If we can DREAM it, we can do it! ..... another 30 day vacation Update 02/07

[KatMark]

Trying to catch up...so hard to do even after a few days vacation.

Great update; love the photos (and still ejoying the calendar).

 

[jenseib]

Yummy breakfast. now I need a snack!

 

[pas130]

No problem, Jeanette, and I am happy to hear that you still like the calendars!

 

[eandesmom]

wonderful updates! Love the new Dooney, very cute. How wonderful that you liked the pattern layout, love the Tink placement on it.

I really like the ornament picture, fun idea. So crowded but pretty and your in room dining looked absolutely yummy!

Especially the apple tart.

Great news on the cruise re-booking. I moved ours as well but don't think it will stick. Love the advent calendars, those are cute!

 

[englishrose47]

LOVED The Alpine Mickey Ears !! and that rum cake looked good !!

 

[dizneeat]

Another Update !!What a bummer the lines were sooo long again !!! Glad you at least got to ride POTC!!! Tom's Hat on the 11th is priceless , at first I didn't even see him

Yes, the long lines were no fun, but we kind of expected them. And funnily enought POTC doesn't usually have a long line, even if everything else is PACKED!!!!!!!!
Glad you love the calendars, Rosie!

Trying to catch up...so hard to do even after a few days vacation.

Great update; love the photos (and still ejoying the calendar).

I so understand about catching up, Kathy - even being away for a weekend throws you so far back. .... and glad you like the update and calendars.

Yummy breakfast. now I need a snack!

Hope you had a snack ...... more food coming up shortly!

 

[dizneeat]

wonderful updates! Love the new Dooney, very cute. How wonderful that you liked the pattern layout, love the Tink placement on it.

I really like the ornament picture, fun idea. So crowded but pretty and your in room dining looked absolutely yummy!

Especially the apple tart.

Great news on the cruise re-booking. I moved ours as well but don't think it will stick. Love the advent calendars, those are cute!

Glad you like the updates! More to come shortly, I really need to make a move on with my summer vacation, we have another trip to WDW (and the DREAM) coming up in just 9 short weeks.
I was really a bit worried I would not like the pattern of the new Dooney, but it turned out to be perfect!
I was so waiting for February 2014 sail dates to come out - we only have that one week to travel and I wanted it to be in place right from the beginning.
Which ship and date did you move yours to?

LOVED The Alpine Mickey Ears !! and that rum cake looked good !!

We just could not resist taking a photo of the German "ears". The rum cake is really good - hope you get to try some in May. Just let me know if you need directions.

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris November 2012

Day 3, November 18

Making the most of the day ……….. - Part 3


We walked up to the castle

and when we walked through we heard the Christmas Parade coming up Main Street. There are small balconies on the walkway from the castle to Main Street and since no one was there we stopped there and I took a lot of pictures of the parade again.

When the parade was over we walked down Main Street, as there was another shop selling Dooneys. The only Cast member in the shop was manning the register, so we got in line and right when it was our turn, she excused herself and said she would be back in a minute. A few minutes later we were still parked in front of the register when another Cast member came over to tell us that we could come over to her till. We followed her over just to discover that in the meantime another line had formed and she wanted us to get into that line. I was not happy and told her that I only had wanted to ask a question and that I was not getting in another line, to which she just shrugged her shoulders.
We went into the art shop to cool off a bit and low and behold we found a few more things we wanted to take home. Once we were done shopping it was time to head back to Big Thunder Mountain for our Fastpass ride.
When we arrived there was a short line to get in and then we joined a lot of other happy Fastpass people. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the loading area and we were glad to snag the last row of the train.

We were pretty happy to have managed two rides on a crowded day and thought about what to do next. We still had about three hours until we had to drive to the airport and we still needed lunch. Silver Spur was closed, we didn’t fancy anything on Blue Lagoon’s menu and Walt’s is always so busy, so we left the parks to head to one of the Disney Village restaurants. Anette’s came to mind, but while we walked over we realized that we had eaten there a lot during our last few trips and wanted to try something else.

Advent's/Christmas Calendar - FOOD


Advent's/Christmas Calendar - HATS​

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris November 2012

Day 3, November 18

Making the most of the day ……….. - Part 4


Anette’s came to mind, but while we walked over we realized that we had eaten there a lot during our last few trips and wanted to try something else.
So off to Planet Hollywood we went.

First off, it was loud in there. We had to wait in line and were surprised to see that even before midday the restaurant was nearly filled to capacity. After being led to a tiny table along the side wall we were handed a menu and left to study it. They did leave us a lot of time to study it, because after about 10 minutes no one had showed up to take our order. I was giving them another 5 minutes before I was going to walk out when finally a server found his way over to take our order. We both ordered the usual Diet Coke and our main courses and were then left to wait for the drinks to be served. It took a bit until our drinks arrived,

but at least our main courses were served shortly after. Tom had ordered the

Southwestern Salad, Fresh grilled chicken, corn, black beans, fontina cheese, diced tomatoes, tortilla strips and chiffonade of romaine tossed in a lime cilantro and peanut vinaigrette. It looked funny when the server brought it, as the whole salad was in a clear plastic tube on a plate, then it was placed in front of Tom and the tube removed and it looked absolutely like in the photo on the menu. It was a huge helping and Tom absolutely loved it. I had ordered the

Chicken Alfredo, Grilled chicken breast, fresh cream, Parmesan and basil served on a bed of linguini. Again, another very generous portion and after adding a little more salt, a very tasty one too! Once we had finished our lunch and paid the bill we walked downstairs and it had started to rain.
We still had some time left so we walked back to the park entrance and went back into the Disneyland Park.

Once inside the park

we walked up Main Street again,

then over to Adventureland and finally back to the hub. People were lining the hub for the start of the Christmas Parade and we stopped and found a good space to watch, tape and take photos of the parade. It was about 10 minutes until it was supposed to start and come up Main Street and we really lucked out and found a spot right at the curb, next to a family with a few smaller kids. A few minutes later the parade had started and was moving up Main Street, we could all hear the music and were eagerly awaiting the floats when this family with their teenagers decided to stop and stand right in front of the family with the small kids who had been there quite a while. And while the mother of the small kids was still trying to “unblock” her kids view, a CM came over to tell the latecomers that they could not stand there. Guess what, they wanted all of us to move back, so they could stand in the front row. Unfortunately NONE of us budged and all that opened up for them was a tiny passageway to move towards the back. We all moved a bit to make space for the two smaller kids in the latecomer family, but come on people, if you come late, be prepared to stand further back.

Advent's/Christmas Calendar - FOOD


Advent's/Christmas Calendar - HATS​

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris November 2012

Day 3, November 18

Making the most of the day ……….. - Part 5


We all moved a bit to make space for the two smaller kids in the latecomer family, but come on people, if you come late, be prepared to stand further back.
Crisis solved we enjoyed the parade

Click here to see a video of the parade!

and once it was over we slowly walked down Main Street and stopped to have a last peek in one shop or another. And after visiting the bookshop it was finally time to say goodbye to the castle and leave the park.

Advent's/Christmas Calendar - FOOD


Advent's/Christmas Calendar - HATS​

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris November 2012

Day 3, November 18

Making the most of the day ……….. - Part 6


And after visiting the bookshop it was finally time to say goodbye to the castle and leave the park.

We were sad to have to leave, but on the other hand pretty happy to have been able to visit in the first place. Once we had reached the Disney village we paid some of the stores a final visit, before stopping in at Earl of Sandwich to pick up some sandwiches to go. I usually have a hard time deciding which sandwich I want but this time I had a lot of time to make my mind up as the line was huge.

It took us nearly 10 minutes to place our order and then another 15 minutes to make it to the register. I still had not paid for our sandwiches when Tom’s beeper went off and he headed over to pick them up. Sandwiches in hand, we headed back to the Hotel New York

and after a restroom break we walked over to the parking lot to go to the airport. A few minutes later we found ourselves on the motorway and on the way to Charles de Gaulle airport.

It takes about 50 minutes to get to the airport and we still had lots of time when we drove onto the rental car parking lot. We unloaded the car, then walked back to the office to get our receipt. The young lady there was the same that had rented Tom the car and she went to check it. When she came back she told us that we had had an accident and she had to file a report. Well, we both could not remember anything that remotely resembled an accident and I wanted to see the damage. Low and behold there was a dent/scratch at the very bottom on one side. We first thought it might be some parking damage, but thinking and talking about it we knew that this would have to have been a very low lying car to make a dent there. It looked much more like someone had hit the high walkways in the garage. Well we were insured, actually double insured as we had paid for insurance when we rented online AND Tom had agreed to pay for more additional insurance, so we didn’t worry too much. All the time the rental car rep stressed the fact that we did not have to pay anything, as we were insured. Then back in her office she told us that we “only” had to pay 35 € “writing fee” for her filling out the paperwork. By that time I had grown angry enough to make some comments and then added that I suspected this was all a scam as the rep had prevented me from walking all round the car on our arrival day and the tires had been very poor too! Guess what, she very quickly gave in and decided to “spare” us. Well, we did walk off without any charges in the end and the more we thought about it, the more we were sure that this definitely had been a scam to find someone who would pay for insurance and then be blamed. Problem solved we pushed the trolley with our luggage towards the elevator and went down to the departure area. Lufthansa uses self service kiosks to check in and my card never works there. So I tried to check in with my passport, but that would not work either, so we tracked down a lady from ground personal and she tried herself, telling me that she was going to show me how it was done.
Didn’t work for her either and we were finally allowed to walk up to a check in counter and check in the old fashioned way. Luggage on its way we walked down to the restroom for another biologic break before we headed towards our “satellite” again. On the way there, there is a Starbuck’s and we usually stop there for one last drink before waiting to board. We got in line and Tom got an

Espresso, while I ordered their

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, Steamed milk, mocha sauce, toffee nut and vanilla syrups, topped with sweetened whipped cream, caramel sauce and a mixture of turbinado sugar and sea salt. It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed every last drop of it.
Then it was finally time to head towards our departure gate. One last security check and we were allowed to enter the area. We quickly found the posted gate and a seat and waited. It somehow was a bit funny because even though we were supposed to be boarding soon our flight was not even on the monitor. So around boarding time we walked up to one of the larger monitors and checked our gate. It had been changed and we had to walk a bit further to find it. No need to find a seat, as they started boarding right when we arrived.

Advent's/Christmas Calendar - FOOD


Advent's/Christmas Calendar - HATS​

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris November 2012

Day 3, November 18

Making the most of the day ……….. - Part 7


No need to find a seat, as they started boarding right when we arrived. We quickly found our row and seats and settled in and the plane was pushing back out of the gate right on time. We rolled to take off and soon were airborne.
About 10 minutes into the flight we were handed a

German meatloaf sandwich and some drinks. The sandwich was fresh and moist and really good. The flight from Paris to Dusseldorf is just one hour long and soon we had to fold up our trays again and prepare for landing.
The plane was parked at an outside location and we were all loaded onto a bus to go back to the terminal.
We checked for our next departure gate and since it was just a few steps down the corridor we walked around a bit more, checking out the shops before we walked down to our gate. We found a seat and waited until it was time to board again. Again, we had to get onto a bus and were driven to our plane.
This time it was a pretty small plane and it didn’t take long until everyone was seated and ready to go. We were off and handed another treat. Tom chose some

crackers and some

coffee and water, while I had a

chocolate covered, vanilla filled roulade and some Coke. Again, this was a short flight and we soon were back in our home town. Since the airport is so small we just walked over to customs and baggage claim and 10 minutes later we were heading towards the car park.
Thankfully there was no traffic on the way back home and we arrived there at around 10pm. We still had our Earl of Sandwich sandwiches, which we now had as a late night snack. Both, the sandwiches, the

Earl’s Club, turkey, smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, Roma tomatoes and sandwich sauce and the

Tuna Melt, Tuna salad and Swiss cheese were still tasty. After dinner I quickly picked up my bags and got on my way home, we both had to go to work the next day.

Advent's/Christmas Calendar - FOOD


Advent's/Christmas Calendar - HATS​

 

[dizneeat]

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Paris trip report is FINALLY wrapped up!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programme - back to SUMMER 2012!!!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Karin, I was so excited to read about your Paris trip but it is hard to fathom how crowded it was. WOW.... that is crazy. We've always wanted to spend a week there but now I'm not sure. It might be better to spend a week in Paris and then, do a few days at DL Paris. What do you think? I can't wait to read about your week long trip.

P.S. I love the Dooney bag's zippers. They look very colorful.

 

[MEK]

I have read a couple DLP and I have to say that the crowds definitely seem worse at this time of year. That must have be annoying to have long waits for everything.

The view from your room is lovely and the giant ice rink looks so cool. I am really enjoying the pictures of all the different hotels. The Christmas decorations are wonderful.

Smart move bringing the Earl of sandwiches home with you. Nothing like taking a piece of Disney home, but I have to say your airplane food looks a lot better than what we get on a 2 hour flight here in the states.

 

[pas130]

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Paris trip report is FINALLY wrapped up!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programme - back to SUMMER 2012!!!

Thats a marathon update Karin!!! Phew!!! Now to wait for pics to show up on my slow phone...haha

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Awesome uipdates Karin. Great video of the Christmas parade! Thank you for sharing it with us! Too bad your trip had to end, but you have another just around the corner!

 

[jenseib]

I LOVE the tuna melt...
Great trip. I can't beleive the girl at the register just left without coming back then. I keep hearing over and over how this type of thing is so common in DLP and it amazes me that Disney doesn't push the issue.
They lost out on a sale then.
The parade looks like a lot of fun!
I really enjoyed WDW with the Christmas decor and I really hope we can make it back again someday at that time.

 

[annmarieda]

So I obviously know very little about DLP, but the property resorts look very nice! I know that DLR has the 3 hotels, but somehow they don't seem to be accessible in the same way that WDW hotels are. They are also so near other hotels and not in their own "world" that they don't seem to be maybe as special as WDW hotels. The hotels in Paris seem to be more on par with how WDW is. Am I wrong?

I have to thank you and Tom for the calendars. After a bit of an emotional evening, I decided to gander at them. How they cheered me up.

I had never heard of Krampus day. St. Nicholas.. yes. The community I live in is big on that day... putting shoes out and all. Do you put shoes out in Austria?

The strawberry waffles at RF pic made me smile too. I think that may be one of my favorite foods in all of WDW! Isn't that odd?

Your view is just breathtaking! I love it!!!

Breakfast buffet looks pretty impressive.

It seems like your ride wait times sure did interfere with your ability to ride the rides.

Poo on the latecomer family. Why do some people just assume they can be in the front no matter what? In September/october, a family sat in the front seats at FOTLK. You know, the ones reserved for wheel chairs. When a cm came up and told them that the seats were needed for a person with a chair, they could not understand why they had to give up their spots since that person in the chair could pull up along side. The cm had to argue with them about how the person in the chair was granted 6 seats on the bench for their family members. The family who had been so proud to get front row seats all but refused to budge. Finally, some people in the next row back allowed them to squeeze in with them...thus allowing for all of the family (who rightfully could sit there) could as well as a few of the original family.

I can't believe you had to deal with the scammy car rental place. I think this is why I hate renting cars. I ALWAYS worry that they are up to something.

What a nice holiday trip!!!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

All caught up - I missed quite a few updates! It looks like you had a good trip to Paris overall, what a great experience. I'm sorry that you had to deal with that CM at the Dooney shop and the car rental lady though.