Reminiscing... 9 months late. What the heck! Sharing our Europe trip... including Disneyland Paris!

[M&N]

You had a great view for the fireworks.

 

[mariezp]

You had a great view for the fireworks.

It was a nice view! We didn't let the fact that it was chilly and misting keep us from watching and putting that balcony to use.

 

[Tardisblue]

Great thread mariezp! I came onto the boards this morning and randomly searched for trips to Europe and found your thread. I turned 45 today and told my wife the only thing I wanted this year was to renew my passport and a promise to have a stamp from somewhere in Europe before I turn 46, even if it's just a long weekend to London for starters.

 

[annegirl]

Wow! What a view! It's too bad that the day didn't completely live up to your expectations but sounds like you had a good time anyway. And that hotel looks fantastic.

 

[CarolynK]

I just read your report, great fireworks pictures!! My family just returned 2 weeks ago from a similar trip to Europe. We spent a week in Rome, 3 nights in Paris then 3 nights in London. I'm curious why you guys didn't take Eurostar instead of a ferry, to Paris? It takes you from the center of London to the center of Paris, without the seasickness
Also a hotel comment - we like to stay in the major chains because we almost always are able to book them with points (credit card sign-up bonuses being a major help here) and many of the chain hotels we've stayed in Paris & London (this was not our first trip to either city) are in really old buildings that have been remodeled by the hotels. So, there is still that European charm you're looking for, but maybe a bit more "modern" amenities. For example, our Paris hotel was a Radisson (Club Carlson) with only about 20 rooms, but it was very quaint.
Looking forward to more!!

 

[mariezp]

I am so darn excited!
I have more readers!!!

Thanks to all of you for stopping by and especially leaving comments!!!

Great thread mariezp! I came onto the boards this morning and randomly searched for trips to Europe and found your thread. I turned 45 today and told my wife the only thing I wanted this year was to renew my passport and a promise to have a stamp from somewhere in Europe before I turn 46, even if it's just a long weekend to London for starters.

I am so glad you found me! And, thank you for the compliment. I am so happy to be sharing. It's turning out to be even better than I hoped because it's stoking my fire to get to planning again by hearing from other people who are thinking about or are already planning trips to Europe. Also garnering a few new ideas from readers in the process too!

Tardisblue!
I personally think that a trip to London is a PERFECT gift!!!! (hint, hint dear hubby of mine, I have a birthday coming up at the end of the month.) A long weekend might be tough with the time zone changes. If I were you I think I would definitely see if I couldn't convince your wife that you NEED a week seeing how it is for your birthday.

Seriously, I would take any time I could get and I sure hope you are able to get to London for starters and then maybe even more. Now go get that passport renewed!
It's a personal goal of mine to see just how many more trips we can get in on our passports before they expire.

 

[mariezp]

Wow! What a view! It's too bad that the day didn't completely live up to your expectations but sounds like you had a good time anyway. And that hotel looks fantastic.

Having read about DLP in advance I do think I was a bit prepared that the park was not going to quite live up to making us love it nearly as much as we love Disneyland in Anaheim. Big shoes to fill, you know? Still, I guess diving in full throttle with the complete Disney Hotel package I was somewhat expecting or hoping for it to really knock our socks off. The park really is lovely. Believe me if it were in my neighborhood I probably would visit often. Just not likely to trek across the pond again just to make a special visit when the ones we have right hear in the USA are top notch.
Having never stayed in a Disney hotel before I do have to say that we were impressed with the place. It is pretty nice. I will say that in the club level they do bend over backwards to try to take care of you. In our case we did not really end up taking advantage of much of the extras. Since we were still adjusting to different time zones we were too darn tired to get up in time for early entry or take advantage of breakfast. We missed the reception times and hardly used the "private" park entrance and our VIP fastpasses only covered one ride my daughter wanted to ride. I'm not sure if anyone else got to make use of them either as we split in different groups fairly often. Pretty steep price tag to not take advantage of the perks but it was once in a lifetime so the memories alone are worth a lot.

My apologies for not making it back over to your thread. It's on my to-do list! I'll be seeing you soon.

 

[mariezp]

I just read your report, great fireworks pictures!! My family just returned 2 weeks ago from a similar trip to Europe. We spent a week in Rome, 3 nights in Paris then 3 nights in London. I'm curious why you guys didn't take Eurostar instead of a ferry, to Paris? It takes you from the center of London to the center of Paris, without the seasickness
Also a hotel comment - we like to stay in the major chains because we almost always are able to book them with points (credit card sign-up bonuses being a major help here) and many of the chain hotels we've stayed in Paris & London (this was not our first trip to either city) are in really old buildings that have been remodeled by the hotels. So, there is still that European charm you're looking for, but maybe a bit more "modern" amenities. For example, our Paris hotel was a Radisson (Club Carlson) with only about 20 rooms, but it was very quaint.
Looking forward to more!!

Oooh! I would love to hear more about your trip! What did you think of those places and what did you see? Rome is on our wish list.... maybe our third trip but not the next one.... and we really want to spend some more time in London. Paris we may pass through on our way to Normandy and Mont St. Michel someday but it's really not at the top of our return list any time soon.

You know if we had been really smart we probably would have just taken the Eurostar! Really though when I first started planning our trip we were originally going to have 15 days. The plan was to take the ferry over because we thought we would enjoy it. I had no idea my daughter would end up getting seasick. When our plans got cut back to 10 days because my son was worried about being gone too long from his business we were already booked with Brittany Ferries so we just decided to keep the rooms and use them for a night of lodging although we ended up having to skip the other things we had hoped to do in the area. Looks like when we make it back we will be traveling via Eurostar or some other method than the ferry.

I love it! Tips without even having to go look for them! Thank you for the hotel input. I know you are right that some of the chains are now housed in remodeled older buildings. For some reason at the time I was working on our reservations my overburdened travel planning brain just failed to acknowledge that some of those hotel chains could have possibly had the atmosphere I was looking for. You can bet they will be on my radar next time I am searching for lodging.
It might actually be nice to have rooms with some of the modern amenities. While none of the places we stayed would have been considered primitive later in our trip we certainly did run across a variety of plumbing configurations. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is when you have to get your son's girlfriend to help you figure out how to flush the potty? And, also, I think that there must be a group of people living in Germany who make it a hobby to create unique shower enclosures. I believe every bathroom we had was equipped with a different setup.

BTW, where do you stay in London? Just might need a new idea when we go back.
Right now I am wishing I could talk my DH into just renting an apartment in a central location in Germany so we could just go ahead and stay for a full month... or two. Wish me luck on that one!

 

[CarolynK]

Oooh! I would love to hear more about your trip! What did you think of those places and what did you see? Rome is on our wish list.... maybe our third trip but not the next one.... and we really want to spend some more time in London. Paris we may pass through on our way to Normandy and Mont St. Michel someday but it's really not at the top of our return list any time soon.

This was our family's 2nd trip to Rome (1st was in 2013), so between the 2 trips we've seen most of the "must-sees" - Coliseum/Forum; Borghese Gallery; Vatican/St. Peter's (gotta buy the ticket to Vatican which includes St. P's otherwise you will wait in line for 3 hours just to get into St. P's!); Capitoline Museum. I could go on and on, but this is your TR! We rented an apartment for a week (also did in '13) which helps you to "live like the locals." Taxis are pretty cheap and we used them a lot, saving our feet for the sights!
This trip to Paris we went to Louvre and Orsay Museum as well as the Archaeological Crypt under Notre Dame. We bought the 2-day Paris Museum Pass, for the access it allows.
We really had only one full day in London, and we went to the British Museum. Our other day we rented a car and drove to Bath - such beautiful countryside!

It might actually be nice to have rooms with some of the modern amenities. While none of the places we stayed would have been considered primitive later in our trip we certainly did run across a variety of plumbing configurations. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is when you have to get your son's girlfriend to help you figure out how to flush the potty? And, also, I think that there must be a group of people living in Germany who make it a hobby to create unique shower enclosures. I believe every bathroom we had was equipped with a different setup.

I hope you took pictures of those German showers! European bathrooms in general are definitely unique! And don't get me started on their hairdryers!!

BTW, where do you stay in London? Just might need a new idea when we go back.
Right now I am wishing I could talk my DH into just renting an apartment in a central location in Germany so we could just go ahead and stay for a full month... or two. Wish me luck on that one!

Our 3-bedroom apartment in Rome (2 blocks from the Spanish Steps) cost about $1500 for the week. If you're planning even 4 or 5 days in any one city, I think an apartment is the way to go.
This London trip, we stayed at Radisson Blu Edwardian in Leicester Square- DH and I both got Club Carlson credit cards over a year ago and racked up some points. Our first London trip with our kids was in 2009, and we stayed at Sofitel St. James, a beautiful hotel close to Buckingham Palace. We liked it so much that we went back to London in 2010 and stayed there again!
It sounds like you did a LOT of research for your trip!! It is SO easy now with internet, isn't it?? Plus it's rewarding, and fun!!

 

[mariezp]

I plan on making a little change to my trip report title seeing as how I've gotten to the Disneyland Paris part of the trip. I thought it might help some readers find it who might not necessarily be wanting to hear about a full blown European experience but rather just the Disneyland Paris tidbits. I plan to backtrack to the first post and provide a link so they can skip on to just the DLP days.... assuming I don't forget. In the meantime I have been uploading and uploading photos! Photobucket is my new nemesis but I plan on sticking with it to the end if I can make it cooperate! Now on to more of the good stuff!



Day 5, August 31, 2014
On our second day at Disneyland Paris we spent another half day in the park. (not nearly enough) I did not feel that everyone else was really enjoying the park very much which in turn made it difficult for me to really enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Though we did manage to have some fun I have to say that DLP was probably one of the less impressive destinations of our trip. (It has some pretty stiff competition further on down the line.) I am glad I got to go once but I am sure that we will never make a point to go again. Kinda wish I had saved some of that money spent on a way overpriced hotel and spent it elsewhere on the trip. The family did love the rooms and we can now say we have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel at the Disneyland Paris park so that's worth the memory alone, I guess.

I usually do really good at remembering to take pictures but I really failed this time as these are the few photos I even thought to take at the hotel.

Poor Mickey got blinded by the flash!

It does make you go WOW! when you first see the lobby.

Since this is a Disney board and I took lots of photos I figure I will go all out and post a ton of pics from the Disneyland Paris park. Keep in mind my photography skills are somewhat lacking but I think you can at the very least kinda make out most of the details. I know! I do have to remember next time to turn off the date stamp! The dates on the pics sure makes it easier to go back through and help remember when the photos were taken but it does sorta distract in an otherwise nice photo. Sorry guys. Since my husband got his new iPhone he has become something of a camera fiend as well when we go on vacation so I'll be sharing some of his pictures throughout this report with you as well. You can tell which are his because they don't have the stupid dates on them.

Gotta have coffee!

The castle is beautiful!....

The style of the carousel is so different from the white theme on Disneyland's King Arthur Carousel. Can't decide which I like better. These sure have lots of character.

More to come...

 

[mariezp]

Told you there would be more....

I was really looking forward to seeing this since it is specific to the DLP park. The maze itself was interesting and really fun to do with my daughter. Don't tell anybody else but she is my favorite park buddy!

Unfortunately, this attraction really could use some TLC.

Granted, the poor old queen was behind some sort of barrier that might possibly shield her from the view of small children. However, I am only average height and was able to see how pitiful she looked without even standing on my tippy toes. As I have heard, stuff like this just really demonstrates just how lacking the Paris park is when it comes to maintenance. Paint missing, broken objects, just totally under par for a Disney park.

The queen's looking a little better here even though she looks a little angry.

My heart. She's so much fun!

I'll be back.....

 

[mariezp]

Here's a few more...

It really IS a small world! I feel so lucky and am so very thankful that I got to see this part of the world once in my lifetime!

It's pretty traditional to make at least one goofy face on the Teacups.

My favorite part of the ride is always seeing the beautiful Chinese lanterns.

No idea what it says!

Will be back after a short commercial break... and I get through fixin supper!

 

[mariezp]

Okie dokie! Back to posting the last of the DLP pictures....

Emma LOVED the dragon underneath! It really was pretty neat. It is animatronic and even has smoke! It's pretty dark down there which makes it really hard to get a good picture though.

Can you tell? She REALLY loves dragons!

We saw the Maleficent movie earlier in the year and really liked it so she was happy to see her in the park.

Whew! That was a lot of photos!


A few comments on some things in the park... The castle is lovely!.... Emma LOVED the dragon! She probably would have stayed there half a day if we'd had the time. It really was pretty awesome.... The Haunted Mansion was cool looking on the outside but we did not much care for the storyline. It's a little spookier than Disneyland's version.... Pirates was good. It had a few changes that made it different and interesting but overall not necessarily better than Disneyland's. I somehow missed getting a single picture probably because it is our favorite ride and I probably didn't want to miss anything..... Alice's Labyrinth was a fun and a unique attraction. Nothing else really stuck in my mind as a big stand out.

One thing that did stick with all of us is how very differently personal space is defined and common courtesy was practiced compared to here in the USA. When we were in a line we were herded along like cattle.... packed in tight.... maybe even more like sardines. If you left even a inkling of space someone would plow right through in front of you. Ana actually elbowed a guy in the ribs because he kept reaching around her waist to grab the hand rail in front of her even though he was standing totally behind her. It was crazy. I understand that it is because of our different cultures. It makes us appreciate the observance of personal space, simple politeness and patience we've seen our fellow Americans demonstrate under the same circumstances.

Oh, and one last thought, all their food can't even begin to hold a candle to the dining in Disneyland! Service was so slow.

 

[suzimar57]

Enjoying your DLP trip report - and your photos are stunning, simply breakthtaking, especially the fireworks! - Having that club room at the DL hotel was money well spent - DH and I went to DLP during our honeymoon in '98 (stayed at Newport Bay hotel) - we didn't have as "magical" a time as your family (went during Bastille Day - crowds, unfriendly people, awful food) but that castle is beautiful!!

 

[Tardisblue]

I'm surprised(?) by how poorly they maintain some of the attractions. Then I think of all the empty buildings at Epcot...

 

[annegirl]

The castle looks beautiful. I love the stained glass. But yeah, I am surprised by the unkempt looking attractions in your photos! That almost doesn't make it seem Disney!

 

[mariezp]

This was our family's 2nd trip to Rome (1st was in 2013), so between the 2 trips we've seen most of the "must-sees" - Coliseum/Forum; Borghese Gallery; Vatican/St. Peter's (gotta buy the ticket to Vatican which includes St. P's otherwise you will wait in line for 3 hours just to get into St. P's!); Capitoline Museum. I could go on and on, but this is your TR! We rented an apartment for a week (also did in '13) which helps you to "live like the locals." Taxis are pretty cheap and we used them a lot, saving our feet for the sights!
This trip to Paris we went to Louvre and Orsay Museum as well as the Archaeological Crypt under Notre Dame. We bought the 2-day Paris Museum Pass, for the access it allows.
We really had only one full day in London, and we went to the British Museum. Our other day we rented a car and drove to Bath - such beautiful countryside!

I hope you took pictures of those German showers! European bathrooms in general are definitely unique! And don't get me started on their hairdryers!!

Our 3-bedroom apartment in Rome (2 blocks from the Spanish Steps) cost about $1500 for the week. If you're planning even 4 or 5 days in any one city, I think an apartment is the way to go.
This London trip, we stayed at Radisson Blu Edwardian in Leicester Square- DH and I both got Club Carlson credit cards over a year ago and racked up some points. Our first London trip with our kids was in 2009, and we stayed at Sofitel St. James, a beautiful hotel close to Buckingham Palace. We liked it so much that we went back to London in 2010 and stayed there again!
It sounds like you did a LOT of research for your trip!! It is SO easy now with internet, isn't it?? Plus it's rewarding, and fun!!

Oops! I got distracted for a few days. You know how that is I bet. Sorry I missed responding to your post until now. It looks like you must have posted at about the same time that I was working on Day 5 of my report. You snuck in before I got mine posted and I finally saw your post today. Going to have to keep a sharp eye out! lol!

How awesome! I would love to say I had 2 trips behind me to Rome. On the other hand, I guess having it on my bucket list and getting it marked off at any time will be amazing. Seeing the Coliseum is at the top of our Rome must sees. I am now taking notes so I can save your wisdom for future reference. I also have written to my memory to be extra careful at the Vatican. One of my friend's mother got pick pocketed during their visit.

Should we ever make it back to Paris I would like to see the Archaeological Crypt too. My husband wants to make sure we see the Eiffel Tower since we missed it. I don't really see the point because I couldn't convince any of my bunch to go up to the top with me. If I can't go up I would be just as happy waving at it as we drove by in a cab.
There is so much to see in London it would take many trips to see it all. Since it has the main airport for the majority of flights from the USA when we go back to Europe it will be easy to see a little something even if it is for just a short stay like you had. I have heard Bath is lovely. Personally I prefer those smaller cities and tend to gravitate away from the big crowds.
It sounds like you have had amazing luck as well finding all sorts of amazing sites to see and great places to stay. Do you have any sites to recommend where I might look for apartments?

So sorry to disappoint. No photos of the German showers. Next time I will have to be sure to do that. It is very easy to forget all of the things you SHOULD take photos of until you get back.
I did notice that the hair dryers were different but thankfully I did not have to use them on this trip. Right before we left I got a perm in my hair specifically so I could just wash and go. My perm worked great! It saved me so much time and I never had to worry about whether we stayed somewhere that did not have a dryer. At first it looked like there was a stranger in all our photos but now that I have gotten use to it I love the perm and have adopted it as my full time hairdo.

I am not familiar with the Club Carlson credit card. I got a Chase Sapphire Preferred specifically for our trip before we left. (got some other card too for backup but the name escapes me at the moment) The rewards were pretty good and we had no problem using it all over Europe. Funny now after doing all that research and shopping for new chip cards my Disney card just got around to sending me a new one although I am sure it probably still has foreign transaction fees.

The internet is indeed amazing for planning travel! I never ever could have made this trip happen without it. I guess with years of planning all our trips here in the USA, including all the ones to Disney, I have become something of a control freak when it comes to vacations. I just can't seem to bring myself to turn over all the planning to someone else. Someday maybe. I really do think it might be nice to sit back and relax.... leave the details to someone else. For now though I don't think we are quite ready to turn it all over to a travel agent. We kinda like being on our own and I am just not sure if we would enjoy spending an entire vacation with a group of strangers. Ideally, if money were no object and I could talk my family into it, I would love to book an apartment for a month or two and then add a tour package for about a week. In the meantime, I am going to keep looking for those out of the way things/off the beaten path type things and save the big name attractions for a tour some where down the line. Maybe when I am old and gray someday and don't feel up to the challenge. Like you said, right now, it is rewarding to be able to pull it all together and make an amazing trip happen all on your own. Sure am wishing I was ready to start planning another right now!

 

[CarolynK]

Oops! I got distracted for a few days. You know how that is I bet. Sorry I missed responding to your post until now. It looks like you must have posted at about the same time that I was working on Day 5 of my report. You snuck in before I got mine posted and I finally saw your post today. Going to have to keep a sharp eye out! lol!

No problem! Waiting for more of your report....

...My husband wants to make sure we see the Eiffel Tower since we missed it. I don't really see the point because I couldn't convince any of my bunch to go up to the top with me. If I can't go up I would be just as happy waving at it as we drove by in a cab.

It seems that getting tickets to the Eiffel Tower is nearly impossible through their website. We tried and failed for this trip, but there are a few tour companies (that I suspect are partnered with Eiffel Tower) that offer "skip the line" access for a premium. Our first trip in 2009, we decided to splurge and made dinner reservations at the 2nd floor restaurant, which was lovely.

It sounds like you have had amazing luck as well finding all sorts of amazing sites to see and great places to stay. Do you have any sites to recommend where I might look for apartments?

There is a website dedicated to "slow travel" (at slowtrav.com), basically they believe that in order to really get to know a city, you have to spend at least a few days to soak it all in. They have some advertisements for apartment rentals, which is how I found our Rome apartment (rome-accommodation.com). There are message boards, and these people really know their Rome, and Paris, etc. Lots of great info!

Right before we left I got a perm in my hair specifically so I could just wash and go. My perm worked great! It saved me so much time and I never had to worry about whether we stayed somewhere that did not have a dryer. At first it looked like there was a stranger in all our photos but now that I have gotten use to it I love the perm and have adopted it as my full time hairdo.

I did something similar, but I like straight hair so I got a Keratin treatment that cut my drying time in half. Still, those hair dryers - you have to hold down the button to keep it on!

...Sure am wishing I was ready to start planning another right now!

We're going to WDW in a few weeks, and we are SO looking forward to being in a place that we know so well, that requires NO planning (other than FP+!!)!!

 

[mariezp]

I've got a few minutes here so I am going to try to post the remaining details and photos from Day 5. When I get that done my next goal is to get back to those of you who have left posts.

Here's how we finished off our day.



From DLP we took a cab in the evening to our hotel in the Latin Quarter of Paris. I had heard it could be lively but when we pulled into our little narrow street there was just no where to go. The intersection was completely blocked by pedestrians..... people everywhere as far as the eye could see! In what resembled something like Moses and the parting of the Red Sea our driver slowly inched forward into the crowd of people and was able to deposit us in front of our lodging for the night, the Hotel du Mont Blanc. Thankfully, the crowd cleared out a little and we were actually able to make it inside. This is a view looking away from our front door.

We checked in and headed for the elevator which was an experience in itself. Only big enough to hold 2 people at a time!

Rooms were nothing special but it was clean and a place to lay our weary heads. They did have a little cafe downstairs so we were able to eat outside and relax just like you always imagine when you think of a Paris bistro. Waiters were fun. Food and wine was good. Great night we will never forget!

Later the street was lined with neon lights, sidewalk vendors and shops loaded with goods for tourists. We took a look around and made a few purchases.

Then we walked to the end of the block to see what was just around the corner...

Yep, we were just a short walk from the Notre Dame Cathedral. To say my son was excited is rather obvious. Love this photo showing his excitement. He is primarily the reason we ended up taking a trip to Europe. (Thank you, son!) Notre Dame was on his list of top things to see.

This photo like a good many other photos of our trip is sorta bittersweet. My son and his girlfriend have broken up since our trip so we no longer have her as part of our family but unless I become a Photoshop expert she remains with us in lots of our photos. Lesson learned. No more girlfriends ever invited on a trip again. The next girl to travel with us is going to have to already be his wife!

Anyway, after gawking at the scenery we made it back to our room to settle in for the night. I took a peek out my window. This was my view. Not much to look at and sure didn't offer much privacy. Would this be considered typical Paris? Being a country girl who lives in the middle of 20 acres I am just not that used to having neighbors so close. It was interesting.

 

[mariezp]

Enjoying your DLP trip report - and your photos are stunning, simply breakthtaking, especially the fireworks! - Having that club room at the DL hotel was money well spent - DH and I went to DLP during our honeymoon in '98 (stayed at Newport Bay hotel) - we didn't have as "magical" a time as your family (went during Bastille Day - crowds, unfriendly people, awful food) but that castle is beautiful!!

Thank you for the compliments! It is a joy to share.

DLP must have been an awesome place for a honeymoon! It does have a certain magic and I can imagine that back in '98 the park was still looking pretty amazing since it was not very old. Holidays are never good days for avoiding those crowds so I can also just imagine what a madhouse it must have been. Hopefully between that beautiful castle and being on your honeymoon you were able to get some enjoyment out of your stay.

I'm surprised(?) by how poorly they maintain some of the attractions. Then I think of all the empty buildings at Epcot...

It was certainly a disappointment after going to the original park for so many years. At Disneyland there is a definite attention to detail and a dedication to preserving certain standards that are just not so apparent at the DLP park.

I am not all that familiar with WDW as compared to Disneyland so I am unaware of all the empty buildings in Epcot. Hopefully, Disney will breath some new life into some of those vacant places in the near future.

The castle looks beautiful. I love the stained glass. But yeah, I am surprised by the unkempt looking attractions in your photos! That almost doesn't make it seem Disney!

They really did outdo themselves on the DLP castle design! I do love stained glass too. The neglect the poor park suffers is very un-Disney. I am sure if I had been actually seeking out things that needed repair I could have stayed busy all day. No time for that! I had better things to do anyway but did think it was worth sharing a few pics. Sure makes one appreciate our Disney parks even more.