knitting nancy
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2006
- Messages
- 34
Excitement was running very high in our household on the friday morning that we were due to set off for our very first trip to DLP. We'd found out about the competition win, courtesy of lovely Asda, on the day before Christmas Eve - the best present we could have been given - and then finally those 8 weeks of waiting and reading Brit's Guide and reading these boards was over and we were on our way. And although cold it was sunny and the 3 day forecast for Paris was more of the same. Luckily we're only a 20 minute train ride away from Ashford so at 8.30 myself, DD (age 5 and colourer-in extraordinaire!) and DSs (age 7 and 8) set off for the station which is only about 10 minutes walk but always has horrendous queues. (The prize was for 4 so we left DH at home!!). We bumped into some of their school friends enroute who were on their way to school so a little bit of gloating went on. The trains were running on time which was one more thing to cross off my worry list and at 9.20 we arrived at Ashford. We had our first drama as we got to the top of the escalator and prepared for check in - DD discovered that Travel Bear (the bear belonging to her class at school who accompanies children on their holidays and who gets photographed for the display board) had lost his trousers! As she embarked on a wail that would wake the dead I issued strict orders not to move while I dashed back down the escalator, retracing my steps to the mainline station where I realised that I couldn't remember which of the platforms we'd come in on but presumed that thy'd probably fallen off on the train anyway when DD had been fiddling about with them. I resigned myself to having to buy a new pair when we got home and returned upstairs to find her still sobbing. Lots of reassurance followed along the lines of at least it was only trousers and not the bear himself or even worse her precious toy sheep which goes with her everywhere or even worse herself, which got us through check in and then we had the distraction of having to take off bags and coats to go through security, and the enjoyment of seeing sheep and bear travel along the belt in their own tray made her forget all about it.
So onto the departure lounge where we began the complicated one in the toilets with me while 2 wait outside with the luggage procedure. Whilst in their with DS 2 the call came for the train to Paris and I came out to find the other 2 in a complete panic that we were about to miss the train and our holiday! A little after that the announcement came for all children travelling to DLP to come to the information desk to collect their activity packs and then our train was announced! We were in carriage 18 which meant we had a long walk down the platform to the front of the train but we were all excited that we would be the first into the tunnel, the first into France and the first to catch a glimpse of the park when we arrived.
The train came in on time and as we boarded a security guard standing by the door caught sight of Travel bear and asked if he'd lost some trousers because a pair had been handed in at the security desk! No time to go back but at least we knew they'd be waiting for us on our return.
I hadn't realized quite how innocent my children were until DS 2 announced that he didn't want to sit by the window in case he saw a shark! When I told him that he wouldn't be seeing anything except perhaps the sides of the tunnel DD expressed her disappointment at not seeing any fish. I really think that they had envisaged a kind of Bedknobs and Broomsticks scenario where we went bobbing along the sea bed.!
I'd taken a rucksack full of things to keep them occupied because the boys in particular are not good at sitting still for any length of time, plus a picnic lunch and before we knew it we were getting our first glimpse of the very top of Sleeping Beauty's castle and we had arrived.
Because we were there for a special event we had to go to the Hotel New York to check in and collect the details of the weekend which was a bit annoying when I's seen other people on the train getting their tickets so they could go straight into the parks. I decided that we would walk rather than try and find a shuttle bus but once outside the station we somehow missed ths signpost which would have directed us there, and instead wandered about for a good 5 minutes wondering where to go. Finally noticed it and set off through Disney Village, round by the lake and there we were. We had to follow the signs for the Cinderella Ball check in desk which took us round to the conference centre part and a massive queue. First we queued for our park tickets, maps, meal vouchers, workshop times and Ball details, including a special pass which would give us access. All of these were packed into a cute little Disney Princess bag for DD to keep. Then we had to queue again for our room key - but at least the room was ready so we headed up to dump off our luuggage, once we'd mastered how to open the door! The last time I stayed in a hotel they had proper keys and not credit card ones! It was all very exciting for the children who have only ever stayed in a caravan before.
It was straight on out after that and as we went through the security checks and found ourselves standing in front of the Disneyland Hotel I could hardly believe we were there and we stopped for the obligatory photo to make it real. On past the ticket machines and we found ourselves in Main Street. Just then an announcement was made that the Jungle Carnival was going to begin in 5 minutes in Carnival Square so we took our places to watch that, and what a way to begin our very first trip. Our only experience of carnivals has been the rubbish ones in our own local one and my jaw almost fell to the ground at the amazing spectacle befor our eyes. The 'costumes' for want of a better word were incredible and we all joined in the dance enthusiastically. At the end the lady dancers were looking for children to go out and dance in the street with them - DD went off with one of them and was delighted to be given a string of Micky Mouse shaped beads for taking part.
Then it was straight on up Main Street, quite overcome by the sight of the castle which we'd looked at so often in pictures beforehand and we were finally there. Walked through the castle into Fantasyland and first stop was the Carousel because I'm not much of a rides person (complete coward actually!) and i do love a Merry go round. I have to say that it was tame even for me and I was glad that we hadn't queued for long. DS 2 sat on the most enormous horse I have ever seen on a carousel before though and because of that he thought it was fantastic.
Next stop was Pinocchio which had quite a long queue but it moved quickly. I thought the detail was incredible but DS 2 who hates the dark, cried and said that he didn't want to go on it again (which rather set a pattern for the next couple of days as you will discover if you can bear to read anymore after this hefty introduction). To appease him we headed for the tea cups which we walked straight on, and then we went to Alice's Curious Labyrinth which we all absolutely loved. The children took it in turns to lead through the maze and really enjoyed the characters popping up, and what a beautiful view from the top of the Queen of Hearts Castle. Looking at my watch I noticed that back home their friends would only just be coming out of school and we couldn't believe that we'd done so much since seeing them this morning. From there we went on It's a Small World which was another big hit. So much to look at inside, your head needs to be on a permanent swivel!
We headed back to Carnival Square at this point for the Kid's carnival finale. There were lots of face painters walking about doing free face painting so DD was keen to have hers done as I'm normally too mean to pay! Again the carnival was fantastic, this time Jungle meets under the sea. I loved the giant Ursula though DD was a little scared - she always has to shut her eyes when she's watching that part of the video. She joined in the dancing again but this time there were so many other people milling about in the street that I couldn't see where she'd got too and when the carnival finished and the street filled I was in a state of complete panic. I moved off to where I could see a dancer wearing the right colour costume (they'd all been dressed as different coloured birds) but there was no small pink, face painted girl with her, I tried to alert a CM who told me to move along in the direction of the crowd, and then in desperation fought my way back the other way to where we'd been standing only to discover that the sensible child had returned to the spot and was sobbing because we weren't there. It didn't occur to me that in all the excitement she would have paid much attention to where we'd been. The relief was indescribable and having received a second string of beads I decided that that would be her last! She would stay firmly attached to me!
sorry, that's taken far longer to write than anticipated and I now need to go to work so shall have to continue with the second part of day 1 another time - if it's not been too boring for everyone. (no time to proof read so apologise for spelling mistakes)
So onto the departure lounge where we began the complicated one in the toilets with me while 2 wait outside with the luggage procedure. Whilst in their with DS 2 the call came for the train to Paris and I came out to find the other 2 in a complete panic that we were about to miss the train and our holiday! A little after that the announcement came for all children travelling to DLP to come to the information desk to collect their activity packs and then our train was announced! We were in carriage 18 which meant we had a long walk down the platform to the front of the train but we were all excited that we would be the first into the tunnel, the first into France and the first to catch a glimpse of the park when we arrived.
The train came in on time and as we boarded a security guard standing by the door caught sight of Travel bear and asked if he'd lost some trousers because a pair had been handed in at the security desk! No time to go back but at least we knew they'd be waiting for us on our return.
I hadn't realized quite how innocent my children were until DS 2 announced that he didn't want to sit by the window in case he saw a shark! When I told him that he wouldn't be seeing anything except perhaps the sides of the tunnel DD expressed her disappointment at not seeing any fish. I really think that they had envisaged a kind of Bedknobs and Broomsticks scenario where we went bobbing along the sea bed.!
I'd taken a rucksack full of things to keep them occupied because the boys in particular are not good at sitting still for any length of time, plus a picnic lunch and before we knew it we were getting our first glimpse of the very top of Sleeping Beauty's castle and we had arrived.
Because we were there for a special event we had to go to the Hotel New York to check in and collect the details of the weekend which was a bit annoying when I's seen other people on the train getting their tickets so they could go straight into the parks. I decided that we would walk rather than try and find a shuttle bus but once outside the station we somehow missed ths signpost which would have directed us there, and instead wandered about for a good 5 minutes wondering where to go. Finally noticed it and set off through Disney Village, round by the lake and there we were. We had to follow the signs for the Cinderella Ball check in desk which took us round to the conference centre part and a massive queue. First we queued for our park tickets, maps, meal vouchers, workshop times and Ball details, including a special pass which would give us access. All of these were packed into a cute little Disney Princess bag for DD to keep. Then we had to queue again for our room key - but at least the room was ready so we headed up to dump off our luuggage, once we'd mastered how to open the door! The last time I stayed in a hotel they had proper keys and not credit card ones! It was all very exciting for the children who have only ever stayed in a caravan before.
It was straight on out after that and as we went through the security checks and found ourselves standing in front of the Disneyland Hotel I could hardly believe we were there and we stopped for the obligatory photo to make it real. On past the ticket machines and we found ourselves in Main Street. Just then an announcement was made that the Jungle Carnival was going to begin in 5 minutes in Carnival Square so we took our places to watch that, and what a way to begin our very first trip. Our only experience of carnivals has been the rubbish ones in our own local one and my jaw almost fell to the ground at the amazing spectacle befor our eyes. The 'costumes' for want of a better word were incredible and we all joined in the dance enthusiastically. At the end the lady dancers were looking for children to go out and dance in the street with them - DD went off with one of them and was delighted to be given a string of Micky Mouse shaped beads for taking part.
Then it was straight on up Main Street, quite overcome by the sight of the castle which we'd looked at so often in pictures beforehand and we were finally there. Walked through the castle into Fantasyland and first stop was the Carousel because I'm not much of a rides person (complete coward actually!) and i do love a Merry go round. I have to say that it was tame even for me and I was glad that we hadn't queued for long. DS 2 sat on the most enormous horse I have ever seen on a carousel before though and because of that he thought it was fantastic.
Next stop was Pinocchio which had quite a long queue but it moved quickly. I thought the detail was incredible but DS 2 who hates the dark, cried and said that he didn't want to go on it again (which rather set a pattern for the next couple of days as you will discover if you can bear to read anymore after this hefty introduction). To appease him we headed for the tea cups which we walked straight on, and then we went to Alice's Curious Labyrinth which we all absolutely loved. The children took it in turns to lead through the maze and really enjoyed the characters popping up, and what a beautiful view from the top of the Queen of Hearts Castle. Looking at my watch I noticed that back home their friends would only just be coming out of school and we couldn't believe that we'd done so much since seeing them this morning. From there we went on It's a Small World which was another big hit. So much to look at inside, your head needs to be on a permanent swivel!
We headed back to Carnival Square at this point for the Kid's carnival finale. There were lots of face painters walking about doing free face painting so DD was keen to have hers done as I'm normally too mean to pay! Again the carnival was fantastic, this time Jungle meets under the sea. I loved the giant Ursula though DD was a little scared - she always has to shut her eyes when she's watching that part of the video. She joined in the dancing again but this time there were so many other people milling about in the street that I couldn't see where she'd got too and when the carnival finished and the street filled I was in a state of complete panic. I moved off to where I could see a dancer wearing the right colour costume (they'd all been dressed as different coloured birds) but there was no small pink, face painted girl with her, I tried to alert a CM who told me to move along in the direction of the crowd, and then in desperation fought my way back the other way to where we'd been standing only to discover that the sensible child had returned to the spot and was sobbing because we weren't there. It didn't occur to me that in all the excitement she would have paid much attention to where we'd been. The relief was indescribable and having received a second string of beads I decided that that would be her last! She would stay firmly attached to me!
sorry, that's taken far longer to write than anticipated and I now need to go to work so shall have to continue with the second part of day 1 another time - if it's not been too boring for everyone. (no time to proof read so apologise for spelling mistakes)
Can't wait for part 2!!! 
Thank you so much. 
