Trip Report A Bird's Eye View of London and Paris March 2012 TR NEW! The END 1/12 p35

[eandesmom]

Wow, I'm all caught up! Amazing pictures of London and fun fun tours. bus rides and sightseeing. It all just makes me smile...especially the guards!

I've always wanted to try Kona for breakfast, I'm sure it will be amazing. Do party tickets sell out? Just curious if there is a reason to buy them sooner rather than later. We're going on the 21st.

 

[franc]

I love this report. My children go to school about a mile from Gerrard's Cross and I go shopping in Windsor every week, so it's very interesting to see it all from a tourists point of view.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

that was a jam-packed day for sure!! I loved all the sites, thanks for taking so many pics and posting for us....Are you and Dave going out to eat tonight for your anniversary? We are having ds13's bday sleepover tonight-last night was just our family out to dinner....

 

[MEK]

Really, really enjoyed the tour of London. I am so glad the son came out and you were able to do an open air tour of the city. The boat tour looked like a lot of fun too and you really got to see a ton of sights. That London eye (?) really does look extremely high. Yikes!

 

[jenseib]

Weren't you worried Lond Bridge would fall down on you?

I think I watched a show in it once...I "think" either Londen Bridge or Tower bridge was moved and thats why they are mistaken for each other. Alo, If I remember right, Tower bridge is prettier, so people want that bridge to be the londen bridge....I could be totally off on all of this. It's been quite some time since I saw the show.

 

[Pluto_fan]

Loving the report and all the pictures, Sheree!

Next Stop – PARIS!!!! (well, after a stop at the Lillie station!)

Aww, I wish I had realized you were stopping in Lille...we're less than an hour from there. I could've met up with you!

Weren't you worried Lond Bridge would fall down on you?

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one thinking that!

 

[brookelizabeth]

That's right! We can meet at OKW - we move there on the 18th and plan to spend the day there at the pool and DTD.

We will be at OKW at least for a while that day, it's our "slow morning". Due to my own fault Henry has Pirate's League at Noon, I was hoping for a later time. So we have to get to MK by Noon, then over to Epcot for the Mega-DIS-Meet at Rose and Crown, then back to MK for MNSSHP. I'm still hoping for a later time on the PL....then we can just lay around OKW longer, hit Epcot, then MK.

All that to say...the 18th might work!

Now I'm second guessing my plans though, perhaps we will do the 16th, our arrival day. We can lay around the resort all day...hmmm.

I'll keep you posted.

Now, after my thinking out loud all over your thread...! Another WONDERFUL update! You have me wanting to go to London even more so now! I would be passing on the London Eye as well. The House of Parliament is stunning!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

You got a lot done in a day!

Although all the sights are familiar to me it's still on my to-do list to take a proper tour when my girls are older. A friend went a while back and can tell you all sorts of fun facts now! Plus she says she has a much better idea of where everything in the city actually is. So much of my moving about around London has been done on the Tube that I'm not always sure where places are on the map

It was nice to get a visual of places and know we'd be going back for more detail the following week. It didn't seem that busy at the time, but it did seem like a lot as I was writing this. The Tube does that doesn't it? I could read the Tube map no problem, then I'd get on the street and not know which way to go!!
I hope you do take the tour - the boat guide was really funny! Sometimes we don't do the stuff that's right where we live - I just said to DH we're going to try more local places this summer that we've never been!

Another fun day in Olde London town!!!
You must have felt so pressed for time to get it all done!

It was a fun day! We managed to see a lot - and on this trip, we tried not to worry too much about time - it proved to be a problem once in a while (things DO close early some places!)

What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon! I love the bus tour, but the river cruise is awesome! Loved all the bridges and architecture! Just gorgeous! I don't know if I could do that London Eye though! I know I would want to, but I bet I would chicken out!

So glad the weather cleared up for you. Turned out to be a beautiful day! Can't wait for PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was super fun! So much to look at! We had some fears of heights (me and DH), so the Eye looked pretty dang high from the boat, but would we do it when we retuned to London??? You'll have to wait and see!
We really lucked out with weather in London - not at all typical for that city!
Paris - you want Paris???? Coming up!

Wow, I'm all caught up! Amazing pictures of London and fun fun tours. bus rides and sightseeing. It all just makes me smile...especially the guards!

I've always wanted to try Kona for breakfast, I'm sure it will be amazing. Do party tickets sell out? Just curious if there is a reason to buy them sooner rather than later. We're going on the 21st.

Thanks! I'm glad you're caught up. Heaven knows I'm moving slowly on this thing!! The guards were a great source of amusement on this trip!
Kona breakfast's been on my list for a while too.
I don't know if the party tickets sell out too much - I know the Christmas ones do. I wanted to make sure I could get the DVC discount and it's only available on certain nights (you better check into that! or an AP discount). Sadly, I'll be getting home on the 21st.

I love this report. My children go to school about a mile from Gerrard's Cross and I go shopping in Windsor every week, so it's very interesting to see it all from a tourists point of view.

and Thank you!! Wow, I probably passed you on the street one day! Do you feel like you live in a quaint area? That's how I kept thinking of it! I just thought everything was right in line with my stereotypes of England (I think it's a good thing btw). I loved it!

44864004[/FONT]]that was a jam-packed day for sure!! I loved all the sites, thanks for taking so many pics and posting for us....Are you and Dave going out to eat tonight for your anniversary? We are having ds13's bday sleepover tonight-last night was just our family out to dinner....

You're welcome - I know how much you are interested in England - it was my duty to provide you with pictures to further entice you and enable!
We did not go out to eat at all for our anniversary. We'll have a date later on when school stuff settles down. My parents gave us $ and a "gift certificate" for watching the girls when we do! Hope your DS's birthday fun went well! You've got 2 teens now!!

Really, really enjoyed the tour of London. I am so glad the son came out and you were able to do an open air tour of the city. The boat tour looked like a lot of fun too and you really got to see a ton of sights. That London eye (?) really does look extremely high. Yikes!

Thanks! It was a really nice day after lunch! Yeah, that London Eye is ridiculously high! Kind of scary, right?

Weren't you worried Lond Bridge would fall down on you?

I think I watched a show in it once...I "think" either Londen Bridge or Tower bridge was moved and thats why they are mistaken for each other. Alo, If I remember right, Tower bridge is prettier, so people want that bridge to be the londen bridge....I could be totally off on all of this. It's been quite some time since I saw the show.

You are funny!!! I think as long as we didn't sing the song, we were okay!
There is a lot of confusion about the bridges, and I remember years ago hearing something about why, but I sure don't remember what it was!

Loving the report and all the pictures, Sheree!


Aww, I wish I had realized you were stopping in Lille...we're less than an hour from there. I could've met up with you!

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one thinking that!

Thanks!! It is too bad since we spent a substantial about of time at the train station there! I've got some stories to tell!!!
You guys are funny - honestly, that thought never occurred to me!

We will be at OKW at least for a while that day, it's our "slow morning". Due to my own fault Henry has Pirate's League at Noon, I was hoping for a later time. So we have to get to MK by Noon, then over to Epcot for the Mega-DIS-Meet at Rose and Crown, then back to MK for MNSSHP. I'm still hoping for a later time on the PL....then we can just lay around OKW longer, hit Epcot, then MK.

All that to say...the 18th might work!

Now I'm second guessing my plans though, perhaps we will do the 16th, our arrival day. We can lay around the resort all day...hmmm.

I'll keep you posted.

Now, after my thinking out loud all over your thread...! Another WONDERFUL update! You have me wanting to go to London even more so now! I would be passing on the London Eye as well. The House of Parliament is stunning!

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get to the big Rose & Crown meet - but we aren't planning on hoppers, so I'm not sure if it will work. Maybe I'll add a day! I'm sure we can arrange to cross paths at some point!
You can think out loud here anytime!

London is so fascinating - there are great stories, beautiful architecture and OMG - the churches and cathedrals are just unbelievable. Another chicken? No London Eye for you? Where are all the brave people???

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Loving all of these wonderful picture Sheree! It makes me feel like I am right there!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

October update!
DH has been listening to Disney music lately. You know what that means? He's getting excited for our trip! First he says he thinks we should have more than 4 day tickets. Then he says we should get hoppers!!!
I'm so psyched - now I know I can make the Mega DIS meet at Rose & Crown on 10/18! Plus we'll get to do some time at DHS (I've missed TSMM lately) and then we can take the boat to Beaches and Cream and Epcot!!! Yippee!!

I'm a bit concerned about the ticket prices going up in summer. Last year it was in June, so I'd like to buy them before that happens. I might buy 2 now, and two later to spread out the cost. I plan to go through UT and get the m-savers discount.

I'll get working on the first day in Paris soon - I've organized some pictures in photo bucket, so that should get me moving along!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Loving all of these wonderful picture Sheree! It makes me feel like I am right there!

Thanks Kelli! It's fun to look back at them. I've got to start my scrapbook soon so I remember all these things. Of course I have 3 WDW trips that I haven't done yet too!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Yay for you!!! I usually get our airline tix in July/Aug for November...glad you are extending your tickets~ so much more liberty....

 

[EAP'sDAD]

My family is planning the exact same trip as you did, except staying with your friend, next year. So please keep posting, you've left us hanging. lol

 

[Mndisneygirl]

My family is planning the exact same trip as you did, except staying with your friend, next year. So please keep posting, you've left us hanging. lol

and I'm sorry to leave you hanging! I'll try very hard to get to DLP during this weekend! You mean you're not staying at my friend's house too?
When are you going? Find some good shoes - LOTS of walking!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Yay for you!!! I usually get our airline tix in July/Aug for November...glad you are extending your tickets~ so much more liberty....

I think I'm going to have to buy at least some of our park tickets VERY soon. Disney LAND tickets are going up tomorrow! I can only imagine that WDW ticket prices will be increasing sooner rather than later too.

I think we're going to wait to add the hopper when we're there IF we feel like we need it. No sense wasting $200 when you don't have to!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

That alarm was pretty nasty at 6:20 a.m. but I knew it was going to be worth it! We were heading to PARIS!!!
I dragged myself out of bed and got ready, charged up some devices, and grabbed a bit of breakfast before our friend Brent drove us to St. Pancras Station. It had started raining, but I hoped Paris weather was better. I had hoped to find Platform 9 ¾ for a quick photo op, but it didn’t happen since we weren’t really in the right place (King’s Cross). So we managed to get through customs and security (that was quite a process, but it seemed very well organized). We had to wait and watch the monitors to find out from which platform our train would be departing, and it only comes up about 15 minutes before the time. We were at platform 10. We figured out where our seats were and waited for the train to leave. You have to stow your luggage, so we found some spaces near where we were sitting. DH wanted to be able to kind of keep an eye on it. We ended up facing backwards, which I thought would make me sick, but it turned out okay. I was so tired, I was napping for most of it – I even missed when we went through the Chunnel!! Oops!
We arrived at the Lillie Station about 11:30. We’d moved an hour ahead due to the time zone change. We had to wait until 1:00 for our next train to DLP. Lots of time to kill, and nowhere to really relax. There was a strange guy walking around trying to ask us questions. Of course, he was not speaking English, so it wasn’t very fruitful.

Looking out from the waiting area.

The platform area is below

The not so comfy seating - wooden benches with no backs. Ugh.

Cool sculpture outside of the train station.

Special offer anyone? It's a 2 pack!!

Clear as mud, right?

This one I understand! 2 Euro for a coke.

Still not quite sure where we are! HA!

overpriced snacks, just like back home!

Nope, ours isn't listed yet...

We did discover our first “Pay to Pee” bathrooms! I went to take the girls (maybe just one of them?) to the restroom – excuse me, I mean “toilet”. We walked in and there was a lady standing there – I guess she was the attendant. I just walked right by her and then she stopped me and told me it was 50 cents (Euro) to use the toilet. Oh man! I didn’t have any money on me (DH was watching the bags). So we had to go back out and find some money. We had only British pounds since we were planning to withdraw Euros from an ATM in Paris. We couldn’t find a simple ATM and most of the signs did not have much English – now I know what it feels like to be a foreigner and not speak the language – makes you feel kind of dumb. We found an exchange desk, so we traded a few British pounds in for Euros. By this time, I really had to go! DH opted to wait, save his Euros and go on the train. Lesson learned. The toilet on the train is free (included in your ticket I guess)!

Finally the boards showed our train to DLP and we found our way to the platform. They mark the floor where the cars are going to stop, so if you know your seat number (what car you’re in), you can stand in that area. It’s a bit strange to me, but we figured it out!
Our ride took about an hour and we say some really nice countryside on the way. This time we sat facing each other, 2 and 2 with a small table between us.

And we're off!!

One of the few pictures of Dave and me together!

No, this is not the pretty countryside!!

We got off the train and WE WERE AT DISNEYLAND PARIS!!! There was no real security when we got off the train. Just grab your bags and go. We walked outside and we were facing the entrance to Disney Village looking one way, and the parks the other way. It was all so CLOSE!

Our first view! - Disney Village!!

Yeah Baby!! This is Disney!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I didn't fully realize the train let off RIGHT THERE!!!!

 

[jenseib]

I would be totally lost trying to get around that train station. I know absolutely no French at all.

How exciting to get off the train right THERE!!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I don't know any French either,..and some of those signs are not very helpful looking!! Wow,..that is strange to just jump off a train and be at Disney!!!!! But, at least once your 'there' you really are right there! LOL...

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm still here Sheree!! Still getting caught up on everyone's threads!

I'm really enjoying all your adventures. But yeah, I would have been totally confused by all those signs & everything! And paying to pee!!

I didn't realize the train took you straight to DLP!! How awesome. Looking forward to more!!