kizzabel
Eating poisonous apples since '86
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2009
- Messages
- 4,411
So we arrived home Friday night from our trip and between Disboards not working and being exhausted I'm only getting to this now.
I won't be doing a TR so I'll do a longer Highs and Lows and will get restaurant reviews posted Tuesday (college teachers are on strike!!
).
Ok so I suppose I will start with my lows as it runs in a more timely order.
My car broke down on Thursday leaving us almost stranded but luckily my mechanic got it cobbled together on Saturday as we were just about up the creek without a paddle at this stage.
We got the phone call I had been dreading on Friday morning saying that my uncle's time was coming close. He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in July and declined treatment as it was terminal and he would have had to travel hours from home, been quite sick from treatment and would not have been able to spend time with his 4 girls (my Mam and aunts) and he would have no comfort. He was a real character and loved to be in a group having the craic and spent his last few months making us smile, telling jokes and spending the most important thing any of us can spend - time.
I had my nephew collect me and bring me to Mams so myself and my sister could go visit him and say our goodbyes at the hospital where he was being cared for. We got there as he deteriorated and he was surrounded by his partner, 4 sisters, his brothers in law and 8 of us, his nieces and nephews when he slipped peacefully away. I am happy he isn't suffering now and he has made us smile so many times since he passed, I know these are the important things that will get us through the utter devastation that losing uncle Snow has brought us.
His burial was two days later, on the day we were to tell the kids about DLP and head for our overnight at the airport hotel.
His ceremony and burial was beautiful and he had arranged it all himself. My sister wrote a lovely poem about him telling stories of him from a white haired (where his nickname Snowball originated) soccer loving boy to his trade as a painter and his love of his 4 girls, my Mam and her sisters.
After his burial we had the task of saying goodbye to my family, which was hard as it was comforting to be surrounded by them but due to a clause in our travel insurance we had to go as planned as no policy would cover a terminal prognosis and I would have lost about 2000. If the holiday had clashed with the funeral I would not have went to DLP but I think in some strange way he was looking after me.
We told the kids, pretending we had taken the wrong road and then presenting them with invites from Mickey. They both screamed and were ecstatic that Shane was coming too but both got upset as they felt they shouldn't be happy on a sad day. I often wonder why life is so cruel and to see what loss they have both had at such young ages leaves me saddened. We try to give them happy memories and this trip was booked after they lost their Pops, Shane's Dad in February but you just never know what is ahead. I am glad they got to make some great memories this week and we spent time remembering Pops and Snow but in happy ways.
The rest of our lows were mostly to do with the TA we booked with - no notification of the pool closure and misinforming us that the characters were still meeting at the lobby outside Inventions in the mornings. We saw Pluto once and not one other character at breakfast all week. And I had even double checked as what they were claiming was contrary to what I had read here and on Facebook and I repeatedly asked if they were sure it wasn't just CClub... But Clippers Quay/ DLParis Direct / Simply Travel Direct are known to be a bit unreliable and I was aware of that before I booked so this one is pretty much on me!
Our room (4126) was also a bit of a let down as what we received was not a patch on the room we had in May (1212). It was smaller and did not have the same amenities like the Nespresso machine. We were obviously spoiled back in May unknown to ourselves! It was a bit deflating as all I really wanted was to have a nice, relaxed stay and by golly we'd paid enough for it!!
We were also sick most of the week with DH arriving with the flu on Monday, me catching a cold and ending the week with gastroenteritis! I was left wondering if we would ever catch a break!
I think thats enough of that though!!
On to the highs!
DH tried BTM...... and loved it!! He psyched himself up to it on the Thursday and rode 7 times in two days
He even surprised himself as he is naturally terrified of rollercoasters!
Jemma tried ToT and loved it too!! She rode it 3 times and it was great to have a buddy for the real thrill rides!
James tried Crush and 3 out of 3, he only blooming loved it too!! Wouldn't even entertain the idea of ToT but hey, I'm counting it as a resounding sucess at all accounts!
I had a lovely time in VdE and treated myself to some new clothes, make up and heaps of Christmas decorations which were way cheaper than DLP at 1 - 3 each versus 7.99 - 12.99 onsite! James bought a lovely train set for 20 and Jemma picked up a game for her DS which she couldn't get at home so we all enjoyed it and had a lovely meal in the Chinese in the centre.
Meeting Anna and Elsa. So yeah we queued for 2 and a bit hours but to see Jemma's face was worth every second and to be honest with the ticketing system and not being stuck inside, the time flew. We were second in to see them which was great as we could nip over to see the Princess Promenade afterwards.
Meeting Santa - he was brilliant! He spent ages chatting to the kids and was a pet.
Ratatouille and Bistrot Chez Remy. Big thumbs up DLP. Both are superb and much better than I hoped for.
Having fun with Pluto on the Wednesday - he was very cuddly with me in particular and it was just what I needed after having a particularly emotional day.
Receiving a bundle of extra FPs from the DLH manager when I told him of the bereavement upon check in (he could see I was upset and couldn't hide it as I was just after bawling, I'm not used to all this emotion).
The parks were busy enough but to be honest our longest wait was posted 50 minutes for Crush and we were out after 35 minutes so it really was very doable with a little forward thinking and I wouldn't be put off going late November again although the day after we left saw the park at full capacity so I'm happy we stick to midweek!
The in-between bits....
RFC menu has changed, it made it flustered as I had known what I'd wanted but it was off the menu but worked out ok because that Rasta Pasta is fab and so was the Malibu cocktail... it was my 2nd that evening so excuse me forgetting its name! Oh and the prices had gone up!
Dreams - I kinda rather the original, plus does no one understand people are entitled to their own personal space!! I feel I have an intimate knowledge of 3 French, Italian and Dutch families after watching Christmas Dreams last Thursday night! The Italian family had two little girls who were instance besties with my pair of munchkins though and it was so cute to see how they got around language barriers with hand gestures and a bit of cobbled translation.
Lack of decoration in WDS and we didn't feel awful Christmassy til we met Pere Noel on Thursday but he was so nice he sorted that right out!
I'm hoping to get some photos up in the next few days of our holiday.
A huge THANKS to my lovely friends here who have been a great support in the past few weeks and months and who have given me their condolences and kind words. I greatly appreciate every single one of you.
And now its back to school, housework, college and planning a little escape in 105 sleeps
I won't be doing a TR so I'll do a longer Highs and Lows and will get restaurant reviews posted Tuesday (college teachers are on strike!!
).Ok so I suppose I will start with my lows as it runs in a more timely order.
My car broke down on Thursday leaving us almost stranded but luckily my mechanic got it cobbled together on Saturday as we were just about up the creek without a paddle at this stage.
We got the phone call I had been dreading on Friday morning saying that my uncle's time was coming close. He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in July and declined treatment as it was terminal and he would have had to travel hours from home, been quite sick from treatment and would not have been able to spend time with his 4 girls (my Mam and aunts) and he would have no comfort. He was a real character and loved to be in a group having the craic and spent his last few months making us smile, telling jokes and spending the most important thing any of us can spend - time.
I had my nephew collect me and bring me to Mams so myself and my sister could go visit him and say our goodbyes at the hospital where he was being cared for. We got there as he deteriorated and he was surrounded by his partner, 4 sisters, his brothers in law and 8 of us, his nieces and nephews when he slipped peacefully away. I am happy he isn't suffering now and he has made us smile so many times since he passed, I know these are the important things that will get us through the utter devastation that losing uncle Snow has brought us.
His burial was two days later, on the day we were to tell the kids about DLP and head for our overnight at the airport hotel.
His ceremony and burial was beautiful and he had arranged it all himself. My sister wrote a lovely poem about him telling stories of him from a white haired (where his nickname Snowball originated) soccer loving boy to his trade as a painter and his love of his 4 girls, my Mam and her sisters.
After his burial we had the task of saying goodbye to my family, which was hard as it was comforting to be surrounded by them but due to a clause in our travel insurance we had to go as planned as no policy would cover a terminal prognosis and I would have lost about 2000. If the holiday had clashed with the funeral I would not have went to DLP but I think in some strange way he was looking after me.
We told the kids, pretending we had taken the wrong road and then presenting them with invites from Mickey. They both screamed and were ecstatic that Shane was coming too but both got upset as they felt they shouldn't be happy on a sad day. I often wonder why life is so cruel and to see what loss they have both had at such young ages leaves me saddened. We try to give them happy memories and this trip was booked after they lost their Pops, Shane's Dad in February but you just never know what is ahead. I am glad they got to make some great memories this week and we spent time remembering Pops and Snow but in happy ways.
The rest of our lows were mostly to do with the TA we booked with - no notification of the pool closure and misinforming us that the characters were still meeting at the lobby outside Inventions in the mornings. We saw Pluto once and not one other character at breakfast all week. And I had even double checked as what they were claiming was contrary to what I had read here and on Facebook and I repeatedly asked if they were sure it wasn't just CClub... But Clippers Quay/ DLParis Direct / Simply Travel Direct are known to be a bit unreliable and I was aware of that before I booked so this one is pretty much on me!
Our room (4126) was also a bit of a let down as what we received was not a patch on the room we had in May (1212). It was smaller and did not have the same amenities like the Nespresso machine. We were obviously spoiled back in May unknown to ourselves! It was a bit deflating as all I really wanted was to have a nice, relaxed stay and by golly we'd paid enough for it!!
We were also sick most of the week with DH arriving with the flu on Monday, me catching a cold and ending the week with gastroenteritis! I was left wondering if we would ever catch a break!
I think thats enough of that though!!
On to the highs!
DH tried BTM...... and loved it!! He psyched himself up to it on the Thursday and rode 7 times in two days
He even surprised himself as he is naturally terrified of rollercoasters!Jemma tried ToT and loved it too!! She rode it 3 times and it was great to have a buddy for the real thrill rides!
James tried Crush and 3 out of 3, he only blooming loved it too!! Wouldn't even entertain the idea of ToT but hey, I'm counting it as a resounding sucess at all accounts!
I had a lovely time in VdE and treated myself to some new clothes, make up and heaps of Christmas decorations which were way cheaper than DLP at 1 - 3 each versus 7.99 - 12.99 onsite! James bought a lovely train set for 20 and Jemma picked up a game for her DS which she couldn't get at home so we all enjoyed it and had a lovely meal in the Chinese in the centre.
Meeting Anna and Elsa. So yeah we queued for 2 and a bit hours but to see Jemma's face was worth every second and to be honest with the ticketing system and not being stuck inside, the time flew. We were second in to see them which was great as we could nip over to see the Princess Promenade afterwards.
Meeting Santa - he was brilliant! He spent ages chatting to the kids and was a pet.
Ratatouille and Bistrot Chez Remy. Big thumbs up DLP. Both are superb and much better than I hoped for.
Having fun with Pluto on the Wednesday - he was very cuddly with me in particular and it was just what I needed after having a particularly emotional day.
Receiving a bundle of extra FPs from the DLH manager when I told him of the bereavement upon check in (he could see I was upset and couldn't hide it as I was just after bawling, I'm not used to all this emotion).
The parks were busy enough but to be honest our longest wait was posted 50 minutes for Crush and we were out after 35 minutes so it really was very doable with a little forward thinking and I wouldn't be put off going late November again although the day after we left saw the park at full capacity so I'm happy we stick to midweek!
The in-between bits....
RFC menu has changed, it made it flustered as I had known what I'd wanted but it was off the menu but worked out ok because that Rasta Pasta is fab and so was the Malibu cocktail... it was my 2nd that evening so excuse me forgetting its name! Oh and the prices had gone up!
Dreams - I kinda rather the original, plus does no one understand people are entitled to their own personal space!! I feel I have an intimate knowledge of 3 French, Italian and Dutch families after watching Christmas Dreams last Thursday night! The Italian family had two little girls who were instance besties with my pair of munchkins though and it was so cute to see how they got around language barriers with hand gestures and a bit of cobbled translation.
Lack of decoration in WDS and we didn't feel awful Christmassy til we met Pere Noel on Thursday but he was so nice he sorted that right out!
I'm hoping to get some photos up in the next few days of our holiday.
A huge THANKS to my lovely friends here who have been a great support in the past few weeks and months and who have given me their condolences and kind words. I greatly appreciate every single one of you.
And now its back to school, housework, college and planning a little escape in 105 sleeps
thanks for posting your highs and lows 
