Back from DLP after a nightmare Eurostar Journey!

[PoppetK]

Hi all

We went out to DLP on Monday and came back yesterday. We had a wonderful time, but I was slightly anxious with all the snow and the reports of snow back in the UK as I remembered the Eurostar having a lot of problems last year.

Yesterday the first thing we did was get my brother-in-law to keep an eye in the Eurostar website for us. He was texting us updates that it was running, but delayed.

Last night we turned up at the station to a massive crowd of people. Eurostar weren't allowing anyone to check in as the train hadn't arrived

After an hour a train came into the station, apparently they were sending one from Paris. I was very glad to see a train as I began to think it was going to be cancelled.

We were rushed through passport control and security and all boarded the train. This was about 8pm Paris time so we were 40 mins late.

When we got on the train we had an announcement from the train manager that there were speed restrictions in both France and the UK so there could be an additional 2 hours onto our journey. Was a bit of a bummer but at least we were on a train and it was moving.

First problem we had was the train was stuck for ages in Lille. We were told that this was a broken down train in front of us. They eventually got that cleared and we were moving again. We were fine through the tunnel (the bit that worried me as that's where people had got stranded last year) but as we approached Ashford there was another broken down train. After a few minutes waiting there was an announcement that the broken down train had to be 'de-trained' and this was going to take some time. Passengers who had collected their stuff, put on their coats etc were told to sit back down. We were getting pretty fed up by this point as we'd been on the train for over 4 hours. After a while we got into Ashford and then was onto St Pancras. We arrived St Pancras at just gone 00:30, about 5 hours after getting in the train in Paris. I was SO glad to be back.

When we were on the train Eurostar had announced that they would cover the cost of taxis home or hotels for those that lived too far and had missed any connections. We were due to get the tube to North London but the tube was closed so got a taxi instead. I was impressed with the organisation of it all in St Pancras. We were given water and soft drinks as we came off the platform (and we were given chocolate on the train). Lots of taxi marshals in hi-vis vests advising people on how to get a taxi and giving people information.

I approached a marshal and asked the best way for us to get a taxi (we were told we'd need a voucher). He gave me a slip I had to write my details on and he said that as we had small children he would get a Radio Cab. We were told not to join the black cab queue (which was massive) but to go to Eurodespatch with the slip. Off we went, following his directions and turned up at the Eurodespatch rank. There was a big queue (not as big as the normal taxi rank) and thankfully as we had small children we were whisked right to the front of the queue and put straight into a taxi.

Finally, at 01:30 we arrived back at my brother in laws where we are spending a few days. The taxi meter said £57 when he dropped us off so I'm sooooo glad we weren't paying that.

Overall, I was impressed with the way Eurostar dealt with everything. We were given regular updates and the train manager was apologising constantly. We were given chocolate and drinks and then a free taxi home. Given the situation with the weather I think it was handled well. I felt very sorry for all the people who were worried about missing connections or finding a hotel to stay in but everyone on the train seemed happier when we were told about the taxi/hotel arrangement.

Oh, and thankfully both my boys (5 and 1) slept most of the journey home

I hope any disers that might have been on the train got home safe. We had a awesome holiday and the journey didn't spoil it. I was just relieved to get back as being stuck in Paris would have been a bit of a nightmare

 

[loladelorean]

Really glad you managed to get there and back and enjoy your holiday! I'm worrying about all the stranded DISers this week
Even though it wasn't the best of travel experiences for you, it sounds like Eurostar dealt with everything really well, big thumbs up to them covering all those taxi and hotel costs!
Can't wait to hear more about your trip itself

 

[Jonjo]

Were you on the direct Disney train from Marne-la-Vallée to St Pancras International? We are leaving on Monday and I'm keeping a close eye on Eurostar website!

Looks like you were well cared for by Eurostar, and sounds like they realy have learned the lessons from last years severe weather.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Yikes!

I'm glad that Eurostar dealt with the situation so well.

 

[PoppetK]

Were you on the direct Disney train from Marne-la-Vallée to St Pancras International? We are leaving on Monday and I'm keeping a close eye on Eurostar website!

Looks like you were well cared for by Eurostar, and sounds like they have realy have learned from the lessons from last years severe weather.

Yep, we were on the train from Marne-la-Vallée.

I was so glad it was running and we managed to get home. I really didn't want to get stuck in Paris.

Good luck for your journey on Monday

 

[Ware Bears]

Welcome back glad you had a wonderful time.

It's very reassuring to know that Eurostar seem to have learned from last year's fiasco.

 

[stonfiesta]

We was on the same train as you. the whole episode was a bit of a joke. They had actually let about half the passengers check in and go through security.......us included. we had to wait down the bottom of the first esculators after security, i think we were down there for a good 50 mins. not good for people with kids standing out in the freezing cold like that. when the train finally pulled in we where quite surprised to see that the train already had passengers on, i have no idea where they all came from. i think if there was no problems with the weather there would only have been about 4 of us in that carriage. the stewardess didnt seem very happy when we tried getting on train........she thought we was getting on the wrong carriage, after her huffing and puffing she showed us to ours seats and there was plenty of storage space so i dont know what her problem was. Oh and i got to say the food they served was manky looking. at least it was hot food on the way home, it was just a roll and a croisant on the way there.

This was our first trip boarding at ashford and we couldnt beleive it when the train stopped just outside the station......we could have walked if it was possible to get off the train lol. then there was the driving home on the motorways..........very dangerous and the bloody 40ft trucks overtaking in the snowy, icey, slushy lanes.........W*****S!! we finally got home at about 3am!!! ashford to just down the road from heathrow. one bonus was the parking ticket machine charged us just under £20 less by mistake.

oh and i think its about time they sorted the way people queue before and during check-in and security. we was the 5th family inline.........got there early, was nice and organised and then the pushers start squeezing in from both sides. nearly got in an arguement with some skank who pushed her and family between me and my partner and daughter. i couldnt be bothered tho...at least the family who pushed in from the other side moved over to let me get back to the mrs............then there was the stuck up old ***** who thought she was too upper class to wait inline to get down the esculators.

that might well be the last time we do the eurostar.......so much easier to drive. well for me it is *** im the passenger lol.

what carriage was you in BTW?

 

[PoppetK]

We was on the same train as you. the whole episode was a bit of a joke. They had actually let about half the passengers check in and go through security.......us included. we had to wait down the bottom of the first esculators after security, i think we were down there for a good 50 mins. not good for people with kids standing out in the freezing cold like that. when the train finally pulled in we where quite surprised to see that the train already had passengers on, i have no idea where they all came from. i think if there was no problems with the weather there would only have been about 4 of us in that carriage. the stewardess didnt seem very happy when we tried getting on train........she thought we was getting on the wrong carriage, after her huffing and puffing she showed us to ours seats and there was plenty of storage space so i dont know what her problem was. Oh and i got to say the food they served was manky looking. at least it was hot food on the way home, it was just a roll and a croisant on the way there.

This was our first trip boarding at ashford and we couldnt beleive it when the train stopped just outside the station......we could have walked if it was possible to get off the train lol. then there was the driving home on the motorways..........very dangerous and the bloody 40ft trucks overtaking in the snowy, icey, slushy lanes.........W*****S!! we finally got home at about 3am!!! ashford to just down the road from heathrow. one bonus was the parking ticket machine charged us just under £20 less by mistake.

oh and i think its about time they sorted the way people queue before and during check-in and security. we was the 5th family inline.........got there early, was nice and organised and then the pushers start squeezing in from both sides. nearly got in an arguement with some skank who pushed her and family between me and my partner and daughter. i couldnt be bothered tho...at least the family who pushed in from the other side moved over to let me get back to the mrs............then there was the stuck up old ***** who thought she was too upper class to wait inline to get down the esculators.

that might well be the last time we do the eurostar.......so much easier to drive. well for me it is *** im the passenger lol.

what carriage was you in BTW?

I noticed they had let some people through the check-in and down onto the escalators. I think this was to ease the congestion where we were standing. It wasn't ideal standing around for an hour but with no train there was nowhere else to go I guess. St Pancras has a specially build Eurostar terminal with seats, so if we were stuck there we'd have had a seat. Rather than standing. Luckily my boys were ok, my youngest was in the pushchair and my eldest made friends with a little girl waiting beside us and they were playing for the hour. The families we had around by us were all nice and we were all chatting. There was a french lady who I think worked for Disney, she was ringing a colleague back in the park to see if she could get any information for us.

We luckily had no problems getting on the train itself. They were very quick getting us through the check-in and it was a bit of a scrum but the Eurostar staff were trying to alternate who went through and were keeping families together. When we got to the platform we told the lady what carridge we were on and she directed us. I didn't have any food on the train. I didn't think it would be up to much so we all ate at Annette's before going to the station.

I felt very sorry for the people who were all ready to get off at Ashford only to be told to sit back down. That must have been so frustrating. I know the family beside us had woken their children ready to get off, only to sit back down again.

Your journey from Ashford sounds a nightmare. We were lucky that it was very straightforward when we got to St Pancras.

We were in Carridge 1, whereabouts were you?

 

[stonfiesta]

lol, we had a similar thing with our munch, she was being entertained by a little boy standing next to us.......usually she hates being still but she had great fun.

we were in carriage 11.......i think julie said she had to walk to carriage 1 to use the toilet, did you see a little one in a bright red minnie outfit? silly question really............must be a couple in every carriage lol.

oooooo anettes is goooood lol

 

[PoppetK]

lol, we had a similar thing with our munch, she was being entertained by a little boy standing next to us.......usually she hates being still but she had great fun.

we were in carriage 11.......i think julie said she had to walk to carriage 1 to use the toilet, did you see a little one in a bright red minnie outfit? silly question really............must be a couple in every carriage lol.

oooooo anettes is goooood lol

It was my first trip to Annette's, we loved it there. I had a chilli chilli dog which was AMAZING lol! Loved the waiters on roller-skates.

We were sat after the toilets, if you get what I mean, we had to go backwards to use the loo. Your partner had a hell of a walk from carriage 11 to 1! I wanted a coffee but couldn't be bothered to find the buffet cart lol!

I hope the rubbish journey didn't spoil the end of your holiday

 

[scampbunny]

We was on the same train as you. the whole episode was a bit of a joke. They had actually let about half the passengers check in and go through security.......us included. we had to wait down the bottom of the first esculators after security, i think we were down there for a good 50 mins. not good for people with kids standing out in the freezing cold like that. when the train finally pulled in we where quite surprised to see that the train already had passengers on, i have no idea where they all came from. i think if there was no problems with the weather there would only have been about 4 of us in that carriage. the stewardess didnt seem very happy when we tried getting on train........she thought we was getting on the wrong carriage, after her huffing and puffing she showed us to ours seats and there was plenty of storage space so i dont know what her problem was. Oh and i got to say the food they served was manky looking. at least it was hot food on the way home, it was just a roll and a croisant on the way there.

This was our first trip boarding at ashford and we couldnt beleive it when the train stopped just outside the station......we could have walked if it was possible to get off the train lol. then there was the driving home on the motorways..........very dangerous and the bloody 40ft trucks overtaking in the snowy, icey, slushy lanes.........W*****S!! we finally got home at about 3am!!! ashford to just down the road from heathrow. one bonus was the parking ticket machine charged us just under £20 less by mistake.

oh and i think its about time they sorted the way people queue before and during check-in and security. we was the 5th family inline.........got there early, was nice and organised and then the pushers start squeezing in from both sides. nearly got in an arguement with some skank who pushed her and family between me and my partner and daughter. i couldnt be bothered tho...at least the family who pushed in from the other side moved over to let me get back to the mrs............then there was the stuck up old ***** who thought she was too upper class to wait inline to get down the esculators.

that might well be the last time we do the eurostar.......so much easier to drive. well for me it is *** im the passenger lol.

what carriage was you in BTW?

oh roy - that sounds a right nightmare!!! so glad u finally got home...... dont think i cud do eurostar, unless it cud drop me off right at my house lol

bet the whole trip tho was worth it?? will i be able to persuade u for next christmas?? lol

 

[cherrymarzipan]

So glad you got home alright. My daughter was in the train that broke down but at least she was on her way to Disneyland and the Disney magic is working on her now.

 

[stonfiesta]

oh roy - that sounds a right nightmare!!! so glad u finally got home...... dont think i cud do eurostar, unless it cud drop me off right at my house lol

bet the whole trip tho was worth it?? will i be able to persuade u for next christmas?? lol

yep the trip was superb, the travel didnt really ruin things either because we had such a great time. cant see us turning down an xmas trip might skip the midnight motorway drive and stop at a hotel next time though lol.

i will leave the photos for julie to add on facebook and i might attempt a little trip report when im back at work.