kevin_cambs_uk
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2003
- Messages
- 305
My daughter decided that for my birthday we would go to Disneyland Paris for the day using The Sun offer offer of free tickets and free ferry crossing if you collected the tokens. As Florida veterans (me 7 times) and Jodie (4 times), we knew it would be a long time before we got back to Florida, our last trip being in 2008. I had been there 3 times before being Jodies Step dad, but she had definately got the Disney bug since we started going !
So at first thought it was wow brilliant idea, and a lovely idea for her to think of taking me there etc, I was deeply touched by it but me being practical thought of the practicalities of getting there and back, but thought what the hell, lets give it a whirl.
So that was the plan, leave in the evening, drive all night, parks all day, drive back in the evening.
So Monday the 6th of February, been up since half 5, due to the snow (because I cycle to work, 15 miles each way and had fitted snow tyres to my bike) we had 5 cm of snow that weekend, I was not sure how long it would take to get there, so set off earlier than normal, Jodie drove back from her home in Norfolk, back to Cambridge, so we both had had heavy days already.
Car was packed by 8, with all the food, petrol, tickets etc etc, and we went to bed for 2 hours.
Up at 10 pm, we set off at 10.30, said good bye to the wifey, and off we went. We were at Dover by 1 am, after a solid 2 hr drive,the ferry we were supposed to get had been re arranged to 3.40 instead of 2.20. So a good 2 hour wait, and by god was it cold down in Dover. We snoozed in the car, ate a little until we drove on the ferry.
On the ferry, nice Costa coffe, and over an hour later in France. Driving down it was showing - 11 on the outside temp gauge. We stopped at one services for a tinkle, and boy was it cold.....brrrr.
By about 8.30 - 9 am, we started round the Charles de Gaull airport on the A1, and then picked up the signs for Disneyland Paris. Traffic was pretty heavy, so we had to keep our wits about us to make sure we did not miss any turn off. By 10 am we were driving our way in.....We knew we were on the way in when the privet on the road was all neat and tidy, and the road was very straight !, and then we hit the entrace booth, just like you do in Florida.
Even the car park was the same layout as in Florida, but no CM to tell you where to park, so everyone parked where they wanted, but there were not many cars there. Out the car and into the entrance up a flat escaltor like you get at Universal, and still bitterly cold, -8 when we left the car.
We wandered down to the entrance, and there was a lot of building work going on but we soon saw the entrance to Disneyland park, and all the frozed water features. The entrance was beautiful, and we quickly exchanged the voucher for the tickets and got straight in.
As you all know its a great feeling when you walk down Main Street and see the Castle. Being there was great, even the trash bins were the same as Florida, along with the Stroller rental signs!
We walked down to the end of Main street, via a few shops to try and get warmed up , and then we asked someone to take our photo.
We walked through the Castle, which is very pretty, and went to the Princess Palace where you can have all the photos taken with the Princesses. After 40 minutes of queueing we gave up and came back out as we only had a limited time, so it was off to Space Mountain, past some great scenery, like an X-Wing and Wall-E !
Space Mountain was having technical difficulties. booo, so we wandered over to Big Thunder Mountain. Great ride as ever, damn cold and a bit better than the Florida one. Off to the Phantom Manor and great fun again. Back to Space Mountain and it was working. Here I was disapointed. In Florida I love the queue experience of SM but here it was sadly lacking, and in FL, the best bit was at the departure station where all the asteroids flew over the ceiling, for me the nearest I would ever get to space, but here there was none of that. I would not bother again.
We liked the themeing of Discoveryland, the Jules Verne turn of the century look, very nice, and after that we were so cold we decided for lunch.
Rain-forest Cafe was the choice even before we got there, and it was brilliant , but expensive, Jodie said the Fanta she had was 4 euros ! we had a main each, one starter, one desert and 2 drinks, 65 euros. Ouch.....
We left there, full up and warm again and went to Disney Studios. We had no idea what to expect and it just looked like a series of big warehouses, and we were pleasantly surprised that the first one was a street of shops and restaurants inseide the studio building ! I went on the Tower of Terror and loved it as ever, brilliant ride, and one CM there interacted with the people, and he was from the US ! We also watched Cinemagique which was brilliant fun, but again bitterly cold.
By 4.30 I had had enough, I was dreadfully tired and cold beyond belief and wanted to go home, but Jodie wanted to see the parade at 5 back in the Disneyland Park, so we headed back there for that. Parade was good, but cold, and I am glad we watched it, by 5.30 we were heading back to the car and warmth ! On the way out there were people selling souvenirs, just like they do at the Eiffel Tower, and we were approached by some beggars at lunch time in the Disney Village as well. We drove out and filled up with more petrol at the station on the way out, Hess at Downton Disney it was not.............
Getting back up to Calais was tricky, there are no signs that far south for Calais, so on 2 occasions I made a guess and was right on both, but if I did not know Brussels was north we would have got lost. 3 hour solid drive back to Calais, and we were put on the earlier ferry for England. On the ferry we found 2 sofas, and we both feel asleep for an hour. Back in England by 12 am, and the M20 was closed so a lovely detour through Fokstone (not
).
By the time we reached the Dartford crossing I was shattered and my brain was telling me to stop, so we stopped at the services there and snoozed for 20 mins, and then it was back on the road for 2 more hours to home. We were back at 3 am and I was totally wrecked, my brain was shouting at me to go to bed.
The next day.... How do I feel about it now? Well I am glad we did it, I know Jodie loved it and the castle and things and we all want our kids to be happy and for that alone it was worth the trip. I am so glad she suggested we do it, as I do not think I would have bothered but it was excellent to see Disney in a different country.
We did it on the cheap, the whole trip cost no more than £300.00, the breakdown was like this
£140 petrol
£40 road tolls
£60 lunch
£40 on car stuff like breakdown cover, travel insurance etc.
I really enjoyed the Disneyland Park and thought it was as good if not better than the Magic Kingdom. The Studios seemed a little dis jointed to me and not very well laid out, but by that time I was cold and very tired. Its not Florida but definaltely worth the trip as getting to Florida is not cheap anymore. I have read that Paris was poor and full of smokers and queue jumping people, but we never saw any of that really, some people were smoking but it was not as bad as I expected.
Seeing the seller outside the park and the beggars was something I did not expect, as was the broken lights in the Rainforest Cafe sign. The market place was a bit of a let down, it seemed dated and the shops were not very inspiring, A World of Disney is needed there badly.
Overall, we needed more time and more sleep, but going back on the Eurostar would definitely be an option, or a drive down with an overnight stay.
The big question we both felt at the end was
Would you spend money getting here for a few days or save the money to go to Florida?
So at first thought it was wow brilliant idea, and a lovely idea for her to think of taking me there etc, I was deeply touched by it but me being practical thought of the practicalities of getting there and back, but thought what the hell, lets give it a whirl.
So that was the plan, leave in the evening, drive all night, parks all day, drive back in the evening.
So Monday the 6th of February, been up since half 5, due to the snow (because I cycle to work, 15 miles each way and had fitted snow tyres to my bike) we had 5 cm of snow that weekend, I was not sure how long it would take to get there, so set off earlier than normal, Jodie drove back from her home in Norfolk, back to Cambridge, so we both had had heavy days already.
Car was packed by 8, with all the food, petrol, tickets etc etc, and we went to bed for 2 hours.
Up at 10 pm, we set off at 10.30, said good bye to the wifey, and off we went. We were at Dover by 1 am, after a solid 2 hr drive,the ferry we were supposed to get had been re arranged to 3.40 instead of 2.20. So a good 2 hour wait, and by god was it cold down in Dover. We snoozed in the car, ate a little until we drove on the ferry.
On the ferry, nice Costa coffe, and over an hour later in France. Driving down it was showing - 11 on the outside temp gauge. We stopped at one services for a tinkle, and boy was it cold.....brrrr.
By about 8.30 - 9 am, we started round the Charles de Gaull airport on the A1, and then picked up the signs for Disneyland Paris. Traffic was pretty heavy, so we had to keep our wits about us to make sure we did not miss any turn off. By 10 am we were driving our way in.....We knew we were on the way in when the privet on the road was all neat and tidy, and the road was very straight !, and then we hit the entrace booth, just like you do in Florida.
Even the car park was the same layout as in Florida, but no CM to tell you where to park, so everyone parked where they wanted, but there were not many cars there. Out the car and into the entrance up a flat escaltor like you get at Universal, and still bitterly cold, -8 when we left the car.
We wandered down to the entrance, and there was a lot of building work going on but we soon saw the entrance to Disneyland park, and all the frozed water features. The entrance was beautiful, and we quickly exchanged the voucher for the tickets and got straight in.
As you all know its a great feeling when you walk down Main Street and see the Castle. Being there was great, even the trash bins were the same as Florida, along with the Stroller rental signs!
We walked down to the end of Main street, via a few shops to try and get warmed up , and then we asked someone to take our photo.
We walked through the Castle, which is very pretty, and went to the Princess Palace where you can have all the photos taken with the Princesses. After 40 minutes of queueing we gave up and came back out as we only had a limited time, so it was off to Space Mountain, past some great scenery, like an X-Wing and Wall-E !
Space Mountain was having technical difficulties. booo, so we wandered over to Big Thunder Mountain. Great ride as ever, damn cold and a bit better than the Florida one. Off to the Phantom Manor and great fun again. Back to Space Mountain and it was working. Here I was disapointed. In Florida I love the queue experience of SM but here it was sadly lacking, and in FL, the best bit was at the departure station where all the asteroids flew over the ceiling, for me the nearest I would ever get to space, but here there was none of that. I would not bother again.
We liked the themeing of Discoveryland, the Jules Verne turn of the century look, very nice, and after that we were so cold we decided for lunch.
Rain-forest Cafe was the choice even before we got there, and it was brilliant , but expensive, Jodie said the Fanta she had was 4 euros ! we had a main each, one starter, one desert and 2 drinks, 65 euros. Ouch.....
We left there, full up and warm again and went to Disney Studios. We had no idea what to expect and it just looked like a series of big warehouses, and we were pleasantly surprised that the first one was a street of shops and restaurants inseide the studio building ! I went on the Tower of Terror and loved it as ever, brilliant ride, and one CM there interacted with the people, and he was from the US ! We also watched Cinemagique which was brilliant fun, but again bitterly cold.
By 4.30 I had had enough, I was dreadfully tired and cold beyond belief and wanted to go home, but Jodie wanted to see the parade at 5 back in the Disneyland Park, so we headed back there for that. Parade was good, but cold, and I am glad we watched it, by 5.30 we were heading back to the car and warmth ! On the way out there were people selling souvenirs, just like they do at the Eiffel Tower, and we were approached by some beggars at lunch time in the Disney Village as well. We drove out and filled up with more petrol at the station on the way out, Hess at Downton Disney it was not.............
Getting back up to Calais was tricky, there are no signs that far south for Calais, so on 2 occasions I made a guess and was right on both, but if I did not know Brussels was north we would have got lost. 3 hour solid drive back to Calais, and we were put on the earlier ferry for England. On the ferry we found 2 sofas, and we both feel asleep for an hour. Back in England by 12 am, and the M20 was closed so a lovely detour through Fokstone (not
).By the time we reached the Dartford crossing I was shattered and my brain was telling me to stop, so we stopped at the services there and snoozed for 20 mins, and then it was back on the road for 2 more hours to home. We were back at 3 am and I was totally wrecked, my brain was shouting at me to go to bed.
The next day.... How do I feel about it now? Well I am glad we did it, I know Jodie loved it and the castle and things and we all want our kids to be happy and for that alone it was worth the trip. I am so glad she suggested we do it, as I do not think I would have bothered but it was excellent to see Disney in a different country.
We did it on the cheap, the whole trip cost no more than £300.00, the breakdown was like this
£140 petrol
£40 road tolls
£60 lunch
£40 on car stuff like breakdown cover, travel insurance etc.
I really enjoyed the Disneyland Park and thought it was as good if not better than the Magic Kingdom. The Studios seemed a little dis jointed to me and not very well laid out, but by that time I was cold and very tired. Its not Florida but definaltely worth the trip as getting to Florida is not cheap anymore. I have read that Paris was poor and full of smokers and queue jumping people, but we never saw any of that really, some people were smoking but it was not as bad as I expected.
Seeing the seller outside the park and the beggars was something I did not expect, as was the broken lights in the Rainforest Cafe sign. The market place was a bit of a let down, it seemed dated and the shops were not very inspiring, A World of Disney is needed there badly.
Overall, we needed more time and more sleep, but going back on the Eurostar would definitely be an option, or a drive down with an overnight stay.
The big question we both felt at the end was
Would you spend money getting here for a few days or save the money to go to Florida?
