jillrobinson
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2005
- Messages
- 6,953
I put off starting this trippie because to be totally honest I felt a bit down, after the trip. I spent ages planning and miraculously everything fell into place nicely, I had such high expectations and then there was FLYBE 
who blew all my plans out of the water and cancelled our flight.
We'd checked in told what time we were boarding, I made use of the free WiFi, to check on DIS and let you know we were almost off and then 5 mins before boarding time, the info board changed to "delayed". So we sat and waited, there was a problem with fog and some airlines including Flybe were sending their Rugby passengers off to Exeter and Bristol to get their flights, I wasn't panicking I spoke to the Flybe rep who said we'd know how long the delay was soon. So at 5.00pm when the announcement that "FLYBE 1435 to CDG had been cancelled, please could all passengers collect their baggage" was announced I think I went into shock, I didn't cry miraculously, Liam was really close to it, it was his 10th Birthday and he was expecting to start celebrating it at Billy Bob's that evening. I've a vague recollection of collecting luggage and being offered a flight the following morning and a hotel for the night and at some point I phoned RStransports, but it's all a bit blurred really. Anyway the Holiday Inn wasn't too far away, so after I sorted out my prepaid parking, we decided it would be quicker if we drove than wait for transport, as KLM had also cancelled a flight at the same time, so there was quite a queue behind us.
The Express by Holiday Inn was just that, it didn't really compare to the Hotel Cheyenne, but we had a meal and I got on with contacting DLP booking line to change our Lucky Nugget booking the following day, we wouldn't be arriving until lunchtime, so I needed to make it as late as possible, it was paid for we didn't want to miss it - they were brilliant, contacted the Cheyenne for me and changed the meal to the latest possible sitting.
I had tried to phone RS transports from the airport when they announced the cancellation but they had an answermachine on, they phoned me back later in the evening. One thing that has come out of this experience is that I can't praise RStransports enough, absolutely superb Customer Service. When we were delayed I rang them, they said no problem, just ring us when you know you're definately boarding and we'll check the arrival time our end. When we were cancelled as I mentioned they rang me back, I gave them the new flight details for the following morning and they said no problem, or if there was let them know.
We hardly slept that night, I think we were all really stressed and disappointed, but we were all up, straight to the window - NO FOG
and down at breakfast by 5.30, suitcases all packed again and ready to go by 6.15 and then .................................................................................................the car wouldn't start 
So about 2 years ago I called the AA out when I had a similar problem, it was the distributor cap and the guy said, I've cleaned it, see how it goes - I've had no problems, whatsoever with it since, until now. By this time I'm really starting to think that the holiday is jinxed, another thumbs up for Customer Service goes to the staff at the Holiday Inn, who told me to leave it there, got us a taxi and told us to ring them to arrange a taxi back when we landed back.
Checked in, given a boarding time
, the next hour and a half were so long, through security again, I think we were all afraid to say anything but oh yes - we were called to board, I've never been so happy to see a plane. 
Had an uneventful flight and arrived slightly ahead of schedule, which was quite good given the walk from Terminal 1, I was worried about negotiating Terminal 1, after reading about it on t'internet but it's not too bad, it does take you such a long time to get to the baggage area that you're left wondering if you've missed it somewhere, but we just kept following the signs.
Must mention something we found on the way back, a "YOU ARE HERE" machine and you type in where you want to be i.e. your airline check in desk and it gives you directions and a map and you can even print it out, how good is that. Made it a doddle getting back.
The only thing I hadn't though of was what departure gate we'd be at, but I phoned RS again and the driver was in sight within minutes, we booked the shared shuttle, but there and back we were the only family. We were so impressed with them though I gave the driver a very large tip and promised to recommend them to all my friends. It's going in my signature:
BOOK RS TRANSPORTS - THEY'RE BRILLIANT
Quick trip, 30 or 40 mins I suppose and then the driver was pointing out the park to the boys.
and then we were pulling into the Cheyenne.
Reception was empty and I got checked in straight away, we had a very nice CM, who noticed we had the LN booked for 3.00 and a Birthday cake, he wanted me to change it to another day, as he said it was coming to the end of the restaurants opening time and there wouldn't be any characters or food selection, I couldn't do that to Liam again, so I asked if we could do it earlier and he booked us in at 1.45pm, about an hour away. Having noted it was Liam's birthday yesterday and our experience, he suggested that we pretend it was Liam's birthday today and every CM that came out or walked past, he introduced Liam to and explained this to them, this was all very nice and Liam got lots of Birthday Wishes and free sweets off the counter, ( I think the CM's at Cheyenne are the most friendly of all the hotels) I was desperate to get going, but we had to wait for our vouchers anyway, which came out printed wrong the first time as 2 adults, 2 kids and had to be redone, so it passed the time, our room though was ready, just around the back of Reception in Billy the Kid,
so once we were sorted at Reception, we legged it over there, dumped the cases (forgetting the Comic Relief red noses BTW) and noting that we could see the River walk from our room,
decided to walk/jog/sprint to the park.
continued from here
The walk to the parks from the Cheyenne is a nice one or at least it is on a nice sunny day, not so sure if I'd fancy it in the cold or wet, I was pleasantly surprised by it, but not as surprised as I was by the size of the "goldfish" in the river, I said I wonder what they eat and Jamie answered the ducks by the look of them.
So we continued hurriedly through the village under the DLH and through those turnstyles, nothing else gives me that same feeling. When you go around the bandstand and get that first view up Main Street, although today I forgoed that and instead we went quickly up Liberty Arcade and down the passageway to Frontierland. Tadah ! Family were impressed at how quickly we got there and it meant we had about 15 minutes before our LN reservation, Phantom Manor was beckoning with only a little queue skirting around the side of the house.
We all love this ride, but like all DLP fans know it backwards, so we have a game where we try and find something new or something missing. I won this time, because I knew about the renovations in February and the lighting
on the gargoyles, Madame Leota seems very white, I think I preferred the greener tinge or was that just dirt and it's so much easier to see the ghostly card game, we couldn't find anything missing or not working and I did admit when we came off that I cheated.
Over to the Lucky Nugget, which was heaving, but with our reservation we were seated within 5 minutes, I said I hope we get to sit down the bottom this time, it's so much easier to not have to carry your food up the stairs, well, it is for me - dodgy knees, and hey presto we were seated right next to the food.
No Phantom Manor cocktail on the menu and I was looking forward to that ! Orange Tango it had to be then, the boys don't bother with a starter and went straight to Main Courses, I had both and desserts. I have done a review of the LN, so I'm not going into detail here but the food wasn't as plentiful or varied as we've experienced in the past. Goofy visited us and when Liam had his Birthday Cake Mickey and Eeyore were there, they were fun and the highlight of the meal, Liam enjoyed it and that was the main thing really.
So, you're standing in Frontierland with full tummys and what does your mind turn to - a runaway train of course, no FP's left so we just joined the queue, BTM's queue never ceases to amaze me, it never looks so bad from down on the ground and then when you're in it, you've no idea, which way you're going, where the steps are and whose in front and whose behind you in the rows to the left and right, quite ingenius, also great place to get photos of Phantom Manor and the Paddle Steamers.
Bit of a panic when the train started, "Hang onto them hats and glasses" took on a whole new meaning for me as a I've recently upgraded to spectacles, which I hastily put away and then I was given strict instructions not to squash the Birthday cake I was carrying. I suppose we must've queued for an hour or so for BTM, nobody wanted to queue again anyway, so we wandered over to POTC, which was almost empty, in fact we went on 3 times and then I clicked what the time was - the parade had been on, by the time we came off it the third time, queues were starting to form again and when we walked into Fantasyland I was gobsmacked at the lines, I suggested the maze but it was closed, but photo opportunity time.
We didn't fancy queueing for anything else, everyone was a bit tired from the early start, so we headed back to the hotel, I unpacked the cases and put Liam's cards out, and then we all fell asleep for an hour.
Headed back to the village in the evening, intending to visit the Nex arcade, which we eventually found, but it was closed with boardings all around it. Couldn't help noticing as we walked by that the ToT didn't seem to have the same lighting as I remembered from our last visit, the purplish ghostly glow wasn't apparent,
neither were the great big spotlights that I've seen shining into the sky.
I remembered there was a small games arcade by the Disney Store, so the boys went in there for an hour and Rob and I sat under a patio heater outside the Sports bar, I was drinking Cactus Jack's they were very nice, I have no idea what they consisted of but they were 7 euros, which I was reminded of several times during the course of the evening, the lager was 4 euros 20 cents and apparently not a full pint.
The boys turned up, out of money and bored, French Gaming Arcades eat up coins as quickly as English ones unfortunately. So we headed back to the Cheyenne after a quick visit to St. Ludwigs shop where Liam spent an extortionate amount on some very nice toy horsemen figures. Jamie collected his DS from the room and we headed to the Red Garter Saloon, where resident band The Thrifts were playing, they were very good and there was a really nice friendly atmosphere in there.
I asked for the cocktail menu and there it was the Blue Glow-Tini,
well I had to and only 8 euros 50 cents in there, if Rob had had a chair he would've fallen off it. The drink caused quite a stir, with the dad next to me at the bar trying to explain to his young daughter why she couldn't have one and people coming over to photograph it. It's a "blue moon" basically but it looks fab. With the drinks finished it was getting late and my intention was to be first at the park tomorrow, so we headed back to the room for a very quick wash up and bed.
who blew all my plans out of the water and cancelled our flight. We'd checked in told what time we were boarding, I made use of the free WiFi, to check on DIS and let you know we were almost off and then 5 mins before boarding time, the info board changed to "delayed". So we sat and waited, there was a problem with fog and some airlines including Flybe were sending their Rugby passengers off to Exeter and Bristol to get their flights, I wasn't panicking I spoke to the Flybe rep who said we'd know how long the delay was soon. So at 5.00pm when the announcement that "FLYBE 1435 to CDG had been cancelled, please could all passengers collect their baggage" was announced I think I went into shock, I didn't cry miraculously, Liam was really close to it, it was his 10th Birthday and he was expecting to start celebrating it at Billy Bob's that evening. I've a vague recollection of collecting luggage and being offered a flight the following morning and a hotel for the night and at some point I phoned RStransports, but it's all a bit blurred really. Anyway the Holiday Inn wasn't too far away, so after I sorted out my prepaid parking, we decided it would be quicker if we drove than wait for transport, as KLM had also cancelled a flight at the same time, so there was quite a queue behind us.
The Express by Holiday Inn was just that, it didn't really compare to the Hotel Cheyenne, but we had a meal and I got on with contacting DLP booking line to change our Lucky Nugget booking the following day, we wouldn't be arriving until lunchtime, so I needed to make it as late as possible, it was paid for we didn't want to miss it - they were brilliant, contacted the Cheyenne for me and changed the meal to the latest possible sitting.
I had tried to phone RS transports from the airport when they announced the cancellation but they had an answermachine on, they phoned me back later in the evening. One thing that has come out of this experience is that I can't praise RStransports enough, absolutely superb Customer Service. When we were delayed I rang them, they said no problem, just ring us when you know you're definately boarding and we'll check the arrival time our end. When we were cancelled as I mentioned they rang me back, I gave them the new flight details for the following morning and they said no problem, or if there was let them know.
We hardly slept that night, I think we were all really stressed and disappointed, but we were all up, straight to the window - NO FOG
and down at breakfast by 5.30, suitcases all packed again and ready to go by 6.15 and then .................................................................................................the car wouldn't start So about 2 years ago I called the AA out when I had a similar problem, it was the distributor cap and the guy said, I've cleaned it, see how it goes - I've had no problems, whatsoever with it since, until now. By this time I'm really starting to think that the holiday is jinxed, another thumbs up for Customer Service goes to the staff at the Holiday Inn, who told me to leave it there, got us a taxi and told us to ring them to arrange a taxi back when we landed back.Checked in, given a boarding time
, the next hour and a half were so long, through security again, I think we were all afraid to say anything but oh yes - we were called to board, I've never been so happy to see a plane.
Had an uneventful flight and arrived slightly ahead of schedule, which was quite good given the walk from Terminal 1, I was worried about negotiating Terminal 1, after reading about it on t'internet but it's not too bad, it does take you such a long time to get to the baggage area that you're left wondering if you've missed it somewhere, but we just kept following the signs.
Must mention something we found on the way back, a "YOU ARE HERE" machine and you type in where you want to be i.e. your airline check in desk and it gives you directions and a map and you can even print it out, how good is that. Made it a doddle getting back.
The only thing I hadn't though of was what departure gate we'd be at, but I phoned RS again and the driver was in sight within minutes, we booked the shared shuttle, but there and back we were the only family. We were so impressed with them though I gave the driver a very large tip and promised to recommend them to all my friends. It's going in my signature:
BOOK RS TRANSPORTS - THEY'RE BRILLIANT
Quick trip, 30 or 40 mins I suppose and then the driver was pointing out the park to the boys.
and then we were pulling into the Cheyenne.
Reception was empty and I got checked in straight away, we had a very nice CM, who noticed we had the LN booked for 3.00 and a Birthday cake, he wanted me to change it to another day, as he said it was coming to the end of the restaurants opening time and there wouldn't be any characters or food selection, I couldn't do that to Liam again, so I asked if we could do it earlier and he booked us in at 1.45pm, about an hour away. Having noted it was Liam's birthday yesterday and our experience, he suggested that we pretend it was Liam's birthday today and every CM that came out or walked past, he introduced Liam to and explained this to them, this was all very nice and Liam got lots of Birthday Wishes and free sweets off the counter, ( I think the CM's at Cheyenne are the most friendly of all the hotels) I was desperate to get going, but we had to wait for our vouchers anyway, which came out printed wrong the first time as 2 adults, 2 kids and had to be redone, so it passed the time, our room though was ready, just around the back of Reception in Billy the Kid,
so once we were sorted at Reception, we legged it over there, dumped the cases (forgetting the Comic Relief red noses BTW) and noting that we could see the River walk from our room,
decided to walk/jog/sprint to the park.
continued from here
The walk to the parks from the Cheyenne is a nice one or at least it is on a nice sunny day, not so sure if I'd fancy it in the cold or wet, I was pleasantly surprised by it, but not as surprised as I was by the size of the "goldfish" in the river, I said I wonder what they eat and Jamie answered the ducks by the look of them.
So we continued hurriedly through the village under the DLH and through those turnstyles, nothing else gives me that same feeling. When you go around the bandstand and get that first view up Main Street, although today I forgoed that and instead we went quickly up Liberty Arcade and down the passageway to Frontierland. Tadah ! Family were impressed at how quickly we got there and it meant we had about 15 minutes before our LN reservation, Phantom Manor was beckoning with only a little queue skirting around the side of the house.
We all love this ride, but like all DLP fans know it backwards, so we have a game where we try and find something new or something missing. I won this time, because I knew about the renovations in February and the lighting
on the gargoyles, Madame Leota seems very white, I think I preferred the greener tinge or was that just dirt and it's so much easier to see the ghostly card game, we couldn't find anything missing or not working and I did admit when we came off that I cheated.
Over to the Lucky Nugget, which was heaving, but with our reservation we were seated within 5 minutes, I said I hope we get to sit down the bottom this time, it's so much easier to not have to carry your food up the stairs, well, it is for me - dodgy knees, and hey presto we were seated right next to the food.
No Phantom Manor cocktail on the menu and I was looking forward to that ! Orange Tango it had to be then, the boys don't bother with a starter and went straight to Main Courses, I had both and desserts. I have done a review of the LN, so I'm not going into detail here but the food wasn't as plentiful or varied as we've experienced in the past. Goofy visited us and when Liam had his Birthday Cake Mickey and Eeyore were there, they were fun and the highlight of the meal, Liam enjoyed it and that was the main thing really.
So, you're standing in Frontierland with full tummys and what does your mind turn to - a runaway train of course, no FP's left so we just joined the queue, BTM's queue never ceases to amaze me, it never looks so bad from down on the ground and then when you're in it, you've no idea, which way you're going, where the steps are and whose in front and whose behind you in the rows to the left and right, quite ingenius, also great place to get photos of Phantom Manor and the Paddle Steamers.
We didn't fancy queueing for anything else, everyone was a bit tired from the early start, so we headed back to the hotel, I unpacked the cases and put Liam's cards out, and then we all fell asleep for an hour.
Headed back to the village in the evening, intending to visit the Nex arcade, which we eventually found, but it was closed with boardings all around it. Couldn't help noticing as we walked by that the ToT didn't seem to have the same lighting as I remembered from our last visit, the purplish ghostly glow wasn't apparent,
neither were the great big spotlights that I've seen shining into the sky.
I remembered there was a small games arcade by the Disney Store, so the boys went in there for an hour and Rob and I sat under a patio heater outside the Sports bar, I was drinking Cactus Jack's they were very nice, I have no idea what they consisted of but they were 7 euros, which I was reminded of several times during the course of the evening, the lager was 4 euros 20 cents and apparently not a full pint.
The boys turned up, out of money and bored, French Gaming Arcades eat up coins as quickly as English ones unfortunately. So we headed back to the Cheyenne after a quick visit to St. Ludwigs shop where Liam spent an extortionate amount on some very nice toy horsemen figures. Jamie collected his DS from the room and we headed to the Red Garter Saloon, where resident band The Thrifts were playing, they were very good and there was a really nice friendly atmosphere in there.
I asked for the cocktail menu and there it was the Blue Glow-Tini,
well I had to and only 8 euros 50 cents in there, if Rob had had a chair he would've fallen off it. The drink caused quite a stir, with the dad next to me at the bar trying to explain to his young daughter why she couldn't have one and people coming over to photograph it. It's a "blue moon" basically but it looks fab. With the drinks finished it was getting late and my intention was to be first at the park tomorrow, so we headed back to the room for a very quick wash up and bed.
but thank goodness you got there the next day.
