Exchange rate at all time low

[itf]

Eek that sounds like us when we went to norway on a cruise a few years back. Just drank their incredible tap water and waited to get back on board to eat or drink. I think a coke in a bar was around £6 no thank you. I will have 2 suitcases spare on the way out there thinking it might be worth filling with snacks for the parks and robinsons squashies. If american coke tastes anything like the stuff we had on the cruise i wont be drinking it anyway so artificially sweet. Considering getting a bottle with a water filter on and just refilling that.

Ha, I had the same experience in Oslo on a cruise, casually buying a couple of coffees and a slice of cake, then no change from £20! We did take water bottles on this trip (Sho) and they would keep the water cool all day after we filled it from a bottle in the hotel fridge in the morning. Only problem with them is you have to hold them out as you go through security at the parks unless you want your bag searched every time.

 

[jf256]

Ha, I had the same experience in Oslo on a cruise, casually buying a couple of coffees and a slice of cake, then no change from £20! We did take water bottles on this trip (Sho) and they would keep the water cool all day after we filled it from a bottle in the hotel fridge in the morning. Only problem with them is you have to hold them out as you go through security at the parks unless you want your bag searched every time.

I have allergies so have meds and stuff i would be carrying in a backpack anyway - so will likely have to take a bag in every day regardless. Plus my OH is very ginger and will need water spray bottle, fan, cooling towel etc or it will not be worth my mental health!!

 

[Plague]

we’re a far cry from the $1.6 or so it’s been for most of my life.

It was lower than today in Feb 1985.
But that seems to have been a relatively short 'blip', whereas this seems a more chronic drop.

 

[jf256]

Well it was 1.16 on March 19 2020 - so covid d-day really. Now we have a prime minister (no comment on that) it might pick up a little - we haven't really helped the situation with the whole...lets bury our head in the sand until party election date..

No crystal ball though - who knows what is going to happen - just hoping at many levels that the world doesn't get any more crazy.. for everyone's sake!

 

[Lord Such]

The first time I went (as a child) in 1979 it was $2.35, can you imagine? I would need an extra case for all the merchandise I would purchase

Yeah I remember a trip a 'few' years ago where it was $2 to the £... oh those crazy days of affordability!!

 

[Lord Such]

This will be our first trip in a good few years that doesn't include the dining plan, so yeah I'm also concerned how much that aspect is going to cost this time around (November), especially with the ongoing price increases out there (and here, but this is about over there) and the Pound crashing. I did a load of research on dates/price comparisons this time too to find the best deal/date rather than being restricted by school/college/university as for past trips, and did find a good deal considering (Virgin Atlantic won yet again) so that was some relief. Yeah we've visited in years gone by without the dining plan, but this time around things are rather more expensive and the exchange rate sucks. Will be an interesting one fo'sho...
But we're all in the same boat here, we don't do these trips for a cheap holiday, we do these trips for the magic and the memories, and you cannot put a price on memories... we all want to leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy...

 

[itf]

This will be our first trip in a good few years that doesn't include the dining plan, so yeah I'm also concerned how much that aspect is going to cost this time around (November), especially with the ongoing price increases out there (and here, but this is about over there) and the Pound crashing. I did a load of research on dates/price comparisons this time too to find the best deal/date rather than being restricted by school/college/university as for past trips, and did find a good deal considering (Virgin Atlantic won yet again) so that was some relief. Yeah we've visited in years gone by without the dining plan, but this time around things are rather more expensive and the exchange rate sucks. Will be an interesting one fo'sho...
But we're all in the same boat here, we don't do these trips for a cheap holiday, we do these trips for the magic and the memories, and you cannot put a price on memories... we all want to leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy...

There was nothing cheap when we were there the last couple of weeks - the only half decent cheap quick service meals we had were at Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips which was excellent, and to a lesser extent Chicken Guy at Disney Springs. Everything else was either expensive in comparison to home or not very good - thought the Disney quick service restaurants were particularly poor.

 

[Lord Such]

There was nothing cheap when we were there the last couple of weeks - the only half decent cheap quick service meals we had were at Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips which was excellent, and to a lesser extent Chicken Guy at Disney Springs. Everything else was either expensive in comparison to home or not very good - thought the Disney quick service restaurants were particularly poor.

Yeah, never expect anything to be cheap over there haha, and I avoid comparing prices to over here as it's WDW so expect to pay the premium. I just have some concerns as to how much extra things will be this time around with all the post-covid price increases coupled with a tanked GBP. We have our favourite quick service spots and table service locations, so will be 'interesting' this time around with no dining plan to soften the blow haha

 

[Lord Such]

Well it was 1.16 on March 19 2020 - so covid d-day really. Now we have a prime minister (no comment on that) it might pick up a little - we haven't really helped the situation with the whole...lets bury our head in the sand until party election date..

No crystal ball though - who knows what is going to happen - just hoping at many levels that the world doesn't get any more crazy.. for everyone's sake!

Commonwealth countries abandoning ship now our Queen has sadly passed.. will that affect the strength of the Pound? Who knows eh...

 

[ford family]

Commonwealth countries abandoning ship now our Queen has sadly passed.. will that affect the strength of the Pound? Who knows eh...

Really? Which Commonwealth countries have done that? Hadn't seen it on the news. Are you sure?
No impact on Sterling, by the way, as they all have their own currencies.

ford family

 

[Plague]

Strictly speaking it is as much that the USD has been getting stronger as sterling falling. We may not be great but most other currencies are down against the dollar as well.
Eg. The £-€ rate isn't hugely different of late (in fact aside a couple of blips it's been similar for about 5 years), so maybe Disneyland Paris should be our destination ...

 

[Plague]

Things might be going to improve, or not get worse maybe.
Just after posting #51 above I was in Reuters and saw:
"All of a sudden, the U.S. dollar's on the backfoot.
After a month of relentless gains to its highest levels in decades, the dollar's DXY index recoiled more than 1% on Friday and was on course for its biggest daily loss since early August."
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-usa-2022-09-09/

 

[Lord Such]

Really? Which Commonwealth countries have done that? Hadn't seen it on the news. Are you sure?
No impact on Sterling, by the way, as they all have their own currencies.

ford family

It's only speculation reported on the BBC yesterday, so nothing confirmed. The speculation was that countries may use the excuse of our change of monarchy to not have King Charles III as their Head of State... simply speculation, but we all know even speculation has impact on financial markets. Anyway, let's get back to the magic of the mouse, it's far more fun than politics

 

[Lord Such]

Strictly speaking it is as much that the USD has been getting stronger as sterling falling. We may not be great but most other currencies are down against the dollar as well.
Eg. The £-€ rate isn't hugely different of late (in fact aside a couple of blips it's been similar for about 5 years), so maybe Disneyland Paris should be our destination ...

Yes I agree, it's the strength of the dollar rather than us shockingly weakening; we all hope we can gain some strength back, if only to help off-set the price hikes! DLP has it's place, but WDW has the magic... expensive magic though

 

[Ruttangel]

Unless Ukraine wins the war quickly USD is projected to be strong until at least Mar 2023

 

[ford family]

It's only speculation reported on the BBC yesterday, so nothing confirmed. The speculation was that countries may use the excuse of our change of monarchy to not have King Charles III as their Head of State... simply speculation, but we all know even speculation has impact on financial markets. Anyway, let's get back to the magic of the mouse, it's far more fun than politics

Fair enough.
Just to be clear, though, you don't have to have our King or Queen as your head of state to be in the Commonwealth. You can be a republic and still be a welcome member, as Barbados has recently shown.

ford family

 

[Plague]

Really? Which Commonwealth countries have done that?

It's on Reuters this evening:
Charles' succession stirs Caribbean calls for reparations, removal of monarch as head of state

I had to smile as demanding reparations at the same time as saying "go away" seems an odd negotiating tactic.
But politics aren't allowed in this forum, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[meggiebeth]

We returned last week from a few weeks in the US, including some time in Orlando. I was totally unprepared for the exchange rate, which was absolutely crippling for our budgets. I’ve never in my lifetime known the dollar to be as low as it is now.

I want to start planning another US trip for next year but with these exchange rates, I don’t know that it can be justified. I regret not paying our hotel bills earlier for our recent holiday as it would have saved hundreds of pounds. I’d love to know what’s causing this ridiculous decline in the pound!

 

[itf]

For anyone still playing along at home, we hit a 37 year low today. :|

 

[Ruttangel]

I’d love to know what’s causing this ridiculous decline in the pound!

A combination of the war forcing investors to retreat to US commodities and let’s be honest our own economic performance is terrible (sssh it’s Brexit).
https://t.co/VYZRV84HKu