Highs & Lows 1/12/2012 – 5/12/2012

[markpsych]

Probably our best Christmas trip yet

Highs

- Have to mention the free DCR cabin upgrade, even though we declined because we prefer the traditional 2 bed cabins. So warm and cozy when it's cold outside, and everything was spotlessly clean.
- Great weather. Mainly sunny, and very mild for this time of year due to there being very little wind.
- The DCR pool. Always one of the holiday highlights for me. We had it virtually to ourselves on both occasions, and the water temperature was perfect.
- The DCR Tavern buffet - fantastic as usual
- The parks looked (and sounded) amazing. Main Street was more traditionally decorated than in previous years, and the new tree looked stunning!
- The lack of queues, e.g., 5 minutes for RC racer and 15 min for Crushes. We did all of the rides we wanted, with no pressure.
- The Val d Europe Auchan Supermarket. We ate like royalty all week, and saved a fortune on all the alcohol and food that we bought back for Christmas.
- The Jingle Bell Boys
- Autopia being open...1st time during a Christmas trip and a very short queue
- A day in Paris. We had a picnic next to the Seine, and visited the Catacombs and the top of the Eiffel Tower. Highly recommended
- Visiting the Château Vaux le Vicomte: http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/actualites#4864 Beautiful

Lows

Nothing major -

- No Christmas music playing via the pool speakers (they did this last year, and I hoped it would be repeated - perhaps it drove the lifeguards crazy )
- Very enthusiastic life guards. Must stem from an incident/some new health & safety policy I guess, but they were literally standing next too you at times and following you around the pool The irony is, we were the only family in there on one day, all competent swimmers, and being observed by 4 lifeguards! You can see where Disney aren't too smart with their money. Hardly anyone ever uses the pool during the day before the parks close, and at one point we had 7 staff standing around the lifeguard station chatting for an hour +!

Main low is the fact that we won't be renewing our APs this year, so probably won't get back for a few years....some fantastic memories, but I will miss our annual trips!

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Welcome back! Glad you had such a brilliant trip, you packed a lot into a short time. Would love to hear more about the Château Vaux le Vicomte as I've been wanting to go there since reading Monty Don's "A French Garden Journey".

 

[shelleyhope]

Sounds great, can't wait to go x

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Welcome home....sounds like such a lovely trip! Hahahahaha the wathchers while you swam.....lol

 

[Ms Poppins]

Welcome back Sounds like a great trip and echo's much of our trip too. The park has never looked so beautiful

 

[tennisfan]

Welcome back, sounds like you had a great trip

 

[kizzabel]

Welcome home
sounds like you had a great time.

 

[RoseBug]

Sounds like a great trip!

 

[markpsych]

Thanks everyone, it really was a great trip

Cherrymarzipan, it's the 2nd time we've been to Château Vaux le Vicomte over the last few years, and we really enjoyed it both times.

It's like a mini Versaille really.....only much calmer and more manageable.

The gardens are lovely, and employ optical illusions which leave you discovering more than you can initially see.

Inside, some of the Château's rooms have unique Christmas themes, and huge roaring log fires. We've only been during the day, but they also have candlelight evenings.

There's also somewhere to eat, a horse drawn carriage museum, and a nice gift shop.

Would definitely recommend a visit!

On this trip we went on our 1st day, as it is only open weekends during December, and we found that 4 hours was sufficient.

It's less than an hour away from the parks, so we were in DLP for late opening

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Cherrymarzipan, it's the 2nd time we've been to Château Vaux le Vicomte over the last few years, and we really enjoyed it both times.

It's like a mini Versaille really.....only much calmer and more manageable.

The gardens are lovely, and employ optical illusions which leave you discovering more than you can initially see.

Inside, some of the Château's rooms have unique Christmas themes, and huge roaring log fires. We've only been during the day, but they also have candlelight evenings.

There's also somewhere to eat, a horse drawn carriage museum, and a nice gift shop.

Would definitely recommend a visit!

On this trip we went on our 1st day, as it is only open weekends during December, and we found that 4 hours was sufficient.

It's less than an hour away from the parks, so we were in DLP for late opening

Thank you, that's really helpful and confirmed my interest in visiting. I'm really going to have to try and fit it in somehow next year.