A naive Aussie's PTR

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like you're gettiing super organised.

And yes....I'm surprised at how early you have to book tickets on the European trains these days. I wonder if they do reserve some for the Eurail passengers?

Hope the rest falls in place quickly too.

 

[zanzibar138]

We FINALLY have Disney tickets

Turns out Promoparcs no longer ship to Australia, but I could have them emailed, just had to do a bit of a dodgy on the shipping address

So how's that list looking?

Done - Booked and Paid For
Flights (Qantas)
Passport
Accommodation Paris (Terminus Lyon)
Accommodation Innsbruck (Basic Hotel)
Accommodation Lucerne (Hotel Monopol)
Accommodation Montreux (Best Western)
Accommodation Disneyland (Hotel L'Elysee)
Disneyland tickets
Train tickets (most of them)
Mum's special surprise

Still Need to Book
Accommodation HK - will have to call, online booking not working
Train tickets for Zurich to Lucerne - not available yet
Pre-purchased tickets for Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame - still need to investigate this more
Fat Tire Versailles tour - Mum was going to make some of her own enquiries and decide whether we want to do it or not

I should add Disney meals to that list... I think I want to experience a meal at Walt's and Blue Lagoon. I've done Blue Bayou in the US and that was pretty cool - I think Mum would like it Not sure if my parents will be into character meals so they may not be a feature of this trip, will have to discuss further with Mum. I was also thinking of doing an afternoon tea at DLH, but not sure if this is just on weekends? If it's on a Friday we could do it as part of our last full day. Anyway, I don't think getting a booking will be too much of a problem at that time of year and with flexible schedules (we'll eat at any time really lol!). I'll probably just leave it til we get there.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looks great, Zanzibar. I think you should be okay in HK with the afternoon tea.

 

[zanzibar138]

Done - Booked and Paid For
Flights (Qantas)
Passport
Accommodation Paris (Terminus Lyon)
Accommodation Innsbruck (Basic Hotel)
Accommodation Lucerne (Hotel Monopol)
Accommodation Montreux (Best Western)
Accommodation Disneyland (Hotel L'Elysee)
Disneyland tickets
Train tickets (most of them)
Mum's special surprise
Eiffel Tower tour tickets (for skip the line access)
Paris bike tour
Accommodation HK (Hollywood Hotel)

Still Need to Book
Train tickets for Zurich to Lucerne - not available yet
Airport transfer for arrival in Paris


Finally booked my HK accommodation. I've got a park view room booked at the Hollywood Hotel, with a 15% discount The CM I spoke to sounded very pleased that I will have been to 3 Disney parks, and when I mentioned that I had an AP, asked if I was calling from HK. She was VERY surprised when I said I was calling from Australia

And now have our itinerary pretty much set for our stay in Paris. We'll have Mum's special surprise on the Saturday afternoon, then on Sunday we'll have a bike tour of Paris, then Monday we'll have a morning tour at the Eiffel Tower before heading off to Disneyland.

Mum wants to get a private tour from the airport when we first arrive in Paris. Any suggestions?

I suppose the next thing to do will be to start figuring out what to pack!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Zanzibar! Thats a great looking completed list!

Well done!

 

[zanzibar138]

Zanzibar! Thats a great looking completed list!

Well done!

Thanks PIO! Starting to feel a bit more organised now I suddenly realised that it's only 6 weeks away

 

[PrincessInOz]

6 weeks? OMG! No wonder you need to be organised!

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Done - Booked and Paid For
Flights (Qantas)
Passport
Accommodation Paris (Terminus Lyon)
Accommodation Innsbruck (Basic Hotel)
Accommodation Lucerne (Hotel Monopol)
Accommodation Montreux (Best Western)
Accommodation Disneyland (Hotel L'Elysee)
Disneyland tickets
Train tickets (most of them)
Mum's special surprise
Eiffel Tower tour tickets (for skip the line access)
Paris bike tour
Accommodation HK (Hollywood Hotel)

Still Need to Book
Train tickets for Zurich to Lucerne - not available yet
Airport transfer for arrival in Paris


Finally booked my HK accommodation. I've got a park view room booked at the Hollywood Hotel, with a 15% discount The CM I spoke to sounded very pleased that I will have been to 3 Disney parks, and when I mentioned that I had an AP, asked if I was calling from HK. She was VERY surprised when I said I was calling from Australia

And now have our itinerary pretty much set for our stay in Paris. We'll have Mum's special surprise on the Saturday afternoon, then on Sunday we'll have a bike tour of Paris, then Monday we'll have a morning tour at the Eiffel Tower before heading off to Disneyland.

Mum wants to get a private tour from the airport when we first arrive in Paris. Any suggestions?

I suppose the next thing to do will be to start figuring out what to pack!

Sounds great Zanzibar. I wouldn't worry to muh about the Lucerne to Zurich leg. We did this in November and it is like a local train service leaving often. No seat reservation. Just need ticket and jump on board. We had ours booked but only because I Purchased as part of a connection enroute to Munich.

I would be planning on that extra morning in Paris before heading out to DLP. Train is really easy. About 45 minutes but from memory 26eur for the four of us each way. Get Paris done and then get to Disney. And the wind chill it there is unbelievable. enjoy.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds great Zanzibar. I wouldn't worry to muh about the Lucerne to Zurich leg. We did this in November and it is like a local train service leaving often. No seat reservation. Just need ticket and jump on board. We had ours booked but only because I Purchased as part of a connection enroute to Munich.

Yeah that's what I figured. Our tickets between Montreux and Geneva are like that too, but we got them since they were available. Not stressing too much about that one.

I would be planning on that extra morning in Paris before heading out to DLP. Train is really easy. About 45 minutes but from memory 26eur for the four of us each way. Get Paris done and then get to Disney. And the wind chill it there is unbelievable. enjoy.

Since we'll be at DLP on only weekdays for a whole week at a quiet time, I thought we could afford to lose one morning On the plus side, if we arrive a bit later we might be able to check in to our hotel straight away. And I have my thermals, polar fleeces, parkas and wind-breakers ready to go

 

[zanzibar138]

In honour of it now being 6 weeks until I will actually be on the plane halfway to Perth, I thought I would re-visit our itinerary with the many updates since I originally posted it a few months ago.


Travel Days

Thursday 14th Feb
Flight departing Melbourne at 5:45pm, arriving in Perth at 6:30pm (it's actually a 4 hour flight, but with 3 hours time difference )

I'll try to have the day off work today, or at least leave by lunch time, so I've got plenty of time to do all my double-checks and get to the airport in plenty of time (it's about a 1 1/2 hour drive for us). Not sure how I'll get to the airport at this stage - since I'll want to leave during work hours for DH, I might be forced to take public transport, in which case I will definitely want to have the whole day at my disposal!

Mum might pick me up at the airport when I arrive, or I might just get a taxi to their place (since we'll be back at the airport early the next morning). She only lives about a 1/2 hour away from the airport.

Friday 15th Feb
Flight departing Perth at 10:10am, via Hong Kong, arriving in Paris at 5:35am Saturday

We'll be up bright and early this morning to get to the airport with plenty of time. Mum and I both hate to leave things til the last minute! It will just be Mum and I on the way over. In a complete coincidence, Dad actually needed to go to Europe for work the week before our trip was scheduled, so we'll just meet him in Paris.

Unfortunately we have a fairly long layover in Hong Kong - about 5 1/2 hours. Not quite sure how we'll keep ourselves entertained for that long.

Saturday 16th Feb
I have yet to book our private transfer for when we arrive, will actually talk to Mum about whether it might be worth just taking a taxi, having looked a bit more into it.

We'll make our way by transfer or taxi to our hotel, the Terminus Lyon, which is right next to Gare de Lyon train station (handy for the train the next morning).

We'll have a quadruple room. I had actually booked the room for the Friday night as well as Saturday night, so that we could check in straight away and freshen up after our flight. Now Dad will be using the room on the Friday night, and after a week in Europe already, he'll be ready to start sight-seeing while Mum and I struggle with exhaustion and jetlag

We'll probably take it fairly easy this afternoon, but the Notre Dame Cathedral seems to be fairly close to our hotel, so I'm hoping we'll feel up to doing that as our first Paris activity!

Otherwise we'll probably just wander around area close to our hotel to try and get our bearings a bit. I am going to try to fit in a 1 hour walk (for exercise, not sight-seeing) each weekend I'm away, so I don't fall too far behind in my training program. This time will probably be my best chance to fit one in this weekend. I imagine it will be an early night!

Up next, our plans for Innsbruck.

 

[PrincessInOz]

5 1/2 hours in Hong Kong airport?

Shop, eat, visit Disney store.

 

[zanzibar138]

5 1/2 hours in Hong Kong airport?

Shop, eat, visit Disney store.

I'm sure the Disney store will feature strongly

 

[zanzibar138]

Innsbruck, Austria

Sunday 17th Feb
Train departing Paris at 8:23am, via Zurich, arriving in Innsbruck at 4:06pm

This will be a fairly early morning, to check out of the hotel and make our way to the train station in plenty of time - lucky it's just across the road!

Really looking forward to this train ride... all our train rides really! Will be amazing to see the scenery which will be completely different to anything I've seen before. Having said that, after 8 hours I'm sure I'll be glad to finally get to our destination. We do have to change trains in Zurich, which I'm hoping will be fairly straight forward.

Seems like our hotel is only a 5 minute walk from the station in Innsbruck, so it should be relatively easy to get there. We're staying at the Basic Hotel, in a standard room (which sleeps 3).

Since we're arriving late in the afternoon, by the time we check in and get settled, we won't have much time to really do anything as such. We'll probably just wander around the local area.

Monday 18th Feb

This will be our first day without any travel - which will be a nice break for me after having done some travelling every day since Thursday

After a leisurely breakfast, I think we'll go on a bit of a walking tour of Old Town. There are lots of sights within a 10 minute walk of our hotel, including the Golden Roof, Triumphal Arch, Town Tower, and a couple of nice looking cathedrals.

We'll try to get to the Bergisel Ski Jump for lunch. Apparently from the city centre, you can take a tram, get a taxi, or walk (about 20 minutes). We'll probably decide on the day what to do based on the weather and how we feel. At the bottom of the jump there is a funicular which takes you to the tower in 2 minutes. Then a lift to get to the top of the tower. There are two restaurants at the top, one looks like a bit fancier place, and the other looks like a more casual buffet style place. Again, we'll probably decide when we get there.

In the afternoon, we'll probably go up the Nordkette mountain on the Nordkettenbahnen, which is a funicular starting right in the city, only about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. You can go all the way up to the top of the mountain for views of the city and the other way over the mountains. We'll go as far as we're comfortable which will mainly depend on how late it is when we start off. We may want to stay up there for the sunset so that we can see the city light up

Then back to the city for dinner, and back to the hotel in time to pack and get a decent night's sleep ready for our next travel day.

Up next, our plans for Lucerne.

 

[zanzibar138]

Lucerne, Switzerland

Tuesday 19th Feb
Train departing Innsbruck at 9:54am, via Zurich, arriving in Lucerne at 2:49pm

Another big-ish travel day today, but the journey is broken up and will be spectacular scenery, so I think it will go quite quickly. I wanted to leave early enough that we'll still have a couple of hours sight-seeing time in Lucerne, but not so early that we have to get up at the crack of dawn! I think this is a pretty good compromise.

Hotel Monopol is literally just across the road from the train station in Lucerne (google maps gives me a 2 minute walk), so we won't have to waste much time once we arrive. We've booked a standard triple room.

In the afternoon we'll probably take a wander, cross the Chapel Bridge, maybe see the Dying Lion Monument, and generally take in the scenery.

Wednesday 20th Feb

Today we'll be heading straight for Mt Pilatus. We can get a bus or a taxi to the base, then go to the top on the cable cars. We'll probably spend a bit of time here checking it out, maybe even have a play in the snow with sleds or something, and there's a couple of nice looking easy hiking trails we can check out if the weather's nice. There are plenty of restaurants around, so we'll no doubt stay for lunch, and head back down on the cable cars when we're ready.

I don't have anything else planned for today, so we'll be able to spend as much time on Mt Pilatus as we want to. If we have time when we come down, we'll do a bit more sight-seeing (and maybe some shopping) in the city. Then of course back to the hotel to pack and get ready for another move tomorrow.

Up next, our plans for Montreux.

 

[zanzibar138]

Montreux, Switzerland

Thursday 21st Feb
Train departing Lucerne at 10:00am, arriving in Montreux at 12:10pm

I was planning to book the Golden Pass train for our transportation from Lucerne to Montreux (in fact, that was the reason we were going to Montreux in the first place!). However, apparently I left it too late to book and we would have all been separated for the entire journey, which I didn't think would be that much fun. So on the plus side, it will be a nice short train ride, we won't have to transfer anywhere, and I'm sure it will still be lovely scenery that we can all enjoy together.

Again, our hotel is only a 5 minute walk from the station. We're staying at the Best Western Eurotel Riviera, in a superior lake and mountain view room for 3. I booked the view room because apparently they're a bit bigger than the standard ones, and not that much more expensive.

We'll have most of the afternoon for sight-seeing when we arrive, but I don't have that much planned. I'm hoping that we'll be able to go on a water-craft on the lake, but I can't find that much information on the internet, so we might just have to wait until we get there. The Lake Geneva Navigation Company looks like a bit of a ferry service type place. If that's the case we might check out somewhere else along the lake for a couple of hours. I couldn't read their timetable on the website. Other than that, we might take a walk along the lakeside promenade.

Friday 22nd Feb

This morning we'll visit Chateau de Chillon on Lake Geneva. It's about a 4km walk from the city along the lake, which could be nice if the weather is good. Otherwise we can take the train.

In the afternoon we'll go up Rochers-de-Naye via the Golden Pass funicular. The food looks pretty basic up there, so we might have lunch in Montreux before we go. There's a marmot sanctuary up on the mountain, which could be interesting to check out (and it's free!).

We won't be out too late tonight because we'll have a very early morning the next day

Up next, our plans for Paris.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looks wonderful and I'm super envious!

 

[zanzibar138]

Paris, France

Saturday 23rd Feb
Train departing Montreux at 08:19am, via Geneva, arriving in Paris at 12:49pm

I wanted to make sure we'd have a useable afternoon in Paris, which meant an early start. When I first put the details into the train website, it had us going via Bern. I've heard great things about the scenery between Geneva and Paris, so I specifically wanted to go that way. It just meant that I had to book Montreux-Geneva and then Geneva-Paris separately.

When we arrive back in Paris we'll be staying at Hotel Terminus Lyon again (unless it's terrible the first time), back in our quad room.

This afternoon is the surprise for Mum. It departs from the Eiffel Tower at 4pm, so we'll catch the train over that way as soon as we've settled in at the hotel. I booked the surprise so that afterwards we would be able to watch the sunset at the Eiffel Tower and see it light up. We might have dinner over that way too before making our back to the hotel.

(I'm sure you've all seen pictures of the Eiffel Tower, so I won't bother to put one in here )

Sunday 24th Feb

This morning we'll be heading back to the Eiffel Tower for our bike tour of Paris. This is a birthday present for Dad (not a surprise though) - him and Mum are big into cycling.

The tour will take us past:
The Eiffel Tower
Napoleon's Tomb
The Louvre
Musee D'Orsay
Tuileries Gardens
Champs-Elysees

We get to stop for photos, but don't go into any of the places. We also stop for lunch. The tour goes for about 4 hours.

After the tour I think Mum will want to go to Champs-Elysees to do some shopping But that means I can go to the Disney Store And no doubt we will see the Arc de Triomphe while we're in the area.

We'll probably have dinner in the area too (as much as I'm sure the restaurants there are tourist trap rip-offs!) before making our way back to the hotel.

Monday 25th Feb

I want to include Monday morning in the Paris section, as we're not done yet!

This morning we have a tour of the Eiffel Tower booked, departing at 10:30am. So once again we'll be hot-footing it to the Eiffel Tower first thing in the morning (hmmm maybe we should have stayed somewhere closer after all ). We specifically booked the tour as it means we won't have to line up for tickets or lifts, although I'm not expecting it to be busy first thing on a Monday morning anyway. We were hoping to have this booked in for the weekend too, but the times that were still available just didn't fit in with the rest of our plans. They suggest allowing 2 hours for the tour, so we'll probably have some lunch afterwards.

We'll have to check out of our hotel before we leave for the tour, but will leave our bags there, so we'll be going back one last time before heading to our next destination.

Up next, our plans for Disneyland.

 

[zanzibar138]

Looks wonderful and I'm super envious!

Don't worry PIO - you have your US trip to look forward, of which I will be super envious

 

[zanzibar138]

Disneyland Paris, France

Monday 25th Feb
By the time we finish our tour, have some lunch, go back to the hotel to collect our bags, and get out to Val d'Europe, I'm guessing we won't get to DLP before 4pm, which is a bit sad for me not giving us much time for our first day at Disneyland Still, I've allowed lots of time for everything, so we might get there a bit earlier.

We're staying at Hotel L'Elysee. Aside from being a LOT cheaper offsite, I wondered if 24/7 Disney might be a bit overwhelming for Dad. I think this will be better. We've got a family room booked.

Opening hours still aren't up for that week, but for the week before the park closes at 8pm, so if that's the case we'll still have a good few hours there.

I think the plan for today will be first of all to get our APs done and dining reservations, then to just get a good overview of the park, get an idea of what's available and where everything is, maybe check out a few shops, and probably stay for Dreams. Hopefully my parents will be up for dinner at Disney Village to extend the Disney fix for today.

Tuesday 26th Feb

Another Disneyland day planned for today. We'll allow ourselves to sleep in, and just head off at our leisure. Might stop in Val d'Europe for a light brekky. Toay we'll just check out each land in a bit more depth, explore some walk-throughs and do some rides. I hope to be able to do Blue Lagoon for lunch today, and watch the parade if it's on.

Wednesday 27th Feb

I plan to make today a Disney Studios day. We'll try to get there for rope drop and go straight for Crush's Coaster. Mum can hold our stuff while we ride We'll see all the shows we can here because I know that's something Mum will really enjoy (she's not much of a rides person), and of course, check out the shops here as well.

Thursday 28th Feb

Disneyland again today. Depending on how the crowds have been, we might try to do EMH, but we probably won't bother if it's been pretty quiet and we feel like we'll get everything done.

Today will be the day to make do the rides/attractions/shows we haven't done yet. We can hop over to the Studios if we still need to finish off anything over there. I also hope to have lunch at Walt's today.

Friday 1st March

This will be a day to just take everything in, make sure I've taken all the photographs I want to, bought all my souvenirs, and ride our favourites one last time. I do hope to fit in afternoon tea at the DLH, and watch Dreams as our Disney finale... I'm sad just writing about it

Saturday 2nd March
Flight departing Paris 4:25pm, via London, arriving in Hong Kong at 2:20pm Sunday

I'm not sure what my parents have planned for today (they are going to a language school in regional France for the next week and not sure what their travel arrangements are). Hopefully we will have time for breakfast in Disney Village before we go our separate ways. I will probably just hang around as long as possible and maybe grab some quick lunch before getting the train back to CDG airport.

Since I had most of today free, and I had to go through London anyway, I thought about taking an early Eurostar and spending a few hours looking around. It was going to increase my flights by several hundred $$ to do that though, because of the ridiculous departure tax at Heathrow So now I'll just be passing through.

Up next, my plans for Hong Kong.

 

[zanzibar138]

Hong Kong

Sunday 3rd March

I'll be arriving in Hong Kong at 2:20pm, and will go straight to Hong Kong Disneyland on the train. I've been before, so I know which trains to get and where to transfer etc. Once I get to Disneyland, I could take the shuttle to my hotel, but I think I will walk along the park promenade, and probably stop for photos of my favourite fountain.

I'll be staying at the Hollywood Hotel this time, in a park view room.

After settling in, I plan to go for a walk around Inspiration Lake. I didn't get there last time, and since weekends are blocked out on my pass, I can't go to the park today.

For dinner, I plan to walk to the Disneyland Hotel (where I stayed last time) and have snacks and drinks in the foyer/lounge area. It's very comfortable and they often have entertainment.

If there's time after dinner I might wander to the fountain/Disneyland entrance again to take more photos after dark. If not, I'll just go back to my hotel and call it a night. I will of course be watching the fireworks from my room (the whole point of getting a park view).

Monday 4th March

This morning I want to ride the cable car up to Ngong Ping to see the big Buddha. We didn't get to go last time because it was down for maintenance, so if it's up and running this time, I definitely want to go. It opens at 9am, and I've figured out that I can get there and back, plus spend an hour at the top, and be back at Disneyland before lunch

First of all I'll have to take the train to Tung Chung. I've been there before too, and it's the end of the line, so it should be easy to manage. Might grab a bite to eat at the train station. From there the cable car station is just across the road.

I want to get a crystal cabin if I can. These ones have clear floors so you can see straight down. Since the ride takes 20 minutes, and I will be on my own, I may end up regretting this choice Once I get to the top I'll see the big Buddha and maybe wander some of the trails - not interested in any of the 'experiences' up there. Then come down again, get back on the train and head back to Disneyland.

When I get to Disneyland, I'll be heading straight for Grizzly Gulch and doing the Runaway Mine Train ride - can't wait! After that I'll have some CS lunch somewhere, and have a look at the show times for The Lion King and The Golden Mickeys, and will probably plan to see them tomorrow. Then off to some of my favourites (in clockwise order from Grizzly Gulch) Tarzan's Treehouse, Jungle Cruise, Mickey's Philharmagic, Winnie the Pooh and Space Mountain.

I'll be watching the parade, and will happily interrupt my ride schedule for that if required. Then continue with some character meets at Fantasy Gardens, Grizzly Gulch again after dark (I want to make sure I experience it fully), and shopping (love their biscuit tins!). Then to finish off the night with a sweet treat from the bakery while watching the fireworks.

Tuesday 5th March

Today I'll be aiming to do as much as I can before the parade, because I will have to leave straight afterwards. I'll have to check out of the hotel before I go, but will leave my bags there. I aim to be at the park for opening, and will grab a bite to eat from the bakery while waiting for rope drop. Once the rope drops, I'll be hot-footing it over to Grizzly Gulch again!

The rest of the day will be more favourite rides fit in around The Lion King and The Golden Mickeys. About half an hour before the parade, I'll grab a yummy strawberry and mango Minnie ice-cream bar and stake out a good spot.

Unfortunately I won't have time to say a proper goodbye as I'll be hot-footing it out of there again to grab my bags and be on the train to the airport I may be able to get another quick Disney fix at the airport with the Disney Store

Then I'll be heading back to Melbourne on an 8 hour overnight flight - always a terrible way to end a great holiday!