The last week before the big trip.

My last week at work before the big holiday was frantic. I had to work a couple of nights. And I was panicking about my theme park bookings. All the hotels and car hire are booked, but I was debating about booking Disneyland and Legoland tickets online. I read in Trip Advisor that most hotels have discount vouchers. I convinced myself that it is better to get things done, than having to worry about it later. However, I only booked events that are must-see's. These are Disneyland, Legoland and Medieval Times. The visits to Yosemite, Monterey Aquarium, LA Tour and Pirates Dinner Adventure are all optional. I shall purchase those during the trip for certainty. Travelling with children makes life unpredictable.

For car rental, I trusted Hotwire for their deals. Hotwire will not ask nor charge your credit card. Instead, you pay the rental agency upon return of the vehicle. The cheapest deal was for an Enterprise car @$20.00 per day for a mid-size vehicle. The catch was that they seem not to allow a return of the car to a different location. Later, I was told that this is available for a whopping $75.00! I decided to just return the car early, and go to Avis. From memory, they never charged me a one-way fee. It is a good idea to go to the rental agency's website and print its details (address, directions, telephone numbers and hours of operation). Note that some agencies close early on Saturdays and are close on Sundays.

Here is a list of what I printed out. Having the magical iPhone, I also transferred all my pdf's from laptop to iPhone by using a free app called 'Discover'.

1 - Airtickets

2 - ESTA (Visa Waiver)

3 - all hotel bookings

4 - all car hire bookings and location details

5 - all theme park/event tickets

6 - Travel Insurance PDS

7 - 2 x Copies of passport (one went to Gambit's bag, the other left with friends/relatives)

8 - all RideMax itineraries (more on Ride Max in a separate post)

9 - Park hours and calendar of shows, events and parades on the day of visit

10 - Copy of credit card statement (if Travel Insurance is included in your credit card airfare purchase)

11 - Printout or a list of all essential addresses (groceries, chemists/pharmacies, good restaurants, shopping outlets you want to visit and the like)

I decided against booking a car hire upon arrival at LA airport. V Australia will arrive at 4pm. The 1.5 hour trip from LA to Oceanside is riddled with tiredness, lack of sleep, darkness, unknown roads and left-hand driving. I was hoping for either a taxi or a shared ride of some sort. I will pay gladly for the convenience.

MONEY MATTERS

We opted to bring a combination of cash, Traveller's Checks and the Commonwealth Bank's Travel Money Card (Mastercard). The TCs and the money card (which is a debit card in reality) were both welcomed. Just remember to hit the 'credit card' button for the money card transactions. For although it is a a debit card, it is treated as a credit card. Go figure!