In the beginning.....A Trip Report

[angelmav]

Part one, a plan is formed

After reading some very good, emotional, heartwarming TR's, I have decided to share my own, if only to relive our brief time at DLP. This wasnt much of a Disney Vacation, as it was considered, in the planning stages, as a bone to throw to the kids during our European adventures. Who knew it would be the best part?

I need to begin with some background info, we have never really taken a family vacation. At least not of the consecutive days in a hotel nature. The shame, I know. However last summer Mom (since shes never been to Disney I cant very well call her DM-I know more family shame) came for a visit and in an effort to see she got her moneys worth, I dragged her all over Europe when I wasnt working, only once staying a night in a hotel, that for a single night in Paris. But from the exhausting rubble that was our whirlwind breakneck see what we can extravaganza hatched the makings of a plan. I would take leave (I work for uncle sam) and plan a proper vacation. A much needed vacation. A long overdue vacation. Admitting more family shame we have been stationed in Germany for 2 1/2 years w/o seeing much. Part of the problem is work, part is we are a family of 7 living on what Uncle Sam gives us, which doesnt equal much gallavanting around. Finally though our dreams would be realized, we would see and do all the things I promised we would see and do when I took this assignment-this time the shame belongs to me alone.

Wanting to share in the magic that would be this vacation I sent out the call to all who would join us, my DSIS-Disney Sister and her family made the trek from houston with DSISH-Sis's Hubby and DSISD1-DSISD2-Disney Sister Daughter 1 and 2. So we loaded up the chariots, taking both cars for this adventure, and left heidelberg to meet them in cologne, me DH-the MAV in ANGELMAV, DW-My lovely wife and the Angel in that equation, DD1, DD2, DD3, DDT1, DDT2 -yes all Disney daughters included the youngest, Disney Daughter Twins age 7.

After assuring us that no they really werent that tired after the flight, we hit the Cologne cathedral for some sightseeing before heading to stop 1, Amsterdam. This would be the first of many snags on our trip but we didnt know it yet. For some reason Map Quest and our GPS kept giving us wildly innacurate calculations on how long it would take to get from points A to B, so for the first leg arriving later than planned, the flying fam decide they need a nap, no sightseeing for them today as jet lag rears its ugly head, hours into the trip and we are already way off course in the itinerary department.

Shrugging the delay off we go for a swim at the hotel pool and enjoy some family time before going in search of some native cuisine. that mission accomplished its time for bed and some recalculating, figuring we can do tomorrow what we meant to do today, sightseeing in Amsterdam.

The morning goes well, we see the Ann Frank museum, Dam Square, get sprayed with water in the RLD (only me and DSISH went for that walk, by the way your not supposed to take pictures-more family shame) we get in to head to brussels our next stop before disney when disaster strikes. DSIS decides to ditch DSISH and switch places with me, so in a furious attempt to get the GPS to load and get out of the way. I somehow cause it to freeze up. DW thinking she can fiddle better than me takes said frozen GPS and proceeds to switch it off, not something recommended by the way if you own a navigone and want to continue using it on your trip. I instantly shout NOOOOOO as I realize I left all the software back in heidelberg and have a funny feeling the thing will need to be rebooted. Its as if I saw her do it in slo mo on a movie screen, I was helpless to stop her. Unfortunately I am right the thing does need a reboot. DSIS realizes this is no place for her and hightails it back to car2 and waits for our instructions. Did I mention we didnt bring any maps? Nope just that $600 brick that was supposed to be our guide. So in a herculean effort not to blame DW (not my strong suite in such a situation by the way-More shame) I calmly, well it seemed calm to me, suggest we find our way out of the heart of Amsterdam and get back to the autobahn, from their we can surely find belguim. Now how exactly do we get out of here again?

Will the 11 DFams get out of Amsterdam? Will they ever make it to Disney? Will DH have a stroke holding back the rage that is a frozen GPS? Stay tuned....

 

[sjaakie]

Your sure you don’t live in Phantom Manor?
I will stay tuned !!!

 

[NIK]

Didn't you have fun! LOL

 

[BONITATIME]

Oh this is going to be a fun trip. we are about to embark on a similar journey but we start in Spain and head north. I am interested to see how your journey goes.

 

[angelmav]

Well I am grateful to you all for tuning in! So here goes,

Part 2, out of the fire into the pan

When I left off we were struggling to make our way out of Amsterdam, one small point I forgot to mention is we are doing this trip in a Giant American conversion van. Oh what fun. This was the one aspect of our trip that had me the most worried because it wont fit into a parking garage. It is now early afternoon on a day we were meant to head to Brussels in the morning to meet a friend and see the Grand Place, a nice, relaxing, easy day. Instead we are still in Amsterdam getting a late start because of the jet lagged DISFam, lost without a compass, negotioting backroads in a city meant for a much smaller conveyance. Somehow we determine that if the sun is there we must head towards that old oak tree, eeny miney mo, hey a highway, phew somehow we actually get back on track and headed towards brussels! Hooray!

OK, it was the calm before the storm, for you see we were booked into the Holiday Inn City Center, how hard can that be to find right? We have the hotels phone number and cell phones, no worries, right? For anyone that hasnt driven in Brussels, it is Alices Maze on steroids. The people at our hotel didnt recognize the cross streets we were telling them we were on, in fact they questioned if we were actually in brussels. Just how demented a caller do they usually get anyway? One more fun fact, its the World Cup final and pretty much everyone in town has someplace else to be, we kept asking for directions and kept getting lost. Eventually we made our way about as far away from the hotel as we could get and still be considered to be in brussels, I think. Another fun fuct, Belgians dont particularly like the french. You would have thought we were in Naples considering the passion with wich they were rooting for Italy that night.

We finally catch a break and hit the trifecta, A place thats open, an english speaker and the number to a cab that we broke down and hired to lead us to our hotel. Yes, more family shame. Of course the cabbies are watching the world cup too and it takes FOREVER before one shows up. Our easy day just saw us arrive beaten and tired nearly 8pm during the world cup final. No Grand Place for us, just room service, the wildly partying belgians thanks to an Italian victory, How many hours do you need to drive around honking your horn when another country wins something anyway? Finally, thankfully, this day ends with Disney on the agenda for tomorrow! We still have no maps, (you would think I would have broke down and bought one by now wouldnt ya), No real idea how long its going to take to get their, and are increasingly certain that our itinerary is rubbish. Will we find it? Will we make our character dinner? Will I finally lose my mind and buy a map? Stay tuned!

 

[Ware Bears]

it is Alices Maze on steroids.

This is great fun! Although I can appreciate that it wasn't for you at the time.....looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[BONITATIME]

Another fun fuct, Belgians dont particularly like the french. You would have thought we were in Naples considering the passion with wich they were rooting for Italy that night.

How many hours do you need to drive around honking your horn when another country wins something anyway?

European nation inter relations can be very interesting.

I am glad you finally reached your destination.

 

[angelmav]

Part 3, Are Those Mouse Ears I see?

Now some people would have blown off Brussels and focused on the day ahead. I am not some people. Wanting to at least salvage something for the scrapbook I roll out of bed at 0430 and grab the camera determined to get some photos for all to share. The conquering hero bit. So camera in tow I start hiking and snapping at warp speed. Remember our difficulty negotiating the city by car? Well I didnt fair much better on foot. Managing to walk several miles downhill, getting a few snaps along the way, the realization its time to head back and oh yeah try to find a bakery along the way, uphill. Suddenly my morning hike has morphed into an all out training drill as I waited as long as possible before deciding to turn around. Somehow I manage the hike and check half a dozen bakeries without finding one with waffles. Why waffles you ask? Because the summer before we hauled mom to Bastogne where we found a wonderful Belgian bakery that had waffles. Mom raved about them to DSIS, thats all I heard, I had a mission. Finally, greatfully, I find not only the hotel but a bakery that had the krispy kreme equivalent of Waffles. thank you Jesus!

Now for some reason the hotel staff that couldnt give us directions to find said hotel had no problems telling us how to leave and find paris. That was easy, finding the hotel in the city they do business, not so much. Now in my planning process we had included a stopover at waterloo, a fun few minutes to see where Napolean met his fate. I had basically been willing to pass on this today but seeing the signs we decide to go ahead and make for the site. Once their of course, me and my 5 DD's, my DSISH and their 2 DD's, just gotta climb that thing for a better look. DW and DSIS know better and head for the gift shop. Now I am a pretty bad judge of distance, always thinking things are closer than they appear, see the early morning hike, So I take on the stairs with full gusto! Even running to about the halfway point. Yeah like Im not going to pay for this morning later! Guess what, outside of a lion that you no longer have a good camera angle on, you cant really see anything up their but cornfields. Great I just climbed the stairway to Nebraska! What goes up must come down and somehow we make it down without incident, except for the fact that when we hit the bottom my legs go into full blown White Goodman GloboGym Spasm. Seriously, every muscle tightened and spasmed at once, I must have hit the 7th level of dehydration at that point and I have just managed to burn the kids out in one fell swoop too. Now that takes planning to accomplish before lunch! Yep the wifes driving from here. So we load up and head back, or so we think. seeing as how I drove in but am now useless for the next few hours, and their are no clear signs back to the highway, we manage to drive through several small towns guessing and then pulling the sorry were Americans U-turn for the local folk until we think were headed in the right direction. Fortunately the IV fluids my family hooked me up to in an effort to get my brain working again kick in and my brain recognizes some small patch of farmland and I am able to get us back on course. By the way along with distances I am pretty bad at direction too, even with a map, thus the $600 currently useless GPS. Fun Fact I spent three years in a job in the Army that really depended on the ability to read and follow a map and oh yeah have a good sense of distance and direction. Needless to say that job was not for me. Thankfully I did it in peacetime. Once again, Thank you Jesus!

So back on course we make our way to Paris without event but make a huge tactical error, remembering the horrors that was driving in Paris the previous summer, we elect to go straight to the Disney Holiday Inn and check in, having read here on the DIS that you can catch a train into town, what sounds like a much better idea. So we bypass any sightseeing that could be accomplished and drive through to Disney, which really isnt in Paris at all, but this we knew from the past summer. What we didnt know was that the hotel was booked, overbooked, our rooms were nowhere close to being ready and they were putting people in other hotels that had reservations, this I expect from an airline but the Holiday Inn? For some reason they also rent out rooms for half a day as someone was utilizing my DSIS's room. Is anyone else skeeved out by that sentence? Why do they do that? Now at this point part two in our tactical error of judgement kicks in, as we are in fear of not having a room here at all, a character dinner at cafe Mickey for 8pm on the schedule and no one can decide what to do. So we wait, burning up valuable sightseeing time. Now DSIS came to europe spending all that moolah to come here so they could go to the louvre for a couple of hours and up the eiffel tower, she told me so. But on the day we were supposed to be doing just that instead we are sitting around a hotel lobby waiting for MR and MRS half day hotel rental to finsih so we know where we are staying the night for sure. here is were the third installment in our poorly executed plan comes into play, because after all this, several trips back to the front desk with faulty key cards, its finally decided we can attempt a trip into town, I will escort my DSIS family since I have been here before, and my DW will let our kids swim for a bit and get them ready for the dinner since we "did" paris last year. The error is that the 2nd car my DSIS family are traveling in is a 4 seater, the van I know darn well is going to be tough to park and I dont recall much open air parking in europe period let alone in the city of lights so to the bus and the train station we go! Will we be able to figure out the trains? Will we make it back in time for Dinner with Mickey? Will my legs give out completely? Stay tuned!

 

[Bexx]

Oh my - this is gripping stuff!!!

 

[sjaakie]

You know in a kind strange of way your trip reminds me of Lampoons Vacation,Wally World with Chevy Chase.
Just don`t tell me you had to drive home with a dead aunt or mother on the roof of your car

 

[fizz13]

Oh wow, I know we are living your pain, but you have to admit, a very entertaining story worth sharing. I just have to hear the end of this story

 

[disneyangel]

I am hooked this is better than National Lampoons because I now It's real. Have you ever considered stand up comedy as a side line to serving Uncle Sam ? You'd make a packet

 

[sjaakie]

I am hooked this is better than National Lampoons because I now It's real. Have you ever considered stand up comedy as a side line to serving Uncle Sam ? You'd make a packet

 

[angelmav]

Thank you all for the kind words! I have always been too funny for the uniform, a situation which has resulted in me pulling more than my share of duty! Needless to say, I felt like Chevy Chase on this vacation, heck I was singing the hills are alive with the sound of griswald when we were in the alps but thats another story, for the moment were at Disney so let me proceed with;

Part 4, The Race to Meet Mickey

Now we might be a poor planning family, but we at least figured out the trains without too much problem. There is only one thing in our way, Disney is literally the end of the line, there is no speed train, we stop at every possible podunk along the way, which was a waste of time considering no one ever seemed to be getting on or off at any of these stops, but stop we did! Now about 20 minutes into the ride we realize two things, this is taking alot longer than we thought it would to get there and this train is unbearably hot. We are all melting, literally, and my DSIS and her family from houston dont do well in heat. Why that is or how they would survive in an AC shortage I dont know. The thought also occurs to me that we dont have time for the louvre. My DSIS puts on a brave front and says all the art she wants to see is really in Italy anyway which is were we are headed after disney and that its ok (this would come up again and again believe me). So halfway to Paris we realize we are wasting our time and that we should have relaxed at the pool with the kids before dinner, why do these realizations always strike AFTER you get too far into a situation to do anything about it? Well we finally make it to the eiffel tower and my DSIS, who up to this point hasnt mentioned she has a thing about heights wont go anywhere near the eiffel tower (scooby doo noise). So we get a few picks from across the street and head back to the train, we have to actually take two trains to get back and when we stop we are under the Arc De Triumph (I find this monument extremely cool and didnt get to see much of it last time) so I drag us through tunnel after tunnel attempting to reach the surface, apparently we were somewhere in the bowels of hell and it took forever! Finally reaching the surface we are across the street doing our photo op and notce security is TIGHT! apparently Jauque Cherac sp? the french president was doing a ceremony their or something which we found out later, so even though we couldnt get that close we got some cool pics of the event! Unfortunately we also missed our train. So much for our final margin of error!

Now in true cliffhanger style, I should end here, but I wont cause Im cool like that, we did nearly get on the wrong train SEVERAL times before we figured out the signs. Turns out Disney is the end of the line. Therefore only one train actually goes that far. We debate getting on a train that will get us partway and waiting there, thankfully we make a good decision for the first time today and wait it out. This time even though the train is standing room only, the AC actually works, sort of, but well take what we can get at this point and are thankful for the relief. Plus this guy actually makes better time! We make it back and its decided I will hightail it back to the hotel and they will head to Cafe Mickeys and get them to hold our ressie, of course this day has to have at least one more hurdle and I get the bus driver that doesnt know how to yeild and HE REAR ENDS A VAN! Now in Germany you cant leave the scene of an accident, so figuring this could take awhile, me and my barely keeping me upright legs make for the hotel on foot. 5 minutes later the bus passes me (Scooby Noise Again) and I kick it into high gear in an attempt to at least make it before the bus (fruitless effort) so exhausted, sweaty and beaten I make it to our room where my beautiful DW and DD's are all dressed in their finery wanting daddy to put on a suite and tie, for you see we thought it would be fun to dress up for all the pictures. Yeah fun. Well I wipe down and realize I will be throwing this shirt away as no cleaner will touch it and we make our way to our dinner. Now I need to mention, there is no need to dress up for these things, we stood out! However this was the first relaxing thing we had done all day and the kids LOVED it. I of course keep a running tally of what were spending and TRY not to convert it to dollars in my head. We enjoy the meal but the truth is the food was a bit dissapointing and the kids portions were very small. I also have to give props to my DW, because the character dinner was HER idea (yes heaps and heaps more shame). Now this is also one of those moments on a vacation where I think you enjoy even more after the fact when your reliving it. I know thats true in my case as I see the look of joy on my kids faces and it still warms my heart and brings a tear to my eye!

Well I have to admit, I wasnt sure about this dinner, I kind of thought my kids were past meeting furry animals and getting autographs from them. Boy was I wrong! Not only did they squeel with delight each time a new character showed up, they LOVED the interaction! we met Tigger, Baloo, Pluto, Mickey, Goofy and saw Gippeto, for some reason he was too good to come to all the tables And Goofy, Goofy was worth the price of admission. He cracked everyone up with his antics and stole the show. In fact as tehy were departing I enjoyed it so much I started clapping, well the other appreciative patrons joined in and goof couldnt leave so he stayed and hammed it up, jumping up on the counter behind me and putting on a show, then the other half of the restaurant started showing their approval so he started a cheering contest, well I dont have to tell ya we were the loudest! It was a blast! Now while Goofy was the star pluto was mom and dads fav, for you see the characters here can take a few more, ahem liberties and we enjoyed OUR interaction with pluto immensly, we just have that kind of sense of humour

So full, happy and absolutely beat we make our way back to the hotel for some much needed rest. Finally tomorry dad can keep his promise and take his kids to disney, How did it go? Are we a disney kind of family? Who has the tickets anyway? Stay Tuned!

 

[Ware Bears]

I really enjoyed reading that!

You have a lovely family ~ what a proud dad you must be!

 

[angelmav]

Part 5, A day at Disney

Now some families are disney kind of folks, for others its kind of lost on them. I had no idea which we would turn out to be. I was 15 the first time I went to the land and 18 when we did the world and the MK was not really my thing. I really believe there is kind of a golden age to see Disney the first time, I remember being a kid and trying to build a ship out of cardboard boxes so I coud fly their, its that age when you want your kids to experience it for the first time and then you can live it through their eyes. Now I really felt my kids were at that age, they could get the full effect, if you will. My DW had no idea what to expect. She is really about the big rides and the theming idea was new to her. So we gather up and make our way to the park, trying to get their at opening. Part of the plan for this day was my DSIS would book the tickets and we would pay for all the gas on the trip (big mistake on our part), well after getting to the gate, disney within site. were informed we cant pick up our tickets their, apparently DSIS booked a group package and that we could go to that ticket office which apparently was located somewhere near luxembourg. We kept the kiddies and DSIS and DSISH went in search of the tickets, and an hour later they appeared. We had an extra ticket and found a family that understood us and gave them our extra ticket that was somehow cheaper to buy than 11 hoping to be blessed with good Karma for the day. Now the FASTPASS is an invention that didnt exist the last time I went to a disney park and It will remain a mystery to me because by the time we got in the park there werent any fastpasses to be had. Apparently there only available the 1st hour the park opens or some such thing we never figured out, so our day would be devoid of any short lines. That and my DSIS kids are really little, they werent up for much adventure so we tagged along to fantasyland and rode the carousel, teacups, snow white, Why is that ride so darn scary/demented? Then we hit the small world ride, Pinoccio when we had enough of the kiddie rides and decided it was time to be bold and do something a little more exciting, so we split up with the intention to hit Pirates of The Carribean, one of my fav's and have lunch. On the way one of my twins HAS to ride Dumbo even though the line was OUTRAGEOUS! Well you cant say no to a 7yr old with their heart set on dumbo so we stand and we wait. The 14yr old actually chickens out and wont ride it to which her sisters continue to harrass her for. Finally we hit another land and lo and behold theirs not much of a wait for pirates! Or so we think! They have creatively made the most interesting windey subterranean mile to stand in line in at the park. It was actually kind of funny because even though it moved quick we kept thinking we were coming up on the ride and viola another twist and turn! Finally we hit the ride and buy the picture, its only then that we realize the 14 yr old isnt in it, apparently she was ducking down in abject terror.

Lunch time at last and we try Capn Hooks, closed, Hakuna Matata, closed so we settle for lesss than avg pizza and some hot dogs. At this point I can tell my wife isnt really 'getting' disney and my kids are kind of bored as well. I am still worn out from the day before and can feel this adventure slipping away so we head for BTMRR but the line is LONG so we head for the haunted mansion where their was no line and the kids get a mild thrill, and then decide to brave the line at BTMRR anyway. Now its at this point that I am hating those fastpass people. The line took forever and it was hot and miserable, everyone was tired and I was considering our disney day a failure, but then, at last the 'magic' happens, we get our turn and have a BLAST! Finally we all have a ball on a ride, and it energizes everybody! Of course thats another photo we have to get and finally my wife starts to get what the park is about so we head for Space Mountain but the twins are a hair under height so we do Buzz instead and have another killer time. We seek out the dragon in the castle, take some pics at various posing spots arond the park and before you know it, the day is over, unfortunately we are a week to soon for summer hours and just as we are getting into the swing of things its all over. so we drag our feet on our way to the exit and notice a deli on main Street that stays open later than the park, so wanting to extend our day we head in for some great sandwiches, cake and salads and continue to soak up the magic that took us half the day to find. We finish dinner and SLOWLY make our way out stopping for pics by dapper dans and dragging our feet while looking around. Our time in Disney was over before it began. Now, I should note this was just a stopover on our Europe vacation and wasnt meant to be anymore of an attraction than say Venice or the Nuechwanstein castle, but that afternoon walking out of those gates there was no place my family wanted to be more, and I was grateful that we had been blessed with the opportunity to do this.

 

[Donnababe]

A wonderful read. I love the Pluto pic!

 

[disneyangel]

I'm so glad you got the Magic in the end . Its just the best feeling and after all your mishaps you certainly deserved it.

 

[higgy66]

That has just been so entertaining to read - I'm going to be in bother at work

I'm so glad you all had such a great time in the end

When your kids are older and get together with their own families they will laugh about this trip and remember everything with a fondness only families can share

Can't you fit another quick trip back before your posting ends in germany - if only for your trip report!

 

[angelmav]

That has just been so entertaining to read - I'm going to be in bother at work

I'm so glad you all had such a great time in the end

When your kids are older and get together with their own families they will laugh about this trip and remember everything with a fondness only families can share

Can't you fit another quick trip back before your posting ends in germany - if only for your trip report!

Actually we are wrapping things up over here, this trip was our chance to see and do all the things we came over here for. While we still didnt quite do everything we wanted, I think we can consider our time in europe a success. On a side note we are planning 7-8 days at WDW next summer, we have officially got the Disney bug! So if nothing else I will be making a WDW trip report for that trip! I am glad you enjoyed sharing our adventure. I was thrilled to relive it and the memories are the best part!