so we're going to Spirit of Aloha....


So here they are, for this week. They have changed a lot. And may change again pending availability. Probably not.

Saturday
24/09/2011 Liberty Tree Tavern 11:55 AM
24/09/2011 Disney's Spirit of Aloha Show 5:15 PM

Sunday
25/09/2011 Les Chefs de France 12:00 PM
25/09/2011 Akerhaus 6:35 PM

Monday
26/09/2011 1900 Park Fare 9:00 AM
26/09/2011 Raglan Road 5:45 PM

Tuesday
27/09/2011 Cinderella's Royal Table 8:10 AM
27/09/2011 Tony's Town Square 5:10 PM

Wednesday
28/09/2011 Hollywood and Vine 9:20 AM
28/09/2011 Wolfgang Puck® Café 6:00 PM

Thursday
29/09/2011 Tusker House 8:00 AM
29/09/2011 Rainforest Cafe - AK 1:00 PM

Friday
30/09/2011 Chef Mickeys 8:55 AM
30/09/2011 Yachtsman Steakhouse 5:00 PM

Saturday
01/10/2011 Crystal Palace 9:05 a.m

Illuminations Pontoon
Managed to get this for Friday night. We're eating at Yachtsman first, then leave at roughly 8.30 for Illuminations. Hope it doesn't rain.

Ohana came up as available on the first Saturday night at 6pm. Given it's discussed a lot on the Restaurant part of the boards I thought I would grab it. I then went and looked at the menu. We thought about it, and figured if we're going to visit Poly why not go to Spirit of Aloha instead. I cancelled Ohana and took the other.

Now it's a case of waiting waiting waiting.

 

[PrincessInOz]

So last night was 180+10... and drumroll..... I got all my ADRs. Even Ohana. Then I looked at the menu, and we changed our mind so we're going to Spirit of Aloha....


So here they are, for this week. They have changed a lot. And may change again pending availability. Probably not.

Saturday
24/09/2011 Liberty Tree Tavern 11:55 AM
24/09/2011 Disney's Spirit of Aloha Show 5:15 PM

Sunday
25/09/2011 Les Chefs de France 12:00 PM
25/09/2011 Akerhaus 6:35 PM

Monday
26/09/2011 1900 Park Fare 9:00 AM
26/09/2011 Raglan Road 5:45 PM

Tuesday
27/09/2011 Cinderella's Royal Table 8:10 AM
27/09/2011 Tony's Town Square 5:10 PM

Wednesday
28/09/2011 Hollywood and Vine 9:20 AM
28/09/2011 Wolfgang Puck® Café 6:00 PM

Thursday
29/09/2011 Tusker House 8:00 AM
29/09/2011 Rainforest Cafe - AK 1:00 PM

Friday
30/09/2011 Chef Mickeys 8:55 AM
30/09/2011 Yachtsman Steakhouse 5:00 PM

Saturday
01/10/2011 Crystal Palace 9:05 a.m

Illuminations Pontoon
Managed to get this for Friday night. We're eating at Yachtsman first, then leave at roughly 8.30 for Illuminations. Hope it doesn't rain.

Ohana came up as available on the first Saturday night at 6pm. Given it's discussed a lot on the Restaurant part of the boards I thought I would grab it. I then went and looked at the menu. We thought about it, and figured if we're going to visit Poly why not go to Spirit of Aloha instead. I cancelled Ohana and took the other.

Now it's a case of waiting waiting waiting.

Congratulation! Waiting, waiting, waiting.....and tweaking, tweaking, tweaking.

Your ADRs look great! Enjoy. May the countdown go quickly.

 

[Busy Busy]

Great job on getting all of your ADRs sorted out. I have done all of ours over this weekend as well and it's so great to see it all written down and confirmed! I think that I have spent 3 months trying to work them all out, going back and forth, plus working another family into a few of them!

So now I can go and plan for the other places that we are going to on this trip without the "scary 180 day deadline"!

You've also possibly inspired me to do a PTR, I still don't know where I'll find the time, (I should be writing cheques right now - but this place is addictive!!)

Anyway, congrats again and I'll keep an ear out for your Australian accent in late September!!

 

[marvel]

hey, let me ask you guys. How did you go about selecting where to eat? was it via reviews? or did you just really want to eat in particular places?

Only just starting to consider which places are must eats.

 

[kylieh]

You've also possibly inspired me to do a PTR, I still don't know where I'll find the time, (I should be writing cheques right now - but this place is addictive!!)

Anyway, congrats again and I'll keep an ear out for your Australian accent in late September!!

A pre trip report also makes a good diary of all the changes you've made!

Congratulation! Waiting, waiting, waiting.....and tweaking, tweaking, tweaking.

Your ADRs look great! Enjoy. May the countdown go quickly.

Thank you. Hope it goes quickly too. In the meantime, I'm in Melbourne now for a conference, coming down for the premiere of "love never dies" (sequel to Phantom of the Opera) and a couple more work trips. I've got lots of little trips to keep me busy in the meantime.

hey, let me ask you guys. How did you go about selecting where to eat? was it via reviews? or did you just really want to eat in particular places?

Only just starting to consider which places are must eats.

lots of different influences. For both Princess lunches they were a priority, but other than that it went on location, followed by reviews, menus, and pictures. Also characters we wanted to meet.

We also had some family discussions that went like:

me: Chinese or French?
DH: uh-ha whatever
DD: French please mummy. What's French like?
SIL: whatever you think...
Niece: what did [DD] say?



I choose Chefs de France.

 

[PrincessInOz]

You're in Melbourne??? When? Where? Wanna meet for coffee?

 

[kylieh]

You're in Melbourne??? When? Where? Wanna meet for coffee?

PM sent

 

[PrincessInOz]

PM sent

And responded. Thanks.

 

[Busy Busy]

We did Ariel's Grotto and Minnie's Breakfast when we were in DL in 2009, and all 4 of us were overwhelmed with how wonderful they were, so the first thing that I planned were character meals.

Then I looked at the restaurants that would give us the best 'Disney' experiences, and something that we couldn't get at home, as well as making sure that we saw some of the gorgeous deluxe resorts.

We are spending 12 nights so we have plenty of time, and we have free dining, so I could just about choose anywhere to eat.

I have just finished all of our dining reservations, and I have my spreadsheet printed out and in a plastic sleeve and I'm so proud of it - my DH thinks I'm mental! He's so happy to go along with whatever I have chosen, just as long as we get to see those same gorgeous reactions from the kids again (although this time DS13 will probably be checking out the princesses!!

Breakfasts: Tusker House, Crystal Palace, Akershus, Cape May, Cinderella's Royal Table, Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare.

Lunch: Sci-Fi

Dinners: T-Rex, 'Ohana, Rainforest Cafe, Rose & Crown (Pommy DH), Hoop Dee Doo, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Raglan Road (Ireland is close to where Poms come from), Teppan Edo, Crystal Palace, 1900 Park Fare.

Plus lots of CS places, MNSSHP, BBB and time in between to just eat in the resort food court.

Yikes, I'm exhausted just writing it!!

All of this took months of reading on disboards & trip advisor, (don't worry - I work full time & have 2 kids so I wasn't glued to the computer!) All worth it though, I love the planning part of a holiday, and this has been more fun than I could have ever thought.

By the way, Moonstruck was just on Foxtel, what a great movie, "snap out of it!!" Cher with a Noo Yawk accent, amazing!

 

[marvel]

wow busy busy, that's quite a list you have there.

We have been to crystal palace, chef mickeys, whispering canyon, mama melrose fantasmic package and rainforest cafe. So probably try something different next trip. Of those we would probably go to crystal palace and mamo melrose again.

I like the idea of sci fi diner and T REX, but just haven't had time to look into the others. Might just go with what the other aussies recommend, i trust you all.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

So last night was 180+10... and drumroll..... I got all my ADRs. Even Ohana. Then I looked at the menu, and we changed our mind so we're going to Spirit of Aloha....



Now it's a case of waiting waiting waiting.

Congratulations on getting all your ADRs!