The "Kids Only" Trip Report Jan 2nd - 6th 2012 Day 2 added!

[Laura678]

So it is about time I started my trip report!

Some background info first perhaps. The cast on this trip were as follows:
Me (22)
Jason my bf (26)
Barry my brother (18)
and Aeden our step brother (11).

Our dad married Aeden's mam in September and myself and Jason thought a trip to DLP as Barry and Aeden's Christmas present would be a nice way to form a stronger bond as it was a "kids only" trip per se!

We booked the Sequoia Lodge for 1 adult and 1 child as myself and Jason have AP's.

Sunday 1st January 2012 - Day 0

Unfortunately as it was New Years Day both myself and Barry had to work during the day. I work part time in a hotel and he works part time in a pub so it was a busy time for us! I worked 7am-1 and Barry worked 11am-4. I got home and had to have a nap before I packed my suitcase as I had worked crazy hours on New Years Eve! Finally at 5pm I had my case packed and was ready to hit the road. I drove to collect Barry from my mams house, but of course he wasn't ready! We then picked up Jason and hit the road. We were heading to my Grandads house in Dublin. We arrived at about 7:30pm and some of our extended family were there which was great. My dad and his wife Ann had traveled up earlier during the day with Aeden.

At about 10pm we left my Grandads house and went to my Aunts house around the corner as we were staying there before our early flight the next morning. After some tea and a chat we hit the hay and tried to sleep!!

Day 1 to follow!

 

[Laura678]

Monday 2nd January 2012 - Day 1

Our alarms went off at 4am and we all got up and ready and had a cup of tea. Our flight was at 6:50 am so we had to be at the airport for 4:50 am. Luckily enough my aunt lives only 10-15 minutes from the airport so we left her house at 4:30 am.

We checked in in Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport. It was my first time flying out of Terminal 2 so it was nice for a change! Myself and Barry had muffins and coffee from the Spar while Aeden and Jason got hot breakfasts. We went through security and bought some water to bring on board for us. €2.50 in Hughes & Hughes for 2x750ml bottles as opposed to €2.50 for a 500ml bottle on board!

We went to our boarding gate and decided not to queue up with everyone else when our flight was called as we were in row 4. When on board we were told out flight had been delayed by 30 minutes. I texted John from Ezyshuttle to tell him about the delay. Our flight was uneventful. Aeden played on his psp, Jason read his book, I watched Due Date on my iPhone and Barry watched Gone in 60 Seconds on his laptop.

We landed in Charles de Gaulle and waited for what seemed like a lifetime for our luggage. Neither mine nor Jason's phones were working as we had just set up new contracts and roaming doesn't work unless you have at least 2 direct debit payments made. We had one made each, and didn't find out about needing to have 2 made until we got to France.

We left the airport and met John from ezyshuttle. We explained how our phones weren't working incase he had texted me. Our journey to DLP was very quick and we all managed to fall asleep on the way!


Check in was hectic! I queued up to check in and get our tickets, while the boys went to put our luggage in the baggerie and then sat down and waited for me. There were about 40 people in front of me waiting to check in and the queue went out the doors. Luckily enough the queue moved quite quickly. When I nearly reached the top of the queue I was handed a clip board to fill out the registration form which shortened the time at the desk.

I had booked for 1 adult and 1 child so when I checked in I needed to add 2 more people to the booking. Although this took a few minutes it was fine. I paid €8.80 local tax and received a second easy pass.

I was trying to think of what times I would pick for our breakfast each morning and I wanted to also have GMFL breakfast one morning. It was then when I was told we had VIP Breakfast!! It was fantastic! I chose GMFL breakfast for Wednesday morning at 8:45am. I was told our room would be ready after 3pm and was then given the park tickets for Barry and Aeden.

We then headed to the Disneyland Park......

Day 1 Part 2 to follow!

 

[Isila]

nice. want more

 

[tinks_1989]

VIP breakfast sounds good! X

 

[PJackson]

Great start

What time did you check in out of interest?

And what did the VIP breakfast pass get you - was it just you turned up and didn't need a slot or have to queue or something?

 

[Laura678]

nice. want more

More tomorrow I promise!

VIP breakfast sounds good! X

It was so great!!

Great start

What time did you check in out of interest?

And what did the VIP breakfast pass get you - was it just you turned up and didn't need a slot or have to queue or something?

We checked in at about 11 am and it was just chockerblock. I think if I arrive at that time again I would leave my luggage and go get some lunch and then come back a bit later. Reception wa empty at 3 pm!


The VIP breakfast pass meant we didn't have to choose a specific time for our breakfast each day. We just went to the restaurant and showed them the VIP pass at whatever time we wished! It was great

 

[Laura678]

Monday 2nd January 2012 - Day 1 Part 2

We got to the parks at about noon I think. I went to Guest Storage and left in my handbag. I love how this is free with my Dream AP!

We were all pretty hungry by now so went to Caseys. We got 2 cheddar hot dogs, 2 classic hot dogs, 2 portions of chips and 1 coke and 1 fanta and 2 extra cups to share the drinks. I think it was about €33. Not too bad considering we had budgeted €10 each for lunch each day.

After our lunch we went to check the wait times for everything. We decided to go to Pirates first and then we took turns on Indy as Aeden wasn't up for it at all! Then we went and got 4 FPs for BTM and queued up for Phantom Manor.

Barry and Jason on Indy!



The parks weren't too busy so we had a quick look around the shops and then it was time for our FPs for BTM. Aeden was a bit nervous as this would be his first rollercoaster. We had to queue for quite a bit in the FP queue but before we knew it we were sitting in the back of the train! It was so much fun and Aeden thought it was brilliant! Success!!

It was not 3pm and we were all pretty tired after our 4am start so we decided to head to the hotel for a nap. We collected our key and luggage and headed towards room 2302. We opened the door and the room was beautiful! The new decor is just lovely. Sitting on the desk waiting for us was a bottle of Vittel, some chocolate coins and a snowball Pluto! It was such a nice surprise! He is so cute!

I really loved the room we got. I liked especially how the sink was separate from the toilet and shower area. This was very convenient considering I was sharing with 3 boys! The lighting was also very good for applying make up etc.

I loved how the bed sheets had Mickey Mouse heads on them if you looked closely! I hope you can see it in this picture, it isn't too clear. I changed the contrast on the picture to make it clearer but it became yellow!

We had a rest and watched the Disney Channel. I rang the reservations line and made a booking for Hunters Grill at 7:30pm. We freshened up and went to Dinner. A buffet was a good choice after a long day. The boys loved the ribs on the buffet and it was nice to be able to have a little bit of everything. The desserts were absolutely delicious. I could have skipped straight to the dessert section and I would have been happy! It was €108 for the 4 of us including 3 beers.

After dinner we had a quick walk in Disney Village and then went back to the room and everyone fell asleep so quick!

Day 2 to follow... Tomorrow hopefully!

P.S. I hope the pics look ok. I took them using my iPhone and not my camera!

 

[Laura678]

Tuesday 3rd January 2012 - Day 2

Today we had a very long lie on in Disney terms! The previous day had really took its toll on us. We got up at 10am and headed to the Beaver Creek Tavern for breakfast. We flashed our VIP breakfast pass and were seated at a table.
Breakfast was nicer than the breakfast in the Cheyenne and the Santa Fe. It seemed more relaxed.

We went back to our room and got our coats and scarves. We decided not to rush around today so that we wouldn't ware ourselves our by the evening.
We went to Walt Disney Studios. It was great to see that the pavement outside had been replaced. We didn't have to worry about standing in pot holes!

We decided to go to Toy Story Play Land first. Myself and Jason did RC Racer. Then Barry and Jason did Rock'n'Roller Coaster while myself and Aeden went to the Art of Disney Animation. However when we met up at the partners statue Jason and Barry told us the queue was too big for R'n'RC so they left the queue. So then Barry and Jason did Tower of Terror while myself and Aeden went back into the Art of Disney Animation and drew a strip to put in the zoetrope.

It was really cold at this point so I got Barry and Aeden hats in the Tower of Terror shop that matched Jason's hat.

Here are the 3 lads with their hats!

Aeden had kind of built up the courage to do R'n'RC by now so we headed to that side of the park. However when we got closer we realised it was temporarily closed!

We were hungry by now so we went to the Earl of Sandwich. It was our first time in there and the food was lovely! The only fault I would have with the menu is that it doesn't say the exact ingredients in the sandwich. For example Aeden ordered a chicken and bacon wrap but it came with mayonaise, and I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich but it came with mustard! It was good value though!

We went back to the Sequoia Lodge and the 3 boys went for a swim while I had a bit of a walk and a nap. I wasn't up for a swim. After the break we went back to WDS and took turns on TOT and R'n'RC while doing the flying carpets with Aeden too.

We had dinner reservations for 7:30 in the Yacht Club. Barry, Jason and I had the cruise menu while Jason had the kids buffet. For dessert I had the chocolate mousse which came with a cute chocolate!

When we left the Newport Bay we were heading back towards the Sequoia Lodge when I said lets go to Hotel New York and I treated everyone to cocktails!

I had a Glowtini, Barry had a mojito and Jason had a brandy cocktail (can't remember the name!).Aeden made his own cocktail with passionfruit juice and strawberry syrup and it came with his own cocktail shaker.

We then went back to our hotel and put on the Disney Channel and fell asleep.

Day 3 coming tomorrow!

 

[tinks_1989]

great updates who can resit a glowtini? lol! xxx