Orlando & Florida - Questions & Answers (Part 1) *CLOSED*

Murphy_The_Cat

ckerrd wrote: »

I find TC dead easy to use.
And I have of course pre-ordered my cash from travelex.

no worries. :beer:

I was very surprised at the difference between the store price and the online price with travelex - if you were buying 'quite a bit' the difference would be very substantial.



p.s. the last time I was in the US, the exchange rate on my CC was excellent - better than both TC's or cash, once all charges had been included.

ckerrd

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

no worries. :beer:

I was very surprised at the difference between the store price and the online price with travelex - if you were buying 'quite a bit' the difference would be very substantial.



p.s. the last time I was in the US, the exchange rate on my CC was excellant - better than both TC's or cash, once all charges had been included.

A very good point. I think that some people see the rate online and assume that is what they will get if they just turn up.

Many moons ago having ordered my Guilders online I arrived to find that the travelex guy had no note of this order. He said it wasn't a problem and that he could give me the money, but at the "over the counter" rate. Only when I produced my email confirmation did he agree to give me the online rate. He didn't seem too pleased but it was 5 am and he was still half asleep.
Always take confirmation of any transaction with you.

moob_2

troll35 wrote: »

Well we're down to 12 days and counting til we go and I'm now starting to think about our holiday money. What do you florida buffs take with you? travellers cheques or dollars? I've got a post office credit card to avoid all those extra fees levied by most card companies but you can't pay for everything on a card. I've really no idea even how much we are likely to spend whilst there. We won't be on a budget but we won't be able to go overboard either. Any suggestions?

thanks

Have to strongly disagree with the above suggestions re: exchange rates etc.

Although all these companies state that there is no commission in their rates, that is in fact a fallacy, the commission is built-in to the rate given. They don't give you the interbank rate given by Nationwide Debit Card cash withdrawals.

Sorry, but I guess this is something to consider for the future when you go again, as I see you're leaving in 12 days.

Edinburghlass_2

ckerrd wrote: »

Agree with Edinburghlass. Did the same TC deal. Will pick up some dollars from Travelex at the airport on Friday when we leave.

I have never had any bother at all with travellers cheques, and at the commission free $2=£1, I am happy with what I got

Enjoy your holiday :j

Can't say I had any bother with TC's either, they were taken everywhere from big shop to small shop and restaurants. I was slightly concerned that the town car picking us up might want cash so I emailed before we left to ask and he said he took anything, even a smile

I tried that when I went to pay him but he didn't fall for it!

ckerrd

I once signed one of my OHs TCs to pay for a meal in a restaurant. When I pointed out the error the staff were not in the slightest bothered and cashed it anyway. In terms of fraud most worrying.

But what the heck, I have got them and this time tomorrow I shall be getting ready to take off. (Hopefully)

annievtaylor

A good place for Tickets is maple leaf (mapleleaftickets.com/) . They are based in Kissimmee and offer real discounts with no timeshare or gimmicks etc. you can even buy and leave the tickets with them until you arrive in Orlando and they deliver to the Hotel for you....they are truly the best.
Seaworld offer cheap 1 and 2 year passports which you can pay for monthly with no interest and also work out cheaper in many cases than a regular ticket. It will be valid for your entire stay...give you free parking and discount on food , drink and goods in the park. Plus , flash it when you buy your discovery cove tickets (DONT buy them in the UK....too expensive) and you will also get discount.

annievtaylor

Best place for currency is crowncurrencyexchange.com or Thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk....best rates bar none

tonyk_2

Every time you go to a theme park you think... I'll easily remember where I parked my car... not so simple after a hectic day.

All the car parks have various names and lane numbers... so why not take a quick photo with your digital camera of the car park name and number.

We tried it this year and it worked a treat... cost's you nothing and it's easier to thumb through your pictures than wander around the car parks trying to find your car.... delete the picture when your finished.

Scots_Girl

tonyk wrote: »

Every time you go to a theme park you think... I'll easily remember where I parked my car... not so simple after a hectic day.

All the car parks have various names and lane numbers... so why not take a quick photo with your digital camera of the car park name and number.

We tried it this year and it worked a treat... cost's you nothing and it's easier to thumb through your pictures than wander around the car parks trying to find your car.... delete the picture when your finished.

Good idea.

And a couple of other suggestions:

Take a photo of your rental car (including the number plate!) when you first collect it. Makes it easier to find in any car park - particularly useful in the first few days of your holiday.

If all else fails, and the rental car has an alarm, press the alarm button on the keyring. This one worked for me on day 1 of my holiday - parked in a large field with thousands of other cars for an airshow & couldn't find my car at the end of the day. So, switched on the alarm, and followed the noise.

Poppy9

Another fan of travellers cheques here. If you take £500 in cash and lose it or have it stolen - it's gone. Travellers cheques will be replaced in 24 hours.

Also careful where you use your credit/debit card. I came back to a nice surprise from Florida the first year. My cc had been overcharged by hundreds of pounds. Took a few months and lots of stress to get it sorted with the CC company. Luckily I had all my receipts but I didn't need the stress.

Also when I was in Ibiza a few years ago cards were getting retained in a bank's cashpoint machine. Lots of tourist were stranded without money as the bank wouldn't give the cards back.