mathgeek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2003
I just got back from this trip a couple days ago. I also did the 2-night DLP add-on at Hotel NY. I made some notes while I was on the trip to answer some of the questions I had before I left that I was not able to find answers to. I was looking for little details, and most of the info I found was not as specific as what I wanted. I hope it helps someone taking this trip in the future.
And as a side note, I'm very glad I did this trip and did it through ABD. I had a wonderful time!
Hotels:
All of the hotels we stayed at had wifi available. Foxhills, Hotel du Collectionneur, and Hotel NY at DLP had free wifi. (So did both airports, LHR and CDG.)
All of the hotels had hairdryers. The ones in the UK were not in the bathroom. There were no outlets in the bathroom. At the Landmark the hairdryer was under the TV and at Foxhills it was in the desk. Both had outlets at the desk and a mirror above the desk to dry your hair there.
Foxhills had the UK outlets, Hotel du Collectionneur and Hotel NY had the Europe outlets, but at the desk the Landmark had the 230 UK outlet, the 230 Europe outlet, and a 110 US outlet. I took advantage of the US one to fully recharge my camera battery before we left.
There was no clock in my room at Foxhills or Hotel NY. I was very glad I had a watch with an alarm. Although I did get a Mickey wake-up call at Hotel NY.
(At least I think it was Mickey. He was speaking in a very rapid French so it was hard to tell first thing in the morning.)
Other things:
It was chilly, even at the beginning of July, in both London and Paris. I threw in a couple extra pairs of pants and some winter PJ's right before I closed my suitcase, and I am so glad I did!
However, I wish I hadn't taken the advice of some of the travel websites about how to avoid looking like a tourist. I should have kept both pairs of sneakers in my suitcase. At the last minute I traded one pair out for a nicer pair of shoes that I thought I could still do some good walking in. I was wrong. We did a LOT of walking. Wear whatever you would wear for a full day at WDW. And of course the pair I took out was my more waterproof pair. My mistake. It rained while we were biking at Versailles and the day we were at Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. My umbrella came in very handy, as did my Mickey rain poncho once I got to DLP.
I am very glad I took advantage of the London Eye ticket on day 1 (check-in day). It gave me a chance to figure out how to travel on the Underground as well as a great view of the city to start my trip. It also then gave me more time to do the stuff I wanted to on my own after lunch on day 2. They provided us with a transportation ticket for day 2 that I found to be invaluable for my plans that day.
There wasn't a lot of time on our own on Day 3 for touring and lunch at the Tower of London after waiting in the line to see the Crown Jewels. We ended up eating at the restaurant at the Tower because we ran out of time.
We were served a light lunch on the Eurostar (Chunnel). That was a lunch on our own day, and some people got lunch at the station before we boarded. I heard a couple women say they wish they'd known how much food we would get b/c they wouldn't have bought lunch.
Because we were touring Notre Dame on a Sunday, we weren't able to go up to the top as a tour group due to mass. And the line was really too long after we toured Sainte Chapelle that we couldn't do it during our time on our own. That was one thing I felt wasn't explained very well. I think we were only supposed to do Sainte Chapelle that day instead of Notre Dame, but we tried to do both because enough people asked about seeing Notre Dame. Had the guides provided us with full information that day some of us would have skipped Sainte Chapelle and waited in line for when they opened up the steps to go up to the top of Notre Dame.
And as a side note, I'm very glad I did this trip and did it through ABD. I had a wonderful time!
Hotels:
All of the hotels we stayed at had wifi available. Foxhills, Hotel du Collectionneur, and Hotel NY at DLP had free wifi. (So did both airports, LHR and CDG.)
All of the hotels had hairdryers. The ones in the UK were not in the bathroom. There were no outlets in the bathroom. At the Landmark the hairdryer was under the TV and at Foxhills it was in the desk. Both had outlets at the desk and a mirror above the desk to dry your hair there.
Foxhills had the UK outlets, Hotel du Collectionneur and Hotel NY had the Europe outlets, but at the desk the Landmark had the 230 UK outlet, the 230 Europe outlet, and a 110 US outlet. I took advantage of the US one to fully recharge my camera battery before we left.
There was no clock in my room at Foxhills or Hotel NY. I was very glad I had a watch with an alarm. Although I did get a Mickey wake-up call at Hotel NY.
(At least I think it was Mickey. He was speaking in a very rapid French so it was hard to tell first thing in the morning.)Other things:
It was chilly, even at the beginning of July, in both London and Paris. I threw in a couple extra pairs of pants and some winter PJ's right before I closed my suitcase, and I am so glad I did!
However, I wish I hadn't taken the advice of some of the travel websites about how to avoid looking like a tourist. I should have kept both pairs of sneakers in my suitcase. At the last minute I traded one pair out for a nicer pair of shoes that I thought I could still do some good walking in. I was wrong. We did a LOT of walking. Wear whatever you would wear for a full day at WDW. And of course the pair I took out was my more waterproof pair. My mistake. It rained while we were biking at Versailles and the day we were at Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. My umbrella came in very handy, as did my Mickey rain poncho once I got to DLP.
I am very glad I took advantage of the London Eye ticket on day 1 (check-in day). It gave me a chance to figure out how to travel on the Underground as well as a great view of the city to start my trip. It also then gave me more time to do the stuff I wanted to on my own after lunch on day 2. They provided us with a transportation ticket for day 2 that I found to be invaluable for my plans that day.
There wasn't a lot of time on our own on Day 3 for touring and lunch at the Tower of London after waiting in the line to see the Crown Jewels. We ended up eating at the restaurant at the Tower because we ran out of time.
We were served a light lunch on the Eurostar (Chunnel). That was a lunch on our own day, and some people got lunch at the station before we boarded. I heard a couple women say they wish they'd known how much food we would get b/c they wouldn't have bought lunch.
Because we were touring Notre Dame on a Sunday, we weren't able to go up to the top as a tour group due to mass. And the line was really too long after we toured Sainte Chapelle that we couldn't do it during our time on our own. That was one thing I felt wasn't explained very well. I think we were only supposed to do Sainte Chapelle that day instead of Notre Dame, but we tried to do both because enough people asked about seeing Notre Dame. Had the guides provided us with full information that day some of us would have skipped Sainte Chapelle and waited in line for when they opened up the steps to go up to the top of Notre Dame.
I can't wait to take this trip.
As I've told many others, ABD's are addictive! 
I like HarleyRose am looking at the England/Paris ABD vacation and excited about it. I think my mother and I are sold on it, we like the fact that Disney handles just about everything. We've never been to Europe either so are a bit nervous about not having some sort of structured tour group. We probably won't be traveling until at least 2017 as we have some other travel plans before then. 
