EBLIP10- Glasgow and DLP - Or Perks of Tagging along with your Academic Librarian Spouse

[Firebird060]

Hello Everyone,

So let me first start off saying welcome. This is my first Pre trip report but not my first trip to a Disney Property in any way, completed 4 trips to WDW in the past year alone, but this is my first Disneyland Paris trip and I am finding out that Planning for DLP is much different then I plan for WDW.

In any case let me give you a little background on this vacation and a little info about my wife and myself. First off we are going to Europe in general because my Wife who is a Academic Librarian/Instructional Designer for a large Public University is presenting at a Librarian Conference in Glasgow this year called EBLIP as such, a portion of this trip is being planned using her universities travel tool, one that many companies use called Concur. About 2/5th of the trip is being paid for by her work, while of course DLP and my tickets and costs of going are being covered out of pocket as well as all of our travel after the Conference is over. Our travel dates are from June 15th to the 24th and include 3.5 days in Glasgow and 3 days in Paris.

As this is both of our first time being in Europe, I as the main trip planner, have dived right in with all the meticulous planning that I can accomplish, but as I do so I am seeing that planning for Europe is a bit different than you would plan for a trip State side. Currently as I am writing this, I have already secured all the Airfare but there is still several more things to confirm as we go. As I make these plans I am hopping to post some thoughts and Info I found out while I planned out each section of the trip.

I hope that if I am able to properly convey my thoughts and my methods in this format that perhaps I can make other first time planners for a European trip have a easier time of looking at things or at least maybe able to learn from my mistakes as time will tell.

The sections I am going to Include in here will be

1. Getting to and from Europe, Price Comparisons and personal thoughts behind booking Air Travel
2. The Glasgow Leg, Planning the Accommodations and doing research for Glasgow
3. Paris Leg Part Un , The exhaustive research for doing DLP without breaking the Bank
4. Paris Leg Part Duex, Planning the actual Disneyland Paris visit.
5. Paris Leg Part Trois, One Free Day in Paris without Disney, Planning things to do around Paris.
6. General thoughts and Questions that I have as well as possible Reference Sites.


All in all I am excited for this trip as well as the Planning portion of this. I am hopping whoever reads this feel free to ask questions as I we go along and if anyone has any tips tricks or thoughts, please feel free to add them as you may I will be referencing other Disboard DLP planning posts as I go as well as commenting on them when I can.

Thanks for Reading

 

[BadPinkTink]

waves hi, I used to live in Edinburgh and have visited Glasgow many times, most recently at the start of April 2019. Glasgow is about an hour by train from Edinburgh and is a commuter route I used to work in Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh and one of my friends is manager at Glasgow Hard Rock Cafe.

 

[Firebird060]

waves hi, I used to live in Edinburgh and have visited Glasgow many times, most recently at the start of April 2019. Glasgow is about an hour by train from Edinburgh and is a commuter route I used to work in Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh and one of my friends is manager at Glasgow Hard Rock Cafe.

Hello, I love the Hard Rocks, Thanks for following along, Im excited to have someone more familiar with the Glasgow area then I am, following this, I may ask random questions about what to do, when I get to the Glasgow planning portion of my trip. My wife will be in conferences for a good part of the days while we are there, so I will be racking my brain for things to do in Glasgow stag.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hello, I love the Hard Rocks, Thanks for following along, Im excited to have someone more familiar with the Glasgow area then I am, following this, I may ask random questions about what to do, when I get to the Glasgow planning portion of my trip. My wife will be in conferences for a good part of the days while we are there, so I will be racking my brain for things to do in Glasgow stag.

you are welcome. Ive been meaning to do a trip report of my Glasgow / Edinburgh trip as there is another DIS person planning a similar trip.

When I lived in Edinburgh I used to take day trips to Glasgow, as the shopping area is MUCH better than Edinburgh, lol, lots of Edinburgh locals do this. Edinburgh is great for historical sightseeing, Glasgow is a more modern city. Off the top of my head, I would definitely check out the Hop ON Hop Off Bus Tours.

and an FYI the Glasgow Hard Rock is on the main shopping street. You should check out their Facebook page as they have have a great live music area, which is separate from the main restaurant, on the upper level

 

[Firebird060]

Getting to and from Europe, Price Comparisons and Personal thoughts behind booking Air Travel

Hello again all. In this section or post in my pre trip report, I am going to go over what I found out and the choices I made for my airfare for the upcoming trip to Glasgow and DLP. First off I am going to apologize at the start encase this post becomes a bit ranty with Data heavy confusion. I'll try to make it best to not be confusing but due the amount of research I have done on this, I fear it may become a bit unwieldy anyway. SO apologies up front are in order.

Before I get into the meat of this discussion, let me explain a bit further how the airline function of this trip is working out. Due to the fact that my wifes University is paying for her Airfare function of this trip we had a few extra hurdles to jump through when booking our flights. To get reimbursement for the flight my wife had to get a travel request approved and because this trip was being directly reimbursed to her, she had to do a fair share of paperwork and proving on the back end for our travel plans to get the stamp of approval. We live in the midwest but because of the hoops we had to jump through and me wanting to get the best prices available to save money for the fun shopping and extras, I spent a couple of week looking for the best deals and cheapest routes for what we wanted to do. Our flight Itinerary has us departing from JFK in NYC to Manchester UK , then 4 days later us leaving from Glasgow direct to Paris, then 4 Days later us Leaving from Paris back to JFK.

In doing the research, I was able to find that flying out of my local regional Airport, although great for Trips down to WDW is a super expensive option compared to flying out of a east coast hub. I also found out that It was decently cheaper if me and my wife flew to Manchester UK then take a train to Glasgow compared to flying to Glasgow directly. In saying all that price wasn't the only reason we decided to Fly into Manchester and take the train. I also wanted to make sure we got into Glasgow with enough time for my wife to rest and possibly get acclimated to the time change since she would have a conference the next morning. Flying in from JFK and taking the train puts us in Glasgow around the 12:30 to 1:30 pm all the other options for that day would put us in Glasgow either much later or cause us to have another layover and those layovers be it in Edinburgh, London or Dublin would have still put us in later. There is also the added benefit of me being able to try out Virgin Trains since there has been positive movement within Florida of the Virgin Highspeed Railway being connected to Walt Disney World eventually and even possibly, Tampa. Since me and my wife tend to make sure we spend some time on the Gulf Coast when we go to Florida and WDW, it would be a extra convenience for us if it actually happens. In saying that I am kinda interested in trying the rail service when I am in the UK and the Manchester to Glasgow route isnt a bad route for us to try this out.

So because I was able to do the research and I was able to figure out that it was significantly cheaper to fly out of a Major US hub and that flying to Manchester would give me a decent number of options while allowing us to arrive in Glasgow in a timely manner, the next thing I had to do was check each major Hub to decided which would be the best and cheaper option.

Before we get into that though let me give you the current price I am seeing flying out of my Regional Airport without baggage fee to give you a baseline for my thought process. The cheapest round trip flight I am seeing is close to $1900 without baggage for One person with only 1 layover each way. That leaves the Airfare at being $3800 without baggage, and knowing how much shopping of yarn and other things that are likely to happen, I suspect we would each need to have a checked bag. So lets just say with the baggage fees we are looking at close to $4000, yes me and the wife would only have to pay half of that due to her University paying for her flight, but we would still be responsible for paying this upfront and having to wait for the bureaucracy to pay us back after the trip. Thats alot of money we would be waiting for. I always like to travel with ample Cash on hand so shopping splurges can be had without much guilt when the mood hits us. I only mention this because I want everyone to know my thinking on this. So back to the task at Hand

So to find my best option and cheapest options I decided to use two different search engines. You do not necessarily need to use the search options I used, but these are the ones I used and why I used them.

First search Engine I used was to try and find the cheapest way with layovers from my Small regional Airport. The website I used was Skiplagged.com to be honest this website can find some crazy cheap fares and it might be a great options for people who want a adventure and dont mind multiple long layovers and stops. If anyone remembers the Anthony Bourdain shows No Reservations and The Layover which were both on the Travel Channel this type of flying might be good for you. In saying that as a point of reference using this search engine the current cheapest flight from my small regional airport round trip is about 1050 to 1100 per person, with at least 3 stops each way as well as close 2 2 days each way in travel time alone. Its defiantly a decent price but for me and my wife and with the fact that we each only have about 1 week of vacation time saved up at this point in the year. Spending 4 days traveling in the air alone seems a bit much, even if I did find one route that allowed us a 20 hour layover at MCO which would have allowed us to do a day at WDW on top of this trip.

After ruling out Skiplagged I Then used googles built in flight fare search engine and started comparing prices at the large eastern hubs. This tool I felt gave me alot more results then using a site like Travelocity or Expedia, which doesnt always look at every airline, it was using this tool that I was also able to decided that flying into Manchester would be both the best economically as well as the best for our particular timing needs. I made sure to check the Major hubs that were within a good days drive. I also checked 3 main airports in the UK, Manchester, Heathrow as well as my Destination Glasgow to make sure I was getting the best price points. Here is where this post could get more confusing originally when thinking about how to write this post I wanted to give you all the current prices I was seeing from various airports for various locations, but I then realized do so would be a crazy undertaking and really would only Benefit a few people. So I will just for the sake of time mention that I spent hours looking at the different airfares from Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tortonto and NYC which includes Newark NJ. All these locations are within a days drive from where we live and all offer some sort of flight over the Atlantic Ocean. In saying that I found the best flight prices for me and the wife to be flying out of JFK in NYC, We ended up choosing to fly Airfrance because they offer decent legroom for my 6ft"4in body as well as free checked bags. We ended up paying about 700 round trip for each of us for a total of 1400 for both these are both Non stops flights, which ends up being a little more than 1/3 the cost of flying directly out of our small regional airport. This includes us leaving at Night from JFK and arriving around 7am in Manchester. Now to me that is a pretty good savings, 2600 dollars for extra spending money while overseas is a nice cushion or as I like to think of it this is the cost of renewing our WDW APs plus a thousand dollars.

As a side note about the cost of the tickets, due to the circumstances of how a portion of this trip is being paid for, we had to book our airfare through my wifes Universities travel tool. The price for using this tool did include some extra fees, so I could have saved a further 80 dollars if I booked directly with Air France a much bigger point to this though is because of the bureaucracy of getting the travel request approved and us booking the flights, the tickets went up about 200 a person from when I started searching and the actual approval booking date. I was seeing the same faires out of NYC to Manchester and then from Paris back, about 500 a person so just as a side note for anyone who is looking to book a flight like this. As we all note Prices go up the closer to flight time so the early bird does get the worm in the case.

As for how we are getting from Glasgow to Paris, because it is such a short flight 1 hour 50 I decided to just fly Easy Jet from Glasgow to Charles de Gaulle in Paris, from what I have read its much like some of the discount Airlines we would see here in the states, Spirit or Frontier. Normally I prefer not to fly these Airlines domestically but short flights tend to be the exception and 1 hr 50 isnt to bad for me to deal with for my long legs. For about 105 dollars each we booked this small flight across the channel. We have yet to pay for our bags on this flight, due to this Carrier charging bags based on size and weight and me honestly not know how big our carry ons will be. This could cost us another 200 in the long run but I am not to worried about it.

After saying all of this there is one tip or thought I want to share with everyone. While driving to and flying out of New York is cheaper for me and the wife, it might not be everyones cup of tea or even work with your own particular plan. Driving in NYC can be a hassle and depending on where you are traveling from you might find it cheaper to fly to a small hub and fly out of there. My best piece of advice for booking flights for this type of trip where there is a conference or meeting involved where you know someone has to be presenting, is first take gauge of how this person flys, are the prone to be effected to Jet lag? Do you think you would need extra time to get used to the time difference? Is the extra money worth the hassle and cost of driving/renting a car and heading to NYC? You have to weigh all these things and see how you want to travel. Also as a heads up if you did want to fly to NYC and then fly out of It, I noticed that because NYC is a travel destination in itself that it tends to be more expensive to fly to there then the other regional hubs I looked at. That also helped me decide that driving would be my best bet.

 

[BadPinkTink]

For trains I always use www.trainline.co.uk UK train fares are cheaper in advance. I always book online and collect at train station. You will get a confirmation number by email. You can use the self service machines, but you will need the card used for payment.

I haven't flown easyJet for a few years but just check the luggage allowance on the website. You might be better adding the bag fees before you go to the airport.

 

[Firebird060]

For trains I always use www.trainline.co.uk UK train fares are cheaper in advance. I always book online and collect at train station. You will get a confirmation number by email. You can use the self service machines, but you will need the card used for payment.

I haven't flown easyJet for a few years but just check the luggage allowance on the website. You might be better adding the bag fees before you go to the airport.

Thank you for the tip for the website for the trains. I have been looking around on alot of different websites and it was definitely cheaper then booking on any of the others. I just booked the train leg of our Manchester to Glasgow trip it was half the price from Virgins own website. Its another thing checked off my list.

 

[Firebird060]

The Glasgow Leg, Planning the Accommodations and doing research for Glasgow

Hello again everyone, Currently this Post is going to be a Place Holder for the Glasgow portion of my trip. Right now the plans for the Glasgow section are still a Work in Progress so this post will be eventually updated as more things are made concrete.

As of Right now this is how I stand with Glasgow. In the previous post I mentioned we are arriving in Glasgow via Train from Manchester. We will be arriving approximately 1pm on June 16th and will not be leaving until the morning of the 20th. Our accommodations are yet to be set in stone as my wifes University is paying for this portion of our trip. University of Strathclyde is where EBLIP is being held in Glasgow so we have been looking at hotels near there. In doing so I have also tried to limit the number of hotels that offer rooms without windows. From a doing a bit of research I have found out that this can be somewhat common in more metropolitan hotels in Europe. I know my wife although she might never open the window to look outside or even open the shade, if we get a hotel room without a window for natural light she will be a unhappy camper. In saying that I also want to stay at a hotel with a bit of uniqueness. I mean after this is the Disboards we all seem to like a hotel room with a bit of uniqueness. The couple I am considering are Carlton George in Glasgow, that is at 140 Pounds a night which isnt to bad of a cost and it has a free scotch bar in room. Its looks nice a bit posh and it has a rooftop restaurant and executive lounge. In my opinion its much better then the holiday express that starts off at the same price point and doesn't include any of those things. The same with the Doubletree which is only 10 pounds cheaper a night. I also thought about the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow but its right next to the train station and I suspect it is going to be quite loud. So i although its historical I am still leaning towards the Carlton George. In saying that if anyone else has any suggestions I would be more than up for it. As a fyi I am 6ft 5 inches or around 195 cm for our metric readers, so I do prefer larger beds.

As for what our day to day will look like it is still up in the AIR, from Monday on my Wife will be at a conference on Tuesday night we will be going to Oran Mor for dinner and Dancing and on Wednesday night we are going to a dinner at Glengoyne Distillery to try some local scotch and eat a fancy meal, though I do not know the exact details on it. For the most part my days will be my own to explore Glasgow. Still unsure of what I will do and see, I love Celtic music and such but I love history and old buildings so I really have no idea what I am going to do to explore. On Thursday we leave for Glasgow airport to fly to Pairis for our DLP portion of the trip.