Advice/tips for family holiday to OZ

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Blurtie

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#302505 28-Nov-2022 11:57

Hi all,

As per subject - taking our boys (7 and 3) to check out the theme parks on the GC. First proper overseas trip with the 4 of us, so would appreciate any tips to make it the getaway as smooth as possible.

We're on a horrendous 6am flight to Brisbane (from Chch) with AirNZ. I'm thinking about booking a night at the airport hotel the night before to make the flight a bit easier... Does any know if we're able to check in (with our baggage etc) the night before the flight, so that we can just rock up to the departure gate just before our flight departs? I understand that check in is open 24 hours before the flight, but I wasn't sure whether than extended to checking in baggage also. We're hiring a car over there, so would be checking in car seats - would be good to get this out of the way / make it less painful. Thought I would check here first before ringing AirNZ.

Cheers!

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#3002582 28-Nov-2022 12:14

Don't know about the checking-in situation but once you're in AU, I have experienced the theme parks with kids that were young.

Movie World - they'll both be too small for most of the rides and likely won't get most of the film references - it's better when they're a touch older.

Sea World - great for a younger family. So much to see and do. Take togs and towels as if they use the pirate ship ride where water canons are squirted at riders, they'll get drenched. It's something my kids loved!!

Like them or hate them, the shows are quite good too - but you might not be into that, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Dreamworld - we found this one to be by far the best when our kids were younger - the likes of train rides, animal encounters, kid-friendly rides, Wiggle World etc just made it worth doing with them - Dreamworks animated character-themed rides help too - Shrek, Madagascar etc. It's all just very familiar and family-oriented.

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/rides-attractions/dreamworld/kids-rides/?attraction-group=kids-rides

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/rides-attractions/dreamworld/kids-rides/?attraction-group=family-rides

I'd also recommend Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. https://currumbinsanctuary.com.au/what-to-see-and-do

Great for every age. Our kids are now late-teens and still talk about that being one of their favourite spots on the GC - patting Kangaroos in a really open area, where they just bound around and lie about. It's a really unique experience for a kiwi kid.

And don't forget to get the obligatory family photo with a Koala. It's a great keepsake.

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Blurtie

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#3002785 28-Nov-2022 19:57

Thanks for the detailed response @Handsomedan! Love this community.

We did place Movie World at the top of the list, as our oldest is a big Batman fan.. But may have to revisit that!

Would appreciate any other tips/tricks from others.

Forgot to mention (in case it matters) - we do have Koru membership, so hopefully that gets us some special treatment in terms of checking in our luggage the night before...

ascroft

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#3002790 28-Nov-2022 20:10

Pretty sure the bag drop is tied close to flight time.

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Handsomedan

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#3002802 28-Nov-2022 20:34

Blurtie:
Thanks for the detailed response @Handsomedan! Love this community.

We did place Movie World at the top of the list, as our oldest is a big Batman fan.. But may have to revisit that!

Would appreciate any other tips/tricks from others.

Forgot to mention (in case it matters) - we do have Koru membership, so hopefully that gets us some special treatment in terms of checking in our luggage the night before...

Don’t get me wrong - there’s plenty of Batman stuff at Movieworld, but the rides will be just out of reach. It can end up being slightly upsetting as they are so well themed and get the kids really excited.

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networkn

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#3002813 28-Nov-2022 20:56

Agree with everything Hansomdan said. Your kids will love Seaworld (and so did we if I am honest!). Hopefully, the polar bear is there and in a playful mood, watching him play is something quite surreal.

shk292

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#3002815 28-Nov-2022 21:10

We most enjoyed seaworld and Wet and Wild; as well as the rides being fun, it was nice to be able to sit by the pool and relax. Movie world seemed to be 95% standing in a line being bored senseless. Currumbin was great. We also did a surfing lesson at Coolangatta, which was fun if you haven't had one before

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#3002886 28-Nov-2022 23:04

the 6am flight is to be avoided at all cost. 4am check in = 3.30am wake up = 12.30am Australian time

if all goes well you are stuffed

if you are diverted/delayed it's close to dead on arrival

don't ask me how i know

Queensland do not believe in daylight saving

anyhoo - tip. if you can swap partners with a local couple you get local rates for both families

farcus

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#3002892 29-Nov-2022 00:01

networkn:

Agree with everything Hansomdan said. Your kids will love Seaworld (and so did we if I am honest!). Hopefully, the polar bear is there and in a playful mood, watching him play is something quite surreal.

I imagine it would be surreal watching a polar bear kept in an enclosure in a tropical location do circus tricks.

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#3002895 29-Nov-2022 03:25

Ugh, you’re on the divorce flight. We did it once before kids, never again. If you can wear the cost skip booking a hotel before you go and pay for the extra nights accomodation so you can go from the airport to have a couple of hours sleep at your hotel. Then you can go out after lunch. It’ll seem a bit expensive but it’ll be the difference between a miserable day and an ok one. We are doing an overnight flight from Dubai to Singapore in a couple of weeks and this is how we are managing the jet lag/lack of plane sleep. It works ok.

From memory bag drop opens 3 hours before the flight. Auckland airport doesn’t have an early bag store so they haven’t got capacity to store luggage. It doesn’t really matter anyway, just checkin online then go and hit the bag drop when you get there.

Agree with the points about SeaWorld and Currumbin. We did them both when our girls were 4 and 6 and they loved them. My then six year old got a photo with a massive constrictor which she still treasures.

There are really nice playgrounds on the beach at Surfers and Broadbeach so if you just want a chilled out morning they are a good option.

We stayed at turtle beach which for kids your guys age is fun if you just want to relax for a few hours but keep the kids entertained in their little water park.

Draculas is fun for a novelty night out as is the Australian outback adventure but it might be a big ask for your kids.

Kiwifruta

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#3002896 29-Nov-2022 06:29

I live in Queensland north of Brisbane, my 4 kids are aged 6 to 14. I cannot comment much on the Gold Coast, since I’ve spent much more time north of it.

For kids your age, Australia Zoo, is a great place. This is the zoo established by Steve Irwin’s parents. The bird and crocodile show is fantastic for kids and adults. Expect to spend the entire day there.

Paradise Country is good for kids too, the kids can pat kangaroos. But if I had to choose one zoo to visit it would be Australia Zoo.

The Brisbane botanical gardens and planetarium at Mount Coot-Tha are both free, except for the show at the planetarium. Great chance to see Queensland native flora.

South Bank is a great spot in central Brisbane, accessible by public transport. It has an artificial beach, a mini train ride for kids and streets of cool shops, including gelato, kids lolly shops, and tourist shops.

Another cool spot is Eat Street, it’s an open air street food market, complete with live music. There is a small cover charge to enter.

Riding the Brisbane city cats is a great of transport to explore the city by river. Same price as the bus.

Regarding all the above, I recommend checking out YouTube videos of all places before hand so you can tick off if a place is what your family would enjoy doing.

Right now it’s starting to get hot and humid, and storm season has begun. Keep an eye on the weather with the Bureau of Meterology app. Unlike Christchurch (my original home town) the autumn, winter and spring seasons are the best times of year to visit, the temperature is enjoyable and it’s not humid.

Brisbane city has its own app, so you can find many activities there too.

hsvhel

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#3002967 29-Nov-2022 09:36

Have just been there and done much of what you are looking at.

The parks meg pass (allowing entry to all) done through their app was cheaper than going to 2 sep parks (my kids are little)

It allows virtual queuing also. This normally costs if it is a per park ticket, but with the mega it is provided at no cost. Life saver a Movie world where you can waste a day in line

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Technofreak

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#3002969 29-Nov-2022 09:44

I'd second the Australia Zoo recommendation. Well worth the whole day. Something for everyone. The bird and crocodile show on it's own was worth it.

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Blurtie

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#3002994 29-Nov-2022 11:02

Wow! Thanks for all the fantastic tips so far team, much appreciated.

Unfortunately for our travel dates we can't really avoid the 6am flight.. But good to have it confirmed that we're in a world of pain with this option :)

We're also keen to check out Brisbane - so thanks for the advice around that Kiwifruta!

Inphinity

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#3003001 29-Nov-2022 11:25

Agree with Handsomedan, at similar age our boys preference was Dreamworld, then Seaworld, the Currumbin, then Wet n Wild, then MovieWorld. The latter because we were basically limited to the kids zone rides only (plus a couple others to be fair), butall the movie-themed ones the kids were simply to short to be allowed, and much of the rest is themed shopping at exorbitant pricing. The WB Studio showcase wasn't yet open at the time, though, so that might present some good Batman-themed interesting stuff to see. We'd really enjoyed it pre-kids as some of the rides are great. And not to say the kids didn't like it - they loved what they did get to do - they just got the least out of it compared to the other parks.

Currumbin surprised us the first time, there was more interactivity than we'd expected, if you time it with the shows, plus you can (at cost) do close-up encounters with quite a few of the animals which were really cool.

If there are specific rides or activities you're interested in, check ahead if they're under maintenance - we have had a few cases of particular interest attractions being unavailable on the days we went. This applies generally to all the parks.

As a general question to those who've commented, what is Australia Zoo like these days? To be honest we haven't been there since 2007 (have stuck to the Gold Coast-based attractions on more recent trips), and at that time it had gone way downhill and was definitively in 'mourning Steve' mode still - though it was heartbreaking to see a lot of the memorial notes etc at the time, wasn't really the intent of the visit.

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#3003005 29-Nov-2022 11:37

Inphinity:

As a general question to those who've commented, what is Australia Zoo like these days? To be honest we haven't been there since 2007 (have stuck to the Gold Coast-based attractions on more recent trips), and at that time it had gone way downhill and was definitively in 'mourning Steve' mode still - though it was heartbreaking to see a lot of the memorial notes etc at the time, wasn't really the intent of the visit.

We were there about 7 years ago. It was well after Steve's passing. I can't compare with times earlier than 2007 but it wasn't rundown that's for sure. Based on what we experienced I'd have no hesitation in recommending it. The only caveat being any impact of Covid.

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