England & France 2023

[Woodview]

Chip and PIN is not required in Europe. Almost all places will accept the standard US Chip and Signature card. The only place Chip and PIN may be required is vending machines.


Paul When were you last in Europe ?

U.S.A. is way behind in the way Cards are used

 

[Trixieandboots]

Ahoy Ahoy

Doing our first ABD and couldn't find a 2023 thread for this one, so adding. Anyone else going?
Looking for recs on MUST do's pre-trip in London. Already got our Warner Bros tour london tix! Travelers include kids ages 10 & 8. We are so excited we can hardly stand it!
Waiting for the DLP extension to get released so we can book that for our post trip. I'm getting impatient!

My daughter and I are going on this trip in April to celebrate her sweet 16. We are extending the trip for 2 days after for DLP. We booked DLP separately. Planning on tea at Kensington Palace, Harrods, a musical on the west end, Hopefully seeing the changing of the guard before the tour starts in London. Still trying to figure out what to do on our nights on our own in Paris.

We are heading out in April as well! I have to say I’m extremely impressed with everyone’s plans for their “off time”. It really didn’t occur to me to plan anything for that. I’ve got some work to do!

 

[sayhello]

We are heading out in April as well! I have to say I’m extremely impressed with everyone’s plans for their “off time”. It really didn’t occur to me to plan anything for that. I’ve got some work to do!

You don't *have* to make plans for on your own time *during* the ABD. The Adventure Guides will be happy to give you suggestions on things to do and places to eat!

Sayhello

 

[pjacobi]

U.S.A. is way behind in the way Cards are used

Exactly! Until the US catches up, Europe will have to accept Chip and Signature cards from Americans.


-Paul

 

[pjacobi]

My understanding is it is the US gasoline industry that has consistently slowed the adoption of tighter credit card security measures in the US. The reason was the expense to retailers in updating the credit card terminals on the pumps.

The US only got Chip and Signature because the credit card companies got tired of fraud transactions after the magnetic stripe was skimmed (stolen). Criminals usually tested fraudulent cards with stolen stripe information at gasoline pumps before attempting larger purchases. After losing so much in fraud, the gasoline retailers finally accepted the need update to Chip with Signature required over $50.00.

I suspect that it will take another large fraud event for the US to finally convince everyone to go to Chip and PIN.


-Paul

 

[iona]

Ahoy Ahoy

Doing our first ABD and couldn't find a 2023 thread for this one, so adding. Anyone else going?
Looking for recs on MUST do's pre-trip in London. Already got our Warner Bros tour london tix! Travelers include kids ages 10 & 8. We are so excited we can hardly stand it!
Waiting for the DLP extension to get released so we can book that for our post trip. I'm getting impatient!

If you have a rainy day the kids will likely enjoy the Science Museum in South Kensington.

 

[Steven G]

I had no problem using my chip and signature Disney Visa card on my England & France trip in December, no place gave me any issues.

 

[Grifdog22]

Ahoy Ahoy

Doing our first ABD and couldn't find a 2023 thread for this one, so adding. Anyone else going?
Looking for recs on MUST do's pre-trip in London. Already got our Warner Bros tour london tix! Travelers include kids ages 10 & 8. We are so excited we can hardly stand it!
Waiting for the DLP extension to get released so we can book that for our post trip. I'm getting impatient!

We went in May of last year. The Warner Bros tour was wonderful. We ate at the pub in the old train station in London for dinner upon return from Hogwarts. Great great day. We had high tea at Harrods, (and in honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita, my wife visited the jewelry counter at Harrods - in front, and not behind the counter), the British museum visit, used the subway to go to Drury lane to by muffins from the muffin man, sat on the steps of St. Paul's cathedral to feed the birds and sing the Mary Poppins song, packed tea and visited the fountains in Hyde Park to toast Cruella as well as Pongo and Perdita (the park gardens all around London are spectacular for walking or biking), did a show on the West End - Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty' s Theater (Probably not a good show for kids) and just had a great time wandering into stores, museums and stops for tea and pasty's. Allow yourself some time to just explore!

In France, do much of the same. We especially enjoyed streetwise cafe's for coffee and desserts in lieu of a meal, engaging in the people - if you make an effort to speak French they will take pity on you and speak very good English. Our extra days in France were to go to Monet's home, and further explore the beautiful city.

The cities and culture are very different from each other - and both are terrific in their own way. Enjoy the adventure.

 

[Peach026]

FINALLY they released the extension and... drum roll please... they can't book it for me. I'm SO MAD. I sent two agents an email just now from Dreams to see if they can help do the add on for me. No one - and its not mentioned anywhere online - said they couldn't change the party when booking the extension. I have a party of 5 for the ABD, but my mom can't stay for DLP so we need to go to a party of four. We even have two reservation numbers and they can't change it. I"M LIVID. With the amount of money we pay for these trips they should be able to make this happen

 

[Peach026]

I'm actually so mad I'm crying. Anyone else an angry crier??!?!?!

 

[sayhello]

FINALLY they released the extension and... drum roll please... they can't book it for me. I'm SO MAD. I sent two agents an email just now from Dreams to see if they can help do the add on for me. No one - and its not mentioned anywhere online - said they couldn't change the party when booking the extension. I have a party of 5 for the ABD, but my mom can't stay for DLP so we need to go to a party of four. We even have two reservation numbers and they can't change it. I"M LIVID. With the amount of money we pay for these trips they should be able to make this happen

That's ridiculous (but unfortunately, not out of character for ABD). I could see *maybe* if it was all one reservation, but if you have 2 separate reservations, that makes NO sense!! They're probably trying to avoid separate transportation costs for your mom, but that's pretty petty. I hope someone can help you!

Sayhello

 

[Peach026]

That's ridiculous (but unfortunately, not out of character for ABD). I could see *maybe* if it was all one reservation, but if you have 2 separate reservations, that makes NO sense!! They're probably trying to avoid separate transportation costs for your mom, but that's pretty petty. I hope someone can help you!

Sayhello

Thank you for your empathy! I realize it’s such a first world problem. But it’s how I feel! They totally messed up my morning. Now I’ll br worried about it until I hear back from travel agents!

 

[Eree418]

@Peach026 -- I'm sorry for your frustration. That's disappointing. :-( We also just got our quote for the add-on, and it was astronomical ($$$). We booked it on our own and are saving a couple thousand dollars for the same hotel and number of days. It almost seems like they don't want to be bothered coordinating this add-on for ABD folks.

I do have a question (@ anyone) for the ABD trip itself. We are arriving a day early (early morning), so we'll have nearly two full days on our own in London before the welcome dinner. We're trying to take it easy on arrival day in case we aren't able to sleep on the plane, so we're planning The British Museum and a show on the West End in the evening. For the second day, we were thinking of taking a Westminster Abbey / Parliament / Downing Street / Whitehall / Buckingham Palace walking tour (with entrance to Westminster Abbey). I know we'll be seeing some of this on ABD Day 2, but is the overlap minimal enough that this tour would be worth it? We also considered doing the Warner Bros./Harry Potter excursion, but that's a full day, and our 10 year old is not as big of a fan as we are (despite our attempts to make her one!)

Any recommendations?

 

[sayhello]

@Peach026 -- I'm sorry for your frustration. That's disappointing. :-( We also just got our quote for the add-on, and it was astronomical ($$$). We booked it on our own and are saving a couple thousand dollars for the same hotel and number of days. It almost seems like they don't want to be bothered coordinating this add-on for ABD folks.

I do have a question (@ anyone) for the ABD trip itself. We are arriving a day early (early morning), so we'll have nearly two full days on our own in London before the welcome dinner. We're trying to take it easy on arrival day in case we aren't able to sleep on the plane, so we're planning The British Museum and a show on the West End in the evening. For the second day, we were thinking of taking a Westminster Abbey / Parliament / Downing Street / Whitehall / Buckingham Palace walking tour (with entrance to Westminster Abbey). I know we'll be seeing some of this on ABD Day 2, but is the overlap minimal enough that this tour would be worth it? We also considered doing the Warner Bros./Harry Potter excursion, but that's a full day, and our 10 year old is not as big of a fan as we are (despite our attempts to make her one!)

Any recommendations?

If the only place the walking tour is going inside of is Westminster Abbey, then yes, there will probably be a lot of overlap with the ABD. But it still could be fun! Personally, I'd do the Harry Potter tour. If you leave early enough, you can get several hours in and still be back in time for the ABD welcome dinner. It's very easy to get to by train and shuttle from the train station. Make sure you buy your tickets well in advance, as it does frequently sell out, and you can't buy tickets at the door.

If you don't want to chance that, you could try the Churchill War Rooms. I haven't managed to do them yet, but I hear they are fascinating. Not sure how the 10 year old would feel.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

The walking tour sounds good, but if you want to avoid overlap, I second the Harry Potter studio tour and Churchill War rooms. It's a separate entrance fee, but I *love* the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries located above Westminster Abbey. It's a small museum withe some cool things. Not sure what your 10 year old is into, but if they prefer castles you could also do Hampton Court (short train ride from London) or visit Greenwich (via tube/DLR) to see the Royal Observatory (you can take a pictures straddling the prime meridian). If it's a nice day, you could also just walk around the Royal Parks (Princess Diana trail is a good one) and have lunch at one of the restaurants. We walk the royal parks all the time. You can go horse back riding in Hyde Park, too (Hyde Park Stables).

 

[Eree418]

I was under the impression that the ABD tour doesn’t include entrance to (or a tour of) Westminster Abbey. Is that not correct?

The Royal Observatory sounds like a great idea. Thank you!

 

[Steven G]

We did not go into Westiminster Abbey, we were just outside of it, during the ABD.


I do recommend the Harry Potter Studio if you can, and yes, you MUST pre-purchase, they sell out. We arrived at the hotel around 1pm, and we were at the harry potter studios at 6pm (after some unpacking and resting). We were tired, but the tour woke us right up, and was actually good for us to start getting used to the time zone there.

 

[sayhello]

I was under the impression that the ABD tour doesn’t include entrance to (or a tour of) Westminster Abbey. Is that not correct?

The Royal Observatory sounds like a great idea. Thank you!

Wellp, you are correct! The ABD *used* to include a Blue Badge tour of Westminster Abbey. But I just checked, and it's no longer a part of the itinerary. Thanks for catching that. In which case, your walking tour would be good if you want to see inside Westminster Abbey. Which is definitely worth seeing!

Sayhello

 

[Poohlie]

We have done the Harry Potter Studio Tour three different times - the first time when my daughter was 12 and the last time when she was 20. She is a big fan but as long as your daughter has seen at least the first movie she will have fun. We like to book one of the first slots (rope drop it lol) so we have no one in front of us and don’t need to queue up for the wand lessons or broom flying video etc. We usually get back to London around mid-day. It is fairly easy to take the train to Watford Junction and then catch the shuttle bus.

We were there this summer and saw Mamma Mia, Six, and &Juliet in the West End. We loved all three!

I also highly recommend the ABBA concert if your daughter is a fan of Mamma Mia. Even my husband was blown away. It’s not holograms of them although it is CGI. One of my favorite concerts ever.

You can easily take an acoustiguide tour of Westminster Abbey on its own if you don’t want to do a whole walking tour. So much history!

We also love the Eating Europe food tours - I think the East End one is the most popular, and we always book an Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason. We actually book it for lunch since it is so much food.

I had to edit this to add that in the summer you can actually go into Buckingham Palace and take a self guided tour - book in advance because tickets do sell out. A must see if you are fans of The Crown.

 

[pjacobi]

@Peach026We're trying to take it easy on arrival day in case we aren't able to sleep on the plane, so we're planning The British Museum and a show on the West End in the evening.

Any recommendations?

To combat jetlag, stay outside in the sun on your first day! Watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, visit the parks and stop by Speaker's Corner. Stop by a pub for lunch, then an afternoon nap at your hotel. Be sure to set an alarm and got out again for dinner. Try to stay up until a reasonable bedtime.

A museum or show will put you to sleep very quickly and will only prolong the jetlag.


-Paul