I hear ya! ; I have one! but she can do the damage of 5!LOL I just say, be patient! ; And hope it'll turn around again!
What the heck is going on today! ; The dollar has dipped down below 78cents......and were not getting the big savings on fuel like the americans are when the price of oil drops....
Ew, that isn't good at all. ; We were holding off getting US dollars, just in case it went back up. ; I hope it at least goes back up to .85 :-\
We probably have enough for our Dec trip, but not enough for our Jan trip.....lets all just keep our fingers crossed.
You bet were still going. ; I have not registered for Mousefest, since I don't think we'd be doing many of their activities. ; I believe we are both staying in the same resort. ; We arrive to SSR on Dec 11 and are there until the 15th, when we will move over to OKW until the 19th. ; We are planning to do MVMCP on the sunday. It would be great if we can hookmup while were down there. ; I know you were planning a Magic meet. ; Which we'll try to attend.
Not sure what is going to happen with that, no one has gotten back to me from DisneyMagic. You don't need to be registered with Mousefest to attend any of the meets. The only bonus you get for registering is an Extra Magic Hour. You and your family can still attend all of the events.
The dollar is wacky! ; It has to get better - right? What goes down... But wow, what a day yesterday was!
I don't know how it works with you travel agents out there (whether tour operators hedge to conversion for x period of time or something else). But this cannot be a good thing happening. ; People will start getting scared of travelling to the US. ; Here my little trick to accepting it. ; I figure, for what I'm saving in gas every month more than covers what I lose on the US exchange rate.
I was at the TD this afternoon, just after noon, and the rate was............................. 1.31 CDN to 1 US OUCH!
I deal with the Walt Disney Travel Company directly, so no conversion here. ; The guest pays whatever the exchange rate is at the time payment is made. On the positive note - as a result, we get paid in USD funds - so it's a small bonus in that area. I can't say that we've had that happen, as our numbers are up from last year. ; Bottom line is even with the exchange rate, Disney is still cheap for what you get in return. It's not the dollar I worry about, it's the entire economy that scares me right now. ; :-\
Well lets certainly hope people don't stop spending on family vacations.... ; I couldn't agree with you more regarding, what you get for your money is outstanding value with Disney. ; That would be the eact reason why were counting the days until our next cruise and were paying a ton of dough for it too. ; But worth every single penny! One thing I am tickled pink about is buying our DVC when we did. ; (we were above par at that point). ; Just wished this crash could have held off a few more months until we completed an add on (which we have now put on hold for obvious reasons).
lol...I hear ya. ; Same reason I have a trip booked for December, January AND May. ; ;D We actually first looked at DVC when the dollar was at a 1.58, which was the reason we declined. ; We returned about 2 years later and bought when the dollar was at about 1.28. ; Back than that was a STEAL (lol). ; However, we didn't pay it off at that time, we paid it off a few years later which (by the sounds of it) was when you purchased, as we were above par when we did. ; I'm waiting on the Poly!!! ; I hope that the dollar is better by then so I can afford an add-on. ;
Hi Alex - to answer your question, from my perspective, it certainly isn't obvious that tour operators are hedging for currency risk. (Just like it didn't appear obvious that the cruise ships were heding for fuel costs rising - again, a measureable and predictable event, you'd expect, given the industry.) ; One would assume that any prudent company is examining all their risks and setting aside reserves/ capital for when things go wrong. But prudence doesn't always carry the day - and some tour operators and other companies have gone belly up. Back in my former life (as an actuary) you can bet that the insurance companies reserved/ set aside capital for currency risk. ; Of course, the markets have been so tumultous since October came in, and the Canadian dollar has been acting very odd, to say the least. ; Things have to settle down soon! As far as your question about travel agents seeing an impact with folks not wanting to travel, I haven't been seeing that. ; Business is up, people are booking lots of travel - to Disney (I've booked large family reunions to WDW, and Christmas time Disney cruises just this month - so you know prices were elevated, given the supply and demand rules - especially given Christmas week) and trips everywhere elsewhere (I booked trips to Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, elsewhere, this month). People might be taking longer to book than usual - Christmas vacation plans are still getting sorted, for example, whereas in previous years they'd have been booked long ago - but people are still booking. ; My company, Travel Counsellors, is having a record year - and October was a fantastic month for bookings! Of course, the economy makes folks a little skittish - which is why wer'e seeing all those wonderful deals (like Disney's pay for 4, get 3 free - which is, obviously, a fantastic deal - and was only offered once before right after 9/11). ; We're seeing great deals on cruises, air, etc. - so the companies are putting the incentive out there for folks to travel. The USD is impacting folks not just those going to the US (e.g., I have a guy looking at an Africa safari - the African company prices in USD, so the initially quoted price has jumped considerably now, converting to Can $), but given the bookings still happening, it's making folks a little skittish, but not stopping them from going. However, fingers crossed that the dollar settles down very soon - remember that brief period when we were actually above the USD? ; Ah - good times.
Poly would make an incredible DVC resort. ; Is that to be rumoured as an up coming one or just one on everyone wish list. ; I'd put that on my wish list, that would be awesome! With the dollar doing what it is doing, that is the exact reason I'm sure alot of us have become DVC members!!!!!
Heck at that rate I didn't even bother to get some for me!LOL I'll wait it out! ; I just hope it goes up before Maintenance Fees are due! ; Keeping Fingers, Eyes and Toes crossed!
Has anyone noticed that the $ follows the gas prices.... CDN goes up gas goes down. ; Not always the case but most of the time. I would prefer .60 per litre and a .70 dollar. Since gas has gone down my monthly bill have gone down by over $50.
