Sound the Twilight Bark and Pass the Chocolate Croissants - A London & Paris PTR

[Mndisneygirl]

All our Christmas decorations are put away, and the house is relatively clean, so on with the trip planning!!!

I got a chance to see a friend of mine yesterday who went to London last summer (to visit our mutual friend) and has been to Paris as well. We skyped with Jenny, our friend in London, so I got to talk about some planning with her too!

Jenny mentioned that there were still a couple of things in London that they had not yet done, so the plan is to take a bus tour and hit St. Paul's Cathedral with them on a weekend (since they will be in school/work during the week we're there). We talked a bit about money - things are expensive, and sometimes US credit cards don't work because they don't have a microchip in them. So we'll need cash. Ugh.
Dave asked the credit card company about that and was told that it should work most places. Jenny said bigger businesses and tourist places would probably be fine, but things like little grocery stores and restaurants would probably need cash. I know there are ATMs all over the place, so we will have access if needed. I just have to make sure there's money in the account!!

Interesting Note: We told them the dates we'd be in Europe. The lady said that it is in the system. BUT, the notation is only good for 30 days. So telling them now is pointless because in 30 days it will be gone. So we'll call them back a week before we leave. We also learned that we'll be charged a 3% transaction fee. I guess that's pretty standard.

Hotel choices: We have narrowed it down to two hotels. Hotel New York and the Sequoia Lodge.
Hotel New York - Obviously, the theme is NYC. A little bit closer to the park entrance, you get a hot breakfast included (not just continental), and it's gotten really good reviews on TripAdvisor. In winter they have an ice rink. I think it has an indoor pool (guess we'll have to pack swimsuits after all!) I want to check out some pictures of the room yet.

Sequoia Lodge - Northwoods theme, looks a lot like Wilderness Lodge. Got great reviews. A tiny bit farther from the park entrance (they offer a shuttle), and it does not include a HOT breakfast, only continental. Big indoor pool. Looks very pretty.

So here's the dilemma:
Depending on which site we use, US or UK, the HNY is a good $300 more. So we're not sure if hot breakfast for 5 days and a bit shorter walk is worth it. This trip is going to be so expensive, I'd almost rather find some way to save $ and sacrifice a bit better hotel.

On the UK site, we can get a 30% discount on HNY and 25% on Sequoia. On the US site, we get one free day/night. We did the math and if we can use the UK site, it would be just as cheap to stay at HNY as it would be to stay at the Newport Bay Club is on the US site. We were considering that one, but read some pretty lousy reviews of NBC, so that put it out of the running. On either site the kids are free (yay!).

I think I'll just look at some more pictures and decide if the breakfast is that important. It might be nice to have a big hot breakfast and maybe not have to eat so much in the parks ($$$$). I don't know!

Any thoughts????

Where is the "head spinning" smilie???

Next time we'll talk about sightseeing in London!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Funny you said that b/c I was just thinking that all that info had my head spinning! I'm not going to be a bit of help to you on any of this b/c I know absolutely nothing about where you are going, but I am enjoying learning. Sorry! I wish I could offer up something other than moral support!

 

[MEK]

I bet you'll love whatever hotel you pick. Personally, I'd rather have the $300 for dinner versus hot breakfast. But I may be biased because I have never been a big "breakfast person". I'm never hungry at breakfast and when I eat a lot I feel like I'm eating all day after that. It doesnt fill me up. I just get hungrier. OK - I'm weird that way.

Make sure you let us know when you pick and definitely post pictures. I bet both places are lovely.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I think I agree with Mary Ellen. No matter where you stay, you are bound to love it, and $300 is a lot more for a shorter walk and a hot breakfast.

My head is spinning, too, with all the info on exchange rates and using cash and credit cards.

I remember going to St. Paul's Cathedral with my parents. You will love it.

 

[MeMom]

The Lodge is sounding good to me, but I really like that type of theme. I'm sure you'll go back and forth and back and forth until the pros and cons sway you to the right choice. What do your other family members think?

It's fun to watch your planning develop. Since we don't have another trip until the summer, we'll be riding along with everyone who has something going between now and June.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

i say skip the more expensive one it that's where the hot brkfst is..we never eat a big one anyway...at least, me and the younger 2...I would rather have that moola for something to bring home! LOL!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Funny you said that b/c I was just thinking that all that info had my head spinning! I'm not going to be a bit of help to you on any of this b/c I know absolutely nothing about where you are going, but I am enjoying learning. Sorry! I wish I could offer up something other than moral support!

I still appreciate the moral support Rinky!!!

I bet you'll love whatever hotel you pick. Personally, I'd rather have the $300 for dinner versus hot breakfast. But I may be biased because I have never been a big "breakfast person". I'm never hungry at breakfast and when I eat a lot I feel like I'm eating all day after that. It doesnt fill me up. I just get hungrier. OK - I'm weird that way.

Make sure you let us know when you pick and definitely post pictures. I bet both places are lovely.

Still struggling with the decision - I am doing more research. I will keep you all posted!

I think I agree with Mary Ellen. No matter where you stay, you are bound to love it, and $300 is a lot more for a shorter walk and a hot breakfast.

My head is spinning, too, with all the info on exchange rates and using cash and credit cards.

I remember going to St. Paul's Cathedral with my parents. You will love it.

That money stuff is going to make me a little nuts I think (moreso than normal!) I will be listing some of our sightseeing plans soon. First I have pictures from Busch Gardens to share!

The Lodge is sounding good to me, but I really like that type of theme. I'm sure you'll go back and forth and back and forth until the pros and cons sway you to the right choice. What do your other family members think?

It's fun to watch your planning develop. Since we don't have another trip until the summer, we'll be riding along with everyone who has something going between now and June.

Still debating...We haven't even asked the kids yet! I'm not sure they will prefer one over the other that much - it's not themed quite as much as some of the WDW resorts. They'd probably just pick the one with the pool that looked best to them!
Stay tuned - more planning is coming now that we're under 2 months!!!

i say skip the more expensive one it that's where the hot brkfst is..we never eat a big one anyway...at least, me and the younger 2...I would rather have that moola for something to bring home! LOL!!

And see, we love a big breakfast! It's one of the meals where my kids will eat a bigger variety of foods! It may just come down to money in the end. As I plan this, I feel very poor! Plus I've been warned how expensive everything is in Europe! So I'm planning to feel poor for a while!

I've got pictures to share from Busch Gardens Christmas Town! Are you ready????

 

[Mndisneygirl]

This is from one of the shows - in Das Festhaus in the German section. It's a cruddy picture - taken with my phone (no zoom). There was dancing and singing, and a live band up in the center of the stage (above the dancers - it was cool).

Who doesn't love a good Christmas tree?

Especially when it's all lit up!!! They did a really cool light show to music a la Osborne lights.

This is as you walk over a bridge - the lights reflected on the water so pretty - the picture just doesn't do it justice!

There were a bunch of trees like this:

This is the ride Escape from Pompeii - a water flume type ride. All covered in lights!

Another angle (no I don't know that girl - she just walked into my shot!)

There was a polar bear section

France

I've got a couple more pictures on my phone that don't seem to want to go on photobucket - they're the best ones too - PENGUINS!!! They had a walk through where you could see live Magellanic penquins. The line was huge, and rather slow moving, but Sarah insisted we see them. I'll try to get those pictures up somehow. There's only two of them.

We also enjoyed a few shows - singing and dancing, Christmas themed of course. It was really nice. It got a little cold and windy and of course, I only had a leather jacket, not a real winter coat (hey, it's Virginia, not Minnesota!) and by the end of the evening my feet were cold, I had a fairly bad sinus headache, and my neck hurt from hunching up my shoulders to keep warm. But it was really a fun thing to do and if I had been dressed better, would have really loved it! It was a nice thing to do in light of the reason we were in VA in the first place. Plus it reminded me of going to WDW at Christmas time - just not as crowded!!!

 

[Pluto_fan]

Great Busch Gardens photos, Sheree! Is that a new event there? When we lived in VA (before coming here, so 2006-2009) we went to BG a few times, thanks to the free tickets for military, but I thought I remembered them closing for the season right after Halloween, and not reopening until the spring. Anyway, it looks like fun!

So let's hear what you have planned for London! How nice that you have friends there--I'm sure they can give you lots of suggestions on what to see. Here's my two cents. My guys would tell you that the best thing they've seen in London is...Bon Jovi! But sorry, I don't think they will be on tour there while you're there. We all enjoyed the Tower of London--and we usually skip guided tours, preferring to go at our own pace, but at ToL it is included in the admission and it was really good. We also enjoyed the science museum (I forget if it has a fancier name than that)--great hands-on area that we have to drag the kids out of. It is right next to the natural history museum, which we found to be a bit of a snooze. We enjoyed touring Buckingham Palace, but I think that is only open during the summer when the Queen is on vacation. I liked the British Museum...could have spent all day there, but I just had a quick breeze-through while the guys were at the London Dungeon (not particularly recommended) with their friends. The boys have also visited the Globe Theatre on a field trip and said it was interesting; might be good if anyone is interested in Shakespeare or theatre in general. For fish n' chips, we like "Rock and Sole Plaice", I think it's in Soho--check Rick Steves for the address. Still on our to-do list are the London Eye (not sure my DH is crazy about the idea), and the Sherlock Holmes museum. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things we've done. So are you sorry you asked yet?

 

[Pluto_fan]

Sheree, I don't know if you're keeping up with the DLP board of the DIS, but there's a thread going on started by another American who asked about differences between WDW and DLP. You might like it.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2858070

 

[eandesmom]

Tough call. I'm sure you are checking TR's from DLP and I imagine those would be helpful. I think for me it would depend on the eating habits of my kids. I forget how many nights you are talking about but I'd divide that $300 by your nights and figure that's your breakfast cost. If your family is big bfast eaters then it could be a savings. Plus it could be a savings simply b/c it's already paid for and one less thing to add as you go while you are there. That is one of the reason's we like the DDP, I don't get quite as much heartburn simply b/c I've already paid for it. I'm not really saving a lot sometimes but it makes it more vacation like.

I find it very very hard to believe that places couldn't manually write out a card slip if it doesn't work. I also find it hard to believe that London is that different from the rest of Europe. I've never had issues in Italy or Germany with my cards and am not a fan of carrying much cash. Certainly you will want some though as some places, anywhere, just don't take cards period. Even at WDW.

CC companies vary on their transaction fees. Capital One actually doesn't charge international fees but that's the only one I know of. Your bank will for cash withdrawals or debit transactions. You may be able to put your travel alert on your card online and not have to call them, that's what we do.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I think I would pocket the money and stay in the cheaper hotel. This will be a spendy trip so I think if you can save money, you should.

Thanks for sharing the Busch Gardens photos Sheree! I know it was a sad trip but taking a little break from the sad for awhile is okay.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Glad you were able to have a little break from the sad part of the Virginia trip. Pretty pictures from Busch Gardens -- I love lights and Christmas decorations!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great Busch Gardens photos, Sheree! Is that a new event there? When we lived in VA (before coming here, so 2006-2009) we went to BG a few times, thanks to the free tickets for military, but I thought I remembered them closing for the season right after Halloween, and not reopening until the spring. Anyway, it looks like fun!
Thanks! It is sort of new. They usually are closed but for these few weeks around the holiday. My SIL said this is either the second or third year they've done it. And tickets were cheap! Without any discount it would be $24. Since they had annual passes, we got tickets for $17. For 7 hours of fun, we thought it was worth it. And we didn't even do it all - there were a few more rides open.

So let's hear what you have planned for London! How nice that you have friends there--I'm sure they can give you lots of suggestions on what to see. Here's my two cents. My guys would tell you that the best thing they've seen in London is...Bon Jovi! But sorry, I don't think they will be on tour there while you're there. We all enjoyed the Tower of London--and we usually skip guided tours, preferring to go at our own pace, but at ToL it is included in the admission and it was really good. We also enjoyed the science museum (I forget if it has a fancier name than that)--great hands-on area that we have to drag the kids out of. It is right next to the natural history museum, which we found to be a bit of a snooze. We enjoyed touring Buckingham Palace, but I think that is only open during the summer when the Queen is on vacation. I liked the British Museum...could have spent all day there, but I just had a quick breeze-through while the guys were at the London Dungeon (not particularly recommended) with their friends. The boys have also visited the Globe Theatre on a field trip and said it was interesting; might be good if anyone is interested in Shakespeare or theatre in general. For fish n' chips, we like "Rock and Sole Plaice", I think it's in Soho--check Rick Steves for the address. Still on our to-do list are the London Eye (not sure my DH is crazy about the idea), and the Sherlock Holmes museum. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things we've done. So are you sorry you asked yet?

Ha! I remember we talked about Bon Jovi in London before!! I will get going on my list soon!

Sheree, I don't know if you're keeping up with the DLP board of the DIS, but there's a thread going on started by another American who asked about differences between WDW and DLP. You might like it.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2858070

Thanks - I just popped over there. I still have questions about using the UK site to book - they ask for something about your passport when my DH was looking and we'd have to put in US, right? Do you do that?

Tough call. I'm sure you are checking TR's from DLP and I imagine those would be helpful. I think for me it would depend on the eating habits of my kids. I forget how many nights you are talking about but I'd divide that $300 by your nights and figure that's your breakfast cost. If your family is big bfast eaters then it could be a savings. Plus it could be a savings simply b/c it's already paid for and one less thing to add as you go while you are there. That is one of the reason's we like the DDP, I don't get quite as much heartburn simply b/c I've already paid for it. I'm not really saving a lot sometimes but it makes it more vacation like.

I find it very very hard to believe that places couldn't manually write out a card slip if it doesn't work. I also find it hard to believe that London is that different from the rest of Europe. I've never had issues in Italy or Germany with my cards and am not a fan of carrying much cash. Certainly you will want some though as some places, anywhere, just don't take cards period. Even at WDW.

CC companies vary on their transaction fees. Capital One actually doesn't charge international fees but that's the only one I know of. Your bank will for cash withdrawals or debit transactions. You may be able to put your travel alert on your card online and not have to call them, that's what we do.

Yeah, we're seriously considering how much $ that breakfast would be and how much difference it makes with location. It seems we're leaning toward the cheaper.
I sort of wish we had Capital One, but I'm sure as heck not getting a new CC anytime soon! We will add the fees into the budget. And we will call the CC and Bank before we go again to alert them to our travel dates and locations. I think if we just plan for a mix of cash/credit/debit we'll be fine.

I think I would pocket the money and stay in the cheaper hotel. This will be a spendy trip so I think if you can save money, you should.

Thanks for sharing the Busch Gardens photos Sheree! I know it was a sad trip but taking a little break from the sad for awhile is okay.

You are right! We need to rein it in where we can because some parts we just can't control the prices (like the dang airfare!). $300 would buy a lot of snacks and souvenirs!

Glad you were able to have a little break from the sad part of the Virginia trip. Pretty pictures from Busch Gardens -- I love lights and Christmas decorations!

Yeah, it was nice. I get a little giddy when I see nice Christmas displays and lights, so it was right up my alley. Add music and dancing shows - I'm in heaven!


So yesterday was Sarah's big day! She got her braces on!! She chose to get lime green and purple on them! It looks pretty cute. She was very good and brave, and didn't fuss too much. She's got a sore mouth, and says her teeth hurt, but she's handling it well. There's more to be done as she still needs 4 permanent teeth pulled. I was surprised that they would put the braces on first, but they just left those teeth alone and didn't put a wire across them.

I'm still trying to decide what to do about the hotel. I am leaning (and DH is too) toward Sequoia Lodge. There is a minimal difference in the distance to the parks (and it's close anyway) and we can stuff ourselves with croissants for breakfast. Plus, we will need $ for the train to/from Paris, so that $300 will be good for that.
We're working on trying to use the UK site to book too. Kathy (Plutofan) - you are such a great help! I really appreciate it.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I found my penguin pictures!! I put a snapbucket app on my phone and can upload directly to photobucket. But then I didn't know where to look on pb to find them! DOH! They put them in a special album called ... wait for it...

Snapbucket!

Oy!

Here are my penquin friends!

Sarah's famous saying is now, "They're so cute, I want one!" She says it for just about any animal she sees. (that girl should be a veterinarian). So of course we heard that a few times that night!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

They're so cute, I want one!

Seriously. I'm going to borrow your saying Sarah! I love penguins!!!

I love the braces. Been there, done that with both of my girls. You will be so amazed at the transformation is a short period of time. Well worth the tons of money! lol!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

They're so cute, I want one!

Seriously. I'm going to borrow your saying Sarah! I love penguins!!!

I love the braces. Been there, done that with both of my girls. You will be so amazed at the transformation is a short period of time. Well worth the tons of money! lol!

I will tell Sarah!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Thanks for sharing the BG pics! I have debated going to that for several years now. I keep telling myself that it won't be worth the money and I'll just be disappointed b/c it won't be as good as Disney. But it looked pretty cool to me. We will have to go check it out this year. And those penguins are too cute!!

 

[jenseib]

Loving the pictures...and the penguins are soo cute. Love the braces too...I had them as an adult. Not that long ago (7 years ago) and I remember the pain. I had 2 baby teeth still and they pulled those prior to putting them on...and I had to go a year and a half with 2 missing teeth, but it wasn't too bad, not I have bridges in their place. (My permnant teeth are still up in my gums..laying sideways ) I am so happy to have my teeth fixed though. I went many years feeling awful about the way they looked.

 

[MEK]

Cool pictures from Williamsburg BG, especially since I was just there and I recognize all the areas you posted pictures of. Its such a pretty park so I'm not surprised they did a fab job with the decorations.

What?????? You didn't bring your winter coat. It gets cold here too you know!

Braces! What a great smile!