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The HfP chat thread – Saturday 27th November

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Comments (322)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Craig says:
    27 Nov27 November 07:16

    Here we go again, the trials and tribulations of travelling in the UK when it’s windy or snowy. Trying to get down to the City later so I can use up the last of my Amex dining credit and my IHG free night. Taxi at 9, breakfast and then battle with the transport system.

  • Wally1976 says:
    27 Nov27 November 07:56

    After a bit of advice – we’re about to spend around £4k on Florida theme park tickets (which is a heck of a lot of money to us).

    I tried to get companies to price match each other last night but one said they wouldn’t as the other companies weren’t ABTA members.

    This got me thinking as to whether we should be willing to pay extra for tickets from a company in ABTA. I couldn’t really think of the benefits of ABTA for theme park tickets but am I missing something?

    I was going to pay with credit card for section 75 protection and it’s only a deposit due now anyway. I was also going to pay the extra £40 which enables the order to be cancelled for a full refund at any time and for any reason.

    The company with ABTA is going to be about £250 extra as it stands although I’m waiting for them to get back to me with their ‘best’ price.

    No comments please about whether we *should* be spending £4k on Florida theme park tickets!

    • chris1922 says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:22

      I’ve always had good service and good prices via https://www.floridatix.com/
      I had booked with then just before the first lockdown, and got a full refund no problem

    • Anna says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:23

      That does sound an awful lot! Granted it was 9 years ago but we paid around £1k for 3 of us for 2 weeks’ entry to Disney and Universal (including Fast Pass). I think we got them from Attraction Tickets and it was 14 days for the price of 7.

      • Anna says:
        27 Nov27 November 08:26

        Also have you checked back since the BF offers appeared?

      • Jody says:
        27 Nov27 November 08:40

        Disney park tickets are stupid prices now unfortunately.

        • Doommonger says:
          27 Nov27 November 09:14

          £4 grand!! I did a tour of Wet n’ wild, Disney, Universal, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, Sea World a decade ago. Universal is great, Disney not all that, if its really expensive wouldn’t bother.

        • Wally1976 says:
          27 Nov27 November 10:23

          Yes and that’s before you factor in crazy car hire prices and parking ($25 a day Disney and $27 Universal)! Think we’re going to use a shuttle for Disney and Uber or similar for Universal. Not sure how we’re going to get to Busch gardens yet though.

          • Louise K says:
            27 Nov27 November 16:28

            There is a shuttle to Busch Gardens from Orlando.

            Trying to do ALL parks is really hard going.

    • Louise K says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:37

      For years I have booked with Attraction Tickets , they have a price promise and low deposit. They are also ABTA. Who are you looking to book with?

      • Wally1976 says:
        27 Nov27 November 11:01

        Yes it was Attraction Tickets who were refusing to price match a non ABTA company. They seem good but more expensive. I will see what they come back to me with for their ‘best’ price.

    • Wally1976 says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:40

      Thanks for the replies. This is for 14 days Disney and universal and Discovery Cove do dolphin swimming.

      Any comments on whether we need ABTA or not?

    • Dave says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:58

      Paying with credit card will be enough protection, don’t think being abta member will add anything extra. Make sure you have travel insurance in place that covers covid and you should be covered if tickets can’t be refunded but as other have said they usually are. Could also pay the extra £40 for piece of mind.

    • Spurs drive me mad says:
      27 Nov27 November 10:04

      I don’t know if they still sell them but BA holidays used to sell the theme park tickets, as that’s where my daughter in law got hers from plus extra bonus avois and you can pay with amex.

      • Dave says:
        27 Nov27 November 11:53

        BA hols, Virgin hols, TUI all sell tickets with holidays. Need to compare prices though

    • Anne says:
      27 Nov27 November 11:56

      We’re in Orlando at the moment and paid just under £700 each for 14 day Universal and Disney tickets from orlandoattractions.com, which included their extra cancellation protection option.

      Have used them multiple times in the past and they’ve usually been the best value plus offer decent service. I went with them this time as they are ABTA and this was a condition of our travel insurance. They also accept AMEX which is naturally a major factor! Although attractiontickets.com do as well, even though it doesn’t look like it from their website….

      • pauldb says:
        27 Nov27 November 12:15

        I’ve bought my April tickets from here too but it looks like they aren’t offering refundable Disney tickets at the moment.

        Obviously it’s a lot of money but at maybe £40pppd it’s great entertainment.

        On the ABTA question I don’t think you actually get financial cover for tickets. At best they are signed up to ABTA’s code of conduct: I’m not sure that’s much use beyond S75.

    • Andrew says:
      27 Nov27 November 12:18

      It’s a lot of money.

      I’m not going to tell you not to spend £4K on theme park tickets, but will suggest you consider spending £4K over several different visits to Orlando.

      Here’s my baseline. My last visit was in 2018 for 6 nights. We bought 3 days for the price of 2 at the Universal gate for around £200 each. This was off-season, so the queue for everything was less than 10 minutes and often zero queues. Reality was we were on every ride 2-3 times.

      It was similar with Disney the previous year.

      So, I’m reluctant to encourage anyone to spend quite so much on a theme park tickets on a single holiday. But if you are limited to peak season, I understand why.

      (Also, if you’re on International Drive area, Universal is easy to walk to if you don’t mind a brisk stroll).

      • Wally1976 says:
        27 Nov27 November 14:28

        Thanks for all the replies – I am taking everything on board and digesting it all. To provide a little more context, I am a teacher and so we are having to go in August (flights already booked with Avios) and, due to the cost of just getting over there (even with Avios), it’s something we only intend to do once!

        For accommodation, I have booked some nights at one of the Hilton Disney partner hotels and some nights in a Marriott villa at Vista Cay (both booked on points). (Yes I know the Marriott villa’s aren’t a great use of Marriott points!)

        • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
          27 Nov27 November 17:26

          Hi Wally
          You can also buy Disney Florida tickets via the BA shopping portal which at least earns you a few avios. No idea if the prices listed are competitive with your quotes though. The bookings are direct with the Walt Disney World Travel Company and they say this about booking direct with them:

          “All 6 Disney Parks from £19 per day. Enjoy 14 days for the price of a 7-day ticket. Buy before you fly!
          Included with every adult ticket is a Memory Maker worth $199, allowing you unlimited digital downloads of all your Disney PhotoPass photos and videos. What’s more, you’ll also be able to reserve selected attractions and experiences before you even arrive with Disney FastPass+ Service.”

  • JohnT says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:03

    Rob – TAP article doesn’t let you comment?

    • Rob says:
      27 Nov27 November 09:08

      Weird. Fixed.

      5th time this has happened now. Please let us know if you ever see it. A key setting is unticking itself.

  • TJ says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:20

    I’m due to travel to Berlin next week for a few days. Looks like everything is generally open under 2G rules including the Christmas markets. I’d be interested to know what’s it actually like on the ground out there…are further restrictions looming?

    • Marcelo says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:37

      I have a similar question. Travelling in the Baden-Württemberg region next week and they have introduced 2G+, which requires proof of a negative Covid test taken in the past 24hrs even for double-vaccinated.
      Any idea whether they accept the LFT results that I add to the NHS app?
      Or do I need to a test in a clinic, which I understand is free anyway and hopefully accepts foreigners?

    • Kwisstan says:
      27 Nov27 November 08:51

      I have postponed going back to Germany until after Christmas. I’m in Bremen, where they are pretty strict in enforcing the rules.

      According to my friends the rumour is that where we are is likely to move to the next level before Christmas if things continue.

    • JFSV says:
      27 Nov27 November 11:04

      I am based in Frankfurt, so cannot comment for Berlin but in general things are OKish i.e., most of my colleagues who came to the office before the numbers raised do so still. In the streets shops and all other things still open, though the so called 2G are now the norm. Some places are requiring 2G+ i.e., a fast test on top of your vaccination certificate.

      Re Xmas markets, some cities are shutting them down, not surprisingly given the numbers recently

  • Nadeshka says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:40

    So after deciding to push our Japan trip later in the year from March to September, the hardest part was getting through to BA to use the FTVs.
    6.5 hours of lovely BA music yesterday (HUACA after each hour), I called at 8am on the dot this morning and got through in 20mins. So anyone else needing to call executive club as a lowly blue, my advice would be to call first thing.

    Sad we won’t see cherry blossom, but think it was the right call because I don’t see them opening up fully by March with all the variant chatter now.

    • FatherOfFour says:
      27 Nov27 November 09:17

      My top tip for getting through… call USA line via Skype (free) I also started a 2nd call on a second device (using 2nd Skype account) 15 mins after the first. On one occasion, 1st call hit one hour and dropped. 2nd was in place as a backup. I also started call 3 using device 1, but was able to hang up once line 2 was answered!

  • Mikeact says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:50

    Morning all….is the Nectar App down ? I couldn’t open it last night or this morning.

  • Tracy Regan says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:56

    We’re currently in a hotel at Gatwick before travelling to Mauritius at 20.15. If there is a lounge for BA CW passengers does anyone know whether the time is limited? Apologies if this has already been discussed. Thanks.

    • Tracey says:
      27 Nov27 November 10:56

      Booked to go week after next, fingers crossed it happens. Please report back if there is a (departure) lounge open at MRU.
      Have a lovely holiday!

  • Pid says:
    27 Nov27 November 08:57

    Staying at the Kimpton Fitzroy next week, good to see the new secret password is out “just chilling”. Never stayed at a Kimpton before. What are the normal benefits you get at the Fitzroy for being Spire? Does having Amb make any difference as mine expired but was thinking of getting it again shortly but could get it before next week if beneficial.

    • mutley says:
      27 Nov27 November 09:23

      Kimpton Fitzroy, really tiny rooms, there is however, a happy hour in the bar to your right when entering the building, with nibbles prepared daily by chef, fill your boots, its usually not that full.

    • Ryan Gill says:
      27 Nov27 November 09:26

      Hi. I stayed at the Fitzroy for a night a few months ago. Emyr at Bon Vivant got me free breakfast, late checkout and $100 amenity, (spent on cocktails). Used him despite having Amb, although I think they added £15 in recognition. I think they’re doing this until the end of the year. We arrived at 5.45, which may explain why there was no room upgrade. I thought I might have got one (through Emyr more so than Amb), but probably nothing available. Remember that there are complimentary free drinks between 5-6pm. Technically, it might be “A” drink, but they walk around kindly refreshing glasses. Wine and beer usually, but prosecco as well when we stayed. Maybe just £15 from Amb. Perhaps drop them an Email stating your excitement at your impending 1st stay.

    • Phil W says:
      27 Nov27 November 09:31

      We got a bathbomb from the Kimpton Glasgow. We don’t have a bath, so I handed it back thanking them for their generosity.

      I’m Spire Ambassador so wouldn’t appear that status makes a difference. YMMV 🤞

      • Phil W says:
        27 Nov27 November 09:32

        This was for the secret password.

      • Mutley says:
        27 Nov27 November 09:53

        I’m Spire Amb, the reception told us about happy hour! If not taking brekkie, there is a fantastic Italian cafe just across the road in Russell Square that does a brilliant full English breakfast for around a tenner.

    • Anna says:
      27 Nov27 November 10:04

      We (Spire/Amb) booked via Emyr and got a double upgrade to a lovely junior suite back in May but the hotel is probably busier by now.
      Happy hour was in the bistro when we went which we cheekily combined with an early dinner one day!
      We also got 2 cocktail vouchers which we enjoyed in Fritz’s bar.

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